Both primary and secondary process matter in therapy. However, historically, psychotherapy privileged interpretation to enlivening experience. That can be challenging. For instance, it’s easy to “talk about” something and, in so doing, fail to discover, learn, integrate, heal, and grow.
E-H therapy is more a journey of exploration than a classroom or doctor’s office. The journey depends on a different, less hierarchical relationship. Of course, the therapist has a role, specific skills, and expertise. However, the relationship is one of collaboration, co-creation. The therapist and client are more “fellow travelers.”
The standard interpretation of the parable of the Good Samaritan is about having compassion and charity for those in need, without expectation of reward. But what if we think about it slightly differently?
The Chinese finger trap is a good illustration of the law of reverse effect: try something and get the opposite. The framework is helpful to remember when working with psychological protections (i.e., “spacesuits”). When we push or confront, we may get resistance.
Working with “spacesuits” is part of the art of therapy. Still, there are points to keep in mind.
“Houston, I feel a lot of water on the back of my head.” Instructed to return forty-five minutes into a maintenance repair spacewalk on the International Space Station, astronaut Luca
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