From Individualism to Interconnectedness

Many people living in the Western world have been shaped by predominantly individualistic values that view a person and their problems in isolation from other factors. This could be understood as part of the heritage of Western rationalism that was furthered during the Enlightenment period beginning in the 17th century. The focus on scientific reasoning in this period placed a high value on breaking things down into their smallest parts to study and make sense of them, as well as prioritizing the mind and mental reasoning over the body and emotional life. The Western world of mental health is shaped by this individualism; historically this has looked like the tendency to pathologize issues related to relational and cultural traumas, as well as viewing symptoms through a mental and scientific lens of diagnosis rather than a holistic view that includes a person’s emotional life, trauma, culture and history of relationships.

Over the years the mental health field has grown, expanded to have more interpersonal and systems focus, with a depth of understanding that wellbeing exists within networks of relationship, including familial, communal, societal, global and even ecological circles. Listening to Indigenous voices offers a deeper way of understanding flourishing. Robin Wall Kimmerer, the author of “Braiding Sweetgrass” reflects on the costliness of not living in reciprocal relationships: “we have become more isolated, more lonely when we can no longer call out to our neighbors.” Kimmerer offers deep wisdom about what it means to be whole people who fundamentally need others, and heal in the midst of relationship, for “Each person, human or no, is bound to every other in a reciprocal relationship.”

Transformation can happen when both client and therapist recognize there is wisdom that comes from understanding deeply that every person is part of a whole, and exists within circles of relationship, from past and present, in the here and now. Relationships can be very painful parts of life. They are also where those tender places can be healed, in the context of a safe connection. Therapy can be many things, but one way to view it could be about restoring connection, beginning with oneself and one’s own body, and moving out into circles of healthy relationship with others and the planet.

Notes

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Photo by Charlotte Austad on Unsplash