On KYMERA
According to Greek mythology, the Chimera (Kymera) was a monstrous, feminine fire-breathing hybrid creature composed of different animal parts - usually as a lion, with the head of a goat and a tail ending with a snake's head. This symbolism is one that metaphorically captures the concept of multiplicity, duality and dichotomy: light and dark, good and evil, happiness and sadness, stillness and chaos, self-compassion and self-loathing. The world (as are people), is composed of simultaneous existing truths; of polarities. It is in the synthesis, or pursuit of synthesis where these conflicting tensions are resolved, this idea borrowed from dialectic philosophy.
In dissociation, my particular area of interest, the concept of polarities applies- most pronounced (although not always) in the presentation of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) . DID is defined by the American Psychiatric Association's DSM-5-TR as a "disruption of identity characterized by two or more distinct personality states...[with] marked discontinuity in sense of self and sense of agency," accompanied by related alterations in domains of experience (i.e. memory, cognition, perception, behaviour, etc.). It is understood that people with this disorder do not have more than one personality but rather less than one personality (APA); resembling the Kymera who embodies the concept that many parts are collectively necessary to complete the whole.
Although DID is the prototypical representation of multiplicity that frames my existential approach to therapy, this concept applies to all individuals, with or without a diagnosis since all people are complex with internal conflicts of all varieties, equally in need of resolution. It is from this foundation of multiplicity, duality and dichotomy in which the Kymera was chosen as a fitting representation whereby incompatibles are compatible, and synthesis and integration are possible.
And so it is that my philosophy to therapy or more appropriately, to life itself, is not aimed to deny or reject, nor is it to destroy or eliminate those distasteful aspects that reside within us. Rather, therapy is about our ability and responsibility to identify, acknowledge and tame them. Even what may be considered hideous or unwanted (as manifested in the forms of personal qualities, memories, events and experiences) are entities of our experience, deserving of respect in their own right. Maladaptive or otherwise, these elements have influenced our identity to some degree and constitute an integral part of the whole of the human experience. In this way, they may serve to ignite, propel, enhance or intensify the process of becoming the authentic individual that each person is. By consolidating these aspects into the totality of one's unique story also lends to the realization of everyone's right to live a profoundly meaningful life.
It is my belief (albeit, not unique) that solitude can only be adequately captured against the backdrop of upheaval, and beauty against the backdrop of disgust. To this extent in which polarities serve to illuminate its opposite, suffering is then a necessary ingredient, as is pleasure of pain. My interest in walking alongside others is to support them in negotiating and integrating the collective, yet highly personal experiences of suffering and happiness, and everything in between. In doing so, perhaps others may come to realize their full and unique personhood by navigating the terrain of life towards an extra-ordinary existence, and away from an imprisonment of inauthenticity (i.e. the inhibition of one's authentic and whole self).
My hope for you-should therapy be our joint endeavor, is that self-discovery, awareness, authenticity and healing join you as either new, or long-lost companions. My belief is in the necessity of the human endeavor to possess meaning as a constant and unharnessed source of strength. Meaning is of the essence, a fundamental imperative for a life to be lived intentionally, respectfully and completely.
