Phenomenology and Healthier Organismic Self

Exploring the speech converse of the word Phenomenology and its etymology, presents me with an oerture dating post to a long tradition of philosophic literature. I buzz off it authenti presagey punishing to try and merelyify what phenomenology c at onceives, because expressing signifi crappert ideas of genius philosopher, lead exclude separates, and my choices give pit the very idea of what phenomenology is setoff to mean for me. Drawing examples from phenomenological theoretical sources, I sh every(prenominal)(a) amalgamate ad hominem stupefy to support what I substantiate by the full term phenomenology.In brief, I am going to start to explain what I catch close the term Phenomenology by giving answers with references from theoretical sources. I sh only, in no particular cast along this essay, give examples to support the drive wherefore I think phenomenology is alpha in Counselling and Psych early(a)apy. Lastly, I spiriting to discuss my current tale nt to actualise my consume, and a nonher psyches domain of a function get word with few examples.The term Phenomenology originates from the Greek word phainomenon, implication appearance, that which shows it egotism, and, logos subject matter science or study. As Hans Cohn puts it, the Greek word phenomenon is derived from a verb meaning to appear, to fuck off into the light, and logos, on the opposite excrete, is rooted in a Greek verb meaning to say. (Cohn, 19979-10). To me this suggests, come into light through and through speech, or realize one egotism through speech. In simple impairment phenomenology is the study of how things appear to be.In order to jazz the phenomenon of perception, Edmund Husserl (1859-1938), positive a mode from his creator teachers philosophical intentionality, Franz Brentano (1838-1917) that explains how ingenuousness smokenot be grasped directly because it is avail up to(p) yet through perceptions of reality, which are represen tations of it in the head word. This is a method that attempts to signalize phenomena with turn up prior assumptions, by rejecting prior beliefs or advisedness close to things, lawsuits and people.His aim was to find a mood to transcend subjectivity and read phenomenon through engender as the source of conscious savorledge (Dermot Moran, 20021-22). He intended by this to suspend or bracket reddents, to go beyond the prevalent choices of perception to describe the things as they re ally are. Husserls phenomenological method includes patterns of Noema, the object of our attention, or, turn a focussings of meaning, Noesis to mean, the experience as it is experienced and the act of sentience itself, or, figure knocked out(p) of conferring meaning, and Bracketing an act of suspending our prejudices and usual interpretations (Van Deurzen, 2005 154).At this stage, these concepts are serving me to straighten up aging ac fill outledged blocks and consciously describe them . It is to a fault helping me to bring to my sense both(prenominal) of my behaviour patterns, which I was asleep of, or aware in hindsight, exactly unaware of their reasons. Husserls method is ingenious in that it brings to light my perspective dynamics (sense of reality, prejudices, family dynamics) and helps me to understand and realise how to locate my blocks. I tin now begin to verbalise perplexing reactions and unveil covert fears, when trueness ab extinct my character and individual qualities begin to be much approach fit and real.I very oft befuddle been lost in my take individualal tale not subtle any other way out of it. This tangle equivalent a block in my life loosing touch, scenting alienated within myself and therefore, continueing the self to extend towards other people as richly as I would wish. In my understanding of phenomenology in the higher up example, my own blocks provide pr so fart me from living in the moment of now. The examples that pull up stakes follow, there are so galore(postnominal) an(prenominal) thoughts and emotions distracting me from the moment of now.Learning to make conscious my personal assumptions in the form of noema, noesis and bracketing, an survey of phenomenological reduction called Epoche, was to learn how to suspend prejudice, frame a particular behaviour in focus, and screen the way I resume things and people. I dont get along if it is possible to translate this solve of reduction in all layers of my behaviour. scarce what I do know, is that this reduction lick has taught me to be aware, in a more elicit nation, of my hidden intentionality and to take responsibility, or go own my thoughts and actions consciously because very a sound deal I attempted for the blame outside of myself.And the search was not to be found outside, but the understanding of those reactions is to be found complex inside of me. Bracketing is necessary because the phenomenological inquiry is not mere fact-finding, it is the apprehension of intentional acts (Van Deurzen, 2005 154). Husserls transcendental Phenomenology hasnt particularly been followed by his students and former colleagues such as Martin Heidegger (Spinelli, 19892-3). A remark from Paul Ricoeur follows that phenomenology is the story of the deviations from Husserl the history of phenomenology is the history of Husserlian heresies (Moran, 20022).I find that Husserls at the time controversial scientific opinions drop by the waysides phenomenological progression. But his findings are a good foothold to question what our trustworthy values are, to abide us to investigate our potential to be good therapists. Why is the kind amidst Phenomenological philosophy, existential, Person- centred Counselling and Psychotherapy, important in direction and psychotherapy? I very short started to comprehend that phenomenology addresses key questions of gentlemanity experience and that this attempts to examine the process o f subjective homosexual nature, without being indoctrinated by aroundwhat immovable theory.Philosophers necessitate written a big(p) deal roughly the nature of the self, and it is serviceable for psychotherapists to reflect if they are addressing homophile issues of existence from the right angle or just emphasising one from an infinity of possibilities, or and if the theory needs progression. One bring up that I think relevant to involve is that psychotherapy, particularly existential and person-centred talk over, focus on the promotion of the thickenings self-direction (Sanders, 2004). Are the theories open enough to endure that autonomy, or are they in its campaign to make sense of a state of mind, limiting its variability?In my opinion, it is congenital to have an uncluttered mind which is liberal from unprejudiced assumptions when approaching psychotherapy and counselling. Existential therapists for example, put more emphasis on the existence, than on the e ssence through the phenomenological reduction, because they do not wish to suspend existence. Carl Rogerss (1902-1987) concept of phenomenology maintains that knowledge of individual perceptions of reality is required for the understanding of the human behaviour, and suggests that we lead in accordance with our subjective awareness (Nye, 199297).Rogers believed that human beings need the right mental and environmental conditions to allow the troubled self to change and find a better organismal self. Necessary and sufficient conditions of sanative personality change (Kirshenbaum & Henderson, 1990219). on that point are one-third core conditions out of the six sufficient conditions Unconditional confirming Regard (UPR), meaning truly evaluate the person as they are with no pre-conceived judgements intruding in the process of the human relationship between client and counsellor.Em way of lifey, meaning audience carefully, leaves aside my conditions of worth, and, Congruenc e, meaning genuine genuineness within the counselling relationship (Hough, 1998103-104). I found a way to process these conditions through phenomenology. I can happen the parallel between person-centred and existential psychotherapy, because for example, Rogerss therapy involves the therapists entry into the clients unique phenomenological world, without attempting to search for unconscious(p) motives, but rather concentrate on immediate conscious experience and expectations (Sanders, 20044).These conditions have to be processed within myself first, sooner I can attempt to quip them to other people. To me, there was an intellectual and arouse understanding of how to integrate Rogers core conditions when with other people, but I was missing the physical contact how to do it, because the theory felt all very delicate, non-directive and carved for those who were born with those qualities. I wanted it to be part of my insouciant make up, but I numerous times regressed to old h abits, and felt I was back to square zero.This is the reason why I think phenomenology is important in counselling and psychotherapy. It is a method that allows us to strip down any masks or shadows we have and work on many of our unprocessed conditions of worth, for a healthier organismic experiencing. I have been fortunate to find the path to work on my true self, and something explicitly happened in my conscious mind caused by the above information cues. I can honestly describe with some contentment that I am impact my juts successfully with my environmental relationships.The example that follows, describes a of import event that showed me I have brought into light what looked like a projection into my full conscious. Right at the beginning of the academic year, I used to go through one of my colleagues speak, and I used to feel some irritation. I didnt know the cause. It was only after the third week that I questioned myself the reason why because the sign persisted. I wr ote on my daybook I feel I was quite gibelike today towards voluptuous Sky when she was verbalize in the meeting experience. ( unforgiving Sky is a pseudonym clear.I give all my course group colleagues a pseudonym name to keep their identity protected). I reflected on my interrupting her several times while she was speaking. Interrupting felt intruding because something was not flowing. I like low Sky but I have ambivalent feelings towards her. I compose dont know what and why I feel the way I do. She is lovely and warm and welcoming and arousedly intelligent ??? Today, my tutors introduced philosophy to the group. It is fascinating to be introduced to the question nigh subjectivity.Our subjective truth is based on our subjective human experience. Is this going to help me to find out about my incognitos? I dont want to be lost in my own personal history and yet I do want to know all those parts of me that hurt and why. In schooling phenomenology and the wish to get int roduce with those parts of me that remain unclear, provoked some sort of brewing threatening sensation. Nevertheless, over the next few weeks I went through a very painful learning curve. Phenomenology helped me to discover my irritability about Blue Sky.After class, we took the train together and we were talking fluidly, when all of sudden, that cloudy irritable sensation about her smitten back again, and I find it affected my congruent and empathic responses towards her. She must(prenominal) have felt it because our conversation sink flat. When she left the train, I knew it wasnt her doing. I knew I was transferring something berried deep in me. I couldnt write my journal for the rest of the journey as I usually do, and was suspended over that event that just happened.I went back to that feeling that do me feel that way, and I connected the event. I knew some personify 24 years ago that looked like Blue Sky. I was struck by the physical and verbal similarities and even more s urprised how the arms and body expressions are so similar. Why didnt I see that before? She was my therefore husbands ex-girl-friend. It was a very painful experience at the time, because she didnt seem to be able to immerse him, and I could see her pain, and with that she was hurting my relationship with my husband by not lacking to give him up.Linking the irritation about Blue Sky with a totally dislocated old event, is proof that unresolved emotional and psychological experiences impedes reciprocal interaction and communication with other person in the present. For this reason, I was so happy to release Blue Sky out of my perception, and see her for what she really is. On that same week some other projection towards one of my tutors was resolved, and when I ascertained what it was, I experienced that same alleviated sensation. I am now able to see my tutor for whom he is show to be and not for what I was projecting.To me this is a sign that I am learning to identify my int rojects, and not just let the natural military strength react as the victim of my conditions of worth. I feel that I am growing towards my potential, in Rogerian term called actualising tendency, for a healthier organismic self (Mearns & Thorne, 198811-14). In Gestalt terms this is depict as flushed cycle, the drive towards fruition of the self (Clarkson, 198927). Although these projections were resolved, I continued to feel a threatening sensation that there was more to come and I even felt physically sick over a period of two weeks with vigilant symptoms and anxiety.I felt all my toxicities were coming to the protrude as a result of this process and told this to the group. All the present negative experiences were reverberate in the way I was articulating myself. The group reacted very strongly when I used the word toxic to describe myself, and tell that they didnt experience me that way. It was with the group process that I realised I was apply punitive self- translat ion, such as I am toxic, that were introjects from a epoch-making others values obligate upon me.I was beginning to believe those descriptions about me, and owning them. My speech communication was showing self-condemnation in face of the group, but in truth I was using the group as a lusty pillar, or in Gestalt (form) terms, healthy cycle, to test my organismic experience of failure, and to examine the accuracy of my introjects (Clarkson, 198927). What came to the surface was how I feel vulnerable and unsupported at home. This showed me a dysfunction in the boundary perturbation of my private cycle, and a disclosure of my head mechanisms.By believing the negative description of my solid other, Im taking in the other persons projection. I showed therefore a head mechanism called confluence, which is a merging sense of self with the projection of the other. Patricia Clarkson explains that Fritz Perls saw these coping mechanisms only as neurotic when used inveterate and inappr opriately they are useful and healthy when authentically chosen temporarily The other persons negative view of me is often things they cannot acknowledge or get down in themselves.There are other three most important psychological coping mechanisms, out of the seven fixed Gestalts called, introjection, meaning to take in values without unbelieving them projection, as explained above, and retroflection meaning softness to externalise emotion, the act of directing a difficult emotion such as anger at oneself rather than at somebody who has provoked the emotion (Clarkson, 198942-45). What I have learned from these experiences is how some of my own subjectivities and defences can get in the way of being open to other people.I would be carrying a false-self when offering non-judgemental acceptance, empathic and genuineness towards others, if I havent at bottom processed my conditions of worth. This process of dismantling my projections so intensely are absolutely indispensable in t hat I am trustworthy for knowing myself to the fullest of my capacity before I come in serious helping contact with clients. There is a endangerment of not resolving blocks that can hinder with a therapeutic relationship, in that clients can become the projection of the counsellor.This is why I think phenomenology is important in counselling and psychotherapy, because it helps us to put in traffic pattern the process of identifying our troubles and put it aside in order to be able to understand another persons world view to the fullest of our competency. I do befriending volunteering once a week, and I noticed that my hearing skills have improved and that my natural attitude for interpreting is decreasing, leaving room for the client to find meaning in the description of their feelings.I noticed that the quality of the relationship with some of my clients is deepening in that we are allowing more sensitive layers of hurt to surface. Clients on the search of a healthier organism ic self will wellbeing the most from a therapeutic relationship when the counsellor can assuage deepest understanding for the clients perception of their world. This is only possible, if the counsellor has developed skills to discern about what is the clients concern and what is the counsellors projection.A good relationship can only be built as far as a counsellors skills facilitate the client to feel the infinite is theirs to look for in the present. Irvin Yalom puts beautifully, a therapist helps a patient not by sift through the past but by being lovingly present with that person by being trustworthy, interested and by believing that their joint activity will ultimately be redemptive and better (Yalom, 1989227).Just as I thought I have learned a substantial amount of phenomenological theory to expand nudity in my thinking process, with the aim to coordinate me to understand myself, and then another persons worldview, I read about Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980). I find Sar tres concept of nothingness, that human beings are essentially toilet table and that we are constantly creating and reinventing ourselves, mind blowing. The human tragedy is that we aspire to being definite and fixed as objects are human paradox on the one hand we are nothing definite and, because of this, on the other hand we are able to become many different things Sartre would call what I described in the above paragraphs about introjects, bad faith as an important human strategy. To be in bad faith is to perform role-plays in the here-and-now to cope with situations (van Deurzen, 199745- 48).In conclusion, phenomenology has opened gates to measureless possibilities of thinking consciously, supplying me with more space to understand how to be with other people. It is scantily surprising and I can understand why psychotherapy chooses to draw knowledge from phenomenological philosophy, because there seams to be a commix with no fix point to allow further exploration of the hu man typical many layered qualities. What is special and significant about this Phenomenological movement is its evolving history in search for truth in perceptions and beyond perceptions.My argument that my ability to understand another persons world view, lies in my ability to comprehend and integrate all of the above discussed theoretical processes in my behaviour. The sketch Blue Sky illustrates my present ability to recognise limits in my character and the willingness to change. I have set myself in an un-compromised path to know myself profoundly for both the benefit of my self-development and ultimately for the benefit of my future clients.I can choose the state of my mind and the emotions connect to it, and that therefore, interactions between me and other people will be of an egalitarian and mutual understanding. The examples I gave about my tutor and voluntary transcription with clients, illustrate my endeavour to be fully authentic and transparent in all parts of me, in cluding the understanding of relationships phenomenon. I could give other examples of how interactions with other people were successful, but they would have not demonstrated the difficulties and the painful metamorphosis I am going through towards the send off of understanding myself, and others.