EP95 Panel 10 - Philosophical Issues and Psychotherapy - Eugene Gendlin, PhD; Thomas Szasz, MD; Paul Watzlawick, PhD; Irvin Yalom, MD
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- Not yet rated
- Topic Areas:
- Topical Panels | Psychotherapy | Communication | Constructivism | Cultural and Social Contexts | Ethical Practice | Narrative Therapy
- Categories:
- Evolution of Psychotherapy | Evolution of Psychotherapy 1995 | Pioneers in Couples and Family Therapy
- Faculty:
- Eugene Gendlin, PhD | Thomas Szasz, MD | Paul Watzlawick, PhD | Irvin Yalom, PhD
- Duration:
- 1 Hour
- Format:
- Audio Only
- Original Program Date:
- Dec 15, 1995
- License:
- Never Expires.
Description
Description:
Educational Objectives:
- To compare and contrast clinical and philosophical perspectives of experts.
*Sessions may be edited for content and to preserve confidentiality*
Outline:
Introduction and Panel Overview
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Panel introduced: Dr. Jean Genlin, Dr. Thomas Szasz, Dr. Paul Watzlawick, and Dr. Irvin Yalom
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Each panelist given 10 minutes to speak, followed by audience interaction
Philosophical Perspective on Psychotherapy
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Current theories are limited; need new language to express human experience
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Therapy should free individuals from cultural stereotypes and rigid narratives
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Emphasis on relatedness and prioritizing human connection over abstract theory
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Modern self is composed of diverse parts needing mediation, not a unified entity
Philosophical Issues in Psychotherapy
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Philosophy defined as both epistemological (how we know) and ethical (what is good)
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Critique of “psychotherapy” as overly technical; human issues can’t always be solved technically
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Exploration of power dynamics and ethical concerns of paternalism in therapy
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Question raised: are mental “diseases” technical problems or something else entirely?
Constructivism and Reality in Psychotherapy
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Reality is constructed, not objectively “out there”
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Language and perception shape what we consider real
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Radical constructivism: knowledge built by the organism to organize experience
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Aim in therapy is to help clients build less painful, more workable realities
Personal Experiences with Philosophy
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Dissatisfaction with empirical and psychoanalytic models led to philosophy
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Influenced by Rollo May’s Existence and philosophical studies at Johns Hopkins
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Work with cancer patients deepened engagement with existential themes
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Nietzsche’s ideas on death, transformation, and the Superman seen as clinically relevant
Philosophical Implications of Managed Care
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Question raised about how managed care affects ethics and standards
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Defense of human concerns over economic and legal priorities
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History shows professional ethics often subverted by economic/state forces
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Concern expressed over loss of collective clinical wisdom due to cost-cutting
Quantum Physics and Psychology
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Question posed on the relevance of quantum physics to psychological models
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Psychology’s quest for objective truth may be an obstacle to deeper understanding
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Reference to Arcadia as metaphor for the impossibility of reconstructing the past
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Construction of meaning involves confronting reality in its complexity
Eastern Philosophy and Psychotherapy
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Influence of Zen Buddhism and concept of maya (illusion) discussed
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“No thing” as a central existential and therapeutic insight
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Buddhist views on suffering, detachment, and impermanence seen as valuable for therapy
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Emphasis on non-attachment and letting go as pathways to healing
Corrective Emotional Experiences
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Ethical concerns raised about constructing “less painful” realities for clients
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Correction of painful meaning structures seen as valuable even if not objectively true
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Reframes seen as ethically valid when rooted in therapeutic empathy
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Existential concept of time discussed in terms of patient awareness and meaning
Near Death Experiences and No Thing
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Tension between constructivist views and transformative near-death experiences
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“No thing” viewed not as absence but as a deeper form of being
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Two levels of reality: First Order (sensory) and Second Order (constructed meaning)
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Regret used as a therapeutic device to move clients toward meaningful future choices
Credits
Faculty
Eugene Gendlin, PhD Related Seminars and Products
Eugene T. Gendlin, PhD, is an American philosopher and psychotherapist who developed ways of thinking about and working with living process, the bodily felt sense and the 'philosophy of the implicit'. Gendlin received his Ph.D. in philosophy in 1958 from the University of Chicago where he became an Associate Professor in the departments of Philosophy and Psychology.
His philosophical work is concerned especially with the relationship between logic and experiential explication. Implicit intricacy cannot be represented, but functions in certain ways in relation to philosophical discourse. The applications of this "Philosophy of the Implicit" have been important in many fields.
His philosophical books and articles are listed and some of them are available from this web site. They include Experiencing and the Creation of Meaning, (in paperback) and Language Beyond Post-Modernism: Saying and Thinking In Gendlin's Philosophy (edited by David Levin) , both from Northwestern University Press, l997 and A Process Model.
Thomas Szasz, MD Related Seminars and Products
Thomas S. Szasz, (M.D., University of Cincinnati, 1944) was Professor of Psychiatry at the State University of New York, Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse. He was recipient of numerous awards, including the Humanist fo the Year Award from the American Humanist Association and the Distinguished Service Award from teh American Institute for Public Service. He has received a number of honorary doctorates and lectureships, and served on the editorial board or as consulting editor for ten journals.
Szasz has authored approximately 400 articles, book chapters, reviews, letters to the editor and columns. He has written 19 books.
Paul Watzlawick, PhD Related Seminars and Products
Paul Watzlawick, received his Ph.D. from the University of Venice in 1949. He has an Analyst's Diploma from the C.G. Jung Institute for Analytic Psychology in Zurich. Watzlawick has practiced psychotherapy for more than 30 years. He was research associate and principal investigator at the Mental Research Institute. He was Clinical Professor at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University Medical Center. Watzlawick is a noted family therapist; he is recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award from the American Family Therapy Association. Also, he is author, co-author or editor of eight books on the topics of interactional psychotherapy, human communication and constructivist philosophy.
He formulated five axioms. They are:
- It is not possible to not communicate. Every behavior is some kind of non-verbal communication.
- Every communication has a content. In addition, there is 'metainformation', which says how the communicator wants to be understood.
- All partners involved in a communication process also interpret their own behaviour during communication.
- Human communication involves both verbal and non-verbal communication. In addition to the spoken words, there are is also a non-spoken part (gestures, behavior, intonation..) which is part of the communication.
- Communication between humans is either symmetric or complementary. This is based on whether the relationship of those communicating is based on differences or parity.
Irvin Yalom, PhD Related Seminars and Products
Dr. Yalom is a Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the Stanford University School of Medicine. His major areas of interest are Group Psychotherapy and an existentially - inter-personally based individual therapy. In recent years, he has taught via narrative using short stories and novels to teach the art of psychotherapy.
Dr. Yalom was the recipient of the first ever Lifetime Achievement Award presented by The American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA) at the 75th meeting on March 6, 2017 in New York City.