Therafields: The Rise and Fall of Lea Hindley-Smith's Psychoanalytic Commune - Hardcover

Goodbrand, Grant

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1550229761 ISBN 13: 9781550229769

Verlag: ECW PR, 2010

Inhaltsangabe

?At one point in the 1970s, 900 people were engaged with a therapeutic community in Toronto. Living together, and sharing emotional problems, the participants helped to create an institution owning houses, farms, and buildings. Therafields, the largest urban commune in Canada, was created by Lea Hindley-Smith, a woman from England with no formal training in therapy. But she exuded an astounding charisma, and developed ardent followers.Initially, students and faculty from St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto, were drawn to her, and gradually the word spread that this woman had enormous power to listen, and to heal. Carpenters, poets, teachers, lost souls — they all found a home in Toronto’s Annex neighbourhood. And according to one of her followers at the time, Lea “was a gifted healer, a real estate entrepreneur — and, as it turned out, a woman stalked by madness.”When the real estate market turned sour in the late 1970s, the financial structure began to crumble. At the same time, Hindley-Smith’s health started to fail, and by the early 1980s the movement had collapsed.Here, Grant Goodbrand reveals the behind-the-scenes story of Therafields.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorinnen und Autoren

Grant Goodbrand is a therapist who was part of the Therafields inner circle. He lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Grant Goodbrand was part of Hindley-Smith’s inner circle and a key therapist in the movement. He continues to help people sort through their issues. He lives in Mississauga, Ontario.

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Therafields

The rise and fall of Lea Hindley-Smith's psychoanalytic commune

By Grant Goodbrand, Kevin Connolly

ECW PRESS

Copyright © 2010 Grant Goodbrand
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-55022-976-9

Contents

Cover, 
Imprint, 
Epigraph, 
INTRODUCTION, 
CREATING CHARISMA, 
GROUPS, 
THREE STREAMS, 
THE HONEYMOON, 
THE FARM, 
LEA'S MAKEOVER, 
CONFRONTATION, 
CREATING THERAFIELDS, 
THERAPY, 
THE HEART AND SPIRIT OF COMMUNITY, 
LEA'S FULFILLMENT, 
BETRAYAL, 
THE END OF THE SIXTIES, 
DECLINE, 
THE DEATH OF IDEALISM, 
A POEM BY bpNICHOL — INSPIRED BY THE MONDAY MORNING SEMINAR, MARCH 23,1981, 
A DOUBLE LIFE, 
PRAYERS FOR THE DEAD, 
Acknowledgements, 

CHAPTER 1

CREATING CHARISMA

    No path but the true path
    should be taken. No road but the
    holy road, the way. All other roads are
    mistaken. When the true path is
    taken, the way is clear, tho
    the true path be not the near path
    BB& the price be dear,
    no path but the true path
    ssshould be taken. No road but
    the holy road, the way. All other roads are
    mistaken & when taken
    lead to loneliness, lovelessness,
    lead to emptiness, bitterness,
    lead to nothingness, lead away.

      from The Martyrology Book 9 bpNichol

I first heard about Lea Hindley-Smith from Barrie Phillip Nichol—who would later become well known as the award-winning poet bpNichol—in the spring of 1964. While I was a student in philosophy at the University of Toronto in the late 1950s, I became clinically depressed. Working at the university library was a favourite holding pattern for students who were at a loss about how to continue their life, and I found sanctuary there. In the summer of 1963, Barrie arrived in Toronto from Vancouver to visit his brother Don and check out the poetry scene. Barrie had a contract to begin teaching primary school on the West Coast that fall. His architect brother Don was in therapy with Lea at the time, and he talked her into seeing Barrie for therapy over the summer. Lea foresaw that Barrie would break down and not be able to fulfill his commitment, so she advised him not to return to Vancouver. He did return, but could not complete the fall term.

Barrie was a young man of infectious energy, in love with making poetry. We took breaks and lunches together and bonded over our common interests. In May of 1964, I confided to Barrie how troubled I felt and that one of the few outlets I had available was psychoanalysis, an option that was far too expensive. Barrie said that he was seeing a psychoanalyst who charged little. I could scarcely believe my ears and asked him to find out if she would work with me.

Lea Hindley-Smith was in poor health at the time, but all the same agreed to see me every day except Sunday. We mostly did dream analysis, while I was in relaxation to facilitate free association. When I vacillated about continuing, fearing that therapy would subvert my individuality, Lea confronted me, saying that she had little time to go back and forth, and that I needed to choose whether I would get down to work or leave. She could be very maternal and accepting, but she could also rough you up, I was discovering. I was enraged, but it was now apparent that I needed her and that she did not need me.

Lea's house on Brunswick Avenue was a three-storey semi-detached building with a large front porch. Since she did not have a receptionist, clients came right in and made themselves comfortable in the front room. The walls were covered with prints by van Gogh in heavily carved gilded frames, many of which were damaged. In an alcove in the hall at the base of the stairs leading to the second floor there was a large grandfather clock. For many clients, the pictures, the clock and a large red Buddha seemed fraught with significance, placed to elicit reactions, as if the environment was a psychological test.

Mrs. Smith, as she was called then, was a portly woman just over five feet tall, with thinning fine white hair worn in a bouffant style, possibly to give her more height. As a clinical uniform, she invariably wore loose satin artists' smocks in various pastel colors. Her walk was surprising given her body shape and weight: It was as if she were walking lightly on her toes, in constantly fluid movement. Her lively expressive eyes reflected curiosity and humour. Her clearly and strongly enunciated words, pronounced with a highly inflected upper-class English accent, could carry drama and force. Some clients at first thought her bizarre, but they quickly felt both fully engaged and comfortable.

Once the client was greeted, led to her second floor office and given a seat, Lea became still, totally focused, intensely listening—businesslike. The sessions were mostly conducted face to face, unless the couch was used to facilitate dream associations or to use mild hypnosis. Her demeanour was kindly and even-tempered. In those days before answering machines, Lea took her phone calls even during sessions. One client was startled when Lea dealt sharply, insistently and aggressively over the phone with a failure to deliver goods. The contrast between her warmth and acceptance during the session and her forceful anger on the phone was shocking, but also filled the client with admiration. And when the call was over, Lea easily and readily returned to warmth and graciousness.

Lea did not rigorously observe therapeutic anonymity. The approved technique for analysts was to be a blank screen for the client. The office was supposed to be neutral, devoid of personal details such as references to family, values, political or religious affiliations or even aesthetic preferences. Lea described herself as a "lay analyst," which was sui generis at the time in Toronto, when psychotherapy was not widely available. Her approach diverged from accepted conventions. She told stories as a catalyst, particularly when clients were depressed, or resistance to therapy left them mute and uncooperative. The stories would be from her life, the psychoanalytic literature or her clients. When she spoke about clients, her examples were sufficiently disguised that I could never pin a story to an individual. Examples from her own life threw light on her clients' lives, and they got to know her better. On the whole, this created a feeling of closeness and warmth.

Visiting her home meant clients saw or heard other members of her family. For example, her older son often played his guitar on the porch or in the nearby park. Lea spoke of her pride in him, when he did so well at university, and had won a national mathematics competition. She spoke with pride about her daughter, too, who was a folk singer in England and would soon be returning home. She mentioned that her youngest son couldn't be in high school because of his health, so she had arranged for the school board to pay for him to be tutored at home. Her husband Harry, with his Yorkshire accent so unlike her own, was frequently audible. Lea said he had done so well in England in the textile industry, but they had been misled by Canada immigration about opportunities...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: ECW PR
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2010
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1550229761
• ISBN 13: 9781550229769
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 258
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar