Heather Batten

I’ve spent my whole life in search of an understanding of myself, other people, and the systems around me. When I connected feelings in my body to past trauma, my past, and the past of my culture and its systems, I could make life-changing shifts. I have studied biology, religion, psychology, energy medicine, shamanic healing, holistic healing, and natural health. Healing comes by creating connections across all these systems in all time and space. While studying family systems theory, I’ve found explanations for the unhealthy patterns in my own family. I’ve often felt alone, misunderstood, and stuck in life. When I saw that systems were falling short of their mission I got involved in community organizing and activism. Community organizing is the process of building power through relationships. It is a way of making change involving bringing people together to understand problems, develop solutions, and influence structural change. I’ve always been inspired by the civil rights movement and how the power of the people and love can bring forth much more powerful change than any one leader. We can unknowingly surrender that power to others or systems. Community organizing helps us find that power within again. The principles of community organizing also apply to my work as a therapist as I work to bring forth the sovereign power that is the birthright of each human.