Verlie graduated from the three year Psychosynthesis Practitioner Training program at the Synthesis Center in Amherst, MA, taught by Didi Firman and Jim Eagan. Verlie has sat many long-term meditation retreats in the Buddhist traditions at the Insight Meditation Society of Barre, MA, The Center at Springwater with Toni Packer, The Rochester Zen Center, and with Thich Nhat Hahn. Verlie has graduated from level II Reiki for natural energy healing, both hands-on and distance. For email counseling please email Verlie@concentric.net. and please put "online counseling/your name" in the subject line. The initial 15 minute consultation is free.

"I love this work!"
I think of it as doing meditation with someone else's mind, giving it the same loving attention I give my own.

• My current work includes a private practice, working with individuals, couples, and groups.
• I focus on issues involving spirituality, making peace with ourselves, with our losses, with the bodies we have (especially fat ones), sexual orientation, grief, and learning to function at one's best in the world.
• Since I have extensive experience in Buddhist meditation, I use the principles of Buddhism often in my work, teaching meditation techniques when appropriate.
• I work primarily, although not exclusively, with women.

What is online counseling?
While face-to-face counseling is always a better option, online counseling can be a wonderful addition to it, and for those with little or no access to counseling services it can be extremely helpful. Verlie utilizes email and sometimes real time 'chat' for communication with you.

How does it work?
You will initially write me an email detailing the problems you would like help with. I will email back to you with a brief response and an interview form for you to fill out and return. We will exchange emails after that. I will generally get back to you within 12 hours, although occassionally it may be as long as 36 hours, or as little as 1 hour. You are free to email me as much as you want to, any time of the day or night.

What are your rates?
My rate for this work is $1 per minute ($60 per hour).

How do I pay by check?
You may pay me by check or by money order. I prefer to be paid in advance for a block of time, usually 3 hours, but work may begin while I wait for the first check, since I understand that often it is very difficult to wait. I will let you know in each email what the status is of your account and the time you have used for each letter. Make checks payable to Verlie Hutchens. Mail them to Verlie Hutchens, PO Box 1084, Easthampton, MA 01027.

How do I pay online?
You may pay directly online using the free PayPal service. This service is free and transfers money from your credit card or your bank account using a secure server environment. PayPal is safe and easy to use. You will get a free $5 bonus for signing up. Click here.

How is online counseling different from therapy?
This work is somewhat limited by the nature of the medium. We can't go quite as deeply into things as you could with a face-to-face therapist. This work is called counseling because it is not therapy. Counseling can provide support, suggest ways of working with feelings, offer exercises that can be very helpful, give feedback on the work you do on your own between emails, and always lend a sympathetic ear. You may think of me as a guide.

What are the advantages?
You can email me at any time of the day or night, from work, from home, in the middle of the night when sleep is difficult. You can also work on the suggestions in my replies at your own pace, replying when you're ready. You can email 10 times a day, or once a week. I do require a minimum of once a week contact in order to provide continuity.

What's that Reiki energy work?
Reiki is an ancient and revered form of healing which relies on life-force energy, sometimes called 'chi'. I as the 'healer' collect and focus this energy on you, where your body/mind will utilize it as it needs to. This can happen either through physical contact, or from a distance, since this energy is freely available everywhere in the universe. For online counseling it can be a very useful addition to the written verbal exchanges. Reiki is incapable of causing harm, and can often be quite pleasant to experience. I find it especially helpful for grieving people, to send reiki to the heart center. I realize this sounds a bit far-fetched to some people. If it does to you, then you may not choose to include any reiki in your work with me. It's not required. Reiki time is charged at the same rate as emailing time.

What about chat?
There may be opportunities for real time chat in the private chat room on this page. There may also be group meetings in the chat room of people with issues in common. I cannot monitor the chat room at all times, so use of the room is by appointment only.

How do I begin?
Send an email to Verlie@concentric.net, or click this link to open an email message to me. Type 'online counseling' in the subject line, along with your name. (online counseling/Sam) This will allow my email program to filter your mail into your own private folder so I don't miss any of your messages among the many messages I receive every day. Using this format in every email to me is very important. I will reply to your first email with a questionaire for you to fill out and return.

Initial consultation (first 15 minutes of my time for email counseling) is free. Sliding fee scale for in person counseling is negotiable, as are means of payment for email counseling which is $1/minute of my time.

Links to other Psychosynthesis sites:

• The Synthesis Center This is the center where I received my professional training.
• Association for the Advancement of Psychosynthesis This site contains many interesting and insightful articles on psychosynthesis, listings of practitioners worldwide, as well as the entire content of back issues of the news letter.
• Barbara's Mandala Page About Barbara's practice, with some fun activities and pictures.
• Psychosynthesis Home Page
• Guy's Forgiveness Pages
• Many Hands