|
"ART OF THE PSYCHOTHERAPIST, THE" (JAMES BUGENTAL).
Term Paper ID:26419
|
|
|
Essay Subject:
Reviews work arguing psychotherapy is an art using intuition in meaningful conversation.... More...
|
4 Pages / 900 Words
1 sources, 5 Citations,
APA Format
$16.00
Return to List of Papers
|
Paper Abstract:
Reviews work arguing psychotherapy is an art using intuition in meaningful conversation.
Paper Introduction:
This paper is a review of James F. T. Bugental's The Art of the Psychotherapist. Written by a therapist with almost 50 years' experience, this book argues that truly effective psychotherapy is more of an art than a science. Bugental contends that the experienced therapist's most important tool is a highly developed intuitive sense, allowing him or her to understand the subjectivity of both the patient and the therapist. Bugental suggests that life-changing therapy is only possible when the therapist comprehends the unique way in which the client sees the world. His book is written for experienced therapists, instructors, and researchers; he cautions that his techniques cannot be used by therapists who have not yet gained a certain level of competence and experience. However, his techniques for mastering the art of meaningful conversation can
Text of the Paper:
The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper.
. Bugental writes, "Whentherapy becomes truly life-changing, the client feels her identity, herworld - in short, her life - is being threatened. He offers a series of specific techniques designed to helpthe patient be fully present in the session. T. F. Bugental contends that the initial training period is aimed atproducing competent therapists who have a thorough grounding in theapproach they have chosen to take to therapy. Reference Bugental, J. Written by a therapist with almost 5 years' experience,this book argues that truly effective psychotherapy is more of an art thana science. The next step is overcoming resistance. He suggests that, after thisinitial learning period, therapists then begin a lifelong process ofbecoming masters of their art. The art of the psychotherapist. Bugental's The Art of thePsychotherapist. Bugental divides this advanced process into a series of fivetechniques, each of which builds on the previous step. Bugental writes, "Psychotherapy that istruly the nurturing of the spirit or soul must be the search for the wildgod, the god of mystery, the god back of god" (p. Bugental contends that the experienced therapist's mostimportant tool is a highly developed intuitive sense, allowing him or herto understand the subjectivity of both the patient and the therapist.Bugental suggests that life-changing therapy is only possible when thetherapist comprehends the unique way in which the client sees the world.His book is written for experienced therapists, instructors, andresearchers; he cautions that his techniques cannot be used by therapistswho have not yet gained a certain level of competence and experience.However, his techniques for mastering the art of meaningful conversationcan be especially useful even for the beginning counsellor. W. Although this book is written primarily for the experiencedtherapist, Bugental's language is graceful and accessible. Bugental considers subjectivity to be the most important key to doingany effective work in psychotherapy. Both the client and the therapist have concerns withthe therapeutic process, and those concerns can help to overcome resistanceand deal with the fear that change engenders. 274). 6). Paralleling allowsthe therapist to guide the subject matter, feelings, framing, and focus ofthe discussion in ways that enhance clear communication. He believes that therapy requires a completeunderstanding of the individual's unique perspective and ongoing flow ofexperience, and the effective therapist must add an understanding of his orher personal subjectivity to the process. Parallelingsuggests ways that the therapist can get in sync with the patient'ssubjectivity, using similar language and word formations, metaphors andimagery, and other methods that enhance the therapeutic conversation. to help [the patient] examinethe manner in which he has answered life's existential questions and toattempt to revise some of those answers in ways which will make thepatient's life more authentic and thus more fulfilling" (p. He says, "Our subjectivity is ourtrue home, our natural state, and our necessary place of refuge andrenewal" (p. NewYork: W. Dealing with resistance leads to the fourth step, mastering concernand intentionality. Bugental's book is aimed at therapists engaged in what he callsintensive, life-changing, or depth therapy. 95). Bugental hasbeen perfecting his art for almost 5 years. He defines therapy as "the effort . These techniques guide thetherapist toward helping the client uncover what is really going on.Bugental argues that talk simply for the sake of talk does not producecommunication on a deep enough level to make any kind of meaningful changepossible, and his methods show how the therapist can deepen and extend thediscussion in ways that are likely to begin a discovery process for boththe therapist and the client. 99). He considers his work nowherenear finished. This paper is a review of James F. 173). Because psychotherapy is, in the end, anart, rather than a science, the effort continues as the artist's personaland professional challenge throughout the rest of his or her career.Bugental (1987) writes, "True art is only to found on the edge of what isknown - a dangerous place to be, an exciting place to work, a continuallyunsettling place to live subjectively" (p. He fills hispages with examples and personal experience. The first art thatthe psychotherapist must master is the basic art of meaningfulconversation. T. 4). As the therapistgains mastery of his or her art, he or she can become proficient at theskill of appreciative perceiving, an advanced technique that works to viewconcern and intentionality from the client's uniquely subjective point ofview. Like the pursuitof all arts, the art of psychotherapy has no final point. Once basic conversational arts have been mastered, the therapist canthen move on to a series of conversational techniques called paralleling.Bugental describes this as "how much or how little one speaker - therapistor patient - phrases the content of what he says in the same general way ashas the previous speaker in the conversation" (p. Norton.----------------------- 6 (1987). Intentionality includes theimpulses to be and to do that make change possible or work to block it.Mastering both impulses is important for the therapist, in order to leadthe client to a parallel mastery and ultimate change. Resistance is a sign thateffective work is being done: when the therapist encounters barriers inthe client, he or she must help the client to see this as a positive sign,while providing reassurance in the face of change. Sincedepth therapy is concerned with helping the client locate and overcome hisor her deepest resistances, the therapist must work to understand theclient's subjective perspective, rather than trying to fit that uniquenessinto a universal set of rules and models. . The final step is deepening the therapist's commitment and artistry.These are lifelong processes. He makes an excellent casefor the artistry involved in helping others to improve their lives, and hiswords provide a goal to which every caring counsellor would do well toaspire. He differentiates this fromtreatment programs designed to deal with specific problems; his methods areaimed at therapy that takes place at least twice a week over a period ofyears, and he suggests that all schools of therapy would benefit from histechniques. Not unreasonably, theclient resists the therapeutic effort" (p.
If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again:
or
Click here to request an essay written just for you.
|
|
|
