Books

As we evolve it becomes increasingly clear that being an incredible ritualist is not all that is needed to be a competent leader or member of our pagan society. Unless they come to the Craft already equipped with these skills from professional training or other life experience, the leaders in our community have not possessed the skills to effectively model or train in these techniques. For all the intensive training we endure in the Craft, pagans as a society are still ill-equipped to competently cope with the growing needs of our own community. Bridging the Gap: Working Within the Dynamics of Pagan Groups and Society will look at filling the common gaps in our community by using techniques as tools to assess, understand, and work with the changing dynamic of any group or coven. While maintaining a professional polish, the book uses humor, common scenarios, exercises, and resources to examine the commonalities between techniques used in the counseling profession; giving the reader concrete, professional solutions to coping with common problems. The book addresses: • Basics of common techniques used in counseling including anger management, assessment tools, boundaries, behavior shaping, restorative justice and many others • The common traps that occur within groups, which lead to devastating effects and dissolution • The creation of the group mind and how it is effected by the budding dynamics of a group • Creating boundaries to effectively mentor students • The importance of creating clear objectives and expectations as a group • The art of holding your group members accountable • When it is not your fight

Crystal Blanton is a trained and experienced Registered Addictions Specialist in the field of drug and alcohol counseling, which enhances her understanding of spiritual balance and how behavior and perceptions affect our everyday lives. As a mother of four, grandmother of three and a married wife of fourteen years, Blanton has experienced the ups and downs of family life and grown spirituality as a result.  Professionally she has specialized in addiction studies and has experience in counseling, addiction, mental illness, developmental disabilities and criminal justice. Blanton found herself having to deal with the same issues within her own family unit and has used the heartache from these experiences to enhance her understanding of spiritual balance and professional understanding.”Bridging the Gap; Working Within the Dynamics of Pagan Groups and Society” addresses ways that techniques can be used to support the growing dynamics within the Pagan community. Blanton is a High Priestess and ordained minister with Covenant of the Goddess and Dance of the Spirit Moon Tradition and is a student mentor. She has worked in the field of counseling for the last 14 years, 10 of those have been within the drug and alcohol treatment field. She currently works with adolescent treatment of drugs and alcohol. Blanton has been published in Circle Magazine, The Belefire Magazine, Timeless Spirit Online Magazine, Witchvox and Pagan Pages. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and children. She is an avid reader, tarot reader, High Priestess, coven leader, mentor and enjoys having fun with the people in her life.