... capturing the family drama through sculpture... (philippines, life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

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family sculpting is one of the common activities done in family therapy and experiential therapy. its purpose is to gain insights about the interactional patterns within a family.

to create a family sculpture, the client picks out participants from the group to represent his/ her family members. the client then positions the participants on stage, giving each participant a posture to maintain, a movement or gesture to do, and a statement to verbally express with feeling. the session ends with debriefing and group processing.

in the pix below, i assist a client in sculpting her family:

and below, you'll see the emotional themes, alliances, and conflicts of her family become apparent:

this is a simple activity, and yet it commonly elicits deep emotions, understanding, a sense of healing and empowerment not only for the client, but for all participants as well.
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... List of best psychologists ... (philippines, life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

Can't believe it but guess what!

I found myself listed on www.mytopdozen.com/Best_Psychologists.html as one of the most popular clinical psychologists in the news. The website is a "ranking list aggregator," and the ranking is based on the number of occurrences in web pages, news, pictures and people votes.

I was kind of surprised that there wasn't any other clinical psychologist listed from the Philippines or from Asia. I was even more surprised to find myself listed among the legendary greats in the field of psychology. Here is the complete list:

1. Michael White (family therapist; founder of narrative therapy)


2. William James (medical doctor; psychologist; philosopher; father of American psychology)


3. David Lewis (neuropsychologist; father of "neuro-marketing")


4. John R. Anderson (cognitive psychologist; developer of act-r theory of the mind)


5. Donald T. Campbell (experimental psychologist and methodologist; founder of evolutionary epistemology)


6. Daniel O. David (created the first school of rational-emotive therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy in Romania)


7. Randy Dellosa (yours truly)


8. Viktor Frankl (neurologist; psychiatrist; holocaust survivor; founder of logotherapy)


9. Erich Fromm (social psychologist; psychoanalyst; author; explored interaction between psychology and society)


10. Edwin Hutchins (cognitive psychologist; father of modern cognitive ethnography)


11. Mary Cover Jones (research psychologist; mother of behavior therapy; pioneer in the field of developmental psychology)


12. Elizabeth Loftus (psychologist; expert on human memory; extensive researcher on false memories)

Well, truth be told, I would rather be known as a wise and compassionate person than as a popular psychologist.

Of course, if popularity becomes a means for me to reach out to more people suffering from emotional pain, then that would serve my mission in life very well.

... drama therapy (psychodrama) in the philippines ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

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since i occasionally work in the entertainment industry, i have observed a number of acting workshops facilitated for neophyte and veteran actors and actresses.

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i have a serious concern for some of these workshops because many of the exercises and activities done have the effect of making traumatic memories surface and deep-seated and volatile emotions erupt.

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true, the actors and actresses leave the workshop feeling good about their newly-acquired acting skills. they however may also be leaving the workshop with emotional wounds that can adversely affect them long after the workshop ends.

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now contrast these workshops with drama therapy or psychodrama. both make psychotherapeutic use of theatre skills and the dramatic process to bring about self-discovery, personal growth, and emotional healing.

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it is a type of therapy that i enjoy facilitating primarily because participants enjoy it too. initially, participants hesitate, feel self-conscious, and exhibit a lot of nervous laughter. after a while though, they start letting their guard down and begin immersing themselves in their roles.

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let me share with you some pix of a recent drama therapy session held over the weekend:

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... me introducing drama therapy to the group:

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... discussing with the participant-director what she wants to happen:

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... the drama unfolding:

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... and gathering together again for emotional and cognitive closure:

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no oscar or famas awards here, but the participants almost always get rewarded with a sense of achievement, a wealth of insight, and a new sense of self.

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... ricky lee and the psychology of aswangs ... (philippines, life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

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when direk jilmer texted me that ricky lee was inviting me for lunch, i wondered what we would talk about.

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little did i know that the topic for our discussion was going to be a blood-curdling one: the mythological 'aswang."
.ricky lee, the literary giant who authored masterpieces such as brutal, salome, moral, and rizal: the screenplay, explained to me that he was writing a book and wanted a psychological perspective on aswangs. in brief, this was what i had to share:

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first of all, the filipino aswang is very different from its western counterpart- the vampire. the aswang of filipino folklore is portrayed as a simple person by day who transforms into a nightmarish creature at night. aswangs usually come in two forms, either as a manananggal or as a long-tongued demon.

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the manananggal is typically female and divides itself at the the level of the torso. night time is "thriller" time as a horrifying transformation takes place. the manananggal's upper body starts to grow bat-like wings afterwhich it flies off in search of human prey, leaving its lower torso behind.

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as a demonoid, the aswang is typically a male creature with a long slithering tongue used for siphoning fetuses or for snaring the fetuses out of pregnant women.

.psychologically speaking, the aswang is a representation of an individual tormented by a multitude of inner conflicts.

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the aswang is defined by a deep-seated turmoil caused by contradictory themes warring within its psyche--

- innocence versus evil,

- groundedness versus flightiness,

- vulnerability versus predatorship,

- contentment versus craving,

- integration versus disintegration, and

- stability versus degeneration.

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in filipino culture, the intestines, heart, and liver are associated with the emotions. thus, at the moment of its transformation, when the aswang separates its body at the level of its guts, it is symbolic of how this individual is violently ripped apart at its emotional core. being an emotionally-torn individual, the aswang feeds itself on the emotional centers (i.e., the heart and liver) of its prey and drains the life energy out of them.

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hmm, what a gut-wrenching discussion i had with ricky lee.

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curiously, as soon as i left the meeting, i found my eyes blood-shot and my nose bleeding. i felt a sharp sting on my neck and realized i had two puncture marks on my neck. oh dear god, where did these come from?!

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... the dorn method for spine alignment and leg length balancing ... (philippines, life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

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since the start of this year, i've been in charge of the wellness program of a number of athletes. despite their scientific gym workouts and superior body conditioning, many of these athletes exhibit spinal misalignments and marked differences in their leg lengths. no wonder then that their common complaints include shoulder aches, backaches, leg pain, and bad posture. one of the therapies proven to be helpful for them is the dorn method.

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the dorn method is a type of back therapy which is painless, gentle, and safe. it was developed in germany by dieter dorn, who successfully helped thousands of people heal from their health problems. dorn therapy was introduced to the philippines by another german named thomas zudrell. thomas learned the dorn method directly from dieter dorn and dorn's first students. i, in turn, learned dorn therapy from thomas.

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last saturday, i was again privileged to hone my skills under the watchful supervision of thomas.

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in this workshop, the participants were given a lot of opportunities to practice dorn therapy skills on each other. of course, i enjoyed being on the receiving end in our practice sessions- hehe!

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thanks thomas for sharing to the philippines the healing art of the dorn method. it's not only dorn therapy skills that we learn from you, but we also imbibe your attitudes and spirit as a true holistic healer.

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... unassuming shrink, now global sensation ... (philippines, life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

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can anyone explain what the heck is going on here?!
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all of a sudden, i've become a worldwide phenom!
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my pictures have been turning up everywhere...
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on a billboard in taipei:
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at a train station in germany:
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in an art gallery in france:
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on the streets of new york:
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on a gate in california:
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on a building in singapore:
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on street art in spain:
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and now, even paris hilton has joined the craze, endorsing me as her personal life coach!
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whew, i just hope i can cope with all this fame! (joke)
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... the psychology of michael jackson ... (philippines, life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

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i had the privilege of being interviewed by veteran broadcast journalist sol aragones for tv patrol. the interview was on the eccentricity of michael jackson's personality, and the intriguing evolution (or devolution) of his face.
. what i basically shared was that michael jackson's facial transmogrification may have been due to a psychiatric condition known as "body dysmorphic disorder."
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body dysmorphic disorder is characterized by (1) a preoccupation or obsessive concern over a slight or imagined physical defect, and by (2) significant distress or impairment in work life, social life, and/ or personal life.
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in michael's case, he was obsessed with the size and shape of his nose, which he apparently thought was unattractively bulbous or wide. michael probably thought that he had a "mountain" on his face which he wanted to reduce into a "molehill." too many surgeries though brought that molehill of a nose to near-total erosion.
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to a family friend, michael admitted that as a teenager, his nose was so large that people didn't recognize him to be the cute little child star that they had known. he felt that people had rejected him for his looks and vowed to make people "love him again."
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of course, there are other factors that may have contributed to michael's odd personality and his body dysmorphic disorder. first, he was emotionally and physically abused by his father. second, his superstardom as a child deprived him of the usual developmental experiences of childhood. third, he probably suffered from chronic major depression since he reported experiencing an overwhelming sense of loneliness and alienation as he was growing up as a teenager. fourth, gender identity confusion and and a forbidden sexual attraction to young male children may have been issues festering in the attic of his psyche. fifth, he probably feared that he may never equal or surpass the previous successes he had achieved. sixth, as with all people with a peter pan complex, he may have been struggling with the inevitable onslaught of the aging process. and lastly, he also suffered from chronic pain disorder with a concurrent addiction to painkillers.
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here are some artists' renditions of michael jackson's aging process sans surgery:
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and here are some renditions of michael jackson if he lived on to a ripe old age, with all the surgeries he's had:
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with all these said, it is only fair to acknowledge the "familiar side" of michael. despite all flaws as a person, the legendary michael jackson will forever be loved and remembered for his creative genius which has inspired the artistic pursuits and development of many.
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