Urie Brofenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory- I still love this theory because it was the first one where I was exposed to the idea of systems and levels of things in a society, and the idea of micro, meso, and macro that is core to social work, and understanding most things. This kind of systems thinking is so important in recognizing the need for and developing the ability to truly hold the complexity of things.

Don Edward Beck and Christopher C. Cowan and their Spiral Dynamics put forth a model that outlined eight memes or worldviews that are held by individuals, organizations, and societies. It opened my mind to the likelihood that there were multiple ways of being and thinking by individuals across the world at any given time.

Various authors from the field of business who were in some way challenging the status quo of leadership, business, and organizations. Authors like: Tom Morris in “If Aristotle Ran General Motors”; Tom Chappell in “The Soul of a Business- Managing for Profit and the Common Good”; John Kotter and his work on organizational change; Simon Sinek; Seth Godin; and John Maxwell.

A whole body of work on Systems Change from contributors such as Peggy Holman, Tom Devane, and Steven Cady.

John McKnight’s book “Careless Society; Community and Its Counterfeits” and John Ralston Saul’s “The Unconscious Civilization” were required reading in my undergrad. They were my introduction to looking at things systemically, which is so important.

Anne Wilson Schaef- is a courageous truth teller. She left psychology when she believed that people’s wholeness was being lost as the profession moved more and more to the paradigm of science. Her books, “Beyond Therapy, Beyond Science- A New Model for Healing the Whole Person” and “Living in Process- Basic Truths for Living the Path of the Soul” tell her story and offer her approach.

Roger Dilts and Gregory Bates and the Logical Levels– These levels are often used as part of individual coaching and help individuals understand how to make change in one level by working at any of the levels higher up. While I may not fully agree with the specific levels they put forth, I do think there is something to the notion of levels.

Many researchers and authors who sought to explore, explain, or expose complex societal and systemic issues such as addictions, chronic diseases, capitalism, consumerism, social injustice, intersectionality, and environmental issues.

Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs– Was as influential for me as it was for so many people in the world. It got me thinking about the concept of core needs, what they were, and if there was actually a hierarchy to them. Numerous other need theories have been put forth since then.

Erik Erickson and his Psychosocial Stages of Development was influential because it got me thinking about how we grow and develop through time and in stages. Of course, there are dozens and dozens of different staged development models for everything from attachment and cognition to spirituality.

Many Clinicians/Authors on Stress, Abuse, Neglect, and Trauma. Some favourites who helped me have a much more fulsome understand of the developmental impact of toxic stress and trauma, and the resulting effect on an individual’s functioning and their relating and creating are Stephen Porges, Janina Fisher, Bessel van der Kolk, Dr. Bruce Perry, and Gabor Maté.

Dr. Gordon Neufeld- a developmental psychologist compiled the work of many others to put forth his own understanding of child development and the importance of attachment. His work most affected me because from his perspective there were not only core needs, there were also core developments that only unfolded to the degree that core needs were met- that notion resonated with me.

Many different authors on presence, self-regulation, mindfulness, compassion, and resilience such as Jon Kabak Zinn, Tara Brach, and Rick Hanson.

Elizabeth Kubler Ross’s Stages of Grief, and Carlo C. DiClemente and J.O. Prochaska’s Transtheoretical Stages of Change because these were some of the first process models that I was introduced to. They got me thinking about the bigger question of how people move through things.