HILDEGARD VON BINGEN

Please go to my new media site Danae Ashley for all the information about my book on Hildegard and psychotherapy called My Sap is Rising, as well as upcoming events for the book, how to purchase the book, and other things Hildegard related.

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The Ministry of Presence: Holistic Healing in Mental Health through the Twelfth Century Practices of Hildegard von Bingen

 

Précis: The healing work of twelfth century German Benedictine abbess Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) was one of presence through observation, spirituality, communal participation, and medical knowledge of her time. This project explores how Hildegard’s medieval holism—examining all of a person’s life for healing—can be applied to modern day healing in mental health. The particular lens of Austrian psychotherapist Alfred Adler’s (1870-1937) holism in Individual Psychology will offer a useful comparison to Hildegard’s practices. I will conclude with the exploration of the function of the therapist’s presence leading to healing through the modern therapeutic relationship.