VICTORIA ELLIOT
psychologist. business woman. artist.
LIFE
My Foundation
Born to an American family with deep roots, I am an inactive member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and a fourth-generation Pacific Northwesterner. My life began in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. As a child exploring the forest of stately Douglas Firs, I found the freedom to explore nature without distraction. With no TV and very little radio, I learned to develop independence, imagination, and a spirit of adventure.
We moved to town for the start of first grade, where I was active in many school activities. I loved school: both for the learning and socializing.
MIND
My Work
“Everything Comes Through Psychology”
I started studying psychology at a time when many significant universities were teaching B.F. Skinner's behaviorism. But I wanted to know what makes people tick on a deeper level. In clinical psychology, I found an approach less concerned with conditioned responses, focused instead on the motivations of the unconscious mind.
To be enlightened is to be aware, always, of total reality in its immanent otherness - to be aware of it and yet remain in a condition to survive as an animal. Our goal is to discover that we have always been where we ought to be. Unhappily we make the task exceedingly difficult for ourselves.”
― Aldous Huxley, The Doors of Perception
EDUCATION
I studied at San Francisco State University, attending graduate school and finishing my residency in rehabilitation counseling in 1970, specializing in mental health and mental illness.
Part of my residency was with Stanford Medical School’s Teaching Hospital, working with veterans of both World Wars, as well as the Korean and Vietnam Wars. The aim was to keep these men involved in the working world as they managed their mental health. Solving practical problems while facing one's demons went hand in hand.
In England, I was the live-in Director of a therapeutic community for mental patients where psychological problems in relation to work were always integral to the treatment. The phrase, "It doesn't matter if you are a paranoid schizophrenic, it's still your turn to clean the dishes," is a powerful and accurate example of treatment philosophy.
While in England, I also completed I studied privately with Mary William Stien, a prominent training analyst for the Tavistock Clinic in London and the Jung Institute. I also worked with Dr. Joe Burke of the Arbors Association and studied with Dr. Arron Esterson, author of Sanity, Madness, & The Family, also of the Tavistock Clinic. Other studies included psychodrama, psychosynthesis, and gestalt psychology at Quasitor Institute and the Institute of Psychosynthesis in London, as well as at Esalen Institute in California.
The Early Years
My early years of professional work were as a Counselor at Marin Country Juvenile Detention Center, then working as the Director of Dembridge House in Chiselhurst, Kent. I was twenty-seven years old. It was a residential community of ten men and ten women from mental hospitals in the greater London area. The purpose was to get people functioning in the world of work and everyday life. Guided by a pragmatic treatment philosophy, residents learned to accept various levels of "craziness" in a cooperative group living situation. At Dembridge House, we would say, "it doesn't matter if you're having hallucinations; it's still your turn to do the dishes. "
On my first day at Denbridge House we received a call from the local police department. They had found the body of a popular girl from the community who had committed suicide by overdose. It was imperative to hold everyone together as we went through the mourning process. Over two years, there were many dramatic events, including attempted murder by arson. No successful suicides, as I developed procedures to support people who were feeling suicidal.
I learned a lot more living with patients for two years than one would do in a fifty-minute session or on the ward of a mental hospital. It made me a very practical psychologist. I'm comfortable with doing therapy anywhere, anytime, and the experience greatly influenced all of my future work.
In my life, everything comes through psychology.
From Psychology to Coaching
For 25 years, I acted as a catalyst for change in both the corporate and non-profit worlds, helping senior management achieve their economic potential by developing and recruiting "Rain Makers" as well as creatives for new products and services.
I specialized in working with people at the far end of the bell curve - exceptionally brilliant, exceptionally talented people with the unusual skill of the "border crosser" who are people who have the psychological and cultural flexibility to thrive in multiple disciplines and geographic locations.
(Pictured: Victoria at The Wailing Wall with Her Prayer)
Peak Performance Training
My training and experience as a business psychologist aided in matching the talents of individuals with the cultures and problems of their organizations. Specifically, I helped senior managers enhance their natural ability to maintain their highest level of performance.
Past Clients have included: Lawrence S. Rockefeller, Sanford Bernstein & Co., Peter Vinella Associates, Olin Corp., Champion International, Automatic Data processing, New York Academy of Art in New York City, and Lisson Gallery in London, England.
In 1993 I became a practitioner of Peak Performance Behavior Analysis, which identifies what steps an executive follows when he does his best work. This technique is similar to sports coaching. It shows the individual how and under what conditions one’s behavior is most successful. In team-building situations, planning and role assignments are made accordingly to the Peak Performance Patterns of each individual. It is also an effective way to help a stalled executive get back on track in their current situation or outpaced.
Waking Dream Therapy
I worked with two New York Psychiatrists who practiced “Waking Dream Therapy,” and I studied on two trips to Jerusalem with the originator of the technique (Kolette Alboulker-Mucat) to synthesize traditional western psychology ideas and imagery with eastern psychological thinking.
Cernay, France 1984
Victoria was invited to be the photographer for the event and hosted a working meeting prior with Rusty Schweickart and Jim Hickman.
On September 7th, 1984, in a gracious ninth-century abbey near Paris, several American, Soviet, and French astronauts gathered to complete arrangements for the first Planetary Congress of Space Explorers. This meeting was the result of several years of private negotiation and informal discussions through non-governmental channels. The American astronauts in attendance were Donn Eisele (Apollo 7), Russell Schweickart (Apollo 9), and Dr. Edgar Mitchell (Apollo 14). James L. Hickman coordinated the American team.
“When the groups of both sides worked together, they not only got to understand each other better but also found deep respect… ‘Cooperation means friendship, and friendship means peace.” These words are still very true today.” — Gen Alexi Leonov, Soviet Commander of Apollo/Soyuz
The Overview Effect
Dividing the blackboard in half with a horizontal line, Edgar Mitchell drew a mushroom cloud in the lower half. This was one possible context for the discussion: the politics of fear and destruction. In the upper half, he drew an image of the whole Earth, symbolizing the perspective gained in the space of a world without boundaries, saying, “The task here is to maintain the perspective we have gained from our voyages outside the Earth’s atmosphere; a perspective that has impressed upon the world’s population the interconnectedness of all life.”
CONNECTIONS
"I have often found myself in the position to connect two or more like-minded people."
Over the course of my career, I have often found myself in the position of connecting two or more like-minded people in the hope that someday, those connections may prove to be the bedrock upon which great things would be built. It has therefore become an unofficial occupation of mine to host parties and play matchmaker to people of similar beliefs. I have assisted in making connections with John Denver, Brian Cassidy (MEP), Bear Grills, Laurence S. Rockefeller, and Soviet Foreign Minister Shevardnadze. Victoria also introduced Abel Aganbegyan (Chief Economic Advisor to Gorbachov) to countless Wall Street CEOs and organized a party for Sir Anish Kapoor to meet the Board Members of Millenium Park before they decided to move forward with his iconic Cloud sculpture (The Bean) in Chicago, which now one of the most recognizable works of art in the United States.
Driven by a passion for the arts, I have always sought to surround myself with the most creative minds in the world while in Chicago threw a party for Eric Fischl and his collectors in the greater metro area.
As a member of the Board of the Soviet American Exchange and Esalen Institute from 1980 - 1990, I was privileged to host many working meetings, welcome parties, and debriefings for those who traveled from California to the Former Soviet Union and back again at a time when official diplomacy between the US and Russia (USSR) was at a standstill.
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Esalen is a holistic retreat and educational institute. Established in 1962 and considered the epicenter of the Human Potential Movement, they are a non-profit offering comfort and space for exploration, transformation, and healing within the wilds of Big Sur’s majestic mountainscape and glittering coastline.
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When most people think of diplomacy, they think of official contact between government representatives, also known as Track I diplomacy. Track II diplomacy, on the other hand, involves almost entirely unofficial contacts. These unofficial contacts can include dialogues and exchanges between influential non-governmental actors from different countries, designed to build trust and increase communication. In addition, Track II initiatives can be useful when there are blockages at the official level and when a secondary, unofficial venue is needed to explore new or challenging ideas.
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I was on the Mayors Commission on the Status of Women for 8 years under Mayor Koch. We focused on forwarding Women's issues in New York City. That included pay equity for women employees of the City, sexual harassment, job opportunities and other issues that concerned women.
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An organization of New York City policemen helping other New York City policemen who have been traumatized by the job; in particular, the attacks on September 11, 2001.
