Part 2:
At the beginning of the summer we had David Irvine teaching us SOWK 604 - Advanced Practice Theories in Context. Another class experience that deeply moved me with its timeliness. I was feeling a bit lost and exhausted, and David’s authenticity and vulnerability brought me back to some core aspects of who I am and what makes a great therapist and social worker. As I reflect on this class I see the bridge as I was reminded of the experience and skills I came into this program with and how essential they truly are. I saw myself as I witnessed David’s role playing in class, and our stories bore a lot of similarities, including a familial history of being Mormon and a strong affinity for the Hero’s Journey.
Here are some snippets from a paper I wrote in this class:
As a social justice worker I want to be a bridge in many ways. A bridge that connects communities, a bridge that connects individuals to communities, a bridge that connects similarities and differences, a bridge that connects somatics and social justice, and a bridge that reflects the bridge in others, leading them home to the wisdom that is their body. One tenet of my philosophy that I came into this program with, inspired from Internal Family Systems (2001) and my years of practicing and studying yogic philosophy, is that we all have the wisdom we seek within us. My role is one of reflecting this wisdom as I embody it, so that others can tune into what has been lost, exiled or separated within them.
I feel a strong pull towards the healing justice arena (Page et al., 2023), and feel called to co-create spaces for social justice warriors and frontline workers to come together and be nourished and supported with somatic practices so they can flourish while engaging in the heavy and transformative paths they are on.
Similar to the Authenticity Model (2018) and my experience practicing Internal Family Systems, I believe my role is to hold loving space for others and walk with them as they uncover the valid reasons for what was previously perceived as an internal block. With this understanding and compassion, an organic process of change takes place, and that internal change will reflect and support collective change externally. Tending to and mending relationships intrapersonally gives us a template for strengthening relationships interpersonally.
I recognize the Indigenous wisdom that is inherent in all previously mentioned modalities and frameworks that I am inspired by. While there is no pan-Indigenous way of knowing or being, a common thread is the view that everything is relational, therefore, malleable, co-constructed and changing as we interact and relate differently (Wilson, 2019). When we recognize the interconnection between intrapersonal and interpersonal, this increases our individual responsibility to engage in healing our internal system. How we interact and hold space for ourselves is a reflection of what’s possible in our contribution and participation with the world around us, and that has the potential to change the entire Universe (Wilson, 2019). It is from this place of individual integration, empowerment, and relationality, that more people access the internal resources needed to deconstruct and co-construct a new reality that embodies equity, diversity, inclusion and social justice. In other words, when we embody radical inclusion, we access the skills needed to manifest radical inclusion systemically. Above all else, I view my role in this work as being a co-creator, collaborator, co-conspiritor (intentional misspelling) and exemplifier of the healing power of healthy relationships. This includes humility, remaining open to what is unmeasurable, and a deep respect for others being the expert of their own experience.
Within my philosophy there is room for me to be wrong, to update what I think I know now, and to continually learn from those I work with. In a recent study by Nadeem & Bashir Ahmad (2023), while they acknowledge that Somatic Internal Family Systems is new to the field, it aligns with generations of wisdom that comes from multicultural Indigenous wisdom. The same can be said of healing-justice, healing-centered and anti-sanism. While I feel resourced and guided by ancestral knowledge, this also creates more space for misinterpretation and harmful appropriation. As I strive to continue learning, growing, and respectfully acknowledging the ancient wisdom imbued in these approaches, I do so with excitement and am guided by the courage and support of embodied self-compassion. If I can be patient, curious, understanding and reassuring with the parts of myself that are in struggle, or that I struggle with the most, there is a direct correlation to my increasing aptitude for cultural humility (Gottlieb & Shibusawa, 2019). Referencing the work of Kristin Neff, researcher of self-compassion, Gottlieb & Shibusawa (2019) acknowledge that there is a long history in Western paradigms and social work regarding compassion in relation to others, but only in the last two decades has there been pivotal research and structure created for the benefits and practice of self-compassion. Self-compassion asks us to be relational with ourselves, to empathize, validate and soothe our own internal experience by normalizing and welcoming it. It leads us to ask our suffering what it needs and listen to our body rather than force, bypass or criticize it. Self-compassion guides us to see there is no part of ourselves that is inherently “less than”, to question how we view “difference”, and to pause to see more perspectives. Self-compassion guides us back into our bodies, a place that can be more than just uncomfortable to inhabit fully. Yet it is this path of embodiment that connects us more fully with our ability to see a broader perspective and take action against systems that seek to keep us distracted. With self-compassion, I can feel my way through the models I am combining, I can trust that I will notice when I wander off that path, and I can be patient and welcoming as I practice loving myself back on track.
References:
Gottlieb, M., & Shibusawa, T. (2019). The impact of self-compassion on cultural competence: Results from a quantitative study of MSW students. Journal of Social Work Education, 56(1), 30–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2019.1633976
Irvine, D. (2018). The other Everest: Navigating the pathway to authentic leadership. Gondolier.
Nadeem, H., & Bashir Ahmad, Dr. K. (2023). The effect of somatic internal family systems therapy on males and females with internalizing behaviours in Pakistan experiencing family conflicts: A comparative study. Bahria University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 6(1), 109–124. https://doi.org/10.58800/bujhss.v6i1.156
Wilson, S. (2019). Research is ceremony: Indigenous research methods. Langara College.