Embarking on a journey towards healing and self-discovery can be a daunting task, but with the guidance of an experienced therapist like Candy Widdifield, M.Ed., RMT, the path becomes clearer and the destination more attainable. With a unique blend of qualifications including a Master’s in Counseling Psychology, accreditation as a Registered Reiki Master Teacher (RMT), and certification as a Master Coach, Candy offers a multifaceted approach to wellness and personal growth. Whether you’re seeking to overcome past traumas, manage stress, or simply enhance your overall quality of life, Candy Widdifield provides a wealth of resources and expertise to support you every step of the way. In this Mystic Mag‘s article, we delve into the transformative journey Candy facilitates for her clients, exploring how her comprehensive skill set can empower you to unlock your full potential and embrace a life of fulfillment and happiness.
In your extensive experience as a therapist and certified master coach, how do you approach helping individuals on their healing journey, and what unique methods or techniques do you find most effective?
I primarily work with people with chronic and environmental illnesses who are using some form of brain retraining in order to heal. So, there are lots of different brain retraining programs out there. Some of the more common ones include the Gupta Program for Health and Happiness, DNRS, Primal Trust, and the Unsinkable Bounce Back Program. Joe Dispenza’s work is also kind of along similar lines. I wouldn’t necessarily call it brain retraining, but it uses the same principles to activate inner healing mechanisms. My role, or what I do, is to work with people who have undergone one or several different versions of brain retraining and are actively trying to incorporate these tools into their lives for their well-being. What we find is that when you can harness the brain’s ability to change, which we understand from science as the concept of neuroplasticity, you can actively direct some of those changes to improve health, increase mental and emotional well-being, and so on.
What I’ve found over the years, having had 15 years as a registered clinical counselor and now primarily coaching, is that being able to engage with your brain in a very specific way and engaging with your nervous system is one of the most effective tools out there for seeing changes that not only happen fairly quickly but are long-lasting. In my practice, I focus on what’s efficient and effective for the clients, what will help move them forward in a powerful and sustainable way, and brain retraining and nervous system regulation really are that.
There are some basic principles underlying all brain retraining programs, foundational principles that combine education about the brain and the nervous system with practical application. Taking action is key, as it’s the repetition of actions and the active engagement in them that creates lasting changes. So, that’s primarily my work nowadays. Additionally, I also provide positive psychology-based coaching for people who are looking to thrive in their lives, those who don’t just want to survive but really want to find purpose and meaning, seeking to optimize their lives. There’s a lot of overlap between understanding brain retraining and positive psychology, and they complement each other well.
As a Registered Reiki Master Teacher, how do you integrate energy healing practices into your counseling psychology work, and what benefits have you observed in your clients through this holistic approach?
Reiki, at its basic level, is all about nervous system regulation. Therefore, it fits really well with brain retraining and psychology. When we can calm our nervous system down and achieve a state of nervous system regulation, it not only activates our inner healing mechanisms for physical issues but also allows us to release past mental and emotional traumas and other issues. Additionally, it can activate the executive functioning in our brain, enabling us to see the bigger picture, problem solve, view things from different perspectives, and adapt to difficult situations.
For me, Reiki and counseling/coaching are very complementary to each other. Often, I have clients who alternate between coaching sessions and Reiki sessions. Some clients do a chunk of coaching work with me, reach a foundation where they feel capable of navigating, and then incorporate Reiki sessions into their journey. This back-and-forth approach has proven effective in my practice.
In the Reiki world, there are many stories of medical miracles. In my practice, I’ve witnessed profound experiences with clients. For example, one client completely alleviated panic attacks after struggling with them for years. Despite trying various methods, including traditional counseling, nothing seemed to work until we combined Reiki with counseling, resulting in significant improvement within about six sessions. A year later, he hadn’t experienced a panic attack since.
I’ve also helped clients with anxiety disorders, depression, and physical ailments such as chronic pain and knee issues. Reiki has proven beneficial in alleviating these issues where other methods had failed. Moreover, in the brain retraining community, Reiki fosters nervous system regulation, enabling people to use their tools more effectively, attain elevated emotional states, and experience regulated nervous system functioning. Many individuals have been operating in a chronic stress response, and Reiki helps them relearn what it means to be in a regulated state, thereby supporting the implementation of other tools from a more stable foundation.
What type of services do you offer?
Right now, I’m primarily focused on coaching. I work with individuals dealing with chronic and environmental illnesses who are implementing some form of brain retraining. Additionally, I offer positive psychology coaching for those seeking to thrive. Alternatively, I provide Reiki as a separate service for individuals who prefer not to engage in coaching. This is perfectly fine, as some clients come specifically for stress management, personal growth, or to enhance their overall resilience.
In terms of free offerings, I publish a blog every two weeks primarily aimed at brain retrainers. I encourage readers to email me their questions, which I address in the blog posts. Additionally, I host a free live question and answer session once a month, which will continue in February and March, before transitioning to once every three months. This session is tailored to brain retrainers who have questions and seek additional support beyond what basic programs offer.
Currently, my private practice is fully booked, but I maintain a waiting list for interested individuals. If you’d like to join the waiting list, please feel free to contact me.
In your role as an Experienced Therapist, what challenges do you commonly encounter, and how do you adapt your counseling strategies to address the diverse needs of your clients?
That’s a really interesting question, and I think one of the most common challenges in any therapeutic modality that can arise is people encountering roadblocks. Whether it manifests as resistance to moving forward or just feeling stuck, individuals may find it difficult to overcome whatever is currently presenting itself. What I find really helpful when facing these situations or circumstances is, instead of trying to fight against them, to adopt an attitude of curiosity. It’s like saying, “Oh, this is really interesting, let’s learn more about it. Let’s develop a relationship with it.”
This approach could fall under the category of parts work. We all have inner parts within us—whether it’s a protector part, a worried part, an overachiever, or something tied to earlier childhood experiences where a part doesn’t feel safe moving forward. By starting to develop a relationship with these parts and getting curious about what’s happening, we can often create space to move forward.
Another useful approach that I find very effective is a somatic orientation. Sometimes, when we’re stuck in our heads and can’t seem to logic or rationalize our way through things mentally and emotionally, it helps to drop down into the body. We explore where those thought processes or resistance resides in the physical body and work somatically with the sensations that arise. This might involve supporting that area, breathing into it, or alternating between that area and another part of the body that’s calm and relaxed. There are various ways to work with this, but we do hold a lot on a cellular level. Bodyworkers often note that people store mental and emotional experiences in the cells of the body.
Sometimes, accessing this way can bypass some of the defense mechanisms or roadblocks that arise.
With a focus on improving happiness, how do you tailor your coaching sessions to help clients identify and achieve their unique sources of joy and fulfillment?
We often begin by examining a client’s resources. When I say resources, I’m referring to what fills them up, what feeds their soul, what excites them, what they love to do, what they are passionate about, and what they are good at. We start by looking at these aspects of their lives, identifying the qualities and characteristics that support their sense of meaning, purpose, happiness, and fulfillment.
There’s a really great free online tool called the VIA Character Strengths Survey. VIA stands for Values in Action. I often encourage clients to visit the website and complete the survey to discover their top values. Our top values can also inform us about what brings meaning and purpose into our lives, as well as fulfillment. Fulfillment and contentment tend to go hand in hand. When we can identify what’s important to a person and what they value, we can then explore how to bring more of that into their life. We help them live from that place, aligning with their values, which can lead to lasting happiness and contentment.
We usually start there and then build from that foundation, depending on what emerges. Sometimes, it involves exploring different ways to incorporate those values into their life. This could include career considerations or other areas outside of career. We explore whether there are skill sets that the person could benefit from learning to support their progress towards a more meaningful career, and so on.
