Melissa McDaniel, PsyD, MSW

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Redlands, CA
Melissa McDaniel, PsyD, MSW

Southern California based psychologist providing therapy for adults, couples, and families.

Los Angeles based psychological assistant offering therapy for adults, couples, families and children.

11/29/2022

Love stands vigil when everyone else has gone home.

Artwork by MM

11/25/2022

Metabolize the pain
Release it from its hiding place
Drink the nectar of its sorrow
Be reborn again
Pass this threshold
Then the next
Self fertilizing growth
Taking all the strength to endure
each new fiery roast
Burn it down
Build anew
Keep the evolution coming
Melt it down and change it up
With empathy we’re growing
Strike a bargain
Surrender yourself
Do what you must do
Ill travel along
right beside
Each new version of you

Poem and Artwork by MM ❤️‍🔥
On continual transformation

11/21/2022

Imagine a creature, half butterfly, half moth. Capable of existing in two realms- Light and dark. A beacon of hope for integrating what we feel to be opposing parts of ourselves. At first attempt to be with the dark, it was frightening, all that was to be found and faced there, all while having to develop new senses. Over years the creature adapted and under tremendous pressure grew into something new. Something born from stress and pain yet capable of utilizing the burning of that pain to create something new. This creature’s toiling would be a tremendous undergoing indeed. To turn into a new species. Yet somehow, staying only in the light or only in the darkness was more unbearable than the necessary but painstaking metamorphosis of being capable of living and moving between realms. Holding the tension of the opposites allows a third thing to be born; You, wholly.
This moth/ butterfly image is a symbol for creating a world unto yourself. A world carved out by your trials and needs, your unique way of finding out who you are, what you’re going to do with your time here and under what conditions.
“Day Moth” Artwork by MM

10/24/2022

Artwork by MM “Path Awareness”

Drawn to the magic of synaptic communication and it’s role in consciousness.

10/23/2022

Artwork by MM “Melting”

A hidden aspect of creativity is how the artist suffers when they are disconnected from the source of their creativity. This poem by Rumi captures this particular agony and the longing to be back participating in a sacred Union in which one mergers with the source of their creativity to bring forth art, a dynamic co creation. This creative fire, this union of spirit and matter, this experience of the divine. There are many ways to say it, differing ways to conceive of it, but ultimately the ember that sparks our creativity needs tending. Creativity is Psyche, “Soul” expressing itself.

“I am a sculptor, a molder of form.
In every moment I shape an idol.
But then, in front of you, I melt them down
I can rouse a hundred forms
and fill them with spirit,
but when I look into your face,
I want to throw them in the fire.
My souls spills into yours and is blended.
Because my soul has absorbed your fragrance,
I cherish it.
Every drop of blood I spill
informs the earth,
I merge with my Beloved
when I participate in love.
In this house of mud and water,
my heart has fallen to ruins.
Enter this house, my Love, or let me leave.”~Poem by RUMI

07/28/2022

Artwork for the New moon tonight.
New moons astrologically symbolize the unseen, the invisible. At this time the Sun and the Moon conjoin in the sky and leave the side of the moon we see from Earth in darkness.
The New moon, also referred to as the dark moon, is a time to understand our own inner darkness and strive to bring into consciousness the very things that are hidden from us in our own unconscious, both creative and destructive.
New moons are the beginning of a new lunar cycle. They are rich with mystery, uncertainty and represent a time of new beginnings, potential and possibility. New moons ask that we go within for deep reflection. What do we want? Where do we want to be in the next month? What are we leaving behind from last month? Do we need to reset anything in our lives?
This is a time for deep reflection and intimate knowing of one’s passions, desires, and intentions. It can be an opportunity to reflect on what brings us joy, improves our mood, sense of self and wellbeing.

Moon rituals help us find a sense of magic in the otherwise mundane. ✨

Happy New Moon 🌚

by MM

07/21/2022

Order and Chaos

07/08/2022

The snake is paradoxical in nature,
both transformational and dangerous. It is a symbol of healing and regeneration while also providing us with a symbol for the unconscious, with its sudden and unexpected strikes. Do we dare to seek out and understand the parts of ourselves that are reflexive to a poisonous degree? Do we dare offer these parts compassionate understanding, which may ultimately lead to transformational healing? The Gnostics once thought of the human brain and spinal chord as being snake-like, and in a similar effort to understand the human psyche and its influence on our outward behavior, we take a closer look at symbols that can help us relate to our own paradoxical nature, and the multiplicity of selves within each of us. Traumatic feelings, when stored in the unconscious may manifest as lethal as they were once endured, and we become someone without control, unrecognizable to ourselves. The unbearable pain suffered finds its way out, where, without an empathic container, it continues its toxic spill, overtaking one’s ability to act in accordance with their own sense of self. We “see red” or black out,” we give away the pain to others around us, because it is too much for us to hold. We react reflexively, like the snake, who attacks when it’s frightened. What are we afraid of really? Are we afraid of ourselves, afraid that our emotional pain can annihilate us? Perhaps we are afraid to die and so the aspect of the snake that fears for its life takes form and strikes. If we allow ourself to die many times while we are alive, by embracing our painful feelings, we can evoke the other powerful aspect of the snake, the healing regeneration that allows us to both die and resurrect while still alive. Letting our pain be felt changes us, transforms us, and these mini deaths allow us to experience the regenerative, healing process born from bearing traumatic feelings. When we move closer to compassionate understanding of our unconscious strikes, and try to hold the pain and shame we feel, we begin to accept and respect the person we become. On the way to consciousness there are many obstacles, and there is no one bigger than facing our own selves.🐍

06/23/2022

Red dragonfly symbolism:
Life and death are intimately entwined in this symbol as seeing a red dragonfly can mean the end of life’s illusions through transformation and return to a deeper experience of love through continued ego death/healing.
In Native American legends, the dragonfly is a symbol of resurrection, and renewal after hardship.
Red dragonfly sightings can confirm a deeper meaning in life for the observer and offer a sign that you are courageously walking the right path, and that you will come out of a challenging situation feeling stronger, happier and more fulfilled.

I saw this little one today and took a picture to celebrate its visit in my garden.

06/07/2018

Understanding is much more powerful than judging will ever be. If we hope to be with those in pain and to ease their pain in any real way, we must not judge them, but seek to connect to a shared, similar pain within ourselves, and to dwell in it, so as to provide accurate empathy and understanding to the individual. When we allow ourselves to connect to our own pain, judgment ceases and healing can begin. The hope once lost, can be found again.

05/25/2018

'It is impossible to understand addiction without asking what relief the addict finds, or hopes to ... “Not why the addiction but why the pain."
-Gabor Mate

05/23/2018

Stop the cycle. Intergenerational transmission of truama occurs when trauma has gone unprocessed and is transferred to the offspring of the traumatized individuals. This cycle can stop when one family member courageously attends therapy and processes their own trauma.

Address

Redlands
Redlands, CA
92373

Website

http://www.drmelissamcdaniel.com/

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