"The only journey is the one within."
-Rainer Maria Rilke
-Rainer Maria Rilke
My life story does not follow a straight line. This description of my education, training, and qualifications thus differs from a conventional clinician’s curriculum vitae, reflecting a few of the varied bodies of knowledge and experience that contribute to my therapeutic perspective.
The path that led me to become a psychotherapist includes my own healing journey. Study, daily meditation practice, healing arts, and a generous measure of grace have grounded my awe of the psyche’s power and the miracles small and large that appear once the journey is engaged. At the same time, I know from my experience how challenging the process of change can be, and understand the courage it takes to reach out for professional support.
The spiritual journey and the path of healing and deepening self-understanding have been one and the same for me. Through my study and two decades of experience with contemplative practices in both the Christian and Buddhist traditions, I have come to value meditation, especially somatic meditation, as practices with great potential to support psychotherapeutic exploration.
Academic:
Master of Arts in Counseling
Houston Graduate School of Theology
Honors: Summa Cum Laude
Master of Theological Studies
Certificate in Women’s Studies
Perkins School of Theology
Southern Methodist University
Honors: Summa Cum Laude, Philip Schaff Prize in Church History
Juris Doctor
Baylor University School of Law
Other Training:
Grof Transpersonal Training: Holotropic Breathwork® Practitioner Certification, October 2009. Pam is now a certified Grof® Breathwork Facilitator and serves on the Board of Directors of Grof® Legacy Project.
Somatic Experiencing® (SE™) Practitioner (SEP), received certificate from SE™ Trauma Institute, October 2014.
California Institute of Integral Studies / Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research: completed the one-year Certificate in Psychedelic Therapies and Research (2022 Cohort).
Work Experience:
My legal career spanned twenty years, primarily working in the context of family-owned companies involved in the oil and gas exploration and production and real estate industries.
I worked on the staff of The Women’s Home in Houston, first as Development Director and later as Clinical and Chemical Dependency Counselor. My counseling work and training there encompassed nearly three years, first as an intern completing my practicum and later as a member of the clinical staff. It was my privilege to serve women struggling with homelessness, trauma, substance abuse, and other diagnoses, providing both group and individual therapy.
Selected Lectures and Presentations:
Psyche Unbound: The Legacy of Stanislav Grof: Two online classes exploring this collection of essays in honor of Stanislav Grof, with Mark Ryan for the Jung Center (Fall, 2022).
Book Study: The Immortality Key: The Secret History of the Religion with No Name by Brian C. Muraruesku, with Mark Ryan and Dr. Kathleen Andersen-Wyman for the Jung Center (Summer, 2021).
"The Way of the Psychonaut: The Legacy of Stanislav Grof": Live-streamed film screening and workshop with Mark Ryan for the Jung Center, (Fall, 2020).
Book study: When The Impossible Happens: Adventures in Non-Ordinary Realities; four week online group with Kerry Seizinger for the Jung Center (Fall, 2020).
Book study: Christopher Bache's LSD and the Mind of the Universe: Diamonds from Heaven; four week online group for the Jung Center (Spring, 2020)
Transformational Adaptations: An Anomalous Experience Discussion Group; four week online discussion group with Michael Craig, for the Jung Center (Spring, 2020)
Opening our Minds: Psychedelics, Breathwork, and the Healing Journey: workshop with Mark Ryan for the Jung Center (December, 2019)
Religion, Mental Health, and the Search for Meaning: Experiences at the Threshold of Life: Lecture for a program co-sponsored by the Jung Center and the University of St. Thomas Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program (March, 2019)
Book Talk: Michael Pollan's How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence, four week class, Jung Center Houston (Fall 2018).
Spiritual Emergency: Understanding Crises of Transformation, four week class, Jung Center Houston (Spring, 2016).
Book Study: Acid Test: LSD, Ecstasy, and the Power to Heal, four week class, Jung Center Houston (Summer 2015).
Accessing Innate Healing Intelligence, four week class, Jung Center Houston (Fall 2013).
Mystics, Saints, Pilgrims, Beguines, and Theologians: Women in Christian History, Part II. Six week series, Brigid’s Place at Christ Church Cathedral (March and April, 2007).
“Taking Mary Home: The Theotokos as a Paradigm for Intimacy with the Divine,” Three lectures for Trinity Episcopal Church, Houston, Advent, 2006.
Apostles, Disciples, Deacons, Martyrs, and Virgins: Women in Christian History, Part I. Six week series, Brigid’s Place at Christ Church Cathedral (September and October, 2006).
“Mary Magdalene, Gender, and the Church,” Luncheon Lecture for Foundation for Contemporary Theology (May, 2006).
“Mary Magdalene and the Gender Wars” and “Mary of Nazareth: Early Images of the Mother of God,” McMichael Lecture Series, Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church, Fayetteville, Arkansas (May, 2005).