Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Florence Kaslow
Bernard Cooper
Myrna Linsenberg
TO DISCLOSE OR NOT
Case Vignette I
One of the authors (M.L) has been treating a depressed young female
adult for about three months with tortoise-like movement. The patient
was extremely defensive and resistant. Suddenly after about two and a
half months there was a decided change in the amount of material
produced and in the patient's total attitude. Her depression seemed to
ease and her defensiveness was markedly lessened. After one rather
productive session the therapist remarked about the noticeable
change and asked the patient if she had any understanding of its origin.
The patient smiled and readily acknowledged that "1 noticed tears in
your eyes and a special look on your face when I related some
information to you about my feelings. It made me feel that you really
were able to understand how I felt and that you seemed to be sharing
those feelings with me. I felt, then, that I could tell you anything and
that even if you didn't agree with me, at least you could understand
where I was coming from. It was important to me to know that you
cared and that you felt what I was feeling at that moment. Somehow, it
has made me see you differently, and I feel I can be more open with
you now."
Case Vignette II
A husband observed his wife disagreeing with the therapist. (F.K.) The
therapist engaged her in a way so that their dialogue allowed for
resolution of the conflict. The therapist refused to play neurotic games,
recounted her reaction to the maneuveringand did not allow a change
of topic. The husband saw and learned that it was possible to engage
his wife in a new, more constructive and focused way.
For him and for us, therapy is an honest dialogue between two
(or more) people in which all parties involved grow; rather than a
setting in which one person manipulates the relationship to
make something happen to the other. In some ways this
formulation is in contradiction to that of the structural family
193
therapists who del i berat el y"m ani pula te " the family system and
relationships.
Resistance to authenticity and self disclosure is often char-
acteristic of the beginning therapist who is unsure of himself and
needs specific techniques to guide him. Reflection, silence, and
turning queries back to the questioner are often mere defenses
which serve as safe techniques for the novice clinician. More-
over, therapists who are rigidly controlled themselves and fear
the outcome o f " l e t t i n g go" are often comfortable with the limits
that standard techniques afford. With experience and self
assurance, a therapist should become more relaxed and con-
fident, giving advice at times when it seems necessary, laughing,
interpreting, questioning, going with the absurdities (Whitaker,
1976) and telling his own fantasies when it seems beneficial; in
short, doing whatever the therapeutic session calls for at the
moment in order to relate to a patient genuinely and honestly
and facilitate therapeutic progress.
CONCLUSION
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