Turning and turning in the widening gyre

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity.

The Second Coming, W. B. Yeats – 1865 - 1939

We have walked common ground in our shared engagement with a most thoughtful and bold experience of graduate education. While the Angela Center burned down in the 2017 Tubbs fire, for many of us, the memories and profound experience of learning continues to be a sacred resource both personally and professionally.

A key aspect of our education at Meridian was that of further developing the courage and clarity necessary to protect what is worthy of protection. 

Beyond the initial focus on responding to the recent defamatory actions, our vision is to collaborate as alumni and practitioners in ways that serve our personal development and professional contributions. In addition, our hope is that our collaborations will grow into a coherent and transformative community of practice. 

Angeles Arrien, a contributing faculty and long time supporter of Meridian, suggested that we take our lessons from geese in building powerful communities. Those ahead form an uplift for those behind by flying together in a V-shape, creating a sense of community as they travel on the thrust of each other. When the leader tires another steps in, and all sound their encouragement. 

In closing, I invite you to bring to mind an image of the ancient sacred site, Stonehenge, whose purpose through the millennia has remained a mystery. One possibility that has become more meaningful is that this sacred site served as a gathering place for people whose love and appreciation for each other endured, even though time and circumstance had separated them. And as such, people knew deep in their bones that twice each year on the solstice they could return to this place and to each other. In this way, it is thought that perhaps Stonehenge served as a monument to sacred experience, shared. 

Micki McCartney, EdD
Meridian University Alumni

Welcome to the new Meridian University Alumni website.

Our aspiration is that this will become a significant gathering place for Meridian Alumni. 

Statement by Meridian University Alumni

We are proud and thankful graduates of Meridian University. We have benefited in profound ways personally and professionally by the education we received while we were graduate students at Meridian. We were guided by our faculty with respect, care, and individually-attuned challenges that furthered our character development as persons as well as the development of our professional knowledge.

Many of us are writing letters that will be posted here describing how our education at Meridian University supported us both professionally and personally.

Statement of Support

Diane Harnish, PhD
Licensed Psychologist

Kianna Zielesch, PhD
Licensed Psychologist
Fire Captain (Ret.)

Elizabeth Fisher, PhD
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

Edward A. Biery, PhD
Licensed Psychologist

Josh Holcomb, MA
Healthcare Economics Consultant

Ginny Crossleysmith, PsyD
Licensed Psychologist

Terry Garcia, PhD
Licensed Psychologist

Dianna Grayer, PhD
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

Micki McCartney, EdD
Regional Director, Capilano University

Sally Torkos, PhD
Marriage and Family Therapist

Meggan Hartman, PhD
Educator and Integral Life Coach

Tim Willison, PhD
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor

Raphael Barker
Licensed Marriage Family Therapist
Somatic Experiencing Practitioner

In Our Own Words:

Alumni Experiences

Stories: Alumni writing about their experience at Meridian University

Featured
Edward: “I am deeply aligned with the mission of Meridian University, bringing transformative learning and cultural leadership capacities to professionals from a variety of disciplines.”
Edward: “I am deeply aligned with the mission of Meridian University, bringing transformative learning and cultural leadership capacities to professionals from a variety of disciplines.”

Meridian University has been an integral part of my life since 1997 when I became a student studying psychology. Due to a myriad of positive effects from my education there, I have stayed enthusiastically involved….

Read More →
Raphael: “I was surrounded by a cohort and staff that both appreciated what I brought to the table, but also encouraged me to grow.”
Raphael: “I was surrounded by a cohort and staff that both appreciated what I brought to the table, but also encouraged me to grow.”

The faculty walked their talk. Meridian University chose teachers whose instincts and expertise were sharpened in the field. They knew what they were talking about; they did - and were doing- the hard and noble work of serving clients and patients with a wide assortment of conditions…

Read More →
Chris: “As a doctoral alumnus, I continue to reference and incorporate components of my learnings and experiences from Meridian in my daily personal and professional lives.”
Chris: “As a doctoral alumnus, I continue to reference and incorporate components of my learnings and experiences from Meridian in my daily personal and professional lives.”

I am routinely tasked with coordinating complex collaborative efforts with the community to whom I serve.  Participatory leadership skills, communicative proficiencies, and the ability to access one’s own creative inquiry capacities are vital assets to bridging distinctive perspectives and cultures…

Read More →
Anthony: “Meridian provided me with a path on how to walk with others in their darkest times.”
Anthony: “Meridian provided me with a path on how to walk with others in their darkest times.”

I continue to be grateful for what I learned at Meridian. The faculty at Meridian challenged me to grow. The academics were rigorous and demanding. I left feeling confident in what I was doing as a therapist…

Read More →
Tim: “I was drawn to the emphasis on soul in the curriculum. I was drawn to the idea of an education that transforms and challenges…Most of all I was drawn to how I was seen and met at Meridian…”
Tim: “I was drawn to the emphasis on soul in the curriculum. I was drawn to the idea of an education that transforms and challenges…Most of all I was drawn to how I was seen and met at Meridian…”

I was seen as a unique individual, met as a unique individual and challenged in the way that I hope every aspiring psychotherapist is challenged as they prepare to offer care to others…

Read More →
Virginia: “Coursework at Meridian pulled me into deeper connection with mythic stories and archetypes, poetry, and various forms of creative expression…”
Virginia: “Coursework at Meridian pulled me into deeper connection with mythic stories and archetypes, poetry, and various forms of creative expression…”

It has been more than 25 years since I completed my coursework at Meridian University, then known as the Institute of Imaginal Studies. I remain deeply grateful and profoundly changed. The echoes of the richness of my learning continue to push me towards further personal growth, and I am thinking that this will be true for the rest of my life…

Read More →
Micki: “As a professional who has worked in the university domain for 17 years, it is evident that the learning outcomes have emerged over the many years of Meridian University’s existence.”
Micki: “As a professional who has worked in the university domain for 17 years, it is evident that the learning outcomes have emerged over the many years of Meridian University’s existence.”

I endlessly took workshops and courses, looking for chances of advancement out of a current role–an underlying malaise that penetrated my professional and personal life. It was not until I entered Meridian University that this unsettled and discontented condition and previous insatiable restlessness ceased…

Read More →
Meggan: “…That was just the first component of my education. Next came embodying the theory. This was truly transformational.”
Meggan: “…That was just the first component of my education. Next came embodying the theory. This was truly transformational.”

The majority of the faculty inspired me in different ways. Teaching through the transformative educational approach has its inherent challenges. It requires a different level of presencing, knowledge, and reflexivity to support what is emergent for each individual student…

Read More →
Kianna: “Not only were there opportunities for educational and professional growth, but the personal healing path truly changed my life course.”
Kianna: “Not only were there opportunities for educational and professional growth, but the personal healing path truly changed my life course.”

Integrating my personal journey with the education I received from Meridian University has taken me on a diverse path of combining Western, allopathic approaches with Indigenous healing practices…

Read More →

Videos: Alumni speaking about their studies at Meridian University

Additional videos are on Meridian University’s website and YouTube channel)

Mary Oliver, Wild Geese

Mary Oliver
Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.