| |
Basic InformationMore InformationAn Interview with Bruce Ecker, M.A., L.M.F.T., on Coherence TherapyAn Interview with Bruce Ecker, MA, on Memory Reconsolidation and PsychotherapyAn Interview with Jon Frederickson, MSW, on Experiential Psychodynamic PsychotherapyAn Interview with Joshua Lerner, MA, LCSW, on the History of Object Relations TheoryAn Interview with Kirk Schneider, Ph.D., on Existential Humanistic PsychotherapyAn Interview with Leslie Greenberg, PhD, on Emotion-Focused TherapyAn Interview with Wilma Bucci, Ph.D., on Psychoanalysis and Cognitive ScienceBoundaries and Dysfunctional Family SystemsCognitive RestructuringHumanistic PsychotherapyLearning TheoryPost-Cognitive PsychotherapyRepressionTransferenceWise Counsel Interview Podcast: Myrna Weissman, Ph.D. on Interpersonal PsychotherapyWise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Alan Rappoport, Ph.D. on Control-Mastery TheoryWise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Annie Fahy, MSW on Motivational Interviewing Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Becky LaFountain, Ph.D. on Adlerian Psychology and PsychotherapyWise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Dr. Jürgen Kriz on Self-Actualization and Person Centered PsychotherapyWise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Fern Cohen, Ph.D. on whether Psychoanalysis is DeadWise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Francine Shapiro, Ph.D. on Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) TherapyWise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Jeffrey Young Ph.D. on Schema TherapyWise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with John Clarkin, Ph.D. on Transference-Focused TherapyWise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Jonathan Engel, Ph.D. on the History of American Psychotherapy - Part 1Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Jonathan Engel, Ph.D. on the History of American Psychotherapy - Part 2Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Laris Macpherson on the Therapy Client's ExperienceWise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Marsha Linehan, Ph.D. on Dialectical Behavior TherapyWise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Natalie Rogers, Ph.D. on Expressive Arts TherapyWise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Otto Kernberg, MD on Transference Focused Therapy Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Raul Moncayo, Ph.D. on Lacanian PsychoanalysisWise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Richard Shulman, Ph.D. on Volunteers in PsychotherapyWise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Shinzen Young on Mindfulness MeditationWise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Steven Hayes, PhD on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Latest NewsQuestions and AnswersBlog EntriesAn Interview with Daniel Strunk, Ph.D., on Cognitive Therapy for DepressionDoes Hypnosis Work?Schema Therapy BasicsWhat Happens During Group Therapy?What Do You Value in a Therapist?Which Type of Therapeutic Group is Right for You?Is The Therapist Ever A Patient?The Health Benefits of PsychotherapyPsychotherapy, Boundaries and EthicsIs My Therapist Helping Me?Psychotherapy vs. Medication for Depression, Anxiety and Other Mental IllnessesPsychotherapy, Skype and Videocam TechnologyTherapy and Exercise: Do They Go Together?Can Stress Diminish the Effects of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?Budget Cuts and Mental Health CareOf Self-Compassion and Connection to OthersFaith in God and Psychotherapy OutcomesPsychotherapy For The ElderlyThe Importance of the Relationship in Counseling and PsychotherapyJournaling and Mental HealthEye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): Another Type of PsychotherapyValuing TherapyIs Liking Your Therapist Enough?Telehealth: A Modern Path to WellnessAttention Restoration Theory: Was Thoreau onto Something?Therapy and Medication May Be More Effective than Drugs AloneA Therapy Group for Everyone!Catch the (Brain) Wave: Can EEG Therapy Help Us Focus?EcotherapyPeeling the Onion—Uncovering Our Wounds in TherapyAn Interview with George Lough, Ph.D., on Somatic Experiencing An Interview with David S. Remmert, Ph.D. on Forensic Psychology The Dangers of Online TherapyHow to Get the Most from your Couples TherapyFinding A Psychotherapist, A Cautionary TaleUsing Skype and Phone with ClientsAn Interview with Diana Fosha, Ph.D., on Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP)RAD: Children, False Information and Dangerous TherapiesUsing Technology to Treat OCD...A Good Idea or Not?Did 911 Reveal the Limitations of Psychology?CBT and Mindfulness for Social Anxiety: Train your Brain for Social SuccessPsychotherapy: Clarifying Some MisconceptionsTired or Bored: When Your Therapist YawnsAppointment #2, Turtle SandwichWhen Should Therapists Disclose Their Personal Backgrounds? DBT Creator Shares Her Own Personal StrugglesAn Interview with Marshall Lewis, M.A., on LogotherapyIntentional Trance FormationPlay Therapy: A Healing Tool for ChildrenTell Me a Little About Yourself An Interview with Marilyn Wedge, Ph.D., on Family TherapyPsychotherapy: What Can Go WrongThe Importance of Couples CounselingFreedom to Feel: An Introduction to the IPA and Deep-Feeling TherapiesOnline Counseling: An Online Counselor’s PerspectiveOnline Counseling: Can Online Counseling Help Me?When You Are Angry At Your TherapistA Look at Faith and Spirituality in Mental Health: An Interview with Jena MorrowAn Interview with Michael Edelstein, Ph.D., on Rational Emotive Behavior TherapyOnline Mindfulness-Based Anxiety TherapyWhat Kind of Therapist am I?Psychiatry and Psychotherapy and InsuranceDBT-Family Skills Training: A Treatment Model for Families and Relatives of People with BPDTime to KnowNeedless: You Can Have Almost Anything You Want(So Long As You Don't Need It!)The Guilts: A Psychoanalytic and Cognitive ViewReconsolidation: A Universal, Integrative Framework for Highly Effective PsychotherapyBehavior Disorders, Learning Your DiagnosisMindfulness Therapy: Learning to Sit with DepressionMindfulness Meditation Therapy for PTSDCan Therapy Help You Change?The Quick FixOnline Mindfulness Therapy for AnxietyAre We Predisposed to Believe?Finding a TherapistNot Your Grandmother's CBT: My Experience with Cognitive Behavior TherapyVote for Volunteers In Psychotherapy OrganizationPsychotherapy, Do We Really Want to Change? "Boundaries" as Moral IdealsAn Interview with John Doe Transformed in PrisonHarmful Therapy? A Disgruntled Ex-Therapy Client Speaks Her PieceDissolve Frustration — Three Strategies You Can Begin Using Right NowThe Deep Moralism of Mental Health CareTransference vs. Encounter in PsychotherapyThe Hammer Theory of Pleasure and Pain: Rediscovering the Wisdom of ModerationThe Necessity of Moral EngagementTelemental HealthHow Lucky Are You? The Strange Idea of "Therapeutic Neutrality"What are Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Skills?Nothing To Prove and Nothing To ExplainAn Interview with Joshua Lerner, MA, LCSW, on the History of Object Relations TheoryVirtue and ChangeReligion and PsychotherapyThe "Fallen" Realities of Human NatureAn Interview with Wilma Bucci, Ph.D., on Psychoanalysis and Cognitive ScienceBorderline Personality Disorder And The Ability To Understand Other People Not Feeling Motivated? Try Motivational InterviewingAn Interview with Leslie Greenberg, PhD, on Emotion-Focused TherapyCognitive Behavior Therapy On The iPhoneAiming AttentionThere's An App For That: Psychology On The iPhoneScore Another One for Cognitive TherapyTransference Focused Psychotherapy Works and Psychoanalysis Is Not DeadWill and the Competitors for Your AttentionBrainless, Then MindlessAn Interview with Bruce Ecker, MA, on Memory Reconsolidation and PsychotherapyCommon and Mature Defenses, and BeyondConsidering the ConsequencesAsleep at the WheelACCEPTANCE—Even LESS than Meets the I!Muddling ThroughOperating the Creature You InhabitAn Interview with Robert Fancher, Ph.D., on Cultures of HealingTherapy And Neural PathwaysSuggestionDo You Fear Success?Healing, Is It Just a Matter of Medication? Salience and SuggestionAn Interview with Kirk Schneider, Ph.D., on Existential Humanistic PsychotherapyIs Blogging Good For You?Ordinary TranceImproving Therapy: What Can be Done?Obsessive Compulsive DisorderAn Interview with Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D. on Mindfulness at WorkAn Interview with Jon Frederickson, MSW, on Experiential Psychodynamic PsychotherapySTEPPS for Borderline Personality DisorderAn Interview with Bruce Ecker, M.A., L.M.F.T., on Coherence TherapyBrain Neuroplasticity and Treatment Resistant DepressionSwiss Psychiatrist Fights Fear with LSDAn Interview with David Wallin, Ph.D. on the Implications of Attachment Theory for PsychotherapyWhen Your Therapist Goes On VacationDiagnoses, Some Thoughts to ConsiderPsychotherapy - How It Works3 Reasons You May Want Group TherapyDoes Psychotherapy Help Everyone?Of Parking Lots, Stress, Life and PsychotherapyThe Problem of Treating AddictionWhat is the difference between Transference Focused Psychotherapy and standard psychotherapy?Psychotherapy for BPD - what works for whom?An Interview with Becky LaFountain, Ph.D. on Adlerian Psychology and PsychotherapyFaith versus Reason, Religion and PsychologyAn Interview with Steven Phillipson, Ph.D. on the Nature and Treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)Specialized Treatments for Borderline Personality Disorder: What is Transference Focused Psychotherapy?Specialized Treatments for Borderline Personality Disorder: What is Mentalization Based Therapy? Psychotherapy Part DeuxHow to Start Psychotherapy: A Nervous Time for MostSpecialized Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder: What is Dialectical Behavior Therapy?Cognitive Distortions, also known as Finding specialized psychotherapy resources for Borderline Personality DisorderFamily Therapy: A Different Approach to Psychotherapy5 Ways to Achieve MiserySuicide, Self Injury and Hospitalization: Can your therapist have you hospitalized?An Interview with Jonathan Engel, Ph.D. on the History of American PsychotherapyAn Interview with Jürgen Kriz on the topic of Self-Actualization and Rogerian Person Centered PsychotherapyAn Interview with Raul Moncayo, Ph.D. on Lacanian PsychoanalysisAn Interview with Annie Fahy, MSW on Motivational InterviewingAn Interview with Patt Denning, Ph.D. on Harm Reduction Psychotherapy for Substance Abuse and AddictionsAn Interview with Alan Rappoport, Ph.D. on Control-Mastery TheoryWhat Makes Therapy Work?Social Phobia and Self Concept and the BrainAn Interview with Otto Kernberg, MD on Transference Focused TherapyLong Term and Other Types of PsychotherapyNew Study Supports The Effectiveness of Long-Term Psychodynamic Therapy ADHD Psychological Coaching: Learning to Cope without MedicationAre artificial intelligence and robots the future of mental health? An Interview with Fern Cohen, Ph.D. on whether Psychoanalysis is DeadShy Bladder Syndrome (Paruresis): Getting HelpToday's Psychiatrists Less Likely to Provide Psychotherapy Than Ever BeforeAn Interview with Judith Beck, Ph.D. on Cognitive Therapy and Weight LossAn Interview with Stefanie Goldstein, Ph.D. on Mindfulness-Based Treatment of AddictionAbused as a Child: Permanently Damaged?An Interview with Natalie Rogers, Ph.D. on Expressive Arts TherapyOn the Issue of Sexual and Other Feelings Towards the TherapistDo You Have a Shy Bladder?An Interview with Shinzen Young on Mindfulness MeditationAn Interview with Richard Shulman, Ph.D. about Volunteers In Psychotherapy (VIP)An Interview with Irvin Yalom, MD on Death AnxietyOur Geriatric Population and Their Need for PsychotherapyIn Treatment: Understanding how patients 'lie' to themselves and others is at the heart of dynamic psychotherapyExorcism: When is it appropriate?The Dangers of a Little KnowledgePsychotherapy: A More than Oncer Per Week CommitmentTransference, Countertransference and Finding a Good TherapistAn Interview with Tony Madrid Ph.D. on the Relationship between Broken Maternal-Infant Bonds and AsthmaTransference: The Patient's Love for the Therapist and an Answer to a Graduate Student's QuestionAn Interview with Francine Shapiro, Ph.D. on Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)National Stress Øut WeekAn Interview with Laris MacPherson on the Psychotherapy Client's ExperienceAn Interview with Marsha Linehan, Ph.D. on Dialectical Behavior TherapyDogs, Depression and Other Health Issues: Is there something to be gained from Illness?An Interview with John Clarkin, Ph.D. on Transference-Focused Therapy For Borderline Personality DisorderNew article on Choosing a Psychotherapist"Home Again," What makes for good psychotherapy?An Interview with Myrna Weissman Ph.D. on Interpersonal PsychotherapyMemory, Brain and PsychotherapyInterpersonal Therapy May Prevent Future Depressive EpisodesAnti Depressant Medications and Suicide Risk WarningsCollege and Mental Health Problems, They Go TogetherPost-Cognitive PsychotherapyAn Interview with Steven C. Hayes, Ph.D. on Acceptance and Committment TherapyAn Interview with Jeffrey Young, Ph.D. on Schema TherapyGaining Control So as Not to Gain WeightDialectical Behavior Therapy: What Is A Dialectic?Binge Eating DisorderUnderstanding Anorexia NervosaRecognizing emotion gets harder or easier depending on your moodStuffing It: The Culture of Not SpeakingThe Story of A Psychiatric Service Dog TeamWhat Clients Find Helpful in PsychotherapyHumanistic PsychotherapyBoundaries and Dysfunctional Family SystemsThe Persistent Stigma of Mental IllnessThat Psychotherapeutic Question: WHY?To Sleep, Perchance to DreamCognitive RestructuringHow Our Thinking Affects Our FeelingsStructure vs. Spontaneity in PsychotherapyLearning TheoryBrain Scan Predicts Who Will Benefit From Cognitive TherapySteve Jobs Channels Carl RogersSteven Hayes (and ACT) for President!A Doggone Good TherapistInterpretation of Repression on the Sopranos premierRepressionTransference VideosLinksBook Reviews Maximizing Effectiveness in Dynamic Psychotherapy Self-Compassion in Psychotherapy101 Healing Stories101 Things I Wish I'd Known When I Started Using HypnosisA Primer for Beginning PsychotherapyA Therapist's Guide to Understanding Common Medical ProblemsACT With LoveAlready FreeAssessment and Treatment of Childhood Problems, Second EditionBad TherapyBecoming MyselfBefore ForgivingBeing a Brain-Wise TherapistBiofeedback for the BrainBody PsychotherapyBody SenseBoundaries and Boundary Violations in PsychoanalysisBrain Change TherapyBreaking ApartBuffy the Vampire Slayer and PhilosophyBuilding on BionCare of the PsycheChoosing an Online TherapistClinical Handbook of Psychological DisordersClinical Intuition in PsychotherapyClinical Pearls of WisdomCo-Creating ChangeCompassion and Healing in Medicine and SocietyConfessions of a Former ChildConfidential RelationshipsConfidentiality and Mental HealthConfidingContemplative Psychotherapy EssentialsCouch FictionCounseling with Choice TheoryCritical Issues in PsychotherapyCrucial Choices, Crucial ChangesDecoding the Ethics CodeDepression 101Depression in ContextDo-It-Yourself Eye Movement Techniques for Emotional HealingDoing CBTDoing ItE-TherapyEncountering the Sacred in PsychotherapyEnergy Psychology InteractiveEssays on Philosophical CounselingEthics in Psychotherapy and CounselingEveryday Mind ReadingExercise-Based Interventions for Mental IllnessExistential PsychotherapyExpressing EmotionFacing Human SufferingFairbairn's Object Relations Theory in the Clinical SettingFamily TherapyFavorite Counseling and Therapy Homework AssignmentsFlourishingFlying ColorsGod & TherapyHandbook of Clinical Psychopharmacology for TherapistsHandbook of Counseling and Psychotherapy with Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual ClientsHealing the Heart and Mind with MindfulnessHealing the Soul in the Age of the BrainHeinz KohutHow and Why Are Some Therapists Better Than Others?How People ChangeHow to Give Her Absolute PleasureHow to Go to TherapyIf Only I Had KnownIn SessionIn Therapy We TrustIn Treatment: Season 1Incorporating Spirituality in Counseling and PsychotherapyIs Long-Term Therapy Unethical?Issues in Philosophical CounselingIt’s Your HourLearning from Our MistakesLetters to a Young TherapistLogotherapy and Existential AnalysisLove's ExecutionerMan's Search for MeaningMeditations on Self-Discipline and FailureMetaphoria: Metaphor and Guided Metaphor for Psychotherapy and HealingMindfulnessMindfulness and AcceptanceMindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for DepressionMindworks: An Introduction to NLPMockingbird YearsMomma and the Meaning of LifeMotivational Interviewing: Preparing People For ChangeMulticulturalism and the Therapeutic ProcessOf Two MindsOn the CouchOne Nation Under TherapyOur Inner WorldOutsider Art and Art TherapyOvercoming Destructive Beliefs, Feelings, and BehaviorsPhilosophical CounselingPhilosophical MidwiferyPhilosophical PracticePhilosophy and PsychotherapyPhilosophy for Counselling and PsychotherapyPhilosophy PracticePhilosophy's Role in Counseling and PsychotherapyPlato, Not Prozac!Process-Based CBTPsychologists Defying the CrowdPsychology, Psychotherapy, Psychoanalysis, and the Politics of Human RelationshipsPsychosis in the FamilyPsychotherapyPsychotherapyPsychotherapy As PraxisPsychotherapy East and WestPsychotherapy for Children and AdolescentsPsychotherapy for Personality DisordersRational Emotive Behavior TherapyRational Emotive Behavior TherapyRationality and the Pursuit of HappinessRecovery OptionsRent Two Films and Let's Talk in the MorningSaving the Modern SoulSecond-order Change in PsychotherapySelf MattersSelf-Compassion in PsychotherapySelf-Determination Theory in the ClinicSexual Orientation and Psychodynamic PsychotherapyStrangers to OurselvesTaking America Off DrugsTales of PsychotherapyThe Art of HypnosisThe Case Formulation Approach to Cognitive-Behavior TherapyThe Compassionate ConnectionThe Crucible of ExperienceThe Education of Mrs. BemisThe Fall Of An IconThe Gift of TherapyThe Great Psychotherapy Debate: The Evidence for What Makes Psychotherapy Work The Husbands and Wives ClubThe Love CureThe Making of a TherapistThe Mummy at the Dining Room TableThe Neuroscience of PsychotherapyThe Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Healing the Social BrainThe New PsychoanalysisThe Philosopher's Autobiography The Portable CoachThe Portable Ethicist for Mental Health Professionals The Present Moment in Psychotherapy and Everyday LifeThe Problem with Cognitive Behavioural TherapyThe Psychodynamics of Gender and Gender RoleThe Psychotherapy Documentation PrimerThe Real World Guide to Psychotherapy PracticeThe Schopenhauer CureThe Talking CureThe Therapeutic "Aha!"The Therapist's Guide to Psychopharmacology, Revised EditionThe Therapist's Ultimate Solution BookThe UnsayableThe Wing of MadnessTheory and Practice of Brief TherapyTherapyTheraScribe 4.0Thinking about ThinkingThriveToward a Psychology of AwakeningTracking Mental Health OutcomesTreating Attachment DisordersWhat the Buddha FeltWhat Works for Whom? Second EditionWhy Psychoanalysis?Yoga Therapy |
| | |
Peeling the Onion—Uncovering Our Wounds in TherapyWill Joel Friedman, Ph.D. Updated: Jul 18th 2012The Triple Allergenic Theory—A Developmental Theory of Ego Wounding
"The ego is my best teacher; it just doesn't remember what the lessons are."
—Richard Stromer
"My mind is like a bad neighborhood. I've learned not to go there alone."
—Eric Kohner
 How does the ego, an imaginary false identity, become so wounded? How can the ego be healed? An intriguing multi-disciplinary perspective is offered by medical hypnoanalysis, a group of spiritually oriented medical doctors and psychological professionals. Drawing upon the trail-blazing work of Louis K. Boswell and William J. Bryan, the "triple allergenic theory" is proposed by Daniel A. Zelling to help understand the development of emotional challenges and their physical manifestations. 1
In this theory emotions and their psychological and physical expressions are likened to how the body becomes sensitized to a specific antigen in developing a physical allergy. With exposure to antigens, antibodies are formed that with subsequent exposures leads to a histamine-diphosphate bond break that releases free histamine into the blood stream resulting in allergy symptoms. Zelling uses the illustration of becoming allergic to strawberries by enjoying them at first, building antibodies, and developing hives and a little rash with the next eating of strawberries. These allergic symptoms only become more severe with additional exposure to strawberries.
Many emotional challenges like depression and anxiety and their physical Expression in the form of psychogenic or psychosomatic illness patterns are understood as the "reverberation" of an emotion, that is, a percolating vibration of that emotion throughout time from the "initial sensitizing event" (ISE) not recallable by the conscious mind, through to the "symptom producing event" (SPE) that is usually recallable, and then to a "symptom intensifying event(s)" (SIE) that is recallable.
Zelling shares the example of a mid-20's Vietnam veteran who sought treatment for an incapacitating phobia of heights after being hit by ground fire in DaNang while in a transport helicopter. Drawing upon hypnotic regression, these intense symptoms seemed to first begin with an incident at age 10 when building a tree house with his brother and being asked to pass a hammer. Having some fear of getting to the edge of the platform, he threw the hammer from the middle of the platform, hitting his brother in the foot who then screamed and yelled along with his mother doing the same in running to the scene. Earlier still, at about age four, he sat next to his mother on a roller coaster ride after his father and older brother talked her into going on the ride. As the roller coaster went up and then started to speed down, his mother released a blood-curdling piercing scream that was accessible to his deep unconscious in regressive hypnosis, yet unavailable to his conscious mind.
In this example, this early scream of his mother, the major figure offering love, safety and nurturance in his life, was the event that "sensitized" the boy to yelling and screaming as well as to a fear of heights. This event later reverberated as the screaming and yelling of his brother and mother on the tree house platform that produced the symptom, that still later the phobic feelings became much more intense with being hit in a transport helicopter. Once awareness of the origin of the emotional reverberation is brought to awareness, emotionally and cognitively processed with the recognition that it is no longer necessary today, the person can be desensitized to what was unacceptable, painful and traumatic in earlier experiences.
The opportunity is to progressively desensitize yourself to unworkable patterns and triggers, while you progressively acclimate to healthier, workable patterns and supportive stimuli. Such desensitization by almost any means boils down to letting go, releasing, surrendering, and even choosing to forget more of what doesn't work, while simultaneously letting in and even choosing to remember more of what does work.
A second illustration of this theory in action regards a woman in her early 40's who presented with the complaint of not being able to stick with an exercise program as a part of wanting to lose about 25 pounds. With careful questioning it became evident to her that coming to seek help at this time coincided with the coming anniversaries of both of her parent's deaths that she was incomplete in acceptance and grieving as evidenced by her still having the ashes of one of them. This was the symptom intensifying event.
It referred directly back to the symptom producing event when she originally gained 25 pounds, the deaths of her parents. While mentioning her enjoyment of physical activities lifelong, she also noted how she had lost and gained about 25 pounds several times. The weight may serve as a means of protection and defensive resistance against the acceptance of these painful losses, while the inactivity and overeating may serve for self-soothing. Within an accepting, supportive therapeutic environment, she revealed an early loss of a sister at age seven that fits as an initial sensitizing event for this patterning.
Lasting transformation comes with desensitization of the "original seed"-the initial sensitizing event-by a skilled clinician is pulling the psychological and psychosomatic roots of the emotional/physical garden weed in this theory. From the standpoint of the imaginary ego, this process of desensitization is actually more of a disidentification from a mistaken identity by a very young immature ego that simply doesn't have anything near the essential information or the ramifications of its survival decisions for healing its wounds. In addition, it has no idea what to do to remedy this. Actually, it is our ability to stay in an inquiry process of not knowing and continuing to look and see in witnessing our wounded ego from outside the mind, all guided by a therapist with fine diagnostic and healing abilities, that can make an effective difference.
Awareness itself naturally sheds all reactivity coming from false identifications with forms, including thoughts, beliefs, emotions, stories and roles. Transpersonal psychologists Roger Walsh and Shauna L. Shapiro see "disidentification" as "the process by which awareness (mindfulness) precisely observes, and therefore ceases to identify with, mental content such as thoughts, feelings and images." 2 It is precisely here in the disidentification process, embracing both a healthy desensitization to previously traumatic triggers as well as a healthy moderate cognitive disillusionment, that the wounds of the ego at its root can be made whole, healed, and sustained.
References
1. Daniel A. Zelling, "The Triple Allergenic Theory," Medical Hypnoanalysis Journal, 3 (2), June, 1988, pages 58-62.
2. Roger Walsh & Shauna L. Shapiro, "The Meeting of Meditative Discipline and Western Psychology: A Mutually Enriching Dialogue," American Psychologist, 61 (3), 227-239, quote: pages 231-232.
|
RSS Feed
