Tricia Chandler

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor with professional training as a transpersonal counselor, art therapist, and Reiki Master, dedicated to facilitating personal growth and healing of body-mind-spirit issues, using wholistic techniques of psychotherapy and energy medicine.

The word wholistic implies complete, as opposed to holistic that implies a spiritual context. Holistic historically tends to exclude concerns of body, emotions, and mind. Wholistic better defines the body-mind-spirit approach to healing which is inclusive of viewing the whole person as a gestalt or complete being. When something appears amiss instead of treating the symptom, the body-mind-spirit approach is to view what is going on in all areas of the individual's life. Developing an awareness of cause gives a greater potential for healing the life situation which has caused the dis-ease.

I have been a spiritual seeker, metaphysician, and artist for many years. My personal experiences have taken me down an adventurous path that is shared in both the Rainbow Myth and Journey Toward Self Mastery on this web site. This web site explores art therapy as a tool that can be demonstrated and facilitated on the Internet. It reflects some of my own journey toward balance and self mastery, as a woman in western society, as a member of humanity, and as a spiritual being in this cosmic experience we call life. This web site is also an integrative tool which reflects my graphic design and artistic talents, with some of the theoretical methodology of my therapeutic healing approach.

The goal of personal therapy is to become self-actualized. This is reflected in the realization of our individual potential for loving relationships with others and for meaningful work. A Transpersonal Counselor combines a blend of humanistic and existential psychology, and expands that theoretical base to reflect a wholistic approach to psychotherapy. In my counseling practice I combine this wholistic, or body-mind-spirit approach, with art therapy and sensitivity to subtle energy to facilitate greater awareness of the source or cause of limiting self beliefs which tend to block personal growth. A body-mind-spirit approach to therapy requires a commitment and desire on the client's part to participate actively in learning techniques and tools to facilitate greater self awareness, positive change and evolutionary growth. With tools to facilitate expanded self awareness one can then choose healthier habits, new coping mechanisms and strategies to promote more abundance, creativity, and satisfaction in all areas of life.

Our unconscious minds and deepest emotions can often be more easily expressed through image and color. One need not be an artist to benefit from the use of art as therapy. The creative process --- picking up a crayon or paint brush, or even engaging the mouse on one's web site --- can free one to express what there may be no words to describe. A trained art therapist can help one to explore and interpret dream images, and other symbols that are reflected in the art work which can aid in self revelation to the inner workings of one's mind and emotions. These insights lead toward the potential for self-actualization or mastery. As an ongoing effort to demonstrate the potential use for art therapy on the Internet, watch for future additions to this web site displaying my own creations of art work in a therapeutic context.

Reiki is universal life force energy. Rei means Ra or Universal, God/Goddess energy, and ki or chi (as it is known in China) means breathe of life. It is a transcendental energy which combines with and activates the innate energy that exists in everything to promote wellness and healing on all levels of the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies. This energy transcends the personality, thus it cannot be influenced by human feelings, beliefs or emotions. Reiki assists the body in healing itself and is totally natural and wholistic. It also balances the body''s energies, thus bringing body, mind and spirit into proper alignment. Reiki energy can be transmitted through hands-on techniques or sent via long distance healing. Both techniques are equally effective in healing.