Constructing bridges and systemic connections: In brief dynamic therapy

The author outlines how the conceptual framework which underpins cyclical psychodynamics, a branch of relational psychoanalysis, provides an opportunity for a coherent integration of constructivist CBT principles and techniques and family systems theory within a model of brief dynamic therapy. Drawing upon Wachtel’s articulation of a more flexible notion of the internal world and one in which current interpersonal patterns are seen to shape the psyche and internal conflicts, the author goes on to identify ways in which attending to a client’s behaviour and the ways in which affective experience is expressed interpersonally can open the way to an integration of therapeutic features from constructivist CBT and family systems theory. The contribution that coaching a client in the ways in which they behave interpersonally in the context of both family and workplace relationships can make to therapeutic effectiveness is explored. These themes are illustrated with a case study.     

Saboteur and superego: The judgement of the ego in brief dynamic therapy

Drawing principally upon the work of Woodmansey the author describes the development of the punitive or humiliating superego as arising from the internalisation of an external conflict, which the child experiences with adult carers, and from whom the child fears retaliatory punishment or scornful reproach. The superego serves the function of extricating the child from the external conflict. Woodmansey’s view of the natural instincts and the development of a moral sense are compared to those of Winnicott, Fairbairn and Guntrip. The notion of a pristine unitary ego and the development of an internal saboteur arising from the frustration of needs for relatedness are outlined and linked conceptually to the development of the punitive superego. The role and judgement of the ego and its emancipation from the superego in accordance with Britton’s formulation are highlighted and related to clinical practice and the alternating transference. These clinical themes are discussed in relation to eliciting affects and narrative construction and deconstruction in brief dynamic work and illustrated by a case example.     

Form and forming a focus: In brief dynamic therapy

This paper describes a model of training for individual work which treats as essential the consideration of group and institutional dynamics, as contrasted with the ‘prevailing model’ in which such issues are not overtly attended to. The author outlines key elements of such a ‘group-aware’ model and endeavours to show the value of it in terms of the students’ self-development, their fuller use of the training experience and in relation to their clients. She suggests that such a model has key advantages over the ‘prevailing model' for all counselling and psychotherapy students, but places emphasis on its particular relevance and value for those training to work with children, adolescents and young people.     

Emotional play and resonating to the shape of the valued self with fellow-feeling: Therapeutic conversations in Brief Dynamic Therapy

Drawing from the work of Meares and Hobson the author outlines a conceptual framework that places the valued self and the sanctuary within which it is located at the centre of human development and of the therapeutic process. The experience of being valued is seen to be the basis upon which a capacity for intimacy develops. In contrast, failures of empathic resonance to the shape and texture of the valued self by significant others are seen to result in the development of an unconscious trauma system and a diminished sense of self. A consequence of this is the development of an expectational field which shapes the interpersonal patterns and experiences of the individual. A feature of this expectation field is the development of an Alien self which can manifest in the phenomenon of role reversals in the therapeutic relationship. The function of maintaining a sense of fellow-feeling in the therapeutic relationship is highlighted. Comparisons are made between the concept of an Alien self and Woodmansey’s conceptualisation of the punitive or humiliating super-ego and its distinction from the ego-ideal which in contrast contributes positively to the development of intimacy. These themes are illustrated by a case example.     

The development and predictive relations of play and language across the second year.

The play and language development of 171 toddlers was examined at 14 and 18 months by observing their activities on the Symbolic Play Test and by assessing their language skills using the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories (MCDI) and the Reynell Developmental Language Scales. Additionally, data from the Bayley Scales of Infant Development and the MCDI were obtained at 24 months, in order to investigate how play and language measures taken at 14 and 18 months predict children's development at the age of 2 years. The results showed that the vocabulary production and symbolic play of the 14-month-old toddlers made a unique contribution to their language and cognitive skills at the age of 2 years, while at 18 months only language variables made a similar contribution. Other-directed pretense discriminated between the children's subsequent language and cognitive skills best, whereas nonsymbolic play had no independent predictive contribution. Significant gender differences were found in the use of nonsymbolic and symbolic play acts already at 14 months. Gender did not, however, contribute to the prediction of the children's subsequent skills, whereas maternal education significantly added to the prediction of the 2-year-olds' maximum sentence length and that of their cognitive development.     

The driver whose heart was full of sand: Leigh's story - a play therapy case study of a bereaved child

This paper describes the therapeutic journey of Leigh (not his real name), a nine-year-old boy who was referred for play therapy due to the death of his 15-year-old brother. The play therapy was offered through a joint project called 'Playing through Loss' and run jointly between a UK university and the local branch of a national bereavement organisation. The project was set up to offer play therapy to bereaved children in the local area. Leigh had eight sessions of therapy and this paper describes the major themes of his play and makes some preliminary explorations of the meaning the play may have had for him. Interestingly some of his play focused on a computer game called 'Zelda' and an exploration of the powerfulness of this as a therapeutic tool is also explored. The therapist's theoretic orientation is described along with her perceived role as 'loyal companion'. Finally, the process by which Leigh worked with his loss is discussed.     

Archetype and object: primary deintegration and primary love in analytical play therapy with young children

Jungian and post-Jungian theory of the development of the child's psyche is reviewed. A discrimination between primary and secondary deintegration is suggested. Post-Freudian theory regarding primary object relations is integrated with the Jungian model. The two approaches can contribute synergistically to inform and advance play therapy with young children. Patients from widely diverse cultural backgrounds use their relationship with the therapist as a helpful person (object), and engage in archetypal material from the collective unconscious, to help them work on and through their unresolved emotional issues.     

Play and liberty: A brief incursion into some ideological currents in the history of systems-oriented family therapy

We reflect on family therapy and its history from two points of view, as an entity that becomes understood with the help of a twofold concept of a game, and a twofold concept of liberty. Systemic family therapy has always been comprehended with the help of game theory. Its development becomes more properly understood if we keep in mind that game itself is a dualistic concept entailing both a cultural and a logico-mathematical interpretation of a game. We show how cultural ethos has molded the ways how game metaphor have been implemented to systemic thinking. In the same manner we show how Isaiah Berlin's idea of two incompatible concepts of liberty helps to contextualize family therapy in a way that its connections to sociopolitical theories of liberty become obvious. We believe that we have been able to demonstrate, how this twofold recontextualisation enriches the understanding of the ideological history of the family therapy. We claim that our reflections imply that family therapy is essentially a dualistic endeavor, that in the amid of it is a rift that cannot become repaired but only contemplated, that integrity of family therapy requires that we preserve both conflictual views, and don't try to simplify situation by abandoning one or the other. As a result, our article intends to develop further and deepen the idea that is originally presnted in the article "Strategy and intervention or non-intervention: A matter of theory" by Harold Goolishian and Harlene Anderson.     

Young clients' narratives of the purpose and outcome of counselling

This study explores how adolescent clients construct the purpose and outcome of counselling. A narrative analysis was performed on interviews with 22 clients (aged 16–18) who had used a school-based counselling service. The aim was to identify the purpose and outcomes that participants attributed to their counselling experience. The analysis identified four narrative forms that young clients used to describe counselling. These included ‘transformative’, ‘supportive’, ‘pragmatic’ and ‘disappointed’ narratives. Each narrative form constructed a different purpose and outcome for counselling. Engaging with clients' narratives about the purpose and intended outcome of counselling may allow counsellors to better match their expectations and approach to fit with their young client or to work with them to co-construct more flexible narratives that support helpful outcomes.     

Emotions naturally and laboriously expressed: Antecedents,consequences, and the role of valence

The emotion regulation literature has focused primarily on comparing the methods of surface acting and deep acting, yet scholars have also noted the importance of naturally felt emotions as a means for achieving a desired emotional display. The literature has also mainly examined positive displays, yet there are many situations that call for the display of negative emotions. To advance theory and research, we draw from theory on central principles of approach/avoidance motivation to understand why an individual would choose a given emotional display method, as well as the extent to which a given method is beneficial versus harmful to individuals. In doing so, we identify the valence of the emotion being displayed as a critical factor influencing the benefits and detriments of emotional display methods. Results of a 3-week experience-sampling study of 218 employees revealed that mood was associated with the natural display of positive emotion, promotion focus was associated with deep acting, and prevention focus was associated with surface acting. In positive display contexts, displaying emotion naturally was most beneficial (in terms of effects on emotional exhaustion, job satisfaction, and work withdrawal), whereas surface acting was most detrimental. In negative contexts, this relationship pattern was reversed.     

Creative restorations: Holding a mirror to the self in brief dynamic therapy

The author outlines the conceptual framework that underpins psychoanalytic self-psychology, describing the function of the selfobject in meeting the need of the child and later the adult for mirroring, idealisation and essential alikeness, and thereby sustaining the coherence of the self within a structure that takes the form of a tension arc. Drawing from more recent elaborations of the need for optimal responsiveness by the selfobject in mirroring the expansiveness of the self, the author proceeds to compare this conceptual framework with that of Winnicott and Wright, who posited the role of mirroring in the development and realisation of the self. The contribution of mirroring to the facilitation of creativity as well as the relationship between the arts and the realisation of the self are explored in the particular context of the counselling of students in the field of the performing arts. The implications of these concepts are further explored in relation to short-term counselling and this is illustrated with a case example.     

Towards emotional containment for staff and patients: developing a Work Discussion group for play specialists in a paediatric ward

This paper describes the evolution of a staff Work Discussion group run by a child psychotherapist in a teaching hospital for more than 15 years. It offers insight into the emotional experience of both NHS staff and patients as seen through the lens of the discussion of the staff’s work. The author identifies three main stages in the evolution of this group, as trust and the feeling of a safe space gradually developed. The first stage was identifying and understanding the emotional experience of patients, through the use of observational skills and psychoanalytic concepts; the second emerged as staff began to include their own emotional experience in the narrative; the last stage saw a qualitative shift in the staff’s capacity to share the pain generated by the work, knowing about it through holding it in the group’s mind and being able to reflect on it, allowing them to process experience in a way that made the work more bearable – akin to Bion’s concept of ‘containment’. This evolution is illustrated with relevant vignettes in the light of some theoretical and historical considerations. The paper demonstrates the value of Work Discussion groups in terms of indirectly supporting hospitalised patients, as well as promoting staff’s resilience and professional capacities in difficult contexts.     

Rough‐and‐tumble play and the regulation of aggression: an observational study of father–child play dyads

Rough‐and‐tumble play (RTP) is a common form of play between fathers and children. It has been suggested that RTP can contribute to the development of selfregulation. This study addressed the hypothesis that the frequency of father–child RTP is related to the frequency of physically aggressive behavior in early childhood. This relationship was expected to be moderated by the dominance relationship between father and son during play. Eighty‐five children between the ages of 2 and 6 years were videotaped during a free‐play session with their fathers in their homes and questionnaire data was collected about father–child RTP frequency during the past year. The play dyads were rated for the degree to which the father dominated play interactions. A significant statistical interaction revealed that RTP frequency was associated with higher levels of physical aggression in children whose fathers were less dominant. These results indicate that RTP is indeed related to physical aggression, though this relationship is moderated by the degree to which the father is a dominant playmate. Aggr. Behav. 35:285–295, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The creative potential of play and regression in analytical training: a personal reflection

The seminar group can serve as a framework in which to meet the fear generated during training. The group can become a maddening environment, but on occasions when it is experienced by the trainee as good enough, it can act like a playgroup which facilitates development. Experiences in the group can be viewed from the perspectives of group dynamics or of transference phenomena which embody regression. When this regression enables scope for play it can serve in the interests of ego development in the process of discovering the sort of analyst the trainee is becoming as the training unfolds. During play aspects of oneself can merge, then differentiate again. They can have different meanings at the same time. The rational and emotional, the adult and the childlike are all given a place in play.     

Use of narratives and collage in the exploration of the self and the meaning of a career

ABSTRACT

A methodological challenge during my doctoral research led me to use collage to reflect upon my own life and career. The insights it allowed me into the relationship between who we are and what we do led me to conclude that such methods can also illuminate these connections for clients of career counselling. In this paper I argue that such constructivist approaches allow the examination of that psycho-social space within which career is shaped and understood, allowing access to both the conscious and unconscious meaning made of a career and life story. I further argue that in times of increasing complexity such methods will be an important tool for career counsellors to meet the holistic needs of clients.     

如何道歉更有效:调节聚焦与信息框架的作用

本研究结合调节聚焦理论探讨了如何道歉更有效。两个实验通过启动不同调节聚焦,创设冒犯情境并呈现不同框架的道歉信息,考察调节聚焦与道歉框架对道歉效果的影响。结果表明,向促进聚焦的受害者呈现积极框架的道歉信息、向防御聚焦的受害者呈现消极框架的道歉信息能改善受害者对冒犯者的评价,降低交往回避倾向,获得较好的道歉效果,且正确感是此种影响发生的内在机制。     

Schizophrenia and the experience of intersubjectivity as threat

Many with schizophrenia find social interactions a profound and terrifying threat to their sense of self. To better understand this we draw upon dialogical models of the self that suggest that those with schizophrenia have difficulty sustaining dialogues among diverse aspects of self. Because interpersonal exchanges solicit and evoke movement among diverse aspects of self, many with schizophrenia may consequently find those exchanges overwhelming, resulting in despair, the sensation of fusion with another, and/or self-dissolution. In short, compromised dialogical capacities may be a contributing factor to social dysfunction in schizophrenia.