• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Tony White

Psychologist

  • Home
  • Profile
    • Professional History
    • Professional Services
    • About Me
    • Training & Work Background
  • Books
  • Journals
  • Blogs
  • Monograph Series
  • Home
  • Profile
    • Professional History
    • Professional Services
    • About Me
    • Training & Work Background
  • Books
  • Journals
  • Blogs
  • Monograph Series

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.

March 13, 2016 //  by Tony White//  Leave a Comment

Bob Goulding says there are four points at which therapy should be stopped
1. At the contracted time
2. At the point of victory, no matter how much time remains in the session.
3. At a solidly stuck place in an inflexible impasse to allow the client to feel the impact of the impasse.
4. Within thirty minutes in order to keep therapy crisp, fruitful and fun.

The Gouldings mainly did pieces of work that lasted about 30 minutes. Over the years I have integrated this into my work in an hour session. At the same time I also work within the therapeutic relationship and hence would see myself as doing a type of relational TA therapy. An example of how a session would progress:

1. 15 minutes Relational TA
2. 30 minutes Redecision work
3. 15 minutes Relational TA

I find the two complement each other quite nicely. The appealing part about the redecision work as described above is it is discrete. It has a beginning, a middle and an end. It has a crisp, clear feel about it. Relationship based therapies like Relational TA do not have that. Having redecision work involved in the sessions also allows one to get away from the intensity of relationship based therapeutic work. Working within the transference is emotionally draining for both therapist and client. It is an intense way to do therapy.

balance

In the last few decades there has been a move to relationship based psychotherapies such as relational TA. It’s all about the therapeutic relationship and connection. And there is a good reason for this, as there is considerable curative powers to be found in the therapeutic relationship for the client.

However as always seems to be the case, there is a down side to it as well. Therapies which focus on the relationship, then it all becomes about “Us”. The “I” gets lost. In relationship based therapies the individual is lost. It is not about ‘I’ it is about ‘Us’. Indeed in the co creation type of approaches the individual disappears. In psychotherapy, individualism has significantly diminished in recent years.

Redecision therapy and the Gouldings were all about the individual. Indeed their book was titled, “The power is in the patient”. One could argue they placed too much emphasis on individualism. The nice part about individualism is it is clear. “I am me and you are you”. This has a good feel to it because the boundaries are clear. In relationships and relationship based therapy the lines between people can get blurry. It’s always about “Us”, how we connect and impact each other and co create what ever exists. In the intersubjective space boundaries are blurry between the two parties.

Of course this is going to end sooner or later and there will be another shift in psychotherapy away from focus on the relationship between therapist and client. One can only hypothesise what post relational therapies will be like.

Girl

The cry for a sense of individualism (but it’s in a group!).

 

 

However the point at hand is, as a therapist I have the need at times for a rise of individualism in therapy. A clarity of boundaries in the space between therapist and client. To forget about the “Us” for a while and focus on the “I” for a while. This need of mine it seems is significant as I have unconsciously produced this with my combination of redecision and relational TA approaches.

The relational work allows for a sense of “Us” and the positive effects that brings. 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.

Category: Personality, Psychotherapy, RelationshipTag: relationship, transference

Previous Post: « Child suicide
Next Post: Gallows transaction »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Website Re-build

The website is being rebuilt at the moment. Thank you for your patience and many apologies for any inconvenience.

Recent Posts

  • Deconfusion of the Child ego state
  • Deconfusion of the Child ego state
  • How I became a child psychotherapist
  • Consent and power in relationships.
  • Silence and the unconscious – Part 2
  • Silence and the unconscious
  • Silence in psychotherapy
  • Permission and redecision
  • Mature love, immature love and the teenager
  • Embrace the homeless
  • Psychology of the court process
  • Psychic organs to ego states
  • Regression – defence mechanism & natural human process
  • Two types or levels of life script change
  • Identification – Post 2
  • Identification – Post 1
  • Self control. Therapeutic implications
  • Adult ego state strengthening – Post 4
  • Adult ego state strengthening – Post 3
  • Adult ego state strengthening – post 2

Recent Comments

  • Irina on Social development – History taking
  • Joseph on How I became a child psychotherapist
  • Kahless on The Demon sub personality (Aka Lillith)
  • Kahless on How I became a child psychotherapist
  • Kahless on Consent and power in relationships.
  • Tony White on Consent and power in relationships.
  • Kahless on Consent and power in relationships.
  • Kahless on Silence and the unconscious – Part 2
  • Kahless on Silence and the unconscious
  • Kahless on Silence and the unconscious

Blog Archive

  • December 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • February 2021
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • January 2020
  • September 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • November 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • August 2013

Copyright © 2023 · Mai Lifestyle Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in