Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Therapies (Theories of Psychotherapy) by Jeremy D. Safran

Author:Jeremy D. Safran
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9781433809798
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Published: 2012-01-14T22:00:00+00:00

Creating Meaning and Historical Reconstruction

People often come to therapy with varying degrees of difficulty in the construction of meaningful narratives about their lives. These failures of meaning can include both the absence of narratives that help them make sense of important aspects of their experience or their lives in general, as well as the existence of maladaptive narratives that they have constructed to make sense of their experience.

The process of constructing a viable narrative account of the role that one’s childhood experiences played in contributing to one’s problems can also decrease the experience of self-blame that typically complicates and exacerbates emotional problems. By coming to understand one’s emotional problems as arising from psychological coping strategies that were adaptive and made sense in the context of a dysfunctional childhood situation but are maladaptive in the present context, the client can become more tolerant and accepting toward himself and begin the process of developing coping strategies that are adaptive in a present context.

Often the problems that clients bring to therapy extend beyond a concern with specific symptoms to a more pervasive sense of meaninglessness and existential despair. When this is the case, the process of exploring and clarifying their own values and engaging in a meaningful dialogue with the therapist can help clients to reorient themselves and develop a more refined sense of what is meaningful to them. For clients, this process of meaning construction often involves becoming more aware of and articulating the nuances of their emotional experience in the context of the relationship with the therapist, so that they can begin to get a sense of feeling more vitally alive and in touch with their inner experience.

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