The concept of the Self has come to imply a consistent cluster of characteristics which are often given fixed and universal attributes, such as the narcissistic self, topdog and underdog, false and true self, etc. This paper will expand the concept to include the versatility and unique aliveness of the individual's many selves and show how these selves help people make sense of their lives. Special attention will be given to broadening the concepts of introjections, transference, and gestalt formation, showing how these may be instrumental in harmonizing alienated selves.
Epicurus, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche are forefathers of contemporary psychotherapy. Freud was aware of these wellsprings of modern therapy, and Jung brings them specifically into his writing and his methods. We not only get hints from these forefathers, but we also find a lasting base in them, such as Bubar's "l-thou" construct or Kierkegaard's emphasis on the ultimate relationship of the self to life. These ideas are assumed in Freud, Jung, Adler, Rank, Fromm and other leading therapists in our day. It is these latter therapists who have given us the web of ideas which underlie contemporary psychotherapy.
Human experience and human action center in and derive from human subjectivity. Our preoccupation with objectivity results displaces identity from inner living to external. Life-changing psychotherapy requires centered awareness and self-direction. Three therapeutic elements are prime: Full presence, major commitment, and exploring client's self-and-world constructs.
Topical Panel 05 from the Evolution of Psychotherapy 1990 - Training Psychotherapists
Featuring James FT Bugental, PhD; Arnold Lazarus, PhD; Salvador Minuchin, MD; and Miriam Polster, PhD.
Moderated by Ellyn Bader, PhD.
Topical Panel 06 from the Evolution of Psychotherapy 1990 - The Language of Human Facilitation
Featuring William Glasser, MD; James Hillman, PhD; Ernest Rossi, PhD; and Paul Watzlawick, PhD.
Moderated by Betty Alice Erickson-Elliott, MS.
Topical Panel 09 from the Evolution of Psychotherapy 1990 - Key Ethical Considerations
Featuring Jay Haley, MA; Rollo May, PhD; Thomas Szasz, MD; and Jeffrey K Zeig, PhD.
Moderated by Bill O'Hanlon, MS.
Topical Panel 10 from the Evolution of Psychotherapy 1990 - Therapeutic Uses of Humor
Featuring Arnold Lazarus, PhD; Miriam Polster, PhD; Carl Whitaker, MD; Cloe Madanes, Lic Psychol.
Moderated by Michael Yapko, PhD.
Topical Panel 11 from the Evolution of Psychotherapy 1990 - Transference / Countertransference
Featuring Alexander Lowen, MD; James Masterson, MD; Rollo May, PhD; and Erving Polster, PhD.
Moderated by Ruth McClendon, MSW.
Workshop 04 from the Evolution of Psychotherapy 1990 - Fostering Depth in Client Self-Exploration, featuring James FT Bugental, PhD.
It is doubtful any lasting life-changes will result unless clients are able to access their own inner worlds with unusual depth. This workshop - using direct instruction, specific suggestions, and live demonstrations - teaches ways of working for rich inner discovery.
This workshop will underscore the need to go beyond AFFECT, BEHAVIOR, and COGNITION, and also assess client's IMAGERY, SENSATIONS, INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS, and BIOLOGICAL issues. By doing so, the result is a comprehensive and versatile framework for "leaving no stone unturned. ''