JUDY MCLAUGHLIN-RYAN, MFT
I have been in private practice for over three decades, as well as producing artwork for over five decades. My work involves the psyche and the journey one travels while navigating our attachment to the planet, love, conflict, inner peace and regulation. My recent work is about ‘letting go’ when one finds themselves carrying the collective’s responsibility alone, perhaps, or burdens that rightfully belong to others or at best need to be shared.. That being said, “letting go”, and requiring others to assume their part, brings about a greater likelihood of solidarity, community, and strength. I am a graduate of Penn State University and Antioch University. I have presented on PTSD and addictions globally, including Austria and Croatia, as well as many treatment programs in the United States. Published in ‘Self Experiences in Group’, Routledge, London, , 2012.
The concrete of others, letting go
(Media, 9x12 inches)
Letting go of unreasonable excessive burdens of others may contribute to the collective not picking up their part, resulting in the individual holding the burdens that are best shared. Excessive carrying of the collective burden is actually quite counterproductive, at times, unless the collective shares in the process of carrying and responsibility. This piece demonstrates how one can get carried away with carrying another’s burden and yet when we have protectors serving to contain overstepping, we become mindful of our part, and only our part, which makes an impossible climb, possible, preventing one from toppling.