Thinking prompts: How can others benefit from what you’ve learned in therapy?
Therapy (and healing in general) are often thought of as individual processes. Western psychology positions the client as disconnected from the wider world, but we know this is not true at all. You are a connected being—you are influenced by those around you, by your culture, by your community, by your world—and so too can you influence others.
Can therapy reverberate beyond an individual? I think so. I hope so, indeed. To me, therapy is one piece of a bigger puzzle that we need to put together if we are going to create a more dignified and healing-centred world. So, I imagine that when my clients heal/recover, their relationships, and by extension, their communities, feel the positive effects of that.
You are at the centre of your process in therapy, but oftentimes, your cherished loved ones feel the positive impacts as well.
Thinking prompts for extending your healing beyond yourself
The thinking of Western psychology is rooted in individualism, not collectivism. Many folks come from collectivist cultural backgrounds where group needs or the needs of others are more important or equally as important as individual needs. I can see how therapy does not always fit in with this worldview, because it seems like such an individual thing to do. However, therapy can also be seen as a way of building up one part (one person) within a greater system (the family or community).
If you want it to, your work in therapy can resonate beyond just you. I created some thinking prompts that you can consider or journal about if you’re interested in this line of inquiry.
List of prompts
Feel free to only sit with the questions that feel comfortable for you at this time, and return to others if and when it feels right.
Who walked this path before me so I could take my first steps into healing?
Who might I be paving the way for?
In what ways have the positive effects of my healing already begun to reverberate beyond just myself?
Who else in my community needs an opportunity to feel the ease, safety, and belonging that I have begun to access?
Who and what did I need when I began to heal?
What qualities in my therapist allowed me to open up and be vulnerable? Would others need or seek out the same qualities?
How was I able to access the support I needed?
What barriers exist that need to be dismantled in order for others to begin their own healing journey as I have?
What harmful beliefs, norms, and attitudes might other members of my community be perpetuating?
What, if any, is my role in resisting these norms and making space for more expansive possibilities?
Final note
I believe (I know) that healing plays a role in social change.
However, we need to actively work toward this. The act of healing alone cannot produce social change until we are willing (and ready) to ask ourselves, who do we wish to pass the benefits of our healing on to? When will we know that we’re ready to start looking beyond ourselves and towards those who need us?
