In family systems therapy, the sphere of influence most addressed is generally the nuclear family, although it could easily expand to extended family members, i.e., grandparents, aunts, uncles…. But, it does not really stop there. Permeating the home environment is the neighborhood, which itself is contained within the community. Family systems therapy often includes these extended spheres as many resources needed to bring about positive changes are contained within the neighborhood and community.

Spheres of influence extend even beyond the community. The city, state, nation and even the global sphere all have their influence on the community, neighborhood, and the home. A single person, at any age, exists within a complex multidimensional field of influences not all of which are conscious. A child of 7 years is significantly influenced by, and at least partially conscious of, the home and neighborhood, but not at all aware of the influence the state, or nation, has upon his/her growing consciousness, even though it is very present and active. As an adult of 56 years, there is much more awareness of the influence of city, state and nation, and even a consciousness of how the global sphere impacts his/her self, as well as how that global sphere influences the nation, state and city. And, at 56, the earlier spheres of home, neighborhood and community, although subconscious, continue to exert a significant influence.

If we refer to the traditional stages of psychosocial development, popularized by Eric Erikson, and couple those stages to these spheres of influence, it presents an interesting view of how our developing consciousness can parallel these spheres. In the chart below, the developmental stages are linked to the ever-larger spheres of influence.

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Of course, even as an infant, we are influenced by the higher spheres; but, we are not conscious of that. As we mature, we become more conscious of, and involved in, the larger more encompassing spheres of influence. Ideally, we mature from being a citizen of the neighborhood, to a citizen of the global community – a citizen of the world.

The trouble with talking is that we use words to represent a vast complex web of experience. Words are often feeble representatives. If one person says to another “I’m feeling depressed” or “I had such a great time last night” we think we know what they mean by assuming our unique, individual psyche is pretty much the same as theirs. We think “depressed” or “great time” for them is the same as it would be for us. Of course, that may not be the case.

“The single biggest problem in communication

is the illusion that it has taken place.”

- George Bernard Shaw

It’s been said that we have two ears to listen and one mouth to speak, and we should use them as such in about that proportion. The art of listening is what makes talk therapy work at all and the more skilled a person is in listening, the better they are at real talk therapy. More importantly, listening is the key ingredient in good relationships, both personal and professional.

When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.

– Ernest Hemingway

If therapy is, at least in part, about creating change, either in behavior, mood, thought or even physiology, then color has a role to play in helping bring about changes. Colors are generally categorized as hot or cold, warm or cool….Red, orange and yellow are consider hot and warm colors whereas purple, blue and green are are the cold and cool colors. Advertising and design professionals spend a great deal of time considering color for it really does affect the psyche.

Decades ago, when my son was just a few years old, he had a fever. We put him in his bedroom, put blue light bulbs in the light sockets, and let him be in  blue light. Within a couple of hours his fever was gone…..

A lot can be said about color therapy and if you are interested, I suggest you Google it…there is some interesting information out there.

Photography is all about light. Photo, as a word, is Greek in origin and translates to “light.” The graphing of light, however, is incomplete without shadows. Shadows give distinction and character, dimension and shape. Without shadows, a photograph wouldn’t be much to look at.

Psychologically speaking, the same is true about the mind, or the psyche. The shadow part of our personality, the “dark” side, has its place and a fair amount of therapy is geared towards looking at, accepting, and working with this shadow.

The shadow is considered an “archetype.” Archetypes are like blueprints.  Archetypes tend to come in pairs. There is the “good” and the “bad.” The good “hero” is typically considered the antithesis of the bad “villian.” The hero is light, the villian is shadow. The hero, is honest, the shadow is deceitful. The hero is……and the shadow is………so many “positive” and “negative” qualities to list. There are other blueprint types found in psyche: the jester/joker, the magician, the elder, the child, the rebel, the servant, the teacher, the student, the man, the woman……Psyche can be well populated….YOUR psyche, IS well populated……