My first Mormon cultural blog article was title “The Costs of Misunderstanding Modesty” (published on Meridian Magazine website). The response to the article was so positive that I continued to share my perspective writing a dozen or so articles and a few podcasts on Mormonism published on a handful of different websites (including this blog).
I’m not sure how I jumped from writing blog articles on Mormonism to submitting proposals to present at the 2016 Sunstone Symposium in Salt Lake City, UT, but, I did. And both were accepted! These topics are informed by my doctoral studies in systems theory, cybernetics, and creative transformation and their application to Mormon cultural transformation.Even though I’ve been working with Latter-day Saint clients for over 20 years, and my first book, The Burnout Cure, was written for LDS women, it was less than a year ago I started blogging about the intersection of Mormon culture and emotional health.
As part of my dissertation study I created a model of family transformation to help families move from a dominator systems to a partnership organization that values cooperation, caring, connection, collaboration, celebration of all contributions, compassion, conscious language usage, and creativity. Based on Riane Eisler’s Cultural Transformation Theory, my Partnership Model of Family Organization offers a path for families to shift from ranking to linking.
Bringing Partnership Home: A Model of Family Transformation
Julie de Azevedo Hanks, PhD, Wasatch Family Therapy
Abstract:
Eisler’s cultural transformation theory suggests that the global crises we face can be addressed only through movement to a partnership model of social organization. Drawing on cultural transformation theory and systems theory, a partnership model of family organization (PMFO) is outlined as a practical framework to guide families toward partnership relations. Eight components of PMFO are presented and expanded on as a path toward furthering familial and societal transformation. The eight tenets of a PMFO are: 1) cooperative adult leadership, 2) connecting orientation, 3) caretaking emphasis, 4) collaborative roles and rules, 5) celebration of unique contributions, 6) compassionate communication, 7) conscious language use, and 8) collection and creation of partnership stories. Finally, specific strategies of application of the PMFO will be discussed.
Keywords:
Cultural transformation theory, marriage and family therapy, family organization, partnership model, dominator model, partnership model of family organization, family life, partnership studies, partnership families
