The Intense Mind with Imi Lo Dependency and Denial - with Joe Pawson
Mar 29, 2026
Joe Pawson, an integrative psychotherapist and author, explores how our need for others can be exiled and why self-sufficiency becomes an identity. He reframes dependency as universal interconnection. Conversations cover denial as protective stories, how high-functioning people hide need, and steps toward trusting relationships and processing old wounds.
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Personal Journey From Shamanism To Psychotherapy
- Joe traces a throughline from herbal medicine and shamanic work to psychotherapy: trusting intelligence outside the ego.
- He describes herbalism, therapy, and shamanism as practices that assist innate healing intelligence rather than control it.
Dependency Is A Fundamental Human Condition
- Dependency is a fundamental, non-pathological way we relate to others and the world, ranging from daily reliance to spiritual interdependence.
- Joe Pawson contrasts cultural aversion to dependency with its role as the basis of relationships and functioning systems like coffee supply chains.
Identity Maps Protect And Narrow Experience
- We construct identities and stories that grant control but narrow experience, using egoic maps to shelter from pain.
- Pawson explains these templates are necessary for functioning yet can become restrictive when formed around trauma or unmet needs.
