IT IS TIME
IT IS TIME - THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY REWRITE
Happy Birthday!
The White Tiger has turned one year old!
It has been a phenomenal journey so far, an incredible exploration.
There was no way to know if it was possible to find an audience for The White Tiger, let alone consistent readers. The White Tiger has been able to find both.
The White Tiger now stands on its own merit, offering something truly unique in the Psychiatric space.
The original Post, It is Time, was written to provide the motivation, the background, and the premise of The White Tiger.
It is Time - to Rewrite this Post.
The Intention
The White Tiger is written with singular Intention. That is, to show the way to Psychological Freedom.
The path to Psychological Freedom is not convoluted, contorted, twisting, difficult to navigate, or frustrating.
The path to Psychological Freedom is gentle, effortless, simple, clear, accessible, navigable, kind, and flows progressively.
The Posts
Although The White Tiger is written sequentially, each post flows into the next, however each post also stands on its own.
Each post is written with extreme forethought, offering wisdom in concise, digestible volumes, however dense with Intention, meaning, and illumination.
The White Tiger offers the Wisdom, the Understanding, the Tools, the Keys to find your way out of the difficult Confusions of Life and Connections, into Psychological Freedom and Peace – Simply - Effortlessly.
It is Time to make Psychological Freedom accessible to everyone.
ORIGINAL POST BELOW
THE WHITE TIGER IS BORN
“Every blow landed with a thud that echoed through my chest.” That was the first line of a book that I self-published 23 years ago. It was my catharsis after a lifetime of suffering rejection, intense psychological abuse, physical abuse, and covert and overt incest. At that time, it was not understood that this life experience was the best gift I could be given.
As a practicing psychiatrist, at the end of each initial evaluation, the client is asked to offer their feedback on the interaction. The most common response given is; “for the first time I feel heard.” You have been heard, and you have been understood, because your suffering is known to me.
The question that arises from this feedback is: “Why is this the very first time that the client has been heard?” Most clients who come for medication management have been navigating the psychological services industry for some span of time, short or long. Why then, after having engaged with the system specifically designed to address their need, is this the very first time the client felt that someone was actually listening to them? How is that even possible? Why is being heard such a rare occurrence?
Over a very long period of time, understanding of the human psyche has grown into this massive and ambiguous conglomeration of competing theories, way too many to count. This has precipitated a massive and ambiguous conglomeration of approaches to treating mental health issues, also way too many to count.
There is a sense that the discussion, and the problem solving, around the issues of mental health are dependent upon randomly controlled trials, peer reviewed journals, and the next theory or approach generated from the world of academia, leaving the entire topic inaccessible to the general population. The understanding of the simplicity of the human psyche, and the pure and easy accessibility of simple tools, that are literally life altering, is not on offer from the academic community. However - it is on offer here.
A white tiger is a very rare thing. A white tiger has a 1 in 10,000 chance of being born. It is uniquely beautiful and even, perhaps, a bit mysterious. It is very hard to find one in nature. Part of it’s intrigue is it’s rarity. It has powerful symbolic meaning in many cultures. It has powerful symbolic meaning here. As you read The White Tiger, you will grow to understand why it has been chosen as the title for this Post.
This written offering will share the wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of what drives human behavior, and what both wounds, and heals, the human psyche-communicated clearly and simply-accessible to all. Everyone is invited. No college degree required. Paying forward knowledge acquired and successful skills learned-highly recommended. You will be handed the keys to the process of healing your own psyche. You are invited to pass the keys on. You have been heard. We will be the White Tiger.
My name is Dr. Kathryn Spencer. I am a doctorate prepared Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. I did not choose the academic route, although I certainly could have. I graduated with the highest award offered by the University that I attended.
My struggle with academia was twofold. The first was the early recognition that in academia there is far more politics and power play than I have the capacity to navigate. Secondly, was the disconnect between the academic world and the one that the rest of us live in, as well as, the glacial speed with which research precipitates systemic change.
For these reasons, I chose a clinically based career. I chose to pay very close attention to, and learn from, my practice and my clients, then blend that with my life experience, and the information that I have gleaned through the years. I am a very thoughtful prescriber, utilizing problem solving skills, observing outcomes, learning what does and does not work, and modifying my practice accordingly. I listen, and I listen carefully, to each client. The content of The White Tiger is the cumulative result.
Because I am not published in this journal or that journal, my work will be considered anecdotal at best, and will be ignored by the psychiatric establishment. I have come to terms with that and I am okay with it. This work is not written for them. It is written for you and for everyone, who like me, has known the suffering precipitated by life experience, and the hardship from trying to navigate it. It is the offer of hope and true healing by deconstructing and simplifying human behavior, and providing actionable skills that work.
Two weeks to the day before writing this section, a client, with whom I was proposing potentially doing a podcast pertaining to her experience and outcome, made this statement; “I wish more people could spend time inside your head.” Wish granted. It is time.
THE HEART OF THE WHITE TIGER
Having been born into a furnace of human suffering, it is easy to understand how it came to be that my mission and my purpose on this planet is the amelioration of human suffering. Practicing psychiatry has opened the door to the types of opportunities my heart is seeking, namely, assisting those who are struggling to find their way to healing. It has also been a perfect learning opportunity for my own healing, as well as finding meaningful and effective pathways to both understanding and healing the human psyche.
In my clinical practice, I never just prescribe medication. Every encounter with a client is therapeutic and filled with the intention for their healing. Every encounter offers an opportunity to teach a client new skills and offer new direction.
The style of this approach or perhaps a description of it, was formed when speaking with the same client whose wish was granted above. We collaboratively called it Psychiatric Coaching. I am not quite ready to run with that as a career description, however it is helpful in describing my practice and the premise of this work.
What The White Tiger represents is everything that has been offered to clients apart from the medication itself. Medication just permits space in the mind to do the psychological work. If you are not on medication then you already have the space in your mind that is needed. The goal is to make the psychological work infinitely easier to traverse and navigate.
Sometimes, just having someone explain something to you in terms that can be easily understood, will create a sudden and profound illuminating effect-even a life altering A-ha! moment. The goal of The White Tiger is to create as many A-ha! moments as possible, for as many people as possible.
Part of feeling like you have not been heard is that no one has validated your experience and made it make sense. This is exactly the purpose of The White Tiger. Sometimes we just need to understand what drives our behavior and recognize that it is not based in will or intention, but is, in fact, a natural and normal reaction to our life experience. Sometimes an explanation is the only thing required to be able to move on. My inherent skill set is the ability to distill down information into an easily articulated and understandable form. It is the ability to put the pieces together and make them make sense.
WHAT THE WHITE TIGER WILL OFFER
This offering is neither a newsletter, nor a blog, nor a book. It is a little bit of all three. Offering my work in this form, and as a subscription, is a way for me to be able to expand my impact beyond the clinic walls, and will allow me to devote the time needed to create something truly unique in the psychiatric space.
Although the majority of the weekly posts will most likely be written, the intention is also to create podcasts and videos as well. The topic coverage will be diverse. Topics will include discussions around what drives human behavior, what wounds our psyche, what heals our psyche, what makes us tick, why do we make the choices that we make, how does understanding that enable us to make real and tangible different choices, informative discussions around psychiatric diagnoses and medications, substance use and addiction in the context of psychiatric diagnoses, skills training, nutrition for your brain’s neurochemistry, key communication skills, and more. Every discussion will be designed to answer the perturbing question, of -“Why?” Informational resources will be cited for anyone who wishes to explore a topic more deeply.
WHAT THE WHITE TIGER WILL NOT OFFER
For purposes of clarity, this work will be informative only, never prescriptive. Think Psychiatric Coaching. There will never be indictment of any current practices by any psychiatric practitioner or the current psychiatric care system. This work will only be positive and respectful. This is also not an offer of Psychiatric Coaching services to any individual or entity. The purpose of utilizing this phrasing is descriptive only.
Please note that this information is NOT intended for anyone with complex and chronic mental health issues or chronic severe addictions. It is intended for the average person navigating life and it’s inherent hardships. This is absolutely not an offer of psychiatric prescribing or diagnostic services, and any such request will be respectfully declined. This is a self contained means of sharing knowledge, wisdom, and information, and is in no way designed to expand my current psychiatric practice, or to offer consultation pertaining to anyone’s psychiatric care or treatment.
THE WHITE TIGER BEGINS
I am beyond excited with what this opportunity represents, and the possibilities for connection and healing. The fact that it is now possible to reach many more people with this kind of healing and helpful information is amazing. Subscribing to The White Tiger will offer you, and anyone that you refer, an opportunity to have many of your questions about your own mental health, and mental health in general, answered - and in a way that makes sense.
There are two things that we think about every day that we wake up, consciously, subconsciously or unconsciously, and they are food and our mental health. We always note how we feel as we slide into those first conscious moments coming out of sleep. Our mental health is the most important aspect of our lives, and tends to be the most undertreated, underattended, and even neglected aspect. We just keep pushing through, and the pain never goes away, and the problems are never solved. That is actually what we have been taught to do. Let’s change that. Let’s be the ones who do it differently. We will be The White Tiger. It is time.
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Link to access all of The White Tiger posts: https://substack.com/@thewhitetiger