In this domain of research, I look for small glimmers of how "mainstream" helping professionals might rethink our work so that we are contributing to radical, alternative pathways to care and flourishing within our communities.

Here are some of the limitations of psychotherapy as it is practiced in our current economic and social conditions: 

• As with most other goods and services, the best psychotherapy is primarily available only to those who can afford it. 

• Psychotherapy is typically practiced in a frame which intentionally separates the individual from their context, emphasizing intrapsychic change, individual privacy, and confidentiality. 

• A relatively small workforce of highly trained professionals is straining to offer sufficient care to an ever-growing number of individuals who are experiencing distress. 

How might “psychotherapy” be practiced in a “world that works for all?” Here, I am relying upon the work of Miki Kashtan, who writes about the transition we must make from scarcity, separation, and powerlessness to flow, togetherness, and choice. These three trainings are essential if we are to move from our current exchange economy to what she calls a maternal gift economy. 

I understand that this world is almost unimaginable in its distance from how things currently are, and yet I describe it here nonetheless.  

We have moved from scarcity to flow; many “psychopathologies” are obsolete. In a world in which our basic human needs -- for food, shelter, love, freedom, and meaningful work -- are met, what we call "psychopathology" today is much more rare.

We have moved from exchange to gift; “healing work” flows towards those who need it, rather than only towards those who can pay. Assuming that something resembling "healing" is still needed in a world free from scarcity, the conditions in which “healing work” occurs are radically different. Wise, ethical, well-trained healers of all kinds are recognized as precious human resources, and their material needs are attended to by a wide community. This allows those healers to offer their gifts freely to the individuals who need them, without concern for those individuals' ability to pay.

We have moved from separation to togetherness; “psychopathology” is co-held as our collective responsibility. The psychological suffering of any one individual is recognized as a symptom of systemic un-wellness. The "treatment" of any individual "pathology" includes as broad a context as possible. 

We have moved from powerlessness to choice; to whatever extend possible, “healing” work is practiced as a form of collective learning and capacity-building. Psychological and spiritual "healing" work, done in service of any one individual, is designed and understood as capacity-building work for an entire community and network. Inherited notions of stigma, privacy, and confidentiality are questioned. Wherever possible, healing work is done in the context of a high-trust, interconnected learning community that can learn from what is taking place. This allows the benefits of healing work to ripple out more powerfully through modeling, embodied learning, and intergenerational transmission.