In psychotherapy clients can learn to improve their neurosis For Maria To change the life script theme, is what Willem Reich would call character change (see my book titled The Treatment of Character). This is not commonly done in therapy. I would give a rough estimate of 20% of clients or less top this type …
Adult ego state strengthening – post 1
The Adult ego state is suggested in many psychological theories as the state of psychological health. In the Adult ego state the person sees the world as it is in the here and now and the person is not reacting to the world as they did when they were a child. (i.e. not in the …
Demon subpersonality in nightmares
I have suggested a different approach to those listed above to dealing with the demon and that is to engage with it in the relational.
The client’s chair in the therapy room.
I have always said that a therapist’s room must be a bit beige, no high fashion and no dramatic statements.
Is it OK for a therapist to be proud of a client’s achievements?
Then I wondered if that is OK to say to a client. I wondered if it was a bit paternalistic
Is it OK for a therapist to be proud of a client’s achievements?Read More
Therapist self versus the real self
Also if the therapy and therapist is overly sensitive and gentle then the client will tend to hyper sensitise and become ‘worse’ in that sense
Hypnotic induction and ulterior transactions
The importance of emotional catharsis in psychotherapy has been known since the time of Freud. Maybe there are two factors involved in this observation. Yes the expression of feelings can be psychologically beneficial for the client but also the client picks up hypnotic inductions at the same time.
Opposites in the human mind
People in their desire to be more in control, end up being more out of control. Paradoxically the more you let self be out of control, the more in control of self you will actually be.
Aversion therapy & implied communication in therapy
The goal is to stop the drug use but in the very nature of the treatment one is giving permission to take drugs. Same in the Redecision therapy I use
Aversion therapy & implied communication in therapyRead More
Relational contact in the Parent interview
Again it will lead to a sense of feeling heard and feeling some level of relationship building with another person.
Assimilative psychotherapy
At some point one needs to switch from rejecting this part of self to an integration of it.
The executive of the personality
Most efforts are directed at the the executive of the personality, the Child, but still a significant amount of effort is directed at the Parent and Adult influencing the Child’s direction.
The prison psychotherapist
Never a dull moment when working in a prison and great training for one’s diagnostic skills of some quite unusual forms of psychopathology.
The vagaries of psychotherapy
Eventually he solves his own problem and has a plan for how to deal with it in the future. I have said very little and in essence been a spectator to his own processing and working it out for himself.
Deliberate suicide risk
There needs to be a change in the current legislation which allows for a category of suicidal person not to be reported in a mandatory way. If this should happen then this group of every unhappy people who are feeling very alone are not made to feel more alone but the current laws of this country.
Gallows transaction – Part 2
I do know people like Bob Goulding always said there needs to be a good deal of laughter in therapy. Maybe he was saying this so as to reduce the gallows transaction effect.
Gallows transaction
Games allow a person to further their life script. It is the way a person progresses along the path of the life script to its inevitable conclusion.
The need of individualism in therapy
The redecision work brings a sense of more clarity to the work with a discrete beginning and end and also to the two participants involved here (therapist and client). It allows them to experience a sense of “I” in the therapy.
Three alternate responses to transference
2. Reparenting or relational. Instead of explaining the transactions, the therapist invites the client to express the anger at the therapist directly.
Reparenting today
If one can get beyond all the negativity about the Schiffs and begin to use these ideas in working with non psychotics they provide interesting treatment options and approaches.
Parallel process
One explanation for parallel process is empathy gone wrong.
Self harm motives
In my view it is better to view self harm as a fluid, changing form of psychopathology rather than a static one reason form of pathology.
The work life of a psychotherapist
We have all our fancy theories and techniques but for this type of client it’s just that simple. The person feels a connection with the therapist and that is what really counts.
Causes of depression
This is not only adding one extra cause of depression to the list but provides a different view of the nature and cause of depression. It represents a different philosophical view of human nature that is based on personal empowerment.
The price of privacy
As a general rule, In Australia, police do not have the powers to require health professionals to provide them with information about a client.
Odd psychotherapy
“When I phone you for an appointment I usually feel quite anxious and despairing. As soon as I have made the appointment it all goes away and I feel fine. Then I think I don’t need to go and see you.”
Responding to client praise.
Psychological change is a very personal and intimate thing that can touch the very core of who we are. If a client reaches out to a therapist and seeks to acknowledge their role in what has been a very personal experience for them, maybe it is a discount not to do so
Client factors in successful therapy
To be able and willing to show and release emotions in therapy is going to significantly improve the prognosis. Those who have trouble doing so will tend not to respond so successfully to treatment.
Introjection in therapy
Introjection involves a person ingesting or taking in the other person’s personality into their Parent ego state such that it becomes part of them.
The “Are you still there?” session
Is he still there and is he still the same? – is what I think is behind this revisit. As a therapist it feels kind of nice when that happens.