Author: Bex Reno, PhD, ASW
We are living in unprecedented times.
This phrase has been said so many times in recent years it’s become, well, precedented.
We have lived through so many historical events as of late, but what this has meant to each of us is different – different based on our race, class, gender, sexuality, health or mental health status, and dozens of other identity characteristics that shape us, others’ perception of us, and our rights and opportunities. Despite these differences, there is a collective undercurrent of exhaustion, frustration, sadness, and rage. In short, for so many, these precedented/unprecedented times are wearing us out and leaving us longing for change.
When we think about social change, we don’t typically think of therapy. We might be more apt to name social movements, protests and marches, strikes, and other forms of resistance that move us toward justice. To be fair, therapy as it has been conceptualized and implemented in the West has received its fair share of criticism, much of it warranted (in my opinion). To name a few of those critiques – there is a problematic history of the white saviorism in social work (my own discipline), the pathologizing of diagnostic categories (e.g., identifying homosexuality as a mental health condition), and the focus on individualism which excludes the importance of our families and communities. This individualistic focus sometimes results in removing the person from their environment – and with the environment (i.e., the United States) being what it is lately, that results in a whole lot of context being left out of the therapy space.
There are a number of different approaches that move us beyond this individualistic paradigm, and for me, the one that most resonates is liberation psychology. Liberation psychology not only acknowledges the broader environment we’re all nested within, it also describes how therapy can lead to social change. This deeply resonates with me as I have had a career spanning over 25 years as a racial justice advocate and researcher. For many years I felt as though social change required working at the systems-level to try to achieve equity. I realized, however, that people make up systems, and that all of us have the responsibility, and power (!) to remake society. So I became a therapist, not only to support people through these times, but because I believe that when people feel seen, heard, and whole, we all benefit.
What this looks like in the therapeutic space is varied. For some I support them in navigating the many factors that have made this time unprecedented. For others, we explore their direct experiences in their daily lives which at first glance might seem unrelated to the broader context. Regardless of content, in each session I hold space with the awareness that none of us exist in isolation, so that we can work together toward liberation as individuals, in service of collective and eventual freedom. Unfortunately there is no way out but through these unprecedented times – but we don’t have to go through them alone. Liberation psychology reminds us all of our power to create change; starting – but not ending – with ourselves.