Name

The Wateree River, and by extension Lake Wateree, is named for one of the most powerful Native American tribes inhabiting central South Carolina as far back as the time of the Spanish settlements at Santa Elena in the late 1560s. The name is thought to come from the Catawba language, wateran, “to float on water”. Originally a large tribe with women chieftains, the Wateree Indians were diminished over time by disease and war. While they became extinct as a tribe by the end of the 18th century (Walter Edgar: South Carolina: A History), their name is preserved in the river.

“Ah…timelessness, a river’s secret weapon.” (Duane Short: Illinois Forest Altwist, Jan 17, 2006)

A relative newcomer, I have thrived on the banks of the Wateree for a mere half century. But it has always brought me solace, raised my spirits, and sparked my imagination.

Roots

I am rooted to this spot.

As a psychological symbol water is linked with the unconscious, the soul, feelings, and the flow of life. Rivers represent our emotional journey. Practically speaking, the life-giving nature of rivers most likely explains why populations grew up around them. (O’Connell, Airey, and Craze: Symbols, Signs & Dream Interpretation).

As a child I often played under bridges or along the banks of streams and rivers while my father fished. Even as I played under his watchful eye I was aware of the special nature of the edge between land and water. An element of excitement and danger existed there. One could stay on the bank or float along on the surface, but the real excitement came from diving in. Despite its beauty and its allure, the dive into the waters, like the dive into Self-exploration, is not a neutral event and is best experienced with a watchful guide.

Magic

Moonlight on the water punctuates the close of day and heralds the mystery of the night to come—a river of light reflected in a river. The great reflector moon becomes the reflected. The dreams of the night wait a turn to dance with the dreamer.

Such is the reciprocal nature of the psychotherapeutic dance as well. Therapist and counselee find themselves reflected in and receiving sustenance from the other as each simultaneously engages in internal and external self-reflection. The therapist remains an engaged, watchful, protective guide. The therapeutic process “…sees the creative encounter with the inner world of feelings and symbolic imagery as the heart of therapy, yet never forgets the necessity of putting inner experience to the test in the everyday world.” -Keith Parker, Jungian psychologist, Brevard, NC.

Logo

As a rule, names exist before the individual or entity that bear them and they reflect the history or nature of that which is named and in some respect may predict an imagined destiny. There is nothing arbitrary about a name, or about this name. It is carefully crafted to simultaneously differentiate a specialized counseling practice and to also integrate it into the community. The origins of the first part of this name, Wateree, is centuries old and calls on the wisdom of the place and the ancestors. The second part, Counseling, describes a delicate process whereby one person assists another in loosening fixed ways of behaving to allow for a fuller life experience. And the last part of the name, Boutique, practically and accurately describes a small business offering specialized products and services. All is synthesized into the contemporary conciseness of a concept reflected as logo.