Why in systemic psychotherapy there are no “ill individuals,” but ill relationships There is one school in psychotherapy that I have not written about in my blog so far, yet one to which I owe an enormous amount – systemic psychotherapy. When I first encountered it, I was deeply impressed by its paradigm for understanding […]
Once, a man was walking near a cliff and fell. As he was falling, he managed to grab onto the branch of a small tree growing out of a crack in the rock. Hanging from the branch, shaken by the cold wind, the man realized the full hopelessness of his situation: below him were river […]
“Although the disturbances accompanying the crises of spiritual development resemble some illnesses, and at times it is even difficult to distinguish them, in reality, their causes and meanings are completely different, and in a certain sense even opposite. Accordingly, their treatment must also be different.” — Roberto Assagioli This thought by Roberto Assagioli (∗) is […]
Following my post on identifying the “real” problem, here is a sequel in the same spirit. It is this: if we manage to find what that problem is, we soon discover that the problem itself contains the solution to our truly “real” issue. Sound a bit confusing? Let me give you an example to make […]
Connecting with the True Self does not mean that you are constantly in bliss or happiness. It simply means that you are free to experience life with all its joys and pains and that you are not hiding behind rigid defenses and facades.
The beauty of gratitude is that it gives us the freedom to let go of things that gave us much in the past but no longer correspond to the changes that have since occurred within us. This is how I feel regarding the method of Family Constellations, from which I once received a great deal. […]
“…premature reconciliation and forgiveness hinder constructive dialogue when they cover up or postpone conflict and leave its consequences to the other family members. This is particularly destructive when the one who was wronged attempts to release the offender from his or her guilt, as if victims had such power. When reconciliation is necessary, the person […]
In systemic constellations and the work of their creator, Bert Hellinger, there is a perspective that is perhaps less popular but certainly worth reflecting upon. As I shared in the article regarding Personal Conscience, one of the three basic needs that maintain human relationships in a healthy state is the balance between giving and taking. […]
According to the founder of humanistic psychology, A. Maslow, within us lies what he calls the ‘Jonah complex’ – a fear of our own greatness. “We fear our highest possibilities (as well as our lowest). We usually shy away from becoming what we can glimpse in our most perfect moments, in the most perfect conditions, […]
Howard Sasportas, in The Dynamics of the Unconscious: “The True Self is the deepest part of your individual nature — who you are beneath all your frills and trimmings. It is your own personality: who you are as a separate, individual being. Discovering your True Self is a process of freeing yourself from the false […]
On the path from “self-actualization to self-transcendence,” there is a very specific danger—in Maslow’s humanistic psychology, it is called “the higher detour.” Here is its description by Howard Sasportas in the book The Dynamics of the Unconscious: “Some people associate feelings like joy, bliss, or universal love with the Higher Self. But the perception of […]
Here is a very important concept in logotherapy, created by Viktor Frankl. It is called noodynamics. “*What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task. He needs not the discharge of tension at any cost, but the call of a potential […]
