Synergy, Healing, and Empowerment: Insights from Cultural Diversity

Richard Katz and Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu have written a wonderful book about the presence of synergistic healing networks in Indigenous communities. The authors have spent years working closely with native peoples to learn about the various ways they approach matters of health and healing to produce a practical, accessible and life-changing manual that is a "must read" for anyone interested in emerging systems of public health. By juxtaposing synergistic, Indigenous models of healing with those of scarcity and competition that have been institutionalized in modern societies, Katz and Murphy-Shigematsu have substantively and beautifully challenged the "zero sum" game of modern medicine that has individuated and monetized health and healing networks to the point of near collapse. Drawing on insights from counseling, educational theory, ecopsychology, community health and development, and narrative medicine, the authors reveal how modern societies can reorient health systems along synergistic lines to increase access and opportunity to healing and empowerment, and to create sustainable healing networks that only strengthen as they are used. Compassionate, insightful and timely, "Synergy, Healing and Empowerment" illustrates with loving detail how healing is a shared, dialectical exercise in communal responsibility and Gaian interconnectivity. It is a book I will return to regularly for guidance and transformative knowledge. The authors have reminded us of the ancient, intuitive wisdom that our Indigenous brothers and sisters have never forgotten: namely, that our health and personal freedom are rooted in the negotiation of collective identity and a shared story of regenerative power, healing and light.

This incredible book could not be more timely. The concept of "synergy" can be found in many indigenous societies but is sadly lacking in so-called civilized nations. The authors have spent considerable time among these people and have seen for themselves how diversity can promote cooperation rather than conflict. Special attention is given to synergy's practical application in psychotherapy, counseling, and education. Specific procedures are spelled out, enabling readers to put what they have learned to immediate use. This book could change lives, transform groups, and create new ways of being for a tattered world.