On October 1, 2020, Patricia R. Adson, Ph.D., a CAPT-published writer, as well as a psychologist, coach, and beloved friend, mother and grandmother, passed away peacefully at the age of 91.
Pat was scrupulously humble and she possessed a depth of wisdom that was well-earned and regularly sought out through the many chapters of her remarkable life. Her absence is felt keenly by all who knew her. Pat was characterized by her commitment to ongoing growth, learning, and resilience throughout her life.
In the early 1980s Pat became increasingly dissatisfied with the diagnosis-based medicalization of psychotherapy and, intrigued by the hero's journey as interpreted by PMAI® assessment co-author Carol Pearson, in conjunction with other burgeoning human development theories, Pat's learning took her to the emerging field of coaching. In 1999 she wrote two books: Finding Your Own True North and Helping Others Find Direction in Life, and A Princess & Her Garden: A Fable of Awakening & Arrival.
When Pat was 70 she enlisted a coach who suggested she plan her next twenty years. She laughed and said she would be dead by that time and the coach replied, "What if you are not?"
Pat enrolled at the Hudson Institute of Coaching in Santa Barbara in 2000. There she started work on her third book, Depth Coaching: Discovering Archetypes for Empowerment, Growth, and Balance, and surpassed all the goals she established for herself in her life plan.
In the final years and months of her life, Pat was frequently asked to share her wisdom and life-lessons. Pat's truth-telling always cut to the heart of the issue, and she gifted her wisdom not as a cure for what ails us but as an invitation to trust our own inner resources. An invitation into the core of ourselves where we realize: The only real control we have is within; in order to face constant change, we have to find a way to steady ourselves in the storm, and we have to learn to trust in that way.
In this respect, her voice lives on in all who knew her and carry forward that message of courage, grace, and resilience.
Finding Our Voice, Managing Anger
