AHP Perspective is a magazine published bi-monthly for members of the Association for Humanistic Psychology. It includes interviews, articles, essays, updates on member activities, conference announcements, and book reviews. Members receive the complete AHP Perspective as part of their membership.

AHP PERSPECTIVE August/September 2001 Table of Contents

HOUSES OF HEALING:

A Prisoner’s Guide to Inner Power and Freedom
By Robin Casarjian
Lionheart Press, 1995, $21.95,

ISBN: 0-9644933-0-6

Reviewed by Troy Stone

Freedom’s just another word
for nothing left to lose,"
(lyrics made famous byJanis Joplin),
or, if you prefer your quotes from Greek philosophers, "I hope for nothing, I fear nothing, I am free." (Nikos Kazantzakis). The ironic point being that prison is the ideal place to learn about true freedom and inner power.

Houses of Healing was first published in 1995, which is the year I finally graduated from "Pen State" (yes, it’s a pun). Before that we had Bo Lozoff’s We’re All Doing Time, which I was glad to see mentioned in this book. The two books are similar, but Lozoff’s more Eastern approach is probably a turnoff to some prisoners grounded in the Western, Christian paradigm, just as the focus on "the inner child" found in Houses of Healing is sure to scare off more than a couple of hardened criminals. The average AHP reader will not find anything revolutionary or even new in this book, but the average inmate will. Of course, most important to any self-help program is applying the material, and this book contains many exercises and visualizations that even the most "self-actualized" of us could benefit from; for, as Casarjian says, healing, forgiveness, and compassion are ongoing processes, not things to read, learn, and discard.

The author opts for the restorative model over the retributive model of dealing with crime. Once again, the typical AHP reader will not have any problems following the logic that "criminals" should be reformed both for their own good, and for the good of society. The only stupefying fact here is that our society still does not practice this self-evident truth. The author’s constant reminder to the prisoner to be gentle with him/herself is sure to make any prosecuting attorney cringe, and her exer-cises in self-forgiveness are sure to irk many vengeance-minded victims.

Regardless, it is time for the criminal justice system to take responsibility for improving the situation, rather than ex- acerbating it. Courses such as the author’s Emotional Awareness/Emotional Healing, on which this book is based, are a welcome step in the right direction.

Houses of Healing comprises four parts. Part One is a motivational speech designed to bring a spark of hope to the average prisoner with low self-esteem. Casarjian tries to relate to prisoners of varying backgrounds, and addresses their search for meaning. This section serves as an ice breaker. Casarjian empathizes with the prisoner and gives validity to his/her perspective and problems.

Part Two continues the theme by acknowledging that before the crime and the criminal, there was an innocent child. Casarjian gently urges the prisoner into the past to explore the roots of the pain and suffering that have led to the current stay in prison. It should be noted that although this book is written for people in a physical prison, prison as a metaphor is often discussed. "Prison" of any kind is a result of a wounded inner child. One must confront the past and comfort the inner child in order to begin the healing process. By addressing the prisoner’s original innocence (not original sin) Casarjian opens the door to forgiveness. At this point, anger, resentment, and grief are likely to emerge, and they must be addressed before true forgiveness can take place.

Houses of Healing explores both the positive and negative applications and implications of anger, resentment, and grief. After giving validity to the prisoner’s right to feel these emotions and need to work them out, Casarjian explains how these emotions can limit our choices and leave us "imprisoned." Much of this part is filled with exercises and suggestions for constructively dealing with these emotions. The prisoner is encouraged to talk to, nurture, and love the inner child.

Forgiveness is the theme for the second half of the book. Part Three starts out by discussing forgiveness toward those who have not directly wronged us. Robin, herself a victim of a violent assault, demonstrates her own nonjudgmental approach with sincerity and conviction. This section is really about prejudice attitudes, a huge problem in prison. Casarjian reminds the prisoner of his/her own true self, the pure spirit at the core of all of us. By doing so, she not only allows the prisoner to see his/her own self worth, but also the value in others. Stereotypically, those who have experienced prejudice and abuse are the most likely to prejudge and abuse. This is all part of the cycle of karma. Casarjian coaxes us to break the cycle by opening our eyes to it.

After encouraging the prisoner to see his/her own self worth, the au-thor discusses the "true" self and the false selves or fronts that we put up.

These are seen as defense mechanisms created by our inner child as coping strategies for dealing with unhealthy love or no love at all. Only by loving and forgiving ourselves, only by acknowledging our own true self and inner innocence can we begin to love and forgive others, to see their true, inner, innocent selves.

This section explores relaxation, visualization, and meditation as aids in letting go of our false selves and learning to let go of the pain. True power and freedom are re-framed as the ability to control one’s own mood and reactions. This is attained by seeing through the false fronts of ourselves and others.

The final section completes the circle of healing through forgiveness. Here we are helped to forgive ourselves and those who have wronged us. Moving beyond judging those whom we hardly know, we directly face forgiving ourselves and those who have wronged us.

Taking responsibility for one’s actions is an important part of this never-ending process. This is a gentle, forgiving book, but it does not shirk responsibility. The prisoner is given practical advice on accepting responsibility and guidance on the "whens and ifs" of asking forgiveness of others. Robin Casarjian offers a beacon of light and helping hand to those living in a world of pain and darkness.

If you want to serve the people trapped in a life of crime and the community at large, you could contribute to the Lionheart Foundation, Box 194 Back Bay, Boston, MA 02117 (they distribute free copies of the book to prisons).  

 TROY STONE is a Saybrook Graduate School student. He has worked for the past five years at a psychiatric hospital, and currently works with teenaged male sex offenders. He was in prison from 1990-1994 (4.5 years) on drug charges, all related to the possession, transportation, and distribution of LSD and "mushrooms." He can be reached at tls@telepath.com.

AHP PERSPECTIVE Feb/Mar 2001 Table of Contents

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