Welcome to our latest blog post on MysticMag, where we delve into the inspiring journey of DeeAnna Merz Nagel, a pioneer in blending traditional psychotherapy with holistic practices.
DeeAnna’s approach is deeply rooted in her personal experiences with childhood trauma and her profound interest in holistic modalities, prompting her to integrate psychotherapy with aromatherapy and spiritual direction. Her academic journey shifted from pastoral counseling to earning a doctorate in multi-faith spiritual direction, deepening her understanding of the intertwining of psychological and spiritual healing.
Today, DeeAnna’s innovative methods not only transform her clients’ lives but also challenge and redefine the traditional boundaries of mental health care.
What inspired you to blend traditional psychotherapy with holistic practices like aromatherapy and spiritual direction?
I have always been interested in holistic practices and dabbled in complementary and alternative approaches to medicine (CAM) for years as a young adult. I also experienced my own therapy to resolve childhood trauma issues.
From that, I felt drawn to the healing arts, and particularly to become a psychotherapist myself. When I was facing a choice of grad schools, I was headed to seminary to gain a degree in pastoral counseling but my journey took a turn, and I was offered a scholarship at the University of Georgia to study rehabilitation counseling and became licensed.
Decades later, after being introduced to many more healing arts disciplines such as Reiki and aromatherapy, I decided to go back to school for my doctorate and I studied multi-faith spiritual direction. While this seems a stretch, there are many tenets of spiritual direction that match the tenets of psychotherapy.
My final doctoral project included the development of a spiritual coaching course, further defining the differences and overlaps in the various disciplines. My current interests include the integration of metaphysical and psychospiritual approaches across the healing, coaching, and counseling fields.
How do you ensure your courses meet the continuing education requirements for mental health professionals?
All of my courses are approved through NAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals. The approval process is stringent. While NAADAC’s focus is addiction, they approve courses that meet the criteria for others in the helping professions. Many states accept NAADAC-approved hours for licensed mental health continuing education
My clinical supervision courses are also approved by the Center for Credentialing and Education (CCE), an affiliate of the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC). Again, CCE’s approval process if very stringent and follows or exceeds industry standards.
Can you share the core principles behind your Intuitive Wellness Coach Practitioner course?
I developed the Intuitive Wellness Coach Practitioner course years ago when I realized there are so many gifted and talented healers and intuitives who truly want to help others but have no frame within the helping professions. I set out to provide students with an ethical framework and include skills such as active listening, and powerful questioning.
I felt it important to teach people how to discern what their gifts bring to helping relationships. Psychic abilities, clairvoyance, and mediumship are powerful tools that can help guide another person to wholeness but knowing what, when, and how to share is important.
I also believe in the mind, body, and spirit trinity. Wellness is achieved when we attend to the whole person and not just the parts. This includes learning the chakra system and body systems, understanding mindful and intuitive eating, and expanding healing with psychospiritual and metaphysical tools.
How do your personal experiences and professional background influence your teaching and coaching methods?
As stated, I have been the client. In the helping professions, we often say, “Don’t ask your client to experience something you have not experienced yourself.” I am clear about what worked for me and what didn’t.
I was blessed to have true healers along my path and those healers were great mentors as well. From suggested books to specific interventions, I grew with every new experience. That became the embodiment of my own work with others. The core components of my teaching style include compassion, collaboration, humility (including cultural humility), and spiritual literacy.
What challenges have you faced in integrating holistic practices into more traditional mental health paradigms?
I often say that the reason I went to grad school was to justify my intuition- that “knowing” I would have around certain people and places. My claircognizance was always strong. But I also felt I couldn’t just hang a shingle out and call myself an Intuitive. So I became a licensed psychotherapist. But my hunches and intuition always led my work, even when conducting forensic evaluations for the courts. Of course, the judge didn’t want to hear my hunch so I always used valid and reliable assessment tools that were statistically sound. And those tools backed up my intuition every time.
At some point, 15 years into my career, I yearned to go deeper and wider. I was called to learn Reiki, and I was introduced to essential oils. And from there, my trajectory changed. I was warned that I was committing professional suicide- that I couldn’t step out of the pathology sandbox or abandon the medical model. I would be an outright charlatan. But I also have strong ethical sensibilities and I understand the scope of practice. And that is a strong suit in my training.
Most recently, I co-authored an oracle deck, guidebook, and workbook, Essential Soul Care ®, offering psychospiritual and metaphysical components of self-care. The accompanying course teaches coaches, healers, and therapists how to ethically introduce these protocols into their practice.
Ultimately, I believe in guiding the person, not fixing the problem. Helping someone learn to listen to their own inner voice and gain ego strength and self-trust is a wonderful calling and a beautiful way to be of service.
Find out more at: www.deeannamerznagel.com
