About
I'm as much a counselor as a teacher, and that's mostly what I do today. Overall I really enjoy helping people find themselves, and grow, philosophically and spiritually. (That happens in everyday life, such as when you clear up a communication issues or, or when your depression lifts a bit due to personal insight). That could happen in a number of ways--through counseling for anxiety issues or whatever, meditation instruction to destress or stay calmer, nonduality discussion (if your interest is profound nonreligious spirituality, dreamwork if the person does have disturbing dreams and is curious about them--sometimes that's the most powerful method--OR learning through one of the courses or lectures I do.
It all relates to personal growth in some way. (Buddhist philosophy, for example, really gets some people going.) For qualifications, testimonials, links to youtubes, etc. see my website at davidlowmsphd.com. You work with me, you'll be dealing with someone who can communicate the energy, enthusiasm, and confidence you'll need to be less anxious, depressed or fearful, be more motivated to lose weight, ber able to communicate better with the people in your life, or understand yourself better overall--whatever the case may be.
The best thing is being with people as they're having insights, or getting better in one way or another--because I feel it too!
Whether it's a family-related understanding leading to less depression, less fear of a specific thing, not having used or engaged in a destructive substance or behavior, feeling better because or a dietary or health adjustment, understand what a dream was trying to tell them, or over overcoming some anxiety-related issue like panic attacks or whatever--it's at those times that what I do becomes really rewarding.
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Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
Aside from CBT-related counseling (anxiety, depression, etc.), the specific things I specialize in would be dreamwork, what I call Mindful Recovery, and what I call Customized Meditation (see website for details). And if someone's interested in spiritually-related philosophy, etc. I love that most of all.
For any of those things, it's necessary of course to get to know the person, which means a first session will be both informal and formal. I'll gather basic information, get familiar with the client's background, answer questions (if any) about myself and qualifications etc, do evaluations for common problems as appropriate, formulate a treatment plan with the client and make some initial progress as time allows.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
A BS degree (with lots of anthropology), a MS in Community Counseling (with more anthropology), a PhD in Religious Studies (focus on psychology of religion), ten years of college teaching experience, seven years of mostly-substance-abuse agency counseling experience (usually also involving anxiety, depression, communication issues, etc.), 3 years of private practice involving general issues (anxiety, etc.) and dreamwork, 27 years of a strong marriage (I'm good with basic couples therapy), 38 years of dream trackin g, and 6 years of formal spiritual seeking, which involved living in communities and pilgrimmages abroad. (67 years of life so far!!)
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
Except for the meditation, all individual tutoring for the topics I teach would be $60/hour; $40/half hour would be the smallest unit of service.
When it comes to price, you’ll see that my website offers essentially three choices for meditation. The $10 promo call is 15 minutes and basically uses a general method that works for lot of people initially.
$90 --this is the one I suggest--will get you a one-hour session with (1) a method customized for you, (2) a lead-in to your meditation, (3) after your experience, post-meditation troubleshooting if you have questions about the process (including a technique modification if necessary), and (4) an overview of important philosophical issues relating to meditation, which I think are important to ponder by way of motivation for your practice as you go along.
And $250 will get you the attunement package as described.
How did you get started teaching?
I started teaching adult noncredit courses in philosophy in 1981 while working as a technical writer for a computer company in Altanta, GA. My first college teaching happened at Temple University as a graduate student in '96.
What types of students have you worked with?
College students and adults... I like the adults more!
Describe a recent event you are fond of.
The other day, a client really got how her dream was telling her to accept her daugher's choice of husband, and her own strained relationship with this son-in-law, as her karma, and not as her fault. She almost came to tears. Another recently cried for a half-hour as a result of understandings connected with doing his first meditation--on his own!--after I taught him the technique. Also, I'd have to say seeing two people rediscover how they really do love and respect each other, once you get them communicating again.
Plus, I've seen lots of CBT situations, etc. which are less dramatic but just as meaningful to clients.
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
In spirituality, an older person with lots of perspective is a must. If he or she thinks that one path or tradition is better than all the others, stay away from that person!
What questions should students think through before talking to teachers about their needs?
Understand what you want as best you can. Ask as many practical, rubber-meets-the-road questions as you do ideal, theoretical questions.