Season 2 Episode 4 | Dan L Edmunds | Radical Compassion

FEATURED GUESTS: Dr. Dan L. Edmunds was born in Tampa, Florida initially living in the Baycrest Park area of Tampa. He began elementary school at North Shore Elementary in St. Petersburg. In 2nd grade he was tested and determined to be in the gifted range. At the age of 8 he relocated with his family to Fort Collins, Colorado where his grandmother, an entrepreneur, and her husband, a bank President resided. While attending Barton Elementary School he was found to have a speech impediment and motor skills concerns requiring speech and occupational therapy. He developed an interest in religions and cultures from the age of 14 and began visiting various communities, a special interest he still maintains and from which he can now recite scriptures and verses in Latin, Greek, Slavonic, Punjabi, Hindi, Arabic, and Hebrew.

At the age of 16 he became the youngest legislative intern in the State of Colorado and later served on staff of various political campaigns. He graduated in 1993 from Fort Collins High School. He completed undergraduate studies at the University of Florida in 1997 with a major in Religion, minor in Sociology. He completed a Master of Arts in Theology in 1999 from the University of Scranton and while there published in the Diakonia Journal for Eastern Christian Studies. He served as an intern for a trauma center in 1999 and in 2000 entered the field as a mental health professional. In 2000 he completed post graduate work in Dispute Resolution at Nova Southeastern University.

He developed a radio program from 2000 to 2001 to advocate for drug free approaches for children with behavioral and emotional disturbances. In 2003 he began collaborating with Dr. Robert Millburne in regards to relational approaches to autism. Dr. Millburne once told Dr. Edmunds he was an Aspie with peaks and valleys. Dr. Edmunds received a Doctorate of Education in Pastoral Community Counseling from Argosy University of Sarasota in 2006. He later began work with those labeled as schizophrenic forming a supportive community free from force or coercion to work from breakdown to breakthrough. One of his late mentors was psychiatrist and Psychoanalyst, Dr Clancy McKenzie. Dr. Edmunds has lectured at various colleges and universities and at professional conferences including National Association of Social Workers, Society for Humanistic Psychology, Alternative Education Resources Organization, and Center for the Study of Psychology and Psychiatry.

Dr. Edmunds has contributed to Psychology Today, Chronogram, Autism File Magazine, Autism World, Autism Parenting, Catholic Stand, Mad in America, Psychology Tomorrow. Dr. Edmunds has presented on Philadelphia CNN Affiliate, Shrink Rap Radio, Autism Radio, Relevant Radio, and various local radio programs across the US. Dr. Edmunds is the author of Meeting of Two Persons, Comprehensive Drug Free Approach to ADHD, Metanoia, Mystical Metaphors, Being Autistic, Cosmic Dance, Sacred Space and Voices in the Wilderness, Sutra on Despair and Overcoming, Absurdity and the Courage to Be, Bhakti, and Voices Within. Dr. Edmunds is a member of the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia, Honorary Member of the Dominica Psychological Society, Associate Member of the New York Institute for Gestalt Therapy, and a member of the International Society for the Science of Existential Psychology. Dr. Edmunds is Board Certified in Sexual Abuse Trauma Issues and Forensic Traumatology. He is an adjunct faculty member for an Interfaith seminary and an advisor to KOSHISH Nepal, a mental health advocacy organization.

LISTEN & LEARN: 

• Spirituality as one worldview for making meaning in one's life and how to engage clients around this topic in therapy. 
• How Dr. Edmunds has transformed his interest and passion for learning about various cultural and spiritual practices has become an asset to his practice. 
• Dr. Edmunds three principles he abides by when working with individuals with autism. 
• Treatment isn't about what we do, it is about how we interact with our clients. 
• How Dr. Edmunds defines the phrase "extreme states of mind".
• The role of radical compassion as a means of joining with our clients and how it can lead to greater understanding. 
• Dr. Edmunds offers an etymological definition of schizophrenia: to be broken hearted. 
• Dr. Edmunds concept of the two-trauma mechanism and presentation of psychoses. 

RESOURCES MENTIONED ON THE SHOW:
https://selfgrowth.com/experts/dan-l-edmunds-edd 
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/extreme-states-mind
https://the-art-of-autism.com/the-road-to-autistic-empowerment/
https://psychologytomorrowmagazine.com/dan-l-edmunds-ed-d-journey-madness/