Endorsement by Terry Real

Mary Raymakers first came to our attention as a workshop participant herself. She felt deeply inspired by our work and began professional training with us for her own development, even though she is not a mental health professional. In the past, other non mental health professionals - doctors, lawyers, business consultants - have trained with us for their own edification. On their own, other RLI trainees began asking Mary to work on them and their reports were so remarkable that in the fall of 2007 we asked Mary to offer her services as part of the Institute.  Since then, dozens of people have worked with her, and thus far, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

We make no claim to understand why Mary Raymakers’ work seems to move people so deeply--certainly Relational Life Therapy has no particular alignment with the beliefs of an indigenous spiritual healer. We do take note, however, that many therapeutic techniques are employed without fully understanding how they work.  E.M.D.R. for trauma is an example, as is E.C.T. (“shock therapy”) for depression. If you'd asked me a year ago if I was planning on adding the work of a traditional shaman to our offerings I would have laughed. But not only am I pleased to offer this, I feel inspired to offer other helpful experiences to support those who wish to participate in the daily practice of living relationally. We welcome your feedback.

All the Best,
Terry Real