Last year, I was asked to read adrienne maree brown’s Emergent Strategy. In it, brown draws from the writings of Octavia Butler, observations of the natural world, poetry, and more to create a model that allows us to align ourselves with the constant changes in the world in a transformative way. She defines this emergent strategy as “ways for humans to practice being in relationship to our home and each other, to practice complexity, and grow a compelling future together though relatively simple interaction. Emergent strategy is how we internally change in ways that grow our capacity to embed the just and liberated world we long for.” I have revisited this book many times over the past year and reflected on how I can practice what I learned in my personal and professional life. In this post, I will address her chapter titled “nonlinear and iterative: the pace and pathways of change” and consider how it informs my understanding of therapeutic change. 

The beginning of the therapeutic journey probably looks similar for all of us. We locate a therapist who appears to be a good match. We complete an intake interview sharing our current struggles, our family histories, our values, and our hopes for our time in therapy. Next, we create a treatment plan that outlines our goals, what we will do to meet them, and how we will know when they have been met. After that, we meet regularly with the therapist to create a collaborative alliance and work through our treatment plan. However, what follows is oftentimes much less neat and tidy.

Whether it’s “getting over” a loss, improving our mood, or seeking a better version of ourselves, many of us feel pressured to meet our goals linearly, marking our successes as we go. Anything less may feel like a failure. However, for most, these changes happen in cycles and iterations. As brown writes, “In a nonlinear process, everything is part of the learning, every step. That includes constructive criticism, it is part of the feedback loop—experiment, gather feedback, experiment again. This is how we learn.” We learn along the way what works best for us in the context of our lifestyles, personalities, spiritual values, and family lives. I believe it is helpful to consider this approach to change as you begin or continue your therapeutic work.

Do not become discouraged or judge yourself when you do not experience predictable, step-by-step results. Feelings associated with trauma or loss may come up again. Maybe you find yourself acting out behaviors or relationship patterns you were hoping to kick. But remember – what might feel like a failure provides information to reflect upon as you experiment with new ways to approach meeting your goals. Your therapist may act as a guide, support, and feedback giver as you move and grow. Every part of your journey is valuable and uniquely your own. I encourage you to reframe what might feel like a failure or setback as an invitation to go deeper and gather insights that create real and lasting transformation. 

“It’s all waves though, moving towards and up, through and beyond. And once i’ve survived an emotion that has reached across time to demand my attention, i feel so resilient. That resilience makes me soft and wide enough to handle the complex mercurial existence of the present moment.

i trust myself to feel, to grow from what i feel, not to run when i sense a feeling coming.”
– adrienne maree brown, Emergent Strategy

If you are interested in learning more about adrienne marie brown and her thoughts about meaningful transformation, you can purchase her book through Matter book store at this link – https://www.shopatmatter.com/product/emergent-strategy/.