The Role of Nature in Human Healing

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In musing on what Freud would have thought about the contributions of social dysfunction to psychological pathology Paul Goodman (1991) concluded that “it would become increasingly evident to him, would it not, that cure could not depend merely on talk, revival of affect, and reconsideration, but must also pass over into practical behavior, and therefore must involve a change of the social rules so as to make such curative behavior possible” (40). One can find similar references to the importance Goodman placed on the crucial role of sociopolitical functioning in all areas of the human condition throughout his vast array of political essays, educational theories, poetry, and in the 1951 tome, Gestalt Therapy: Excitement and Growth in the Human Personality. And it was through such a search that I eventually provided myself with sufficient theoretical support for including social and political issues into the therapeutic process.The Gestalt perspective that seemed most relevant in this regard had to do with Goodman’s concept of self-formation, a psychologically dynamic process in which the momentary creations of self at any given time, are formed “OF” rather than “AT” the organism/environment boundary. To form “AT” the boundary would imply an additive dynamic in which individual entities join together. To form “OF” the organism/environmental field implies a more holistic fusing: one in which more novel, and existential gestalten are formed, ones that contain elements and interactions determining lively wholes; as such, they are capable of including social and political variables which, similar to other aspects of self-functioning, can qualify as legitimate grist for the psychotherapeutic mill.When employing such a paradigm in therapy, I will often find it important to redefine the term “political” to facilitate its integration into the treatment. I present political functioning in Gestalt-based process terminology rather than through the more formal nomenclature typically applied to political party identification. When successful, the therapy becomes free to explore inquiries such as the following: What type of sociopolitical processes do you feel would be helpful and supportive to you with respect to the work you have done here? Are there ways in which you can imagine yourself becoming active in movements or organizations that support such principles and practices?I often find this sort of inquiry most effective toward the end of therapy, in that it adds a welcomed complexity to a lot of the psychological work already accomplished. In addition, it sends off the important, yet implicit, message that indeed it is difficult if not impossible to maintain one’s sanity in an insane environment. In addition, I often find that this type of closure instills a spontaneous and comprehensive understanding of more global environmental concerns. And here again, Gestalt therapy can be useful; a factor highlighted by Theodore Roszak (1992) who, in assessing various schools of psychology that attempt to incorporate environmental awareness into their theoretical structure, believed that: “Only the Gestalt school has introduced a larger, more fully biological context for therapy that seeks to unite figure with ground, organism with environment; it is the only school that uses the concept of ecology in its theories” (304).