In this presentation, we’ll examine the notion of “connection” and its correlation with mental health. When we feel disconnected from our inner life, we suffer; when we are disconnected relationally—from people and nature—we can become anxious, depressed, despondent. What is this powerful “connection” actually made of, what is it, and how can we take the science of connection and inform the practice of psychotherapy? In many ways, the experience of a separate, solo-self may underly the many challenges we face, from racism and social injustice to environmental destruction. The field of mental health can play a pivotal role in how we help our human family move toward a new way of living on Earth by addressing the modern cultural excessive focus on individuality in the separate sense of self. These questions and their personal, professional, and public implications will focus our discussion on the nature of both interconnection—the links between parts of a system—and intraconnection—the wholeness of the system.

Learning Objectives

1. Describe three benefits of the subjective experience of “being connected.”
2. Define what interpersonal connection consists of.
3. Distinguish between interconnection and intraconnection.