I live in Ireland. I have been a student of the Diamond Approach since 2000 and a teacher since 2024. What I really like about the Diamond Approach is how psychological and spiritual understandings of the person are united. As a child I had a simple but deep catholic faith and as a young man I was deeply influenced by Liberation Theology as taught by Irish missionaries returning from Latin America, especially ‘god’s preferential option for the poor’.
After ten years of teaching, I settled to work in the field of addiction treatment as a psychotherapist and clinical leader and have witnessed the spirituality of the 12 Step Programme bring contented sobriety to hundreds of addicted people.
But it was the Diamond Approach that opened up my ordinary everyday experience to reveal the layers of structures laid down in the development of my personality. The precision of this knowledge was thrilling. How this understanding allowed emergence of essential aspects into consciousness was beautiful. Through the practice of inquiry, I discovered that the immediate moment contained all the potential of Reality and this is mind blowing.
That I can play a part in introducing others to Diamond Approach and the freedom and happiness it can bring excites me.
I have learned that there is a True Nature that is accessible to me. That this is present in the present moment and the obstacles to realising this can be known, understood and dissolved. When I practice the discipline of inquiry I can be with my everyday experience with curiosity about what is unknown to me, with compassion for the holes and wounds that have accumulated in my life, with a steadfast will and a courageous heart to stay with my experience when this is difficult and frightening and with a peaceful understanding that allows me to surrender myself to a greater Reality or True Nature.
I learn that this can be the case for others and that there is a path, or a logos, that is very brilliant and sparkles like diamonds, that can be known and understood and that can materialise in a person’s life and bring about transformations of identity and life experiences.
As a new teacher I am keen to journey alongside students who want to know if there is more to life than they have so far discovered. That I really do know that the main obstacles to a life of bliss and happiness are the ones we have created ourselves and now call ‘ourselves’. That it would be a great joy and privilege to accompany you on this intrepid and perilous journey of adventure into the mystery of who you are.
My clinical supervisor suggested I try out an introductory meeting that was taking place that weekend. I trusted her and was not sat for long in the meeting on the Red and Superego when I found something resonated very deeply with me about the teaching, the teacher and the whole set up. I grasped the truth of what was being said in a vague way and that it was being said with joy and love, freely given with no sharp edges, no pull for anything from me. My delight was shared by others present who became lifelong friends. I knew immediately the value of this. I know there was something here that I had never experienced before and yet I know that it was the truth and that it was meant for me.
That the Diamond Approach is a logos or a pathway that opens up a portal to the mystery of who we truly are and what Reality truly is. While the logos requires your best attention, the journey is one of joy and the peace of knowing that you are living in the real world and living the real life you are meant to live. There is no going back. That all of Reality unfolds exactly where you are in your life at this present moment. That you can align yourself with your present moment experience in such a way that it starts to open to reveal the marvels and wonders of Reality in a way that is totally engrossing and transformative. That the Diamond Approach really can satisfy your restlessness and your search for a meaningful and dignified life.
Is there a role for Counselling in the Treatment of Addiction? EISTEACH: The Irish Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy Volume 17 Issue 1 Spring 2017