Andrea S. Gould, Ph.D.
Dr. Andrea Gould is a psychologist, seminar leader and community organizer. She maintains both a public practice as President of Lucid Learning Systems, Inc., a Long Island based human resource company,an innovative private practice in Long Island, New York and a transformational coaching and consulting practice in Tucson, Arizona.
Currently, Dr. Gould is in the process of creating a multi-media curriculum project, “Enlightened Information for Transformation,™” for training facilitators in “Facing and Embracing Personal/Social Change.” This synthesis of research and writing on the subject of change from the micro level of the individual psyche as its own universe, to the effect of each individual upon the collective whole, is intended to provide sophisticated leadership training to establish effective learning communities that focus on solutions to the “global problematique.”
Andrea is passionate about teaching others to be sensitive to the great need for navigating the ever increasing pace of change and its effect upon all aspects of life. Her current focus takes the form of training groups of community leaders in the psychology of change,; its potential for individual growth and being of service to what the world needs now.
Her management of the “Intergenerational Mentoring Matrix™” is a social innovation that brings the art of encouragement to a new level of expertise and has a mission of matching lifelong learners with hand picked mentors; Motto -“When the student is ready, the teacher appears!”
Andrea is has served on the Board of Directors for Syosset Counseling Center, and Miriam’s Well Conference Center in Saugerties and still serves on the Programming Committee of the latter. She is a consultant and advisor for broadcast and media efforts with psychological orientations, her specialty.
Dr. Gould helps her clients to transform their lives and redefine themselves within the greater context of humanity.
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Dr. Gould’s philosophy:
Human beings have an emotional reaction to change. That reaction is rooted in our genetics; in our species-specific behavior; in our evolution that includes our ancestry, our families of origin, our relationship experiences – familial and peer – as well as the social context of our life.
The complexity of our “change reactions” creates the dimensions that surround everything we do and the quality of what we feel and how we feel it. It is a journey of mindful discovery.
How do I begin this journey of discovery? I ask myself, “Who is the individual before me? How did they get here and why have they chosen me as guide and witness?”
My work begins when you, the individual, enters and I become an empty vessel – waiting and receptive to your needs. Regardless of where I may be at the beginning of a session, I instantly come into presence/rapport with the person before me – physically, mentally and emotionally.
You tell me your story and I do not interrupt. I ask questions if there are pauses or if I think you are at a point where assistance is needed – much as a teammate might assist a ball over a net. You let me know whether you are in agreement with my assist or interpretation and I take your lead. It is all information, informing me of the state of YOU, the person before me.
My mental screen is not unlike the old game of concentration. The details you share are the items placed on the table. I am the observer, seeing patterns and taking note of things that appear to match. As the scientist I create hypotheses about the conditions which may have given rise to the current state of affairs— your existential dilemma.
The implicit contract between us deals with this aspect – your effectiveness – and is dedicated to your well-being; your wholeness. Our therapeutic partnership – our alliance, if you like – is about your desire to move on; to relieve the pain; to change or address something; to achieve some kind of forward movement in your life.
What characterizes this first part of the process is the listening. It’s very much like examining grains of sand and beginning to get a sense of the ultimate vision – for the complete gestalt of who you are. It is a combination of your temperament, your essence, your desire and the places you resist or are ready to learn and grow. It includes the ways you interrupt or discount yourself; the revelations of your uniqueness and the obligatory blind-spots that impede or ease your progress.
The feeling that I have is of bearing witness; of flying over the territory that is your life. My goal is to obtain an overview that pays special attention to your physicality, your language, your archetypal complexity–the living metaphor that is your life up until this point.
As social beings, our lives assume meaning in the context of family, of school, workplace, and ultimately community. Some of the strongest forces that shape us, occur in groups, positive or negative. Therefore, our most conscious growth is also afforded in the company of others. With this in mind, I have added groupwork as an important component of my work with individuals. My salons, seminars and workshops all function with a protocol I’ve come to call “The Circle Dynamic.” Most of my clients choose this adjunct to our work at one point or another in our therapeutic journey. I believe strongly:
“The power of an educated, communicative, sophisticated, enlightened group identifies and enhances the energy of the individual, mirroring, multiplying and returning their power back to them in infinitely more usable forms.”
As an innovative educator and psychotherapist, I monitor the forces that shape our lives so that I might assist people in capitalizing on opportunity and bridging the transitions. It has become clear that the challenges we face today are unlike anything we have seen before. Our need for new tools is terribly real. The time for Lucid Learning – for an enlightened exchange that produces clarity, invites innovation and enables necessary change – is now!
