ORIENTATION
Welcome to the Practitioners Journey. The last Monday in August we begin our live sessions at 6pm with our Orientation session. I am super excited to meet you and for you to meet your fellow practitioners live online in our very first meeting!
Moving forward we will meet, in the same Zoom link, live on the 2nd and 4th Monday at 6pm EST from September to April. Most sessions will run until 9pm EST and they will be recorded. Ideally you are in class but if you miss a session the unedited replay will be available by the following Wednesday at the very bottom of that week’s subjects lesson portal.
This is a brand-new chapter in your life. Should you choose to embrace, honour, and practice a single-minded and consistent focus on ‘being in service’ as an Energy Medicine Practitioner. You are about to become a Spiritual Coach, teaching others to LIVE in SELF AWARENESS WITHOUT JUDGEMENT.
I cannot, nor do I have any interest in doing your “work” for you. That being said, I am here to guide, teach, heal and mentor you into a space of conscious competence; into a place of knowing exactly who you want to be, into having the tools and resources to be her/him, and then into being who you say you want to be!
I am both honoured and excited to have you as a student. I am grateful for this opportunity to guide and teach you. I do so with the intention that I am passing on my teachings to you in a pure, positive, and authentic manner for the highest good of all.
The Practitioner’s Journey is the next step in finding your truest and deepest connection to yourself and to creating a depth knowing how to bring balance into your life through Self Awareness.
The balance I speak of is uniquely yours. Although we may all desire to create and maintain balance in our lives what balance means is different from each of us. My greatest advice to you is to open yourself to receive the intuitive guidance that you are about to receive; to trust that you will get exactly what you need and that I will continue to be here to support you. Take it at your own pace, do not give up on your Self and BELIEVE that ‘taking care of yourself first’ makes for a joyful and loving life for everyone around you!
~ Traci
THIS WEEK'S LESSON...
May this personalized welcome message from Traci find you in the same state of excitement vibration to begin this empower Practitioner’s Journey. It is delivered to you with this greatest of intention:
May we each give ourselves unconditionally and without hindrance to this Life, to this Work and to each moment; May we all be of enormous benefit to this Earthly plane and to ALL beings. Namaste.
Traci Trimble ~ inspired by Sarah Powers
THIS WEEK'S READING
You are READY to become a Practitioner
According to Google “Imposter syndrome describes feelings of severe inadequacy and self-doubt that can leave people fearing that they will be exposed as a “fraud”, usually in their work lives. It can affect anyone, regardless of their success”.
The truth is that you couldn’t possibly be a fraud. How do I know that? Well, because I have faith in you. First, you have been where these clients are that find us – that does not happen for no reason. Second, as long as you are choosing to do your own work honestly AND you know what your fear story and the love story is then you are always learning, healing, and growing. Will that always be awesome – heck NO. We are after all having a human experience. Being human is messy – with all of those thoughts, feelings, and experiences!
What you need to know and trust in is this: I will never ask you to pretend to be anything other than your truth. When you are not in a good place – I will never ask you to fake that. I will, however, push you to choose your highest good but not to fake it!
It is also true that we become “the best” at that which we have personally experienced. You have fully experienced a) the client journey through SHP and b) your own transformations, trials, and tribulations.
What is most important in this Practitioner journey is the following:
- Stay ahead of your clients – always choose to be learning, sharing, and healing – so that you are always just a few steps ahead of them. {hint: the ONLY difference between me and you… I am ahead of you on this journey! I am human – always learning, healing, and growing}
- Make sure that you have a Spiritual Shower Routine (we will work together to create that) and make it a daily priority in personal but most especially in your professional life. YOU MUST PROTECT your thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
- TRUST your intuition – you are a piece of God itself.. your Soul’s Energy. TRUST your imagination – you are the warrior energy of the Universe… your Ego in alignment. You are also a human body – TRUST it to channel information/messages from the Universe with you.
We are essentially Counselors – however, in the Province of Ontario, since 2015 Counseling has become heavily regulated. Quebec and Nova Scotia are also regulated but the rest of Canada is not. In the USA most of Metaphysics fall under the Religious Freedoms Act. You may also want to become an Ordained Minister.
According to The Canadian Counseling and Psychotherapy Association, “Counselling is the skilled and principled use of relationships to facilitate self- knowledge, emotional acceptance and growth and the optimal development of personal resources. The overall aim of counsellors is to provide an opportunity for people to work towards living more satisfyingly and resourcefully. Counselling relationships will vary according to need but may be concerned with developmental issues, addressing and resolving specific problems, making decisions, coping with crisis, developing personal insights and knowledge, working through feelings of inner conflict, or improving relationships with others.”
We use Energy Medicine as the mode of facilitating this “self- knowledge, emotional acceptance, growth, and the optimal development of personal resources”. If at some point you wish to become an Ordained Minister, as I am, you will be able to bypass many of the laws that will challenge your right and authority to be a therapist as Canada, USA, and Europe all have operating laws that “religion” cannot be regulated.
In the past, I was a registered Psychotherapist. I left the association in good standing and continue to pay my fees as an Associate but not as a Psychotherapist. Instead, I choose to become an ordained minister. Why? Because the rules of Psychotherapy do not allow a practitioner to use any form of psychic ability as a modality for supporting a client/patient with self- knowledge, emotional acceptance, growth, and the optimal development of personal resources. I became an ordained minister through the International Metaphysical Ministry out of the University of Sedona. It was both simple and affordable should you choose to go this route.
Definition of counselling according to the Canadian Counseling and Psychotherapy Association
“Counselling is a relational process based upon the ethical use of specific professional competencies to facilitate human change. Counselling addresses wellness, relationships, personal growth, career development, mental health, and psychological illness or distress. The counselling process is characterized by the application of recognized cognitive, affective, expressive, somatic, spiritual, developmental, behavioral, learning, and systemic principles.”
Scope of Practice According to the Canadian Counseling and Psychotherapy Association
According to NAD “The counselling profession is attentive to and responds to diversity and inclusiveness; works in the best interest of individuals, couples, families, groups, organizations, communities, and the public-at-large; works in the domains of cognition, emotion, expression, somatics, human development, behavior, learning, and interactive systems; promotes mental health by developing and enhancing: personal, relational, sexual, career, and spiritual growth and well-being, personal awareness and resources, decision-making and problem-solving; remediates or provides treatment for disorders in cognitive, behavioural, interpersonal, and emotional functioning; applies specific and recognized evaluation and assessment methods; may also include supervision, education, training, consultation, research, diagnosis, and referral.
Expectations
Although our profession is not regulated I oblige you to follow the same code of ethics as registered therapists and they are as follows…
Ethical Principles
The expectations for ethical conduct are based on the following fundamental principles:
a) Beneficence – Being proactive in promoting the best interests of clients.
b) Fidelity – Honouring commitments to clients and maintaining integrity in counselling relationships.
c) Nonmaleficence – Refraining from actions that risk harm and not willfully harming clients.
d) Autonomy – Respecting the rights of clients to agency and self-determination.
e) Justice – Respecting the dignity of all persons and honouring their right to just treatment.
f) Societal Interest – Upholding responsibility to act in the best interests of society
Counselling / Therapy Responsibilities
The specific responsibilities of counsellors/therapists vary across time and multiple geographic, environmental, social, cultural, economic, and political contexts. Despite the variety of situations in which counsellors/therapists may find themselves, their responsibility for safeguarding the welfare of clients, maintaining their trust, and protecting their personal data is constant across time and consistent across contexts.
- Primary Responsibility
Counsellors/therapists respect the integrity and promote the welfare of their clients. They work collaboratively with clients to devise counselling/therapy plans consistent with the needs, abilities, circumstances, values, cultural, or contextual background of clients.
- Confidentiality
Counselling/therapeutic relationships and information resulting therefrom are kept confidential. However, there are the following exceptions to confidentiality: (i) when disclosure is required to prevent clear and imminent danger to the client or others; (ii) when levels of jurisprudence demand that confidential material be revealed; (iii) when a child is in need of protection; (iv) persons with diminished capacity, and as otherwise mandated by municipal, provincial/territorial, and federal law.
- Duty to Warn
When counsellors/therapists become aware of the intention or potential of clients to place others in clear and imminent danger, they use reasonable care to give threatened persons such warnings as are essential to avert foreseeable dangers. In cases in which it may not be appropriate or safe for counsellors/therapists to intervene directly to give warnings to threatened persons, they take appropriate steps to inform authorities to take action.
- Client’s Rights and Informed Consent
When counselling/therapy is initiated, and throughout the counselling/therapy process as necessary, counsellors/therapists inform clients of the purposes, goals, techniques, procedures, limitations, potential risks and benefits of services to be performed, and other such pertinent information that supports the informed decision-making process. Counsellors/therapists make sure that clients understand the implications of diagnosis, fees and fee collection arrangements, record-keeping, and limits of confidentiality. Clients have the right to collaborate in the development and evolution of the counselling/ therapy plan. Clients have the right to seek a second opinion or consultation, to refuse any recommended services, and to be advised of the consequences of such refusal.
- Children and Persons with Diminished Capacity
When working with children and/or persons with diminished capacity, counsellors/ therapists conduct the informed consent process with those who are legally entitled to offer consent on the client’s behalf, typically parents or others appointed as legal guardians. Counsellors/therapists also seek the client’s assent to the proposed services or involvement, proportionate with the client’s capacity to do so. Counsellors/therapists understand that the parental or guardian right to consent on behalf of children diminishes commensurate with the child’s growing capacity to provide informed consent. These dual processes of obtaining parental/guardian informed consent and client assent apply to assessment, counselling/therapy, research participation, and other professional activities.
- Maintenance of Records
Counsellors/therapists maintain records with sufficient detail and clarity to track the nature and sequence of professional services rendered. They ensure that the content and style are consistent with any legal, regulatory, agency, or institutional requirements. Counsellors/therapists secure the safety of such records and create, maintain, transfer, and dispose of them in a manner compliant with the requirements of confidentiality
- Access to Records
Counsellors/therapists understand that clients have a right of access to their counselling/therapy records, and that disclosure to others of information from these records only occurs with the written consent of the client and/or when required by law.
- Consulting with Other Professionals
Counsellors/therapists may consult with other professionals about their work with clients. Consultationǂ is to be undertaken in a de-identified manner unless clients have offered consent in writing to have their identity revealed. Counsellors/therapists exercise care in choosing professional consultants to avoid any conflict of interest.
- Relationships with Former Clients
Counsellors/therapists remain accountable for any relationships established with former clients. Relationships could include, but are not limited to, those of a social, financial, business, or supervisory nature. Counsellors/therapists are thoughtful and thorough in their consideration of potential post-counselling/therapy relationships. Counsellors/ therapists seek consultationǂ and/or supervisionǂ on such decisions. Relational accountability also applies to electronic interactions and relationships.
- Sexual Contact
Counsellors/therapists avoid any type of sexual contact with clients and they do not counsel persons with whom they have or have had a sexual or intimate relationship. Counsellors/therapists do not engage in sexual contact with former clients within a minimum of three years after terminating the counselling/therapeutic relationship. If the client is clearly vulnerable, by reason of emotional or cognitive disorder, to exploitative influence by the counsellor/therapist, this prohibition is not limited to the three-year period but extends indefinitely. Counsellors/therapists, in all such circumstances, clearly bear the burden to ensure that no such exploitative influence has occurred and seek documented consultationǂ for an objective determination of the client’s ability to freely enter a relationship or have sexual contact without impediment. The consultationǂ must be with a professional with no conflict of interest with the client or the counsellor/therapist. This prohibition also applies to electronic interactions and relationships.
- Multiple Clients
When counsellors/therapists agree to provide counselling/therapy to two or more persons who have a relationship (such as spouses/life partners, or parents and children), counsellors/therapists clarify at the outset who the client is and the nature of the relationship with each of the other parties. This clarification includes confidentiality limits, risks and benefits, and what information will be shared, when, how, and with whom.
- Multiple Helpers
Counsellors/therapists who, after entering a counselling/therapy relationship, discover that the client is already engaged in another counselling/therapeutic relationship, are responsible for discussing with the client issues related to continuing or terminating counselling/therapy. It may be necessary, with client consent, to discuss these issues with the other helping professional.
- Group Counselling / Therapy
Counsellors/therapists have the responsibility to screen prospective group members and to engage them in an informed consent process prior to the first group session. This responsibility is especially important when group goals focus on self-understanding and growth through self-disclosure. Counsellors/therapists inform clients of group member rights, issues of confidentiality, and group techniques typically used. They take reasonable precautions to address potential physical and/or psychological harm resulting from interaction within the group, both during and following the group experience.
- Closure of Counselling / Therapy
Counsellors/therapists begin closure of counselling/therapy relationships, with client agreement whenever possible, when (a) the goals of counselling/therapy have been met; (b) the client is no longer benefiting from counselling/therapy; (c) the client has not paid the counselling fees formerly discussed, agreed to, and charged; (d) client insurance will not cover further reimbursement and the client is unable or unwilling to commit to out-of-pocket payment for service; (e) the client or another person with whom the client has a relationship threatens or otherwise endangers the wellbeing of the counsellor/therapist. Counsellors/therapists make reasonable efforts to facilitate appropriate access to alternative counselling/therapy services when client need is ongoing and service provision has ended.
Integrity
You must always operate out of your highest good and that of the clients. You must make sure that you establish your role as their therapist and not as their friend. You must honour both your needs and theirs at the same time. There is NEVER to be any judgement of “where they are at” under any circumstance.
Books I highly recommend for this journey
- Messages from the Body by Michael J. Lincoln PhD (we have access to the PDF as this book is illegal in Canada)
- Barbara Ann Brennan – anything but start with ‘Hands of Light’
- Code of the Extraordinary Mind by Vishen Lakhiani
- Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsh
- Metaphysical Anatomy by Evette Rose
- Soul Speak by Julia Canon