What is CATHARSIS?
CATHARSIS Nashville is a (future) endowment-based, nonprofit, holistic healing center and café that holds the potential to help transform the face of mental health care.
It combines elements of other spaces and entities, but in a whole new way:
An endowment-secured nonprofit like a university,
with healing professionals like a clinic,
an aesthetic like a retreat center,
and a replication model like a church.
The name CATHARSIS is an acronym that contains a vision statement: Clients And Therapist-Healers Activating Relational Synergy In Sanctuary.
Each word is significant to the whole.
The first word is Clients, as they are the most important priority–their wellbeing, safety, comfort, and wholeness, including financial.
( And )
The Therapist-Healers on staff will include psychotherapists from differing traditions, a bodyworker to provide massage and Reiki, a trained pastoral (spiritual) caregiver, and a medicine prescriber. Having these two words together also highlights that they actually mean the same thing; therapist = healer (and psychotherapist = soul healer).
Activating implies that we are all created with great self-healing potential, but especially for HSPs (Highly Sensitive Persons), an optimal environment is key for its activation. The environment includes both the physical space and the people in it.
Relational is significant because numerous studies show that the most important healing “ingredient” in therapy is the quality of the relationship between the client and therapist.
Synergy means that the sum is greater than the parts. The healing power of CATHARSIS will result from the energetic combination of people, place, beauty, expertise, creativity, spirituality, and consciousness. The team treatment approach is also vital, as our health (or lack thereof) involves our bodies, minds, emotions, spirits, relationships, and community, and having different types of healers helps locate the best modalities for each person.
( In )
Sanctuary involves a safe, calm, spiritually grounded respite from “normal” life and culture. There will also be a literal sanctuary in the center of the center, i.e. the multi-faith chapel.