Salus Forum: May 2025

I once worked with all the leaders of the Methodist church. One of these Methodist church leaders made a very powerful declaration at a 1977 meeting regarding the future of the church. He said: “Let me tell you who we’re competing with. Last week, more people attended a particular religious service than anyone in the history of humankind. This event was the viewing of the Star Wars movie” All the bishops looked up and paid attention. The first Star Wars just came out and was breaking all attendance records. The leader continued: “So, we’re competing with ‘the force.’ More conversions were done at the theaters through Star Wars than what was done by all the rest of us combined.”

So, what is the narrative? How do we do something that is influential in the field of health care? How do we do Healthwoman? This is the famous superhero woman who comes zooming in. She looks a little like Gay Teurman, and swoops in to heal the day.  What are the kind of narratives that work for children?

Bill G

I’d like to ask Bill B and Gay a question based on their experience. How do you use a recollection of peak experience for those of us who are not elite athletes? Those of us who have had peak experiences. For example, I used to do a lot of climbing in the Cascades. One time, I chose a route on Mount Hood, which was a described route. This was a quite challenging, technical route. I still wake up at times recollecting that feeling of climbing that last 500 feet over the knife-edge ridge. You know, taking some very objective risk in the last couple of hundred feet to achieve the summit. I was clearly in the zone climbing, and it was a very peak experience.

I’ve had several other peak experiences, but that’s one that was very powerful. Is that of any use therapeutically to Gay in working with clients or working with patients? Is this concept of value: experiencing some sort of peak performance in your life and then realizing that you can’t really recapture it? I mean, there’s no way I’m going to ever climb the Northwest Mountains again. So, I’m never going to have that experience again. But is there any way that recollection is useful to me?

Gay

I use that kind of example all the time in psychotherapy. It’s called a changing state of being. It’s a state change. So, you do a state change by recollecting a time when you felt what you want to feel now. So, you’re now depressed as a medical student or a 45-year-old, or you are depressed even as a 13-year-old. Recall a moment when you weren’t depressed. We want to help people recognize that maybe their talent isn’t football or athletics, but there are times in their life where they will have those moments that they can reflect on and hold on to as a possibility for future state change.

And the more you can remind a client or patient of this state and help them transition to this state, then the more probable it is that they can maintain this state. So even if you can’t or won’t replicate the experience, you can still engage it in your brain. We can appreciate the power of thought. We know that even the thought of gaining weight can add pounds.  I believe that’s how powerful our thoughts can be because they’re very powerful in the negative.