Eighteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

This phenomenological paper underscores the idea that human beings are agentic and always already in relationship. Many shared understandings of ourselves and our relations with others are socially constructed. Mainstream patterns posit that life is predictable, thus, possibly facilitating one’s navigation of the world, ostensibly in most contexts. Some shared understandings, however, can prove problematic. Markedly, mainstream psychology favors the philosophies of ‘atomism’ and ‘determinism,’ the former conceptualizing suffering as located inside the individual, which can lead to blame the victim, and the latter relegating agency to a meaningless “back-seat.” Consequently, mainstream psychology may be complicit with socially and morally unjust practices. The social construction of the self, as isolated, acontextual, and separate from anything that could offer meaning to it, ignores the meaningful situatedness of a person, often unique and differentiated from other contexts even when these seem similar. For instance, ignoring systems of oppression, economics, religion, race, gender, etc. at once ignores a person’s holistic lived-experience. Agency cannot be invoked without morality. An intentional effort must awake [agentic] capacities in all parties within the helping relations to effectively and holistically ameliorate suffering, and perhaps prevent some of it. This requires attending to the particular, a person’s situatedness and invoking agentic capacities for decision-making and autonomy. A case-study illustrates these phenomenological principles and invites participants to re-think the dynamics of psychotherapy. A holistic, compassionate psychotherapy entails efforts taking place outside the office, including meaningful, active advocacy and community involvement, in this sense “reimagining the traditionally individual bounds of psychology.”