Jamie Marich: Blog

I am so delighted that 48 participants were trained in EMDR last week in Youngstown! After being trained myself in the therapy in 2006, it became my dream to get more clinicians in my hometown trained in this breakthrough therapy. My first step was to raise awareness, and it soon became apparent that enough clinicians were willing to get together for a formal training. I initially thought that we would have between 15-20 participants, but to have near 50 was such a pleasant surprise! Running logistics at the recent training allowed me to talk to many of our participants, and it seemed as though we had many talented clinicians in attendance who are looking for newer, more profound ways to reach their clients. I would like to take this opportunity to publically thank the team from EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Programs- headed by Mr. Roy Kiessling and organized by Ms. Hope Payson- for coming to Youngstown and training our clinicians. I would also like to applaud the clinicians who took the step and engaged in this training...I am here for you if you need any help with getting your new therapeutic endeavors off the ground. I have the follow-up consultation groups posted on the website; feel free to contact me in the meantime if I can be of any assistance.

I spent the last two days in Washington, D.C. with my brother and two of his dear friends as we made a pilgrimage to see Pope Benedict XVI. My brother is entering the Dominician religious order in the Summer, and I saw this trip as a very special time for us. My brother has been an instrumental force in my own life and healing, embodying the essence of a true Catholic-Christian through his goodness and kindness. When he enters the order in the Summer, I will not be able to spend the time with him that I have over these last several years, and I must admit that it will be somewhat emotional for me. Even though Paul is much more of a devout Catholic than I, we share a bond based on our trials and tribulations growing up in an interfaith household where God was something you fought over.
During our two days in Washington, I was encountered with some ugly reminders of the spiritual abuse that I endured as a child and teenager growing up around fierce “Evangelical Christianity.” Say what you will about the Catholic Church and its misgivings- God knows I have not been thrilled with the way that the sexual abuse scandals have been handled over the years- but this time with Pope Benedict XVI in the U.S. was a time for people of Catholic heritage and faith to celebrate. Needless to say, I was very upset when, on Wednesday night after the Pope’s appearance at the National Shrine and on Thursday afternoon following the Mass, I, and the other faithful, were bombarded by zealot Evangelical picketers condemning us for our faith. Very large signs were hoisted containing messages such as, “Roman Catholicism is of the Devil and it Will Send You to Hell.” Outside of the Mass at National Stadium, one such protester was dressed in a fireman’s outfit, accompanied by a Dalmatian dog holding such a sign. Probably the ugliest insult I heard yelled was one protester who firmly declared to the Catholic faithful, “Mother Teresa is burning in hell.” What?! What arrogance, pride, and downright hatred it takes to make such a blanket, ignorant statement! What also amazed me were the bullying tactics that these protesters used, literally blockading the sidewalks and streets to the Washington Metro to spew out their messages of hate and judgment.
Now, I am not going to use this blog as an apologetics platform- I leave that to my brother and to many other beautiful Catholic Christians who have written on the topic. But as a counselor, I do have to make a comment about the spiritual abuse that we being so publicly displayed. Being condemned to hell is not a job that belongs to human beings- only God can do that, and even then, I’m not sure that any human being can conceive of the depth of his mercy. A major feature of spiritual abuse is when people hungry for power and a distorted sense of control and ego inflation use the scare tactic of “burning in hell” to try to either, a.) put your down, or b.) convert you to their way of worshiping God. There is no way that a true, loving relationship with a Higher Power can be forged through scare tactics. For me personally, I am a witness to that as my main motivation during the years I a child I spent in an Evangelical Church was to stay out of hell. Then, while sitting in the seats of an Evangelical Church, I became addicted to drugs and alcohol and my own hell was forged here on earth. It was only a genuine desire to pursue a loving relationship with a God who wanted to help me that “saved” me, and today I live a life free of irrational fear because of this loving relationship. I want to be a good person today not out of fear of going to hell, but to honor the Triune God in whom I so fervently believe.
The signs and the insults that I absorbed over the last two days were nothing new- God knows I heard them in abundance in my house growing up with one Catholic parent and one Evangelical parent. Even though I have experienced so much of my own healing from spiritual abuse, what I saw and heard this week affected me…probably because I am still so incensed that people can hate so deeply so as to condemn others to hell. Don’t get me wrong, I know that some extreme Catholics can be guilty of this as well…I recognize that fully. But this is where people get hurt…when extremists threaten others with hell. And I do not buy the excuse that such extremists do it out of “love” for those they are trying to sway. It’s a control issue, it’s a power issue. True Evangelicals are those who carry Christ’s Gospel of Love through their daily life and actions…true Evangelicals are those who put 1 Corinthians 13 into action. I didn’t see any of that from these ignorant protesters in Washington.
Spiritual abuse is a real form of abuse that can have lasting, damaging effects on a person. I urge you to check out the links that I have on the topic, and feel free to email me at any time with questions you may have about it.

Bruce and I are at the American Society of Addiction Medicine convention this weekend in Toronto. I am most impressed with the wide spectrum of attention that is being given to behavioral addictions at this conference, reaffirming my long-held belief that addiction is addiction is addiction. The chemical or behavioral manifestation is merely a symptom of a larger biopsychosocial-spiritual problem that needs to be addressed. It is always a treat to be able to network with people as well, and I've certainly done my share of that this weekend. I've been able to have some excellent discussions, here in Toronto, with colleagues and friends from the Cleveland area...imagine that. I also heard an excellent quote at one of the sessions this morning, in which a Canadian doctor shared his belief that, regarding the concurrence of abuse and addiction, "Trauma is the trigger, addiction is the trap." This entire weekend has really reminded me why I love what I do!

The director of my dance studio gently suggested tonight that I put up a new blog entry...I guess I've been a little delinquent. I'm officially seeing clients at PsyCare now, and I am really grateful for the opportunity of that arrangement. It has been my dream for quite some time to work in a practice where I can specialize in traumatic stress and addiction. I'm also going to begin my teaching gig with the University of Phoenix in a few weeks. On the self care front, I'm getting ready for a ballroom dance competition that I'm doing April 6th in Columbus. Jay and I will be doing the three dance closed bronze championship in smooth dancing, (Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango) plus Quickstep and Viennese Waltz. Maybe the new season of DWTS will inspire me :-) It's been pretty fun getting ready to do a competition myself again...the mental and physical challenge has been good for me. Something I learned in my graduate school training is to never ask a client to do something that you're not willing to do yourself. I've always taken this direction to heart, and I feel it's kept my skills sharp. Believe it or not, dancing has been the mental challenge I've needed. To all my clients out there, don't worry, I'm not gonna make you ballroom dance as part of your treatment plan. But the whole idea of getting out there and training, working on something outside of your comfort zone is a big part of the healing process, whether you're dancing on a hardwood floor or in life.

I received some excellent news yesterday... I have been asked to come aboard with PsyCare, a reputable agency here in the Youngstown-Warren area and surrounding region. I will be working as an independent practitioner focusing on PTSD/trauma/EMDR, and I am being afforded a great opportunity to develop the program. More details will follow on the site, but all I can say is that I am very excited that I will be able to house the in-person component of my practice with PsyCare. Right now, I am slated to be working out of the Liberty, OH office on Belmont Ave.

I'm really excited that Jim will be able to join me for the February 9th show at the Mastropietro Winery. He's been very busy with his band, so it's a privilege that my good ol' acoustic partner and I will be able to join forces again for the evening. I haven't played out in a while (with the exception of church), so this will be a treat for me. I hope to see as many of you as possible there.

The local EMDR HAP training will take place from Tuesday-Thursday, May 13-14-15. We are still trying to nail down a definitive location, but once we know it and the full details are available, they will be posted on this site.

One of my dreams that is several years in the making looks like it's coming to fruition...organizing an EMDR HAP training here in Mahoning and Trumbull County. Lauren Thorp from Trumbull Lifelines has been very instrumental in working with me to make this training a reality, and right now it looks like we can get it offered some time in May...we are just waiting for a confirmed set of trainers from HAP. I am so excited about this possibility, and I encourage any clinicians in are area who are interested in getting trained in this cutting-edge therapy to contact me...I would be happy to answer any of your questions, and please, stay tuned for more details!
Jamie :-)

Well, jamiemarich.com is back up and running after some down time. In its first inception, the site was dedicated largely to my music. Though that is still a large part of my life, I have had some amazing professional developments happen since this site was last up, and I have decided to use this site to bring you everything that I offer, not only as a musician, but as a counselor and instructor as well. Stay tuned...there will be much more to come on this page.