Neurodivergent, LGBTQIA+, and indigenous inclusive

The purpose of The Odyssey Approach is to help others achieve their quality-of-life goals in a new way, and to reach individuals who do not resonate with current mental and behavioral health services. This therapy model is designed as an overall lifestyle that emphasizes one’s choice to live as their desired Self. The design of The Odyssey Approach was originally intended for the care of indigenous cultures, specifically influenced by the Mahi a Atua approach to well-being, which is centered on Māori culture.

As influenced by Mahi a Atua, the deep work of The Odyssey Approach involves reviewing one’s past through Storytelling to identify one’s Core Design, or central narrative at the root of their cognitive distortions, which is used to inform their future. This experience can be difficult for many, which is why the use of Māori creation stories, Hindu lore, and other powerful tales are used to assist in self-reflection through relation. At times, following another’s story can facilitate introspection by allowing the mind to take a stroll away from the Self, gaining enough distance to look back and see something it was too close to see before.

The Odyssey Approach prioritizes human connection through the therapeutic alliance and emphasizes the imagination by assisting the Voyager in idealizing and envisioning their life as a glorious adventure. To encourage this active engagement with life and the Self, the Voyager is given custom curated materials to assist them on their personal odyssey into wellness.

Such materials include a personalized Star Constellation developed from a battery of evidence-based assessments in personality, love language, and attachment style, a Compass to represent the core tenants of the Voyager’s driving narrative, and a Map to illustrate the complexity of their life journey. The Star Constellation is a symbol tied to the Voyager’s Constellation, or case conceptualization, which is of the most important piece to the start of the Voyager-Guide relationship.

Purpose

Structure

The Odyssey Approach consists of two pillars: prioritizing human connection and utilizing imagination. Grounded in psychodynamic, humanistic, and cognitive-behavioral theories, this care model draws on Storytelling as the unifying thread connecting these pillars since it seamlessly blends human connection and imagination.

Map

The Map is a visual representation of the Voyager’s life domains in the form of islands: social, health, trade, and spirit. Simplicity of these life domain categories is intended to be inclusive and allow the Voyager to apply their unique perspective to how they function.

The Map may change over time for the Voyager such that each time they look at it, they may notice new features and assigns those features to something important to them. It’s important to note the light and dark Map will always coexist, just as the Astral and Veiled Self will always coexist. The Map is not right versus wrong. The Map is cyclical struggling driven by the harrowings of one’s past versus active goal seeking for one’s future.

Self

Belief about the Self is layered and fluctuating, which is why defining the layers in broad terms is helpful in long-term utilization. In The Odyssey Approach, these layers are categorized as the Astral Self and Veiled Self, which coexist within the Self. The Leading Self is the present, active, conscious layer of the current Self.

The Astral Self refers to the Self that exists on the light Map, the “goal” Self of the individual. The Veiled Self refers to the Self that exists on the dark Map, the “struggling” Self of the individual. The Leading Self refers to the Self that is currently active for the individual (Astral or Veiled).

The Self is made up of the Astral and Veiled Self because they both are informative to the Self. It is a strength to bring awareness to the Veiled Self, accept the Veiled Self, and choose the Astral Self that helps the Voyager grow. Trying to rid of the Veiled Self or suppress it is an act of self-rejection. By acknowledging the Veiled Self, the Voyager is engaging in mindfulness, self-acceptance, and self-compassion which makes room for the Astral Self.

Constellation

Within the first session, the Guide conducts a clinical interview, collecting information about each aspect of the Voyager’s life including the current and historical influences of biological, psychological, and social elements. This clinical interview should be extensive to the Voyager’s whole life, including influences of culture, spirituality, socio-economic status, and context of support and traumas in their life. Collecting the dynamics of the Voyager’s life is crucial to the formation of the case conceptualization, and ultimately the Core Design.

The case conceptualization is represented in the curated Star Constellation, which is a visualization of data. The Star Constellation results from a careful blend of assessments targeting the Voyager’s personality, attachment style, and love language.

Compass

The Compass starts from the Voyager’s Core Design, which is the underlying need or unconscious core schema that drives the Voyager’s cognitions and behaviors.

North

A Voyager’s North is a reactionary Need that stems from their Core Design. On the light Map this is an adaptive Need and on the dark Map this is a maladaptive Need. The Voyager experiences a drive to fulfill a Need, which leads them to their East.

East

The Voyager refers to their East for Evidence to support their Need. The Voyager may seek out new Evidence or refer to previously collected Evidence to fulfill the Need. This cognitive-behavioral engagement is a compulsion to balance the mind and correct dissonance. Evidence on the dark Map supports the maladaptive Need and Evidence on the light Map supports the adaptive Need.

South

A Voyager’s South refers to their Strengths, which remains constant across Maps. Strengths consist of positive personal facts that exist beyond context. When referenced on the dark Map, Strengths prevent spiraling thoughts by grounding the Voyager to their Self. When referenced on the light Map, Strengths pair positive Evidence and active engagement with their adaptive Need to their Self. In other words, referencing Strengths on the dark Map prevents further maladaptive engagement of the Self and referencing Strengths on the light Map enhances adaptive engagement of the Self.

West

A Voyager’s West refers to Why their Need was activated. By bringing awareness to the antecedent of the cognitive-behavioral cycle, the Voyager can make a choice to travel on their light Map and engage with life as their Astral Self. The West point also brings awareness to communication, boundary, and somatic obstacles that the Voyager may struggle with in addition to their cognitive-behavioral cycle.

Storytelling

Storytelling has a powerful influence on increasing self-esteem and the therapeutic relationship, which is why it is essential The Odyssey Approach. As previously mentioned, Mahi a Atua serves as strong influence for the interventions of The Odyssey Approach since individuals benefit from engaging in therapeutic Storytelling of myths, legends, and tales. This experience helps in processing one’s events, reactions, and emotions, and provides motivation for new behaviors. Therapeutic storytelling, or Storytelling, is a transformative experience inviting Voyagers to bring their own meaning and significance to the narrative.

Storytelling consists of well-constructed metaphoric narratives that capture the listener’s attention, inspire imagination, and propose new considerations of situations. The story’s message is disguised by imagery, which presents the opportunity for a less threatening exchange between Guide and Voyager than if the Guide were to directly advise the Voyager. It is crucial for the Voyager to experience the realizations on their own through self-determination because it fosters the freedom to choose one’s own process of change and in one’s own time. In other words, the Voyager assigns the meaning of the narrative as it relates to their journey in a way that grants them autonomy and empowerment.

The Odyssey Approach focuses on Māori creation stories, Hindu lore, and other strange tales to share in the early developments of human storytelling and highlight concepts and contexts as normative to the human experience. For instance, in Hindu lore, there are numerous queer stories of pregnant kings, women who become men, and men who become women which illustrates the power and fluidity of male and female sexuality and identity. Take the Māori narrative of how Heaven and Earth were separated from each other by their own kin, which ruminates in the complexity of love and life.

It’s encouraged that Guides read these stories and retell them to their Voyagers as they apply to the Voyager’s experiences without explaining the direct connection. The nature of the Guide-Voyager relationship should be based on an exchange of experience, learning, and wisdom. Guides should encourage their Voyagers to read and reread stories from their own autobiographical story or from a favorite book of their past. In these exercises of rereading, the Voyager is invited to dissect elements from the narrative. By combing through the content in search for meaning, the Voyager may acquire a new perspective of the message and identify themes that relate to their recent stories or life events. From Storytelling, the subsequent reflection process breeds trust and connection in the therapeutic relationship.

Integration

For more information on these services, please contact us

The Odyssey Approach is exclusive to Dr. Madeline Kay and The October Hour, PLLC