Great piece Steffi , much needed. So much of what I do these days doesn’t even fit into definition of psychology, great to think of it as part of an ecosystemic diversification . So much of what you write here applies to very many fields and disciplines right now, vital reading, thank you 🙏
This is great Steffi - it puts into words a lot of issues I've been reflecting upon and grappling with for a while. Like noticing how the predominant voices on trauma psychology are white men, and wanting to learn more from other cultures and particularly marginalised people - many of whom know in an embodied, everyday reality sense, how to process trauma (collectively, as much as individually). And also often feeling the tension between claiming my feminist, decolonial approach to wellbeing whilst remaining a white, largely privileged woman with far greater influence and reach than many. Thank you for your suggestions on shifting these models we all feed into. My hope would be that any effort at 'collective' learning or including marginalised voices is not simply a tokenistic gesture - sadly we see a lot if this too in the mental health and wellbeing world. But your honesty around uncertainty and sustainability is refreshing and insightful.
Thanks you. You name so many important issues. I think it is difficult to know how to disentangle ourselves from the hero myth that sits at the centre of individualism, but we must try to gesture towards different ways. Thanks for bringing up the different cultural ways of tending to trauma and rupture .... !
I just love the ecological perspective overlaid onto a virtual landscape that is rife with examples of such monocultures. It really helps to illuminate both the damage to the system, but also a pathway towards revitalization and mutual flourishing. Thank you.
My goodness, what an excellent piece! I know this speaks to so many of us building practices in this space, thank you for sharing your wisdom and insight Steffi. Some much needed perspective and guidance 🙌
As a therapist trained in multiple modalities and working now mainly in planetary wide systems geared toward collective trauma resilience and healing ( Pocket Project trainings, Global Social Witnessing, Deep Transformation Network) your points ring true. In Global Social Witnessing which is a newly emergent process, there are attempts to encourage local place-based actions. But the influence of modernity ( right actions, hierarchical supervision, expert leaders, teaching sessions in English, certification based on courses paid for, white-bodied supremacy, use of computer metaphors) is as strong as anywhere else. Interestingly enough, small self-selected circles of those reading, composting and struggling together with the discomforts of Hospicing and Outgrowing Modernity, flourish. That is where the tricksters live. This is where folk make unexpected connections. These virtual spaces are beginning to seed place-based change... slooowly
Thank you Eimear for sharing your experience and reflections. I think it is impossible to be outside the system that we are in. But we can be in them with presence and consciousness. You putting words to your experience also helps me to see things more clearly. Thank you. And I like how you describe that the fact of staying with the felt incongruence for long enough and that in this process something starts opening up. New connections and community form and something emerges from that, which has the potential to transcend the double bind. Thank you for your reflections
Great piece Steffi , much needed. So much of what I do these days doesn’t even fit into definition of psychology, great to think of it as part of an ecosystemic diversification . So much of what you write here applies to very many fields and disciplines right now, vital reading, thank you 🙏
This is great Steffi - it puts into words a lot of issues I've been reflecting upon and grappling with for a while. Like noticing how the predominant voices on trauma psychology are white men, and wanting to learn more from other cultures and particularly marginalised people - many of whom know in an embodied, everyday reality sense, how to process trauma (collectively, as much as individually). And also often feeling the tension between claiming my feminist, decolonial approach to wellbeing whilst remaining a white, largely privileged woman with far greater influence and reach than many. Thank you for your suggestions on shifting these models we all feed into. My hope would be that any effort at 'collective' learning or including marginalised voices is not simply a tokenistic gesture - sadly we see a lot if this too in the mental health and wellbeing world. But your honesty around uncertainty and sustainability is refreshing and insightful.
Thanks you. You name so many important issues. I think it is difficult to know how to disentangle ourselves from the hero myth that sits at the centre of individualism, but we must try to gesture towards different ways. Thanks for bringing up the different cultural ways of tending to trauma and rupture .... !
I just love the ecological perspective overlaid onto a virtual landscape that is rife with examples of such monocultures. It really helps to illuminate both the damage to the system, but also a pathway towards revitalization and mutual flourishing. Thank you.
Thank you Sarah. I am glad to hear that it resonates!
My goodness, what an excellent piece! I know this speaks to so many of us building practices in this space, thank you for sharing your wisdom and insight Steffi. Some much needed perspective and guidance 🙌
Thank you Genevieve!
As a therapist trained in multiple modalities and working now mainly in planetary wide systems geared toward collective trauma resilience and healing ( Pocket Project trainings, Global Social Witnessing, Deep Transformation Network) your points ring true. In Global Social Witnessing which is a newly emergent process, there are attempts to encourage local place-based actions. But the influence of modernity ( right actions, hierarchical supervision, expert leaders, teaching sessions in English, certification based on courses paid for, white-bodied supremacy, use of computer metaphors) is as strong as anywhere else. Interestingly enough, small self-selected circles of those reading, composting and struggling together with the discomforts of Hospicing and Outgrowing Modernity, flourish. That is where the tricksters live. This is where folk make unexpected connections. These virtual spaces are beginning to seed place-based change... slooowly
Thank you Eimear for sharing your experience and reflections. I think it is impossible to be outside the system that we are in. But we can be in them with presence and consciousness. You putting words to your experience also helps me to see things more clearly. Thank you. And I like how you describe that the fact of staying with the felt incongruence for long enough and that in this process something starts opening up. New connections and community form and something emerges from that, which has the potential to transcend the double bind. Thank you for your reflections
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