Mind Matters: Change or change back

Posted by Dr. Kayta Gajdos on October 19, 2011

Don’t know if and when the corporate
takeover will occur but thus far the Occupy Wall Street movement does not seem
to be co-opted by any behemoth moneyed entity. As a psychologist, I observe
this movement as organic and egalitarian. Where verticality and leadership are
the attributes of a patriarchal, hierarchial system, the horizontal seems to be
the geometry here. There is a sense of consensus and collaboration rather one
person singled out as the charismatic leader with a band of disciples.

Perhaps this movement signals a
change (and for every change in a system, there is a push to change back) from
an old order of going about “business” to a new paradigm.

Author Riane Eisler has written many
books on the subject of sociology and culture and the need for partnership. In “The
Real Wealth of Nations,” she outlines the differences between partnership and
domination systems. She considers that many nations are moving toward a
partnership way of life. Perhaps the Occupy Wall Street movement is a
burgeoning partnership model in its process of debunking an outmoded system.
Whether they be families, or nations, systems don’t like change and so a push
for change back is inevitable. However, the cat’s not going back in the bag.

Eisler outlines the differences
between partnership and domination systems. In the domination system, there is
an inequitable distribution of wealth and power. The socio-economic structure
is skewed. In the partnership system, there is an equitable socio-economic
structure. Mutual respect and trust in the partnership model replace the fear,
mistrust (and verbal and physical abuse), and bullying of the domination model.
What is stereotypically considered “feminine,” such as empathy, caregiving,
relationship, connection, is given as high value as the stereotypical “male”
attributes, such as focus, assertiveness, competitiveness, in the partnership
system. In the domination system, the feminine principle is demeaned and
minimized.

The world view of the domination and
partnership system is also strikingly different. The domination culture
rationalizes violence, bullying, and objectifying and demeaning those deemed as
different or “other.” The partnership culture restores value to care and
empathy, inclusivity and connection.

Now, I don’t know if the Occupy Wall
Street movement is any more of the partnership model than the powers that be or
not. But I would like to hope that it represents a start in that direction—and
that it withstands any push for “change back.”

* Kayta Curzie Gajdos
holds a doctorate in counseling psychology and is in private practice in Chadds
Ford, Pennsylvania. She welcomes comments at MindMatters@DrGajdos.com
or (610)388-2888. Past columns are posted to http://www.drgajdos.com.

About Kayta Gajdos

Dr. Kathleen Curzie Gajdos ("Kayta") is a licensed psychologist (Pennsylvania and Delaware) who has worked with individuals, couples, and families with a spectrum of problems. She has experience and training in the fields of alcohol and drug addictions, hypnosis, family therapy, Jungian theory, Gestalt therapy, EMDR, and bereavement. Dr. Gajdos developed a private practice in the Pittsburgh area, and was affiliated with the Family Therapy Institute of Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, having written numerous articles for the Family Therapy Newsletter there. She has published in the American Psychological Association Bulletin, the Family Psychologist, and in the Swedenborgian publications, Chrysalis and The Messenger. Dr. Gajdos has taught at the college level, most recently for West Chester University and Wilmington College, and has served as field faculty for Vermont College of Norwich University the Union Institute's Center for Distance Learning, Cincinnati, Ohio. She has also served as consulting psychologist to the Irene Stacy Community MH/MR Center in Western Pennsylvania where she supervised psychologists in training. Currently active in disaster relief, Dr. Gajdos serves with the American Red Cross and participated in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts as a member of teams from the Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.Now living in Chadds Ford, in the Brandywine Valley of eastern Pennsylvania, Dr. Gajdos combines her private practice working with individuals, couples and families, with leading workshops on such topics as grief and healing, the impact of multigenerational grief and trauma shame, the shadow and self, Women Who Run with the Wolves, motherless daughters, and mediation and relaxation. Each year at Temenos Retreat Center in West Chester, PA she leads a griefs of birthing ritual for those who have suffered losses of procreation (abortions, miscarriages, infertility, etc.); she also holds yearly A Day of Re-Collection at Temenos.Dr. Gajdos holds Master's degrees in both philosophy and clinical psychology and received her Ph.D. in counseling at the University of Pittsburgh. Among her professional affiliations, she includes having been a founding member and board member of the C.G. Jung Educational Center of Pittsburgh, as well as being listed in Who's Who of American Women. Currently, she is a member of the American Psychological Association, The Pennsylvania Psychological Association, the Delaware Psychological Association, the American Family Therapy Academy, The Association for Death Education and Counseling, and the Delaware County Mental Health and Mental Retardation Board. Woven into her professional career are Dr. Gajdos' pursuits of dancing, singing, and writing poetry.