Durham E-Theses A Philosophical Critique of Existential Psychotherapy Chung, Man Cheung How to cite: Chung, Man Cheung (2008) A Philosophical Critique of Existential Psychotherapy, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1334/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk A Philosophical Critique of Existential Psychotherapy A Thesis Submitted to the Department ofPhilosophy ofthe University ofDurham for the Degree ofDoctor ofPhilosophy By Man Cheung Chung> B.A., PhD (Psychology) The copyright of this thesis rests with the author or the university to which it was submitted. No quotation from it, or information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the author or university, and any information derived from it should be acknowledged. 13 NUV 2008 2008 Contents Acknowledgement 1 Abstract 2 Chapter 1 Introduction 4 1.1 Limit ofthe investigation and terms ofreference and clarification 4 1.2 The chapters 9 Chapter 2 What is Existential Psychotherapy? 10 2.1 Cooper's claim and the British School of Existential Psychotherapy 11 2.2 Viktor Frankl's techniques 22 2.3 Gestalt therapeutic techniques 32 2.4 One consequence ofholding onto Cooper's claim 50 2.5 Does this consequence need to arise? 54 2.6 A contradiction 59 2.7 Summary 78 Chapter 3 Existential Psychotherapy, Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy and Multimodal Therapy: A Possible Integration? 84 3.1. A briefdescription ofcognitive-behavioural therapy 88 3.2 Distorted or maladaptive beliefs and schemas 90 3.3 Therapeutic relationship 93 3.4 Examining current subjective experience 101 3.5 Increasing self-awareness 108 3.6 Helping clients to stand alone or realize their existential isolation 116 3.7 Existential psychotherapy and multimodal therapy 121 3.8 Some claims for the possible paradigm: existential psychotherapy and multimodal therapy 124 3.9 Remarks on the above claims 125 3.10 Final remarks and summary 133 Chapter 4 Existential Psychotherapy and Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy: Interpretation and Transference 141 4.1 Analytic vs descriptive interpretations 144 4.2 Searching for hidden or latent materials for both existential psychotherapists and Psychoanalytic psychotherapists 148 4.3 Some passing remarks 154 4.4 Superior knowledge and the trueness or correctness in meaning ofclients' statements 157 4.5 Transference 166 4.6 A notion oftransfer in transference 172 4.7 Linking a relationship between similar psychological reactions associated with different chronological life events 178 4.8 Seeing transference as a real and genuine event taking place between therapist and client in both existential psychotherapy and psychoanalytic psychotherapy 183 4.9 Attending to causal power and present meaning 189 4.10 Summary 198 Chapter 5 Existential Psychotherapy and Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy: Resistance and Repression 201 5. 1 Resistance 201 5.2 A version ofthe pleasure principle 206 5.3 Opposing the process ofchange and avoiding responsibility 208 5.4 Dynamic therapy for both existential psychotherapists and psychoanalytic psychotherapists 211 5.5 Resistance as a barrier to a person's whole way of being for both existential psychotherapists and psychoanalytic psychotherapists 217 5.6 Repression 220 5.7 A hidden process 225 5.8 Summary 230 Chapter 6 The Existential Psychotherapeutic Notion of the Unconscious 234 6.1 Frankl's spiritual unconscious 235 6.2 Existential psychotherapists' views ofthe unconscious 242 6.3 Working with non-vague/articulated memories vs vague/ inarticulated memories 248 6.4 The unconscious: an excuse for not examining oneself? 262 6.5 The unconscious is found within a wider human capacity for consciousness 268 6.6 Summary 276 Chapter 7 Self-Consciousness 280 7.1 Self-deception as a conscious process: Sartre and Fingarette 281 7.2 Difficulties in conceptualising self-deception as a conscious process: deceiving oneselfor others 290 7.3 self-deception is a normal mental activity 292 7.4 Self-deception and psychogenic amnesia 296 7.5 Self-deception and motivated biasing 298 7.6 Self-deception and Nobel-Prize winners 300 7.7 Concluding self-deception 302 7.8 Enhancing self-consciousness: Remarks on R.D.Laing 303 7.9 Summary 311 Chapter 8 Conclusion 315 8.1 Confusion over professional identity 316 8.2 Mystical practice 319 8.3 Why should mystical practice be stopped? 319 8.4 An incomplete proposal and closing remarks 322 References 326 Acknowledgement I am indebted to Dr Any Hamilton and Professor E.J. Lowe for their insight and valuable advice. Last but not least, this thesis would not have been completed without the unceasing help, support, encouragement and love of my long-suffering wife, Catherine, and the inspiration from Lia and Ethan, my beloved children. Thank you all of you. Plymouth, 2008 Abstract While existential psychotherapy is in its ascendancy, there is a lack of philosophical critiques of existential psychotherapeutic thinking. This thesis is an attempt to examine whether there is conceptual confusion embedded within this thinking and, if so, to tease out what it is. My examination has shown that contemporary existential psychotherapists are confused about what existential psychotherapy is, while on the surface, they seem to be clear about what it is. While existential psychotherapy has increasingly been integrated with other forms of therapy such as cognitive-behavioural and multimodal, such integration could necessitate important changes to the existential psychotherapeutic fundamental basic assumptions. Meanwhile, some existential psychotherapists have tried to challenge or re-define psychoanalytic concepts. However- my examination suggests that there are in fact common features in the concepts (interpretation, transference, resistance and repression) that existential and psychoanalytic psychotherapists share. This, in tum, questions the extent to which existential psychotherapists have truly challenged or distanced themselves from psychoanalytic concepts, as they claim to have done. Existential psychotherapists have developed their own understanding of the unconscious; however, my examination shows that their understanding of it is in fact incoherent. The way in which they define the unconscious implies a strong sense of self­ consciousness, i.e. the unconscious is found within a wider capacity of human consciousness. But, I have argued that existential psychotherapists have not resolved difficulties which are derived from viewing the notion of self-deception as a conscious phenomenon. Also, their effort to assist their clients to enhance or widen self- 2 consciousness could lead clients to develop fantasy. The foregoing critiques, I believe, represent only some of the conceptual confusions embedded within existential psychotherapeutic thinking. 3 Chapter 1 Introduction In the field of psychotherapy, existential psychotherapy is in its ascendancy. In the United Kingdom, for example, professional institutions (e.g. Regent's College, the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling) have been established to offer training to people who are interested in the form of psychotherapy and to promote the theory and practice ofexistential psychotherapy. Some years ago, Regent's College started a journal called the Journal ofthe Society for Existential Analysis (Plock, 1996). Despite the rising profile of existential psychotherapy, little effort has been made to tease out any potential conceptual confusion embedded within contemporary existential psychotherapeutic thinking. Thus, in this thesis, I wish to see if philosophical analysis can help us identify and clarify some possible conceptual difficulties embedded within existential psychotherapeutic thinking. The results should bear important implications for existential psychotherapists and in particular for the improvement and advancement ofthe theory and practice ofexistential psychotherapy. 1.1 Limit of the investigation and terms of reference and clarification Before I start the present discussion, I want to point out the limits of this thesis. Firstly, despite the fact that existential psychotherapy can be traced, at least, from the philosophical thoughts of existentialism, in this thesis, I will not provide a critique of the philosophy of existentialism exemplified by philosophers such as Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre and Jaspers. Instead, I am mainly concerned with examining the thoughts that contemporary 4 existential psychotherapists hold, i.e. the practitioners, as opposed to professional philosophers, who make their living by mainly providing treatment to others. One could argue that as part of my critique of existential psychotherapy, I cannot avoid examining existential psychotherapeutic assumptions in the light of existential psychotherapists' understanding of existential philosophy. After all, existential psychotherapy is inspired