Council of All Beings (Seed, Macy)

Domain XV · Nature, philosophy, social & rites of passage · John Seed, Joanna Macy · 1985 · New South Wales, Australia

What it is

The Council of All Beings is not a psychotherapy. It is a group ritual from deep ecology, developed by John Seed and Joanna Macy from about 1985, first run as a weekend workshop with around forty people in rural New South Wales outside Sydney, growing out of the "despair and empowerment" workshops…

Format

• The Council is a one-off or short-series group process, not a course of sessions. Formats published: from one hour to a full weekend; an online series of six consecutive Sunday mornings run in 2022 with Seed among seven facilitators; online Councils with cameras and names changed to the being. WTR…
• The Council of All Beings is not a psychotherapy. It is a group ritual from deep ecology, developed by John Seed and Joanna Macy from about 1985, first run as a weekend workshop with around forty people in rural New South Wales outside Sydney, growing out of the "despair and empowerment" workshops…

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• Evidence status in one line: an evaluation of Council workshops (Bragg 1996, Journal of Environmental Psychology) is reported by Seed as finding that ecological identity scores rose after a workshop but faded within six months except among people who kept practising; no controlled clinical trials…

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

• grandiose plans and burnout; activism driven by guilt. Working: steady, sustainable action.
• perfectionism, comparison, gathering protected or toxic plants outdoors. Working: absorption and quiet.
• elation then crash; guilt from the humans' seat. Working: the client can hold grief and agency together.
• people overriding the consent agreement out of enthusiasm. Working: people speak briefly and the tone settles.
• giggling or freezing; a gentle, serious frame from the guide usually holds it. Working: voices drop into role.

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.