Finding Meaning in Depression
This video is a 2 hour presentation on how to understand depression from an integrated mental, physiological and spiritual point of view. This presentation was given at a clergy-psychiatrist conference at United Hospital in St. Paul in 1996. Traditional psychiatry tends to look on depression as primarily a chemical imbalance in the brain and therefore emphasizes medication and drug treatment. Such an approach reduces mental health to brain chemistry. In this video, however, depression is looked upon as a MEANINGFUL symptom, trying to tell us something about the depressed personīs mental, physical and spiritual health that we have overlooked.
Unless we understand how these three levels interact and how each one of them contributes to the depression we cannot treat this problem successfully. If we donīt treat the whole person......the whole person wonīt be treated! Consequently, relapse or worse problems later on are inevitable.
The presentation discusses why it makes sense to look for alternative drug-free approaches on the physiological level, that are natural and healthy. It also discusses the psychological dynamics within the depressed individual, and between the depressed individual and his/her surroundings, that makes it clear that the depressed person is more a symptom of a depressed family dynamic than an isolated , "sick" clinical case. Hence marital or family counseling is often indicated to facilitate the healing of the psychological aspect of depression. And finally, the presentation discusses how inconsistencies or simply lack of clarity in a personīs spiritual belief system can contribute greatly to the depression. The Christian faith is seen as a most insightful and powerful frame of reference when it comes to understanding and effectively healing the spiritual dynamics of the depressed person.
Many people who have seen this tape have felt greatly helped by it. One pastorīs wife who had struggled with depression for quite awhile said after seeing it, "I was crying through most of the tape because everything Dr. Damgaard-Hansen said made so much sense. I saw the whole problem in a new light, and I understood that I was not a sick or crazy person for feeling the way I felt. I felt treated like a human person and not as a clinical case. It was such a relief. Why donīt more professionals talk like Dr. Damgaard-Hansen?
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The Power of Reconciliation
This talk was given at a healing mass with Father Faricy and is a must for anybody who wants to do some serious soul search and improve their
relationships with loved ones. The subject is approached from a combined psychological and spiritual perspective. Here Dr. Damgaard-Hansen offers some thought-provoking insights based on his professional experience from over 26 years in the field of working with families, couples, groups and individuals. With a unique combination of a heartfelt gentleness and a compelling directness, Dr. Damgaard-Hansen helps us look at how much and in what way we ourselves play a critical part in the friction or conflicts we easily run into in our relationships with our loved ones, spouse, children, inlaws, friends, etc.
We tend to so easily overlook "the log" in our own eye, while we focus on "the splinter" in the others eye. However, once understanding our own part clearly and in the right spirit, we are not only relieved but greatly empowered to break the vicious circles we find ourselves trapped in. One of the many topics discussed is the ever relevant problem of anger, and how to overcome it.
The psychotherapeutic power of repentance and forgiveness is explored, and it becomes clear how Jesus Christ provides the ultimate life giving source of true mental health and authentic peace in relationships.
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