Meeting God at Midnight (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780991632725)

Constance Scharff, also known by the name Ahuva Batya, has a Ph.D. in Transformative Studies, specializing in addiction recovery. She is the Senior Addiction Research Fellow and Director of Addiction Research for the Cliffside Malibu addiction treatment center. Dr. Scharff is an award-winning author and dedicated advocate for women and girls. She has written two books, the best-selling Ending Addiction for Good and an award-winning poetry book, Meeting God at Midnight. Dr. Scharff writes regularly for several blogs and websites, including Psychology Today and Huffington Post. Her subjects include mental health, addiction, and access to mental health care. In her role as an addiction researcher, Dr. Scharff brings the latest in evidence-based addiction treatment to those at the treatment center for which she works as well as to those who suffer from addiction worldwide. She has spoken at conferences and shared information with researchers and mental health professionals in Europe, North and South America, the Middle East, Asia, Oceania, and Africa. Her goal is to eliminate the stigma that is too often associated with addiction and other mental health disorders so that individuals in need of care will be able to receive that support and lead productive, fulfilling lives. Personally and academically, Dr. Scharff has an interest in mystical and spiritual experience, the kind of experience that literally changes a person's life in a moment. She has traveled the world visiting practitioners of various religious traditions in order to help her understand how it is that individuals apprehend God. She focuses specifically on the ways in which these experiences can radically transform those who have them and uses that understanding to help those undergoing deep-seated change to incorporate that change in ways that are healthy and productive. Understanding that not all people have access to mental healthcare, Dr. Scharff uses her understanding of narrative and storytelling to help individuals in areas of the world with limited mental health services. By re-telling stories in new ways, with emphasis on different parts of the story, individuals can overcome many mental health problems that would otherwise become intractable. Dr. Scharff is a board member with the Society for Consciousness Studies and a member of the American Psychological Association, World Federation for Mental Health, and Association for Transpersonal Psychology.