Helen Tafoya-Barraza, MA, LPCC UNM Psychiatric Center – Psychosocial Rehabilitation Psychosocial Rehabilitation Association of NM, June 12, 2014

Primary Theorists/Information Sources Albert Bandura Carl Rogers Sylvia Ledesma Lev Vygotsky Albert Ellis

Differences vs Similarities

La Maestra Sylvia Ledesma Founder of the Kalpulli Izkalli (community of traditional healers based in the South Valley) Practicing traditional healer/curandera Teacher/Mentor Lifetime Social Justice & community activist

Some of her teachers Her grandmother Her mother Señor Uribe El Maestro Andres Segura Nana Valdez La Jefa Josefina

They taught, she learned Story telling Conversations Reading, reading some more Observation/modeling Minimal note taking Experiential learning which includes practice and learning on a Spiritual level

Her primary mentor/teacher was el Maestro Andres Segura He would encourage her to learn from other healers They would travel together throughout the United States, Mexico and South America She was rarely allowed to take notes She was told, “keep your eyes and your ears open.’ He encouraged her to read everything He encouraged her to question everything

La Maestra Sylvia’s perspective Learning in this matter, without notes, forces one to learn at a deeper level To integrate the information To make the information a part of you To learn to trust one’s Spirit Guides & one’s instincts One learns to transcend to another place To see with a “different lens” Study is never done, “one cannot learn it all”

Information & knowledge grows in concentric circles out, always expanding

Does not refer to herself as a “curandera” To do so is owning a powerful identity Sees herself as an (advanced) apprentice In learning mode from her teachers that are still alive Still apprenticing to her teachers & her Spirit Guides To call oneself a curandera, does that mean you are alone? That you no longer have your guides?

The comparison with Western thought seems clear Traditional healers employ an apprenticeship model Rely heavily on modeling and observation (Bandura) “A person cannot teach another person directly; a person can only facilitate another's learning (Rogers) Notion of the Perpetual student Social interaction with members of one’s own community (Vygotsky) Learning from a More Knowledgeable Other (Vygotsky) Reciprocal Determination (Bandura)

Apprenticeship Model Having a master teacher Working with a master teacher in a variety of contexts Learning from a variety of teachers Increasing level of responsibility as learner acquires knowledge Reading, reading and reading some more Asking questions

Contrast Emphasis on learning “at a deeper level” Minimal note taking Teaching & learning by story telling Emphasis on seeking guidance from one’s Spirit Guides Learning to trust one’s intuition Learning is never completed (goes beyond CEUs) Deep humility

Additional thoughts In traditional practices teaching and learning are considered sacred Apprentices learn not just to gain knowledge but to gain health In this way, education, gaining knowledge from whatever the information source, is an exercise in self-healing This is very much a social justice perspective These goals in traditional healing are rarely discussed in Western pedagogy

Sylvia models an age old method of passing on knowledge Knowledge is integrated at a higher (or deeper) level In this way she heals herself. In this way she heals others

References Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Collins, A., Brown, J. S., & Newman, S. E. (1989). Cognitive apprenticeship: Teaching the crafts of reading, writing, and mathematics. In L. B. Resnick (Ed.), Knowing, learning, and instruction: Essays in honor of Robert Glaser (pp ). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Retrieved from ollins%20report.pdf Rogers, Carl (1951). Client-centered therapy: Its current practice, implications and theory. London: Constable. Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Interaction between learning and development. Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes (M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner & E. Souberman., Eds.) (A. R. Luria, M. Lopez-Morillas & M. Cole [with J. V. Wertsch], Trans.) Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. (Original manuscripts [ca ]) Reprinted in (1997) (M, Gauvain & M Cole, Eds.) Readings on the Development of Children, Retrieved from