Dr. Katherine Batten (MacDowell)

D.Div., D.Th., MA, M.Ed, Sh, Sum, OCP, RPDP
Founder & Dean
Contact: oceanseminary@verizon.net  
 

Education:
Dr. Batten (MacDowell) holds multiple graduate degrees in both psychology (masters in Counseling and doctoral candidate in Health) and Theology (Doctorate in Christian Theology; Masters in Comparative Religion, Christian History and Buddhism) and has also studied Neopagan traditions with Z Budapest at the Women’s Spirituality Forum and Eclectic Wicca with Lady Raven Moonshadow. She was recently honored with ordaination by Z Budapest as one of her first Summoners. In addition to graduate and post-graduate education, she holds a Bachelor’s in English literature with subspecialties in religion and premedical science.

Research Interests:
Sheactively researches in the field of cultural diversity, ecosophy, ecology, cultural theory, textual criticism, qualitative research methodology, social justice, environmental philosophy, shamanism, religious naturalism, thealogy, ecotheology and ecopsychology, and atheology.

Publications:

Batten MacDowell, K, & Schroll, M.A. (2011). Editors' Introduction: Understanding the Transpersonal Ecosophical Perspective. Restoration Earth, 1(1), 5-18.
MacDowell, K. (2011). Response to “Shifting Paradigms: From Technocrat to Planetary Person”. Anthropology of Consciousness, 22 (1), 35-37.
MacDowell, K. (2011). Seeking the Well of Life. SageWoman, March (80), "Healing Ourselves".
Macdowell, K. (2010). Shamanic Healing: A Personal Perspective. Rhine Newsletter, Rhine Institute.
MacDowell, K. (2010). A paradigmatic review of Integral Ecology. Trumpeter: Journal of Ecosophy, 26(1), 174-188.
MacDowell, K. (2010). Goddess Wheel of the Year. South Carolina: Lulu/OSC Press.
MacDowell, K., & Schroll, M.A. (2010). “Conservation Psychology—A review.” Perspective, December/January, 18-20.
MacDowell, K. (2009). Ethics & Professional Practice for Neopagan Clergy. South Carolina: Lulu/OSC Press.
MacDowell, K. (2009). Sacred Groves: Creating and Sustaining Neopagan Covens. South Carolina: Lulu/OSC Press.

Scholarly Activities:

Dr. Batten (MacDowell) is currently at work on a text on rape in mythology, as well as finishing the final edits on her text on ritual and liturgy in Wicca.  She is the developer of the contemporay woman's Seidr tradition, which she teaches at OSC. She currently serves as a reviewer for the academic, peer-reviewed journal Anthropology of Consciousness and is currently a guest editor with Dr. Mark A. Schroll for a special issue for the journal The Trumpeter on the work of Arne Naess and Gregory Bateson. Also with Dr. Mark Schroll, she is the founding editor of OSC's new academic journal Restoration Earth, which released November 2011

Professional Associations:

She is a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society, the Psi Chi Honor Society for Psychology, Association of Conservation Psychology, the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, the American Psychological Association's Divisions in Counseling Psychology, Humanistic and Transpersonal Psychology, Peace Psychology, and Health, the Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment, the Association for Humanistic Psychology, the Association for Transpersonal Psychology, and is certified in human research by UCLA. She is an ordained clergy person and a licensed professional development provider. She has served on the leadership circle of the Community of the Mystic Heart and served on the Board of Directors of The Institute for Thealogy and Deasophy.

Additional Information:

In 2005 she became catastrophically ill, which prompted her founding of OSC. Prior to this, Dr. Batten (MacDowell) had worked for more than 8 years in the clinical field and was clinical supervisor of a dual-diagnosis (substance abuse and co-occurring psychiatric disorder) treatment program. She specialized in trauma and personality disorders. She is also a produced, award-winning playwright and singer/songwriter. Her album releases include:

  • Selkie (December 2011, compilation, digital distribution)
  • Son of Arianrhod (November 2011, cello and piano)
  • Chasing Zebras (July 2011, solo piano and guitar)
  • She Waits: A Retrospective (July 2010, compilation, digital distribution)
  • 9 Sacred Pillars (July 2008, orchestral)
  • Hitchhiker (1998, re-release July 2011)
  • My Name Is... (1996, re-release July 2011)
  • Baby Blue (1995)
In addition to her musical work she is a prolific poet and the author of the following collections:
  • Love Amongst the Fishes
  • Into Quiet
  • Turning the Silver Wheel
  • Vestiges & Bones
  • Witness
She is currently at work on a symphony entitled "Threnody for Earth" and the string quartet "Legend of Seahorse Lady". Sheet music for Chasing Zebras: The Sonatas for Piano and Guitar and Son of Arianrhod: The Sonatas for Cello and Piano have been released. Her photography book A Study of Sandy Hook was released in 2011.