Transforming Community: Stories of Connection Through the Lens of Relational-Cultural Theory

Understanding and putting Relational-Cultural theory into practice

In the last decade, modern neuroscience has validated almost all of the early tenets of Relational-Cultural theory (RCT): relational development through the life span, the neuroscience of connection, and social justice. The American Psychological Association invited RCT into its “Psychotherapy monographs series”, noting it was one of the ten most important psychological theories in North America.

This book addresses many of RCT’s newest applications. It is a compilation of writings by people who presented at and attended the conference Transforming Community: The Radical Reality of Relationships co-sponsored by The College of St. Scholastica (CSS), the Wellesley Centers for Women, and the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute at Wellesley College held from June 9-12, 2016 in Duluth, Minnesota on the campus of CSS.

The four main sections of the book - Neuroscience and Health Care, Education, Environment, and Social Justice are reflective of the discussion groups convened at the conference. Heart-felt dialogue addressed how RCT can be applied to education, race, white privilege, the neurobiology of connection, resistance to marginalization, LBGTQI issues, mentorship, girl-centered practice, intellectual mattering, disruptive empathy, the radical reality of relationships, integrating critical race and relational cultural theories, our intrinsic relationship with the environment, and relational advocacy.

The authors and editors hope you will find RCT useful in working with clients, communities, and institutions. It is hoped more than anything that this book inspires you to keep on the path of developing the practice and the understanding of the power of connection and the possibility of building a more empathic community, both in your practices and in your personal lives.

What is Relational-Cultural Theory?

Relational-Cultural theory (RCT) places relationships at the center of human growth. People grow through and toward relationship throughout the lifespan. While the culture calls for independence, autonomy, a "stand on your own two feet," mentality, RCT points out our ongoing need to be connected with others. When we are excluded or isolated the resultant social pain travels the same pathways to the same place in the brain as the pain of physical injury or experiencing an intense need for food or water. RCT suggests we need to participate in mutually empathic relationships in order to survive and grow strong. This theory has been applied to psychotherapy, education, social work curricula, graduate psychology programs, social policy, and has been viewed as a revolutionary new model of human nature and social construction. RCT provides a positive and hopeful picture of human development, a model that celebrates bridges not walls.

Connie Gunderson, PhD, LISW, is an associate professor at The College of St. Scholastica. Having completed her undergraduate studies at The College of St. Scholastica, she worked in Germany until 2012. She completed her MSW in clinical social work practice at the Alice Salomon Hochschule in Berlin, Germany and received her PhD from the University of Bremen, in Bremen, Germany. She maintains advisory partnerships with universities and colleges in Europe. Her areas of scholarship and research include women, trauma and addiction, human trafficking, intercultural education, and international social work. In 2006 and 2008, she organized international symposiums in Bremen and Berlin to address gender responsive trauma and addiction recovery models. In 2012, she organized an international conference in Hildesheim, Germany to address human trafficking from a relational-cultural perspective. In 2016, in collaboration with The College of St. Scholastica, the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute and Wellesley Centers for Women, she coordinated the Transforming Community: The Radical Reality of Relationship Conference. Dr. Gunderson has edited and published numerous books and articles to address social issues including trauma and addiction, human trafficking, diversity, and gender.

Dorothy Graff, PhD, LICSW, worked in New York for over 10 years as a clinical social worker with individuals, couples, families, and groups whose ages ranged from young children to seniors. She received her PhD in social work from the University of Texas in Austin and has taught in social work programs both in Texas and Minnesota for over 16 years. Most recently she taught for 10 years at The College of St. Scholastica-initially in their BSW program and then helped to develop as well as teach in their new MSW program. She has presented her research in international, national, and local conferences and has published in a variety of professional journals.

Karen T. Craddock PhD, EdM is an Applied Psychologist concentrating on the socio-cultural context of and relational frameworks in human development, social capital, equity, and capacity building across sectors and specifically within racially and ethno-culturally diverse communities. Using the lens of psycho-social functioning and intersectionality, she explores marginalization, mothering/family studies, systems of care, social-emotional learning, trauma-healing paradigms and the neurophysiology of inclusion. She is the Director of Strategic Initiatives and Network Engagement at EmbraceRace and founder of KCollaborative Connections, a relationship-based consultation and coaching practice. She has led research presenting nationally and internationally, held senior administrative roles at Harvard University and Education Development Center Inc., lectured at Tufts University and is a lead scholar of Relational-Cultural theory and Social Action at JBTI Center for Relational-Cultural Growth. Karen is an editor of the volume Black Motherhood(s): Contours, Contexts and Considerations, developer of the analytical framework "Profiles of Resistance to Marginalization" and co-lead of a research team exploring optimal forms of resistance that build resilience and wellness, primarily for women of color. She earned her EdM in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University and a PhD in Applied Developmental Psychology from Tufts University.