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Greetings!
My name is Oraine and I have been joyfully guiding women to their authentic selves for close to 20 years. I have a myriad of interests that are all beautifully interconnected: counselling, collage, candlemaking, cooking, reading, plant healing and colour - lots of gorgeous colour.
I spend quite a bit of my time working with clients' images, resulting symbols and their imaginal world whether I am facilitating counselling work or other soul-directed inquiry. We use art, poetry, decks, history, iconography and more to hone a better sense of self in the world. There is much meaning to be derived from the unconscious if only we allow it.
Read on to learn a bit more about the academics and the meandering journey that got me to this Apotheca - this place of understanding that we are holding medicine within ourselves while appreciating the medicine to be found in the world.
The Formalities
I obtained my Bachelor's of Arts in Psychology at St. Francis College, NY (2004) and my Master's in Counseling Psychology at Lehigh University in PA, USA (2007). I have certifications in trauma, EMDR, narrative therapy, Bach flower essences and aromatherapy. You can learn more here about my formal education and my counselling work.
The past 14 years I have spent working in private practice with women who have experienced sexual and reproductive trauma. I have specialized training in shame, dream work, shadow guidance and I hold a certificate in fairytale analysis. Digging deep with clients has allowed me to help them face and integrate the parts of themselves that they have hidden from the world - but also from their own selves. This work is deeply imaginal, wholly creative and brings joy as it does relief.
My Story
How we got here
I was introduced to the work of Joseph Campbell at the age of 13. A grainy bit of footage on television some random day six years after his death, entertained me to no end. He told the story of the ancient Egyptian gods Isis and Osiris and his storytelling was mesmerizing. I already had a deep interest in mythology, but something about the way he told this particular myth simply stuck.
While in secondary school, a classmate gifted me a copy of Guy Cadogan Rothery's The Amazons, for my 18th birthday - so well-known was my interest in history, mythology and literature by that point!
Zia - thank you for that - wherever you are today. I still have that book and still use it for reference.
I had the uncommon opportunity to learn about Carl G. Jung while at St. Francis College. My German honors professor guided us through a number of works, and of course, the famous Memories, Dreams and Reflections. At 22, I was both smitten and hooked. Synchronicity, of course! This led to a 61-page honors thesis entitled "Death, Judgement & the Afterlife: A Comparison Between Ancient Egypt and Medieval Europe" - partially sparked by a visit to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Arts' The Cloisters and a viewing of their permanent installation of The Hunt of the Unicorn (commonly known as The Unicorn Tapestries). My thesis won an award. I'm proud of this work as it features rare images of the ars moriendi woodblocks from the 15th century.
Almost twenty years later, with continued work in psychology, spirituality and practical applications, Jung is still with me - showing up in my work daily: the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, dreamwork, imaginal therapies, archetypal work and even in some of the language I use. Much of my work is Jung-birthed and depth-oriented.