Introduction to My Somatic Psychotherapy Today Blog

Introduction to My Somatic Psychotherapy Today Blog2016-12-02T22:21:39+00:00

I am delighted and honored to introduce myself to the readers of Somatic Psychotherapy Today. I am Bette J. Freedson, a clinical social worker, a wife, mother, grandmother, author and teacher. I am proud to consider myself a provider of a somatically attuned and integrated style of psychotherapy. I am also a Certified Group Psychotherapist and a hypnotherapist, a bonafide member of ASCH, American Society of Clinical Hypnosis.

In addition to my clinical practice, I teach stress management and coping skills, and write and present on a variety of topics dear to my heart, especially those related to intuition, Self-wholeness, and the holistic integration of Body, Mind, and Soul. I conceptualize “Soul” as the essential, authentic resources of the “psychic dimension” of mind and the wise guidance of the inner spirit.

In March, 2015 my first book, “Soul Mothers’ Wisdom: Seven Insights for the Single Mother” was published by Pearlsong Press. “Soul Mothers’ Wisdom” contains information about parenting and coping with stress that can benefit all parents, and presents ideas about Self-wholeness and the psychic dimension of mind that can be useful for everyone. Relative to single mothers, however, SMW is the book I wish I’d had during the seventeen years I was a single parent.

I live and practice in South Berwick, Maine with Ray Amidon, a licensed marriage and family therapist, and my second husband. My first husband, Don Freedson, and I separated after thirteen years of marriage when our two girls were 4 and 7. Don died a few years later, leaving a baby son by his second wife and bequeathing to me single mother status for “real.” Single motherhood was a hard journey, not as hard as it may be for some, but hard enough. It was also a blessed path to Self-Wholeness, which I write about in my book and speak about in my presentations. Those difficult– and precious years inspired me to develop my career, grow stronger as a person, and discover, rediscover and uncover my own Soul Wisdom.

Now my two daughters are married and have become mothers themselves. Ray and I are proud grandparents of three granddaughters and one grandson, all bright and talented—of course. Besides delicious involvement with, and delighted devotion to my children and grandchildren, my work is a primary force in my life. For the Past five years Ray and I have been studying hypnotherapy with Jeffrey Zeig, PhD, founder, director of the Milton Erickson Foundation in Phoenix, Arizona. My foray into the world of hypnosis has brought a powerful new dimension into my practice of Psychotherapy, and to my belief in the creative and healing energy of Mind/Body/Soul. Whether in clinical sessions, groups, presentations, or in “Soul Wisdom Consultations,” attunement to the innate, organic wisdom of the body, and guiding clients to discover and use the healing resources within, constitute essential aspects of my work.

I will be writing about many fascinating topics relative to the holism of Mind/Body and Soul. I am looking forward to telling readers of Somatic Psychotherapy Today about my professional, as well as my personal, experience with the power of the body to hold information, promote physical, emotional, and mental health, and serve as a vehicle for accessing the power-filled resources of Soul Wisdom.

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