On Satir's Use of Self

Au-Deane S. Cowley & Ramona S. Adams

EDU 5104 Group Counselling

GAN HUI HOON

GS24385
02/10/2010

Puan Asmah Ismail

Messages of article

The important message of this article is therapists use self as an instrument of

healing and brought all of their self into the healing process, this is able to help client
being to experience of totally accepted, present and knowing which can build up self-
esteem, frees one to express deeper, produce changes and achieve self-transcendence.

Use of self as instrument of healing Healing Process

(Therapist)
 Energy of fully human Self
 Parts Parties/ Wholeness
 Totally real/ congruence and un-self-
conscious/ genuineness
 ALL of self: physically, emotionally,
cognitively, socially, culturally,
spiritually
 Totally present
 Right to be imperfect and still be helpful
 Corrective and trusting relationships/ I-
Thou relationship
 Spirit enable building the bridges
between hearts and souls and free
blocked energy for personal growth
 Confirm the person’s real self
 Self awareness
 Not impose own values
 Individualizing
(Clients)
 Inspirited by her life-force energy, and
enabled to become more fully human
 Sense of wholeness
 Sense of safety and security
 Experiences: 1.warmth and care,
2.listening, 3.encouraged and empathy,
4. free, 5.totally accepted, 6.able to rebel
and express hostility, 7.trusting,
8.connecting spiritually, 9.affirmed and
respected, 10.consistant and stable
relationship.
 Feel totally known
 Having no hidden agendas and no
defense mechanisms to protect ego
 Feel real and no need to prove anything
to anyone
 Build up self-esteem
 Self-transcendence

Strengths

The using of self as an instrument of healing can be applied to several counseling

work settings, like family, group, couples and individuals counseling. For example, a
technique of Satir which referred as a “parts party” has been systematized, taught, and
applied to clinical settings in the form of “internal family systems therapy” (Schwartz,
1995, in Innes, 2002). This development arose out of a recognized need to bring the self
of the person back into the family system. Satir, throughout her career, emphasized the
importance of parts of the self as they related to the family system (Innes, 2002). Yet
another of Satir’s trademarks, her emphasis on sensitivity and feeling-expression, is
apparent, and has been shown to be effective, in research and clinical work with
“emotionally focused couples therapy” (Greenberg & Johnson, 1988, in Innes, 2002).

Congruence in Satir’s use of self can be understood more specifically in terms of

Satir’s description of the human being in its key dimensions with her personal
experiential work if compare with others humanistic theories which I learnt before. To
summarize, congruence is a state of awareness, acceptance, and openness manifested as a
harmonious flow of life energy through all levels and experiential dimensions of a person
at a given moment. The goal of therapeutic change is to transform the flow of a person’s
energy from a blocked, dysfunctional pattern to a more open, free, and healthy pattern. In
a state of congruence, a person has greatest access to one’s own resources (Lee, 2002).

The Satir model encourages that therapists and clients become fully human and
congruent, this strongly supported development of congruence in all therapists, so that
they could relate with clients without using projections. When therapists are congruent,
they are fully present, whole, centered, and in a state of peaceful harmony (Lum, 2002).
Satir believed that if therapists were congruent, there would be no need for transference
or to counter transference, rather that therapists would model the possibility of how to
stay more connected with themselves. Although, it is not possible to be congruent at all
times, yet it is important that therapists strive to be congruent at all times within their
therapy sessions. Therapists will not become congruent if they neglect to work through
their own personal issues because of discomfort, avoidance, resistance, or denial. It is
important that therapists resolve unfinished family of origin issues in order to heal and to
prepare themselves to be therapeutically congruent.

The development of the self of the therapist is a significant aspect of becoming an

effective therapist. The use of self has been recognized by various therapists as being the
single most important factor in developing a therapeutic relationship (Andolfi et al.,
1993; Baldwin, 2000). Virginia Satir was a strong advocate for the self of the therapist
and spent much time focusing on this aspect during her therapy training programs. The
use of self allows therapists to be fully present for their clients. Use of self is enhanced by
being in touch with, being aware of, and monitoring self. By heightening their own
awareness, therapists will be better able to prepare and center themselves before sessions.
This practice enables therapists to be emotionally available to connect deeply with their
clients’ inner worlds (Lum, 2002).

Satir was passionate about training therapists to improve their competencies, as

she focused on the use of self of the therapist. Yet many instructors, supervisors, and
students still do not have the opportunity to explore their own self as therapists. Many
training programs have not focused on development of the self of the therapist, and this is
an area that gets neglected (Baldwin, 2000). Satir model therapist trainees are given many
opportunities to develop the use of their selves. These trainees also greatly benefit from
experiencing the therapy process as an actual client, which gives them an inside
understanding to the therapeutic process through the Satir model (Lum, 2000).

Weaknesses

I do appreciate much on Satir’s work and I have learned a lot

from the Satir’s use of self, but there are still some weakness and
limitation in her work.

The concept of “congruence” was defined by Virginia Satir as a “condition of

being emotionally honest” during the heyday of humanistic psychology in the 1970s. It is
transparently informed by the culture of middle class America, which at the time adhered
to the popular psychology of “getting in touch with your feelings.” Using congruence as a
standard of healthy relationships arbitrarily pathologies people who are emotionally
reserved. This form of psychotherapy is favored only by certain personality types,
especially women, and certain cultures. It is oblivious of other cultures, such as those in
Asia, where emotional reserve is considered essential to healthy social relationships.

Many clients expressed having difficulty to communicate congruently,

particularly when they had to deal with people occupying a senior status in the hierarchy,
for instance, with parents and elder siblings. They simply could not bring themselves to
say what they truly wanted to say, difficult to directly express their thoughts and feelings.
It was not something they were used to. That was never permitted. For examples,
normally Chinese do not do it this way. Chinese are never as direct in expressing their
thoughts and feelings, because it may hurts and disrespectful to others. They do not say
everything they want to say, especially with people occupying a senior status in the
hierarchy. They always keep about 70% to themselves. People steeped in traditional
Chinese culture felt alienated by the model, they may refused to take active part in
training, or did not come back to therapy (Cheung & Chan, 2002).

Virginia Satir did not apply herself to the formality of linking theory, method, and
practice. Instead, she wrote about what worked in her experience. She was well read, well
informed of developments in the field throughout her professional life, and she could
communicate the models, methods, and process she used in her work. In spite of these
significant accomplishments, no one, to date, has systematized the presuppositions and
theoretical framework underlying Satir’s methods and techniques, showing the
relationship between theory and practice (Innes, 2002).

Satir encouraged those interested in personal development to follow her ideas and
training. Many, with varying degrees of success, tried to do what she did and taught.
Those who became aware of just how much took place in Satir’s deceptively
straightforward interventions discovered that trying to copy her frequently did not work.
It was difficult for most to emulate Satir because, apart from a few basic constructs, there
was no way of understanding the principles on which her clinical work was based (Innes,
2002). Therapists following Satir’s work attempted to do what she did, but without her
charisma, and without the principles of practice from which to formulate their own
approach, their outcomes have been less convincing (Innes, 2002).

Virginia Satir suggests an individualist, unidirectional model of societal change:

congruent people in powerful positions will change society and building a new world
community. If this individualistic ideal was ever applicable, it ended with the complexity
of modern industrial society. Systemic principles suggest that individual, family, group,
and societal change is multi-causal and interactional. Arguing that the family influences
the individual who, in turn, if he or she is able to become congruent, will change society
is a big leap. Unless one ignores the considerable body of evidence of such disciplines as
anthropology, sociology, and political economy, it is impossible to overlook the ever
present and sometimes overpowering impact of societal influences. Willing that
congruent individuals will make a difference will not change the effect of societal
influences (Innes, 2002). As Satir suggests, individuals learn and act in social
circumstances. As I see it, individuals will only change these circumstances if they are
cognizant of the social influences that affect them, and are able to act accordingly. People
must not only be congruent, they must also be socially and politically astute, and able to
act in concert if they are to change the social conditions that shape family and individuals
(Innes, 2002).

Besides that, Satir’s use of self is too much depends on therapist creativity,
charisma and personality, so the effectiveness is much depends on quality of therapist.
More than any other quality, the therapist’s genuineness determined the power of the
therapeutic relationship. If the therapists neglect to work through their own personal
issues, projections and counter transference may happen during the counseling process
and this may bring harms to their clients. If the therapists submerge their unique identity
and style in passive way, they may not be harming many clients, but they may not be
powerfully affecting and helping clients.

Conclusion

Satir’s vision, wisdom, and deep understanding of human nature have fostered the
movement toward the development of congruence and competence within the therapeutic
profession. Therapists must continually work on maintaining self care, increasing self
esteem, heightening awareness, and being aware of their perceptions of the world. I felt
impressive on her work and I think it is imperative that therapists brought all of their self
into the healing process and use self as an instrument of healing. The Satir’s use of self
provides an important and relevant development in the training of therapists to become
more competent, congruent, ethical and spiritual.

Bibliography

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