What would it look like to be part of a society capable of studying itself and drawing from its issues increased awareness, wisdom, creativity and the seeds for positive social change? Searching for practical tools and ways of thinking to explore this question led me to the study of Process-oriented psychology, or Processwork, a facilitation paradigm informed by a creative and embodied approach towards thinking about and working with disturbances. My interest in Processwork emerged from a number of frustrating experiences I had in groups, organisations and institutions working towards social change, which guided me to ask, how to acknowledge our part in repeating the societal dynamics we criticise and how do we work with and learn from this?
Processwork is a multifaceted awareness practice, simultaneously simple and complex, taking both a day and a lifetime to grasp and put into practice. Founded on a philosophy of process and an understanding of continuous change as a fundamental property of the world, it is an evolving paradigm, based on and borrowing from many fields and practices including Jungian psychology, physics, Taoism, Systems Theory, earth-based traditions and so-called ‘shamanic’ practices.1
Three main aspects originally drew me to the study of Processwork, relating to my interest in the idea that the personal and societal realms are inextricably interrelated and expressions of one another:
– Working with the disturbance
In Processwork, what we experience is understood as information that is part of a system or ‘field’ of which we are a part and which is part of us. What we encounter as disturbing indicates something about the qualities or ways of being we identify with and reject. If we are part of the field and the field is part of us, we can assume the disturbing quality is related to an aspect of ourselves we are less familiar with and/or which we disavow. Understanding all interactions within a system as parts of a process where the system is ‘trying to know itself’, a Processwork-informed approach to disturbance, such as conflict within a group, will involve supporting increased awareness of the different roles, experiences, verbal and nonverbal signals attempting to find expression within that dynamic.
Rather than trying to suppress or fix the disturbing quality, an attitude of curiosity informs the process of unfolding different aspects of what is happening: What are the specific experiential qualities of the disturbance? What are the beliefs and preconceptions held by a group or individual in relation to the disturbance? What are the roles and power dynamics inherent to the disturbance and how and why might they be reacting towards one another? How are societal and historical narratives influencing the experience of those involved?
Fundamental to a Processwork attitude towards disturbance is that it is understood as inherently creative and indicative of its own solution. A disturbance, such as conflict, contains vital information relevant to a system’s process of change. What particularly interests me about this is the implication that important information is contained in what we usually understand as a problem, opening up radically different ways of relating to and working with disturbing things we might conventionally try to eradicate. This does not mean compromising or settling for unacceptable behaviours. It suggests that when disturbances arise, refraining from assuming we know all there is to know and keeping an open mind supports deeper engagement with the intricacies of what is happening, leading to different possibilities for interacting with the situation.
– Working with the felt sense
Subjective experience is considered an important source of information in Processwork. As the individual and wider field are considered interrelated, whatever is personally felt is understood as expressive of the wider system. Emotional responses, feeling activated, dreaming, distraction, boredom, physical sensations, unintended movements and shifts in atmosphere are useful signals for understanding the emergent dynamics of a process. A Processwork facilitator does not think of themselves as a neutral observer but a participant-facilitator who inevitably activates and is activated by the unfolding process. Whatever the facilitator feels is recognised as not only personal but relevant in some way to the group or individual they are working with.
My interest in the felt sense as a source of knowledge is informed by feminist discourses challenging Western divisions between body and mind. Understanding all points of view as situated in a specific context of relations, physicality and experience impacting how and what is seen, feminists such as Elizabeth Grosz assert that:
“The body and the modes of sensual perception which take place through it are not mere physical/physiological phenomena; nor are they simply psychological results of physical causes. Rather, they affirm the necessary connectedness of consciousness as it is incarnated; mind… is always embodied, always based on corporeal and sensory relations.”2
What Processwork provides is a framework for valuing and working with the multi-layered and oftentimes subtle experiential dynamics composing individual and group experience, which are not customarily acknowledged or deemed relevant in a discussion, particularly in formal contexts.
– Deep Democracy
Deep Democracy is the philosophical basis underlying Processwork. It is defined by the idea that true democracy cannot be possible without deeper awareness of the multiple forms of experience making up a system and the interactions between its parts. From a deep democracy perspective, all views, states of experience, levels of reality and modes of expression have validity and are deemed relevant information in need of unfolding and bringing into awareness. Developing this awareness means becoming more conscious of the overt and subtle signals, power dynamics and belief systems structuring our interactions, including noticing ways of being that are accepted and those which are marginalised within a given moment and context.
Informed by the Taoist idea that what we deem negative and positive is interrelated and contextual, deep democracy as a philosophical approach encourages an outlook that takes note of but is not driven by preconceived ideas about what is right/wrong or real/not real. Rather than trying to make something specific happen, a deeply democratic approach entails ‘following the nature’ of an emergent process, and noticing the different interacting parts attempting to find expression. This process is supported through the dialogue between parts, which catalyses their unfolding.
Deep democracy as an underlying principle highlights Processwork’s emphasis on diversity and awareness. As a practitioner of the approach, a deeply democratic attitude towards one’s own internal diversity is understood as necessary for supporting one’s ability to be fluid and not stay overly identified with specific ways of being, opening up one’s capacity to notice and become aware of the different forms of experience structuring external contexts and interactions. Without awareness of the ways in which I suppress myself, for example, I am more likely to overlook the ways in which suppression is happening in general and how I am contributing to this.
As a systemic paradigm, Processwork echoes the philosophies of Eastern, spiritual and indigenous traditions that conceive of the individual as part of a unified system. Often we might assume that such unity implies harmony, which is unrealistic and fails to acknowledge the reality of chaotic and conflictual dynamics constituting life. I appreciate how Processwork stays with the trouble3 of disturbing dynamics and perceives these as containing wisdom with the potential to support deeper and more meaningful levels of understanding and relationship. Processwork as a paradigm encourages becoming more conscious of the ways in which we influence one another from moment to moment. Without this awareness, the risk of perpetuating the behaviours against which we struggle seems more likely.
1Grappling with the appropriative dynamics entangled within this is something practitioners of Processwork are increasingly exploring.
2Grosz, E. (1991) Volatile Bodies: Toward a Corporeal Feminism, Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, p.86.
3 Haraway, D. (2016) Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene, Durham: Duke University Press, p. 1.