My Leadership in Russian RC
My introduction to RC goes back to the workshop on RC fundamentals conducted by Harvey Jackins, in 1990, in Leningrad (Russia). I remember my first experience of working in a demonstration. That workshop brought me to realize that Re-evaluation Counseling might be efficiently used in both my professional activity and my re-emergence.
Shortly afterward I invited Harvey to come to Bashkortostan (Russia). He accepted and after a month arrived in Ufa to conduct a three-day RC fundamentals workshop. I was impressed by his striking personality and inspired to start learning RC, so I went on attending RC workshops.
I ran my first seven-meeting introductory RC class for colleagues and acquaintances in 1993. Later on, I arranged weekly meetings attended by nurses, doctors, teachers, students, future psychologists, and pensioners. The participants included men, women, parents, and young adults. Because of my professional duties, I found it difficult to cope with the huge amount of RC those people needed. But I was lucky to start an RC Community in Ufa. Through that I acquired a lot of valuable practical experience that added to my professional knowledge of psychotherapy and helped me in treating my patients.
I decided to open a division of psychotherapeutic service in a children’s hospital to engage additional medical staff in offering psychological help to children and their parents. I trained young personnel on the state level, but my work in the RC Community never stopped. I kept organizing new classes, support groups, and workshops and tried to take every opportunity to attend International workshops for RC teachers and leaders. As a result, I had to change my professional orientation, which had a dramatic effect on my income. But I’ve never regretted my dedication to engaging in RC activity. Re-evaluation Counseling is my life’s work that I am doing with love and pleasure. I am entirely devoted to RC and firmly believe in its high potential for people’s recovery. I keep introducing RC ideas into people’s lives.
Re-evaluation Counseling has changed me and my life for the better. It has enabled me to keep my mind and body young. I am deriving great enjoyment and inspiration from every moment of life and am full of energy, enthusiasm, and creative ideas.
I am deeply grateful to all my counselors and the International RC leaders who have contributed to my recovery.
Venera Yamidanova
Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia