Steps to an Ecology of Psychotherapy: The Legacy of Gregory Bateson

The article addresses the relevance of the work of Gregory Bateson for psychotherapy today. Despite being quite eclipsed by other mental health paradigms, the author's ecological epistemology still seems to be topical for a proper framing of complex features such as psychological well-being. Indeed, many approaches to psychotherapy, not only systemic-relational approaches, affirm the crucial importance of context and the centrality of relationships in defining psychosocial functioning and making psychotherapies actually effective. This article recalls the most relevant contributions of Gregory Bateson for the understanding of communication and the functioning of the mind, from the original formulation of the double bind theory to the parallels between thought and biological processes. In this light, Bateson's view of mind and learning still appears to be a valuable framework for thinking about some of the more relevant aspects of psychotherapy, not least the issue of research and the social context in which psychotherapy itself takes place. (c) 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.