In the fifth episode of Smash the Class, we were joined by Renya of Come Together Counseling. They’re an anarchist in Pennsylvania who conducts practice as a therapist and often talks about how their work in therapy intersects with anarchism.

During the time that we were talking with Renya, we discussed a whole range of topics. We originally wanted to do something together because we kept noticing a lot of the overlaps between therapy  and pedagogy. As a result, much of this conversation surrounds the intersections between the two, their relationship to anarchism, and how our learning spaces need to incorporate both. We also discuss our passive acceptance of authority figures, how we can work to overcome bureaucracy and its obstacles, and how our spaces can respond to the needs of the people in them.

Two videos that were the impetus for this were Renya’s videos on Internal vs External Motivation and Embodying Anarchist Principles as a Therapist. We also referenced a piece titled “How Can We Prefigure Society When We Only Seem to React.

Hope you enjoy it!