What is the narrative you tell about your life? What identities resonate with you as you share who you are? Are there any boxes you would like to step out of? Have you ever considered letting go of what no longer serves you to step forward into alignment?

These questions have always been central to my personal and professional journey. As I delve deeper into my practice and identity, I am redefining the roles and titles that resonate with me. Alignment, for me, is about achieving a balance of heart, body, mind, and soul in harmony with nature. This decision has been shaped by countless hours of conversation, reflection, emotions, and research.

To me, wholeness means integrating the body and mind into a dialogue where both the analytical and intuitive sides of my brain can communicate. The analytic left hemisphere reads the empirical signs of environmental and societal devastation, while the intuitive right hemisphere sees the potential for growth and sustainability. The body senses illness and disconnection through a lens of brokenness. It is time to reconnect, starting with ourselves. As Robin Wall Kimmerer writes, “All flourishing is mutual.”

The Problem with the System

Western culture often glorifies data and systems, conditioning us to look for patterns of “what’s wrong.” We then create boxes to simplify and categorize, but this often leads to further disconnection. I choose a different story—one of healing for all beings in communion with Mother Earth. Language shapes our reality, so we must be mindful of our thoughts, words, and the identities we adopt.

The Western perspective on science and psychology tends to separate humans from nature and wholeness, placing them in boxes of pathology and brokenness. While identifying past traumas can be beneficial, it becomes detrimental when we attach our identities to these traumas, keeping us stuck in the past. The current Western model of clinical therapy often tattoos people with diagnoses, failing to help them grow and move forward. Suppression is rampant, with pharmaceuticals often prescribed to numb the messages our bodies are trying to communicate. I believe our past traumas can provide valuable wisdom, helping us move out of the past and grow into the present.

Given these practices of self-suppression, it’s no surprise that mental health in North America is in crisis. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 1 in 3 Americans struggles with anxiety and depression. Every 12 minutes, someone dies by suicide, and drug and alcohol abuse continues to rise. Due to patriarchal domination, we all carry some level of trauma in our bodies and minds, which is a root cause of this crisis.

As trauma researcher Dr. Gabor Maté states, “We are in an epidemic… Our political and social systems don't support fundamental human needs… The essence of trauma is disconnection from ourselves… Trauma is that very separation from the body and emotions.” The real question is, “How did we get separated, and how do we reconnect?”

Why I’m Leaving the Traditional Path

My decision to leave the traditional therapy path crystallized while studying for the Marriage & Family Therapy Licensure Exam. The study guide recommended this approach:

"When taking the exam, try to prevent yourself from viewing the questions through a lens of ‘What would I do in this clinical situation...?’ Instead, consider, ‘What would a 60-year-old, Caucasian male, with a thick white beard, wearing a tweed sport coat with suede elbow patches, trained in systemic therapy, do in this clinical situation?’” (This is a direct quote.)

I was shocked. This guide, published in 2019, asked therapy candidates to deny their intuition and wisdom and instead adopt the mindset of a 60-year-old white man to pass the exam. I couldn’t, in good conscience, take this exam. It asked me to deny my identity and values, and I refused to conform to this white-supremacist, outdated system.

While I agree with many of the American Association of Marriage & Family Therapy (AAMFT) Codes of Ethics, several aspects feel misaligned with my practice. I want to work with people I know and care about, but this is prohibited. These are the very people I wish to serve. I want to work with clients outside Colorado and the United States, but this violates the Code of Ethics. I want to use alternative healing modalities and sacred plants from the Earth, but even recommending herbal teas could lead to revocation of my license. I want to accept insurance, but this requires pathologizing clients, furthering their belief in their sickness. Instead, I choose to see people as whole and encourage them to believe they are well.

The current system creates sick, traumatized individuals stuck in boxes of separation, feeling disconnected from their inherent value and goodness.

The Makaranda Solution

It is time for this outdated mentality to crumble and be rebuilt to view humans in their wholeness. I choose the natural law—the law of reciprocity, regeneration, and mutual flourishing. I am choosing what aligns with my values and letting go of the rest.

With The Makaranda Method, I aim to help people evolve. I provide tools for navigating emotions and bodily communications and support understanding the complexities of their lives. I focus on what has happened to them, not what is wrong with them. In collaboration with their whole self, we move forward.

I am grateful for my education. It has given me the credentials, skills, techniques, background, and experiences to do what I know I was born to do. Now, however, I am stepping off the traditional path and embracing the role of a coach, which better aligns with my values and those I am honored to serve.

References:

Kimmerer, R. W. (2013). Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. Milkweed Editions.

Maté, G. (2021). The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture. Avery.

​Kaiser Family Foundation. (2023). "The State of Mental Health in America." Retrieved from KFF.org.