The Un-Self-Aware System: A New Look at Law, Leadership, and the ‘War on Drugs’

A recent Harvard Business Review (HBR) article (2018) offers valuable advice on a common workplace challenge: how to work with people who aren’t self-aware. It highlights the frustration of dealing with colleagues who are blind to their own impact, resistant to feedback, and unable to see how their actions affect others.

But what if the problem isn’t just an individual colleague? What if the same lack of self-awareness, resistance to feedback, and destructive behavior could be diagnosed in our largest and most powerful systems—our governments, our legal frameworks, and our professional institutions?

Drawing on the critical psychological arguments of Dr. Adam O’Brien, this post argues that the “science of law” is, in fact, the work of an un-self-aware system. It’s a system “addicted to control” that desperately needs a new kind of intervention: a collective awakening of systemic self-awareness.

The Diagnosis: A System That Just Doesn’t Get It

The HBR article points to common signs of low self-awareness in individuals: a failure to recognize their own blind spots, a tendency to blame others, and a resistance to changing their behavior.

Applying this same lens to our legal and professional systems, we can see a striking parallel:

• The Law as an “Unaware” Colleague: Dr. O’Brien’s work argues that the legal system is often stuck in an earlier stage of moral development, fixated on rigid rules (“Legal-Ethics”) while ignoring the broader, compassionate principles of “Moral-Ethics.” This is the systemic equivalent of a colleague who follows every rule in the book but fails to see how their actions are causing harm to the same team (e.g., citizens). They are “legally” correct but “morally” wrong.
• The “War on Drugs” as a Symptom: Consider the “War on Drugs.” The HBR article might describe a self-unaware person who can’t see how their actions are hurting them and others. The legal system is doing this on a grand scale. It declared an “illegal war” on a public health issue, militarizing law enforcement and imprisoning citizens, all while ignoring overwhelming scientific evidence that psychedelics and other natural substances can be powerful tools for healing. This is a system in denial, engaging in self-destructive behavior while blaming its citizens for the problem.
• The Professional Hierarchy as a “Dissociated” Relationship: Just as an un-self-aware person might be in a codependent or abusive relationship, Dr. O’Brien diagnoses the professions of law and psychology as being in an “abusive relationship,” where psychology is “complicit and enabling.” The “separate but unequal” status of professions like Licensed Mental Health Counselors (LMHCs) and Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs) is a perfect example of a system that can’t see the inequality and dysfunction it’s creating, all in the name of preserving its own hierarchy.

The Intervention: Giving Feedback to a System

The HBR article offers strategies for giving feedback to an un-self-aware colleague and professions. It suggests a gentle, private approach, focusing on specific behaviors and their impact. But how do you give gentle feedback to a government?

This is where Dr. O’Brien’s work provides a more radical blueprint for intervention. He argues that the traditional methods of appealing to the law’s “better nature” have failed due to its addiction to power and control, of which psychology has yet to name because it does not understand the science of the law. The science of the law is addiction to breaking the dependence of others. And in doing so, they traumatize unconscious free will to choose. What’s needed is a powerful, collective intervention.

This is the role of the “Recovery Healer”—a new kind of moral authority that exists outside of the professional power structure. This “healer” is an individual who gives the system the feedback it refuses to accept. They do this by:

• Elevating “Moral-Ethics”: By consistently pointing out the moral hypocrisy of legal decisions, they force the system to confront its own ethical shortcomings.
• Using “Qualitative Science”: They don’t just rely on legal precedents. They use historical context and psychological research to expose the systemic trauma and “implicit harm” that the system has caused, forcing it to see the real-world impact of its actions.
• Demanding Accountability: They challenge the legal fiction of government non-responsibility (e.g., Castle Rock v. Gonzales) by arguing for a framework of “implicit responsibility,” forcing the system to own its role in perpetuating societal trauma. Why offer an order of protect if they do not have to enforce it, just like why do citizens need religious exemption in a country where the state and church are separate? What professions are to blame for this? How old is it acting still? Who won’t grow up? Who is really acting like a child? It is time to tell all the children the truth.

A New Path: From Self-Unaware to Self-Correcting

Ultimately, the goal is not just to manage an un-self-aware system, but to help it grow and evolve. A truly mature “science of law” would be, in itself, a system of self-awareness. It would have a built-in mechanism for self-correction. It would prioritize public well-being over bureaucratic rigidity.

This change won’t come from the top down. It requires a collective effort from citizens and professionals alike to become the “Recovery Healers” for our systems. It means:

• Demanding transparency in policies like NSA surveillance, weapons of mass destruction, and declaring a war on a drug when they are plants and without Congress approval, challenging the idea that a lack of consent is acceptable.
• Protecting the vulnerable, such as children in court, by prioritizing their psychological well-being over legal procedure.
• Recognizing addiction as a trauma-related health issue, not a criminal one.

The Harvard Business Review article provides a mirror for how we deal with individuals. Dr. O’Brien’s work forces us to hold that same mirror up to our institutions. By doing so, we can begin the hard work of collective healing and usher in a new era of systemic self-awareness. Without it, all will perish into eternity again and again and again.

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References

O’Brien, A. (2023a). Addiction as Trauma-Related Dissociation: A Phenomenological Investigation of the Addictive State. International University of Graduate Studies. (Dissertation). Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/courses/addiction-as-dissociation-model-course/

O’Brien, A. (2023b). Memory Reconsolidation in Psychedelics Therapy. In Path of the Wounded Healer: A Dissociative-Focused Phase Model for Normative and Pathological States of Consciousness: Training Manual and Guide. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/courses/addiction-as-dissociation-model-course/

O’Brien, A. (2023c). Path of the Wounded Healer: A Dissociative-Focused Phase Model for Normative and Pathological States of Consciousness: Training Manual and Guide. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/

O’Brien, A. (2024a). Healer and Healing: The re-education of the healer and healing professions as an advocation. Re-educational and Training Manual and Guide. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/

O’Brien, A. (2024e). Path of the Wounded Healers for Thrivers: Perfectionism, Altruism, and Ambition Addictions; Re-education and training manual for Abusers, Activists, Batterers, Bullies, Enablers, Killers, Narcissists, Offenders, Parents, Perpetrators, and Warriors. Re-Education and Training Manual and Guide. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/

O’Brien, A. (2025). American Made Addiction Recovery: a healer’s journey through professional recovery. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/

*This is for informational and educational purposes only. For medical advice or diagnosis, consult a professional.