The Work That Reconnects (Macy)

Domain XV · Nature, philosophy, social & rites of passage · Joanna Macy, Molly Young Brown

What it is

The Work That Reconnects is not a psychotherapy. Its own Network describes it as an interactive group process for people who want to serve the healing of the world more powerfully, developed by Joanna Macy with many colleagues over several decades and drawing on systems thinking, deep ecology and…

Format

• Format as published: workshops are the core format, usually one to two days, with two-hour introductions and intensives of up to ten days, in person or online; Communities of Practice and self-guided Active Hope book groups are other routes. Individual practices list their own times (for example,…
• Sequencing criteria the sources give: the Truth Mandala should come only after participants have already acknowledged their pain (for example through Open Sentences), near the middle of the day, followed by a break and time for rest or journalling. The Cradling is offered especially after difficult…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Training: the Network describes the Work as "open source" with no official certification. Its suggested path is to experience the Work with several facilitators, join as a Community Member (which gives access to a facilitator mentor), study the foundational teachings in a practice group of four to twelve people, build skills (anti-oppression and co-liberation work, one's own inner work, a WTR facilitator development…

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• Evidence status in one line: no systematic review of the Work That Reconnects as an intervention is cited here; treat outcome claims as.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• intrusive images, sleep disruption, guilt or a post-workshop low.
• pressure to perform a ritual; outdoor safety for any chosen site.
• clients with active disorders using peer groups as their only care.
• skipping to action to avoid feeling, or staying in pain without resource.
• conflict with the client's faith tradition; spiritual bypassing of grief.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.