By observing a person closely and how they relate to others, you may see fractured relationships between them and their family, their community, their environment and often even themselves. These damaged relationships create negative perceptions of themselves and others. This makes it difficult to address one of the relationships in isolation since it can be affected by the others.
When a student who has done poorly in school (a contextual relationship) suddenly understands that they can learn and can be successful in the classroom by employing a different approach, they will say, “I am not stupid!” This statement tells us that we have healed a relationship or view that they had of themselves that started in their community or context, but they accepted as part of their identity. This approach generally results in one healed relationship automatically while affecting several others simultaneously.
The end goal is to help each person have a healthy relationship within each sphere and be equipped with tools to maintain or repair them in the future.