Report from the Fourth Annual Conference of the Bahá'í Association of Mental Health Professionals, held at Louhelen Bahá'í School, November 14-17, 2002

Oneness and Distinction: The Processes that Undergird the Creation of Identities

During the period of November 14-17, 2002 the Bahá’í Association of Mental Health Professionals held its fourth annual conference. This year’s conference—which was held at the Louhelen Bahá’í School and Conference Center in Davison, Michigan—attracted researchers and practitioners in psychology, education, medicine and the mental health professions from around the country. The purpose of this year’s conference was to explore the many facets of human identity and it involved presentations and performances on the construction of racial, sexual, moral, cultural and spiritual identity, as well as discussions of the implications of these multiple levels of identity for mental health and spiritual development.

The conference began on Friday morning with an illuminating talk delivered by Jenni Menon, a graduate student at Stanford University, on her empirical research that explores the development of moral and spiritual identity among youth. The specific focus of Jenni’s work is the articulation of a theoretical framework from which to understand the nature of moral purpose, as well as the ways in which moral purpose develops in some youth, while not in others, over the course of adolescence.

Mary K. Radpour followed on Friday morning with a conceptually rich analysis of the nature and development of sexual identity. Her talk examined the relative plasticity of human sexuality and the influence of biological factors, cultural contexts and early experiences on the development and expression of hetero and homosexuality in adulthood. She noted that “arguments about whether homosexuality is genetic in origin or derives from environmental influences have become highly politicized, suppressing fair-minded inquiry in an arena with profound personal and social implications.” The Bahá'í approach to homosexuality, she continued, “avoids such polarization, and BNASAA, the Bahá'í Network on AIDS, Sexuality, Addictions, and Abuse, provides support to all, regardless of whether they seek support in coming out with the truth of their homosexual orientation or seek guidance about how to address this issue in the light of the Bahá'í teachings about chastity." The Bahá'í position rejects a personal identity based upon sexual orientation alone, insisting that human identity is based upon the spiritual attributes which constitute character. It asserts the necessity of welcoming to the Bahá'í community every human being, regardless of their sexual orientation. It welcomes truthful self-examination, while asserting that spiritual development will ultimately lead an individual to reject the limitations of material self-definitions. “Overly simple explanations of homosexuality,” she noted, “ are inadequate to reflect the diversity of human experience about same-sex attraction. Even the term ‘homosexual’ does not discriminate between same-sex attraction and homosexual behavior. This is problematic since it is quite possible to experience a same-sex attraction but never engage in homosexual behavior, and it is also possible to engage in homosexual acts without having a homosexual orientation. The roots of homosexuality,” she affirmed, “are neither exclusively biological nor exclusively psychological and lie in a complex combination of genetic, psychological and social factors.” Mary K. Radpour’s talk closed with an exploration of the metaphysical dimensions of human existence and the central role of the human soul in shaping human experience and development over the course of time.

Michael Penn began the afternoon session with a psycho-historical analysis of the development of the concept of race. His primary purposes were to describe the materialistic and political roots of the modern notion of race, to explore the emergence of the doctrines that sustain biological racism, and to examine how the Bahá’í writings clarify the essential nature of human identity by affirming that the identity of a thing can only be known by reference to its essential capacities, its material, efficient and formal cause, and its ultimate telos, purpose or end.

On Friday evening, Erika Batdorf performed her one-person play, “Raisin Head” and followed her performance with a lecture/discussion of the conceptual underpinnings of her unique approach to theatre. The philosophical depth of Erika’s work was as apparent as the emotional richness and complexity of the characters that she creates. The essential purpose of the theatrical work that she shared with us was to provide an example of an embodied attempt to shed a trauma-induced false identity and to take on an identity centered in the possibility of spiritual freedom.

On Saturday morning we welcomed the entertainment attorney and author Keith R. McKinley, who gave an extraordinarily engaging and informative talk on the role of the media and the entertainment industries in the construction of false identities. McKinley, an African-American with considerable experience as an entrepreneur, an arts promoter, and a cultural critic, explored with us the essential nature of “popular culture” as embodied in the nation’s movie, television and music industries. The goal of his talk was to describe the processes by which a consumer approach to culture leads inevitably to the creation of a sense of human identity that is at once trivial and vulgar. Keith expressed a particular concern for the media’s organized and systematic effort to co-opt the identities of youth and to transform youth into little more than uncritical consumers with base appetites and insatiable desires.

Elena Mustokova-Possardt delivered a riveting keynote address that explored the emergence of a new approach to psychotherapy that resonates deeply with the Bahá'í teachings on the spiritual nature of a human being, and of the spiritual essence of psychological health. Her talk, entitled, “Lifting the Veils: Discovering our Health, Discovering Who We Are” examined the nature and emergence of “critical consciousness”, which she described as an “optimal consciousness, characterized by the integration of the intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual aspects of a human being. It is manifested in a deepening lifelong integration of moral motivation, agency and critical discernment.” Elena went further in her talk to examine the relevance of critical consciousness to clinical practice. She described a relatively new approach to psychotherapy that is known as Health Realization. Health Realization, she noted, “takes a significant step beyond existing cognitive behavioral constructivist emphasis on change and healing as a process of re-constructing the self-created reality of one’s thought system.” She suggested that Health Realization “opens a new depth of understanding of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s words: “The reality of man is his thought”, and “Every deed of life is a thought expressing itself in action; it is the actual mirror of the man within.”

As it has been in all of the previous BAMHP conferences, this year’s conference provided a wonderful integration of science, practice-related themes, and the arts. Ben Koen, one of the world’s finest musician-scholars, gave a series of talks and performances on The Use and Confluence of Music & Prayer for Healing in Various Traditional Practices & Clinical Research. The depth of insight that he brought to his cross-cultural research on prayer and music, as well as the level of mastery that he demonstrated as he played no less than 20 wind, percussion, and string instruments from around the world, enveloped the conference participants in a spirit of awe, reverence and joy.

We closed the 4th Annual Conference of the Bahá’í Association of Mental Health Professionals with a working, Sunday morning brunch. Brunch provided a relaxed atmosphere in which to receive the Annual Report of the Board of the Bahá’í Association of Mental Health Professionals, as well as to engage in the Annual Business Meeting. It was at this meeting that we made plans for the future and elected the incoming Board membership. Overall, this conference was among the most excellent ever. We hope that with your presence, and with your help, our future conferences will be even more wonderful still.