“Every man’s wisdom is peculiar to his own Individuality.”
Second Life Academy
The Second Life Academy was created out of a personal quest to discover the meaning of home in a rapidly changing American landscape.
This project originated in New York City and evolved over years to encompass meaningful experiences in every region of the country. Work in media, education, and the arts created engagement with individuals and communities from a wide spectrum of cultural and philosophical backgrounds. Real ideas, human stories, original songs, and the desire to make a positive contribution provide the insights and fortifications for this endeavor. Now based in Florence, AL, with online services across the United States, the Second Life Academy has been established as an educational, creative, and therapeutic forum where it is always a good time to talk about meaning.
“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better.”—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Principal
Scott Paul PhD is an existential analyst, educator, award winning media producer, journalist, and songwriter. His licensed counseling and meaning-centered consulting practice integrates interdisciplinary perspectives on the human quest for balance, healing, wisdom, and fulfillment through understanding of the symbolic life. His work is informed by a background that includes a PhD in Art and Humanities Education, an MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, study and training in Existential philosophy, Jungian analytic methods, diverse spiritual orientation and practice, as well as successful careers in journalism, education, media, and the arts. CV
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LMHC Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Florida
LTEA Viktor Frankl Institute, Diplomate Clinical Logotherapy Existential Analysis
PhD New York University, Arts and Humanities for Education
EdM Harvard University, Interactive Technology and Cognition
MA University of North Alabama, Clinical Mental Health Counseling
BA University of North Carolina, Greensboro, Communications
“Wisdom is understanding how eternal truth can be applied to life.”
Services
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Zoom and telehealth services for adults everywhere.
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Providing existential analysis and psychotherapeutic support to individuals, couples, and groups.
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Providing meaning-centered consulting and educational support to individuals, groups, and organizations.
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Providing mentor support to students, parents, educators, artists & musicians, clergy, caregivers, and healthcare professionals.
“[It] gives peace, when people feel that they are living the symbolic life, that they are actors in the divine drama. ”
Specialties
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Life Review is a highly regarded approach to therapeutic work that allows each individual opportunity to recollect, reflect on, and reconsider meaningful events across the stages of life. In this collaborative process, new insights and understanding foster healing and inner development
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Viktor Frankl developed a method of supportive address to what he observed as a crisis of meaning in modern society that he called, Logotherapy. This and other existential approaches typically take shape over a longer period of time than psychotherapy or coaching—aiming to uncover deeper origins of anxiety and other disruptive emotions.
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Special interest and support for individuals and groups seeking to re-energize their creativity in all forms of expression.
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The social world is created by families. Father-son relationships are especially important to healthy individuals and family groups. These relationships continue throughout life and can benefit from counseling and mentor support at any stage. Becoming a good father is a process that requires guidance and encouragement from those who have lived experience.
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Dreams provide a valuable resource for understanding psychic processes that influence our conscious experience. Jungian-oriented methods are provided for the purpose of drawing insight from the content and interpretation of dreams.
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Tolstoy provided a simple equation for the project of a lifetime. Carl Jung asked, “Where is the wisdom of our old people?” He called us old because at the time he wrote this, life expectancy in the West was 60 years—today the number is closer to 80. Counseling and consulting sessions are offered to support those seeking to understand how their challenges and choices have in fact forged qualities of valuable wisdom—inner capacities of wisdom available for themselves and to share with others who need it.