To meet basic human need psychotherapy will need considerable expansion. When we meet with with clients in New Zealand we need multiple lens focused on infinite possibilities. In place of therapeutic enquiry to assess the person in private moments I am suggesting the creation of space to listen for ancestors, imagine the pulse of the universe and stay with the thought there may be no single cause for trauma, pain or disturbance. It means viewing clients as if there were many mirrors reflecting the present, the past and the future. Basic human need in our country is one of connection. The therapist becomes the conduit for connections to be established. Traditional psychotherapeutic theory, which places the client in the centre of the picture, does not always help in this cultural environment. We need a significant departure from the way most of us were trained. The challenge is to imagine each person moving within cultural scenery made up of legendary figures. In addition, the challenge is to work with spiritual forces which are both internal and external determinants.It is my belief that psychotherapy is art and we make psychotherapy by describing rather than defining. Imagine the therapist viewing the complete scene, moving around the scenery with the client and highlighting facets which depict movement, symbolism and hope.Once I see it as an art form I don’t have to define what need I am meeting. I can live with the challenge that therapy acts within humanity rather than acting upon it. Therapy meets basic human need when it takes all facets of life into account moving beyond the limitations of psychological formulations towards a more existential and culturally informed view.
