Sally Handy, M.Ed.

Sally Handy, M.Ed.

Peer Support

She/Her/Hers...

I am honored to be partnered with IMHU as a Spiritual Emergence Coach offering support to those whose loved ones are experiencing a spiritual emergency (or what may have been diagnosed as a “psychotic break”) offering compassion, guidance and perspective during this challenging time.

When my son was 20 years old, his experience and understanding of himself and the world began to shift and grow increasingly unsteady. It began with what he described as ‘social anxiety’ and over the course of a year, his connection to consensus reality started crumbling beneath him. He had to withdraw from college and came home to live for seven months. He was diagnosed with psychosis (said to be biological in nature caused by a chemical imbalance in his brain) and prescribed an antipsychotic. Over the course of a few short weeks, I watched the sparkle disappear from my son’s eyes. He later told me that the only time he had thoughts of suicide came during these weeks. All the while, his connection to God was all consuming and his field of awareness was flooded with innate healing powers. He was in and out of non-ordinary states of consciousness and receiving messages (some dark, some light) from spirit guides.

Observing my son’s struggle, I had a deep inner knowing that his distress could not be purely biochemical. This is when I found IMHU and reframed our thinking away from the pathology model of care and towards a more integrated perspective—his psyche was demanding that he do the necessary work to heal some deep trauma, reorganize the self, connect with the Higher Self, and develop his own intuitive gifts. I’m grateful to say he is on that journey now.

Now, I am on a mission to help others find the support they need to believe healing, integration and a greater sense of purpose are possible outcomes of such a crisis. I volunteer my time to bring this awareness to individuals and into mental health ecosystems. Please reach out if I can offer you this hope for yourself or someone you love.