Nature in Mind: Systemic Thinking and Imagination in Ecopsychology and Mental Health

141 Pages·2018·5.425 MB·English

by  Roger Duncan

Nature in Mind
Nature in Mind explores a kind of madness at the core of the developed world
that has separated the growth of human cultural systems from the destruction of
the environment on which these systems depend. It is now becoming increasingly
clear that the contemporary Western lifestyle not only has a negative impact on
the ecosystems of the earth but also has a detrimental effect on human health and
psychological wellbeing. The book compares the work of Gregory Bateson and
Henry Corbin and shows how an understanding of the “imaginal world” within the
practice of systemic psychotherapy and ecopsychology could provide a language
shared by both nature and mind. This book argues the case for bringing nature-based
work into mainstream education and therapy practice. It is an invitation to radically
reimagine the relationship between humans and nature, and provides a practical
and epistemological guide to reconnecting human thinking with the ecosystems of
the earth.
Roger Duncan is a registered Systemic Psychotherapist who works with children
and adolescents in the NHS, and in private practice with individuals, families, and
organizations.
“This important book allows us to rediscover feelings of deep intersubjectivity
as well as creative ways of working that are in tune with the earth’s ecosystems.
Building on the powerful work of C.G. Jung, James Hillman and Rudolf Steiner,
as well as Gregory Bateson’s view of ecology and the deep-systems patterning of
nature, systemic ecotherapist Roger Duncan brings together and expands many
critically important insights and methods for reconnecting mind and nature.”
Linda Buzzell, co-editor of Ecotherapy:
Healing with Nature in Mind
“In this remarkable book Roger Duncan presents a merging of his life experiences
teaching adolescents, vision-questing, and practising psychotherapy together
with theories ranging from language studies, Rudolf Steinerʼs educational ideas,
and indigenous holism. In the process, he gives us a glimpse of the relationship
between human psychological development and nature—and offers a means
toward healing ourselves and our deteriorating world.”
Chellis Glendinning, author of My Name Is Chellis
and I’m in Recovery from Western Civilization
“While making connections with what young troubled youth need in order to heal
and how plants grow, Roger Duncan provides some of the sorely needed ecologi-
cal aspects that support the field of ecopsychology. This revolutionary approach
may well give birth to a new generation of adults that can heal a whole lot more
than their own traumas, by bridging the gaping chasm between all that is out there
and all that is in here.”
Lorraine M. Fish, PhD,
ecopsychologist and lecturer
Nature in Mind
Systemic Thinking and Imagination in
Ecopsychology and Mental Health
Roger Duncan
First published 2018
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa
business
© 2018 Roger Duncan
The right of Roger Duncan to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78
of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 978-1-78220-377-3 (pbk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
This book is dedicated to my children Aurora, Esme,
and Josh for all they have taught me, and to my wife
Joanna for her support and belief in the integrity of my
long journey to write this book.
With gratitude to Val and Pete, my adoptive parents
and Bill and Barb, my birth parents.

Contents
Acknowledgements viii
About the author x
Introduction xi
1 Our indigenous heritage 1
2 Wilderness experience 16
3 Mind and nature revisited 27
4 Into the woods 41
5 Maps and territories 54
6 Soul encounter beyond the borders of language 68
7 Patterns of systemic relationships in nature 83
8 Reimagining human development 98
Epilogue 114
References 116
Index 121
Acknowledgements
This book would not have been written without the contribution of a wealth of
personal experiences and encounters that need acknowledgement. Firstly a deep
and heartfelt thanks to the many people, from different tribal groups, that I met on
my travels who offered me food, shelter, and showed me hospitality and human-
ity. To my teachers and fellow students of Waldorf Education for long discus-
sions on what Rudolf Steiner was really trying to communicate. These included;
Alan Hall, the late Steven Edelglass, Yvan Rioux, and Dr. James Dyson amongst
others.
I’m grateful to Aonghus Gordon, founder of Ruskin Mill Trust for the opportu-
nity to put some of Steiner’s ideas into practice. I’m also grateful to fellow staff of
Ruskin Mill for the years of practical work, play, and discussion in our work with
an extraordinary group of students. These staff included my wife Joanna, Rich
Pirie, Lucy Meikle, Arian Leljak, Jonathan Code, Rich Turley, Alun Hughes, Caro
Birtles, Michael and Linda Frosch, Julian Pyzer, Iona Fredenburgh, Kelvin Hall,
and so many more people I had contact with for those eighteen years.
I would like to thank Julian Thomson, Ginny Moore, Dr. Will James, Rich Tur-
ley, Alun Hughes, Richard Macbeth, and Rich Pirie for their help in building and
establishing the wilderness experience work. Thanks also to Caroline Pakel, Ed
Berger, Micheil Gordon, and Tom Fox.
I would also like to thank David Wendl-Berry for introducing me to vision
quest and the work of The School of Lost Borders and to Pippa Bondy, Lucy
Voelcker, and Jeremy Thres for our conversations and our work together.
I owe a deep debt of gratitude to Meredith Little and the late Steven Foster,
founders of The School of Lost Borders, who learnt from an indigenous lineage
how to part the veil that separates nature and the human psyche and then, with
deep humility, gave this experience back to people who had lost it.
I would like to thank the teachers on my Systemic Family Therapy training, Jac-
qui Sayers and Mark Rivett for support and guidance in my training and in helping
me to make links between Bateson’s work and ecopsychology. I would also like to
thank Dr. Jeremy Woodcock, Philip Trenchard, and Jinny Paige Cook who played
significant parts in my decision to train as a Systemic Family Therapist. I would
Acknowledgements ix
also like to thank David Slattery for his patience and guidance in deepening my
understanding of relationships within my personal journey.
Finally, I am deeply grateful to Dr. Lorraine Fish for her support in editing and
proofreading this book, and her guidance and knowledge of how and where this
work connects to the academic field of ecopsychology.