Psychosynthesis Counselling in Action (Counselling in Action series)

209 Pages·2004·0.95 MB·English

by  Diana Whitmore

‘In a highly readable and enjoyable style, Diana Whitmore achieves her goal
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of providing not only a basic introduction to the practice of psychosynthesis H SAGE COUNSELLING IN ACTION
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but a work which enriches and expands its tradition.’ M
O SERIES EDITOR WINDY DRYDEN
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THE JOURNAL OF CRITICAL PSYCHOLOGY, COUNSELLING AND PSYCHOTHERAPY E
Psychosynthesis Counselling in Action is a bestselling introduction to theory and P
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practice, which shows how the counsellor or psychotherapist can incorporate Y
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psychosynthesis into their work with clients. H PSYCHOSYNTHESIS
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As a transpersonal psychology, psychosynthesis is concerned with the search Y
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for wholeness beyond the bounds of a person’s individuality. Central to the T
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approach is an exploration of meaning, purpose, creativity, inspiration and E COUNSELLING
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values, whilst addressing a client’s suffering and pathology. IS
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Taking the reader through the different stages of the counselling journey, Diana O
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Whitmore vividly depicts both the wide range of practical methods available N IN ACTION
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to practitioners and also the nature of the relationship between counsellor E
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and client. L
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Illustrated throughout with examples from practice and with an in-depth case IN
study, the third edition of this bestselling book is an ideal text for anyone seeking A THIRD EDITION
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an introduction to the concepts and techniques used in psychosynthesis. T
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DIANA WHITMORE is President of the Psychosynthesis & Education Trust T
and Director of Children Our Ultimate Investment UK. She is also a UKCP H
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Psychotherapist and BACP Accredited Supervisor. D
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Cover design by Design Deluxe
DIANA WHITMORE
London • Thousand Oaks • New Delhi
www.sagepublications.com
Psychosynthesis CIA 4th 29/6/04 12:30 pm Page i
PSYCHOSYNTHESIS COUNSELLING
IN ACTION
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SAGE COUNSELLING IN ACTION
Series Editor: WINDY DRYDEN
Sage Counselling in Actionis a series of short, practical books developed espe-
cially for students and trainees. As accessible introductions to theory and
practice, they have become core texts for many courses, in both counselling
and other professions such as nursing, social work, education and manage-
ment. Books in the series include:
Sue Culley and Tim Bond
Integrative Counselling Skills in Action, Second Edition
Windy Dryden and Michael Neenan
Rational Emotive Behavioural Counselling in Action, Third Edition
Michael Jacobs
Psychodynamic Counselling in Action, Third Edition
Diana Whitmore
Psychosynthesis Counselling in Action, Third Edition
Patricia D’Ardenne and Aruna Mahtani
Transcultural Counselling in Action, Second Edition
Ian Stewart
Transactional Counselling in Action, Second Edition
Dave Mearns and Brian Thorne
Person-Centred Counselling in Action, Second Edition
Petru–ska Clarkson
Gestalt Counselling in Action, Third Edition
Tim Bond
Standards & Ethics for Counselling in Action, Second Edition
Peter Trower, Windy Dryden and Andrew Casey
Cognitive Behavioural Counselling in Action
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PSYCHOSYNTHESIS
COUNSELLING
IN ACTION
Third Edition
Diana Whitmore
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© Diana Whitmore 2004
First edition published 1991. Reprinted 1992, 1994, 1995, 1998
Second edition published 2000. Reprinted 2004
Third edition first published 2004
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or utilized in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without permission in writing from the
Publishers.
SAGE Publications Ltd
1 Oliver’s Yard
55 City Road
London EC1Y 1SP
SAGE Publications Inc.
2455 Teller Road
Thousand Oaks, California 91320
SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd
B-42, Panchsheel Enclave
Post Box 4109
New Delhi 110 017
British Library Cataloguing in Publication data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library
ISBN1 4129 0076 X
ISBN 1 4129 0077 8
Library of Congress catalog record available
Typeset by M Rules
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
The Cromwell Press Ltd, Trowbridge, Wiltshire
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Contents
Foreword vii
Preface to the Third Edition ix
1 The Psychosynthesis Approach 1
2 The Psychosynthesis Counsellor 17
3 Basic Techniques of Psychosynthesis Counselling 45
4 Diagnosis and Assessment 63
5 The Initial Phase of Counselling 77
6 The Middle Phase of Counselling 101
7 The Transpersonal Dimension of Counselling 123
8 The Final Phase of Counselling 157
9 Nancy: A Case History 165
Further reading 183
References 185
Appendix 189
Index 193
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Foreword
Insight. Each move, each effort in counselling, is directed towards that
moment: the face relaxes, the eyes brighten, there is a smile of recognition.
As tensions and suspicions fade away, your client sees his or her personal-
ity and life from a new perspective. There is a feeling of lightness. There is,
perhaps, gratitude.
Perhaps you, the counsellor, have fought a hundred battles, met count-
less resistances. It was hard and tiring. But all that is now past. A fresh
understanding has dawned, which is just what both counsellor and client
were aiming for.
What is insight, and how is it produced? Although many have formu-
lated hypotheses, no one truly knows. To facilitate understanding and
transformation is less a matter of technical knowledge than one of instinct
and experience.
You could compare it with skiing: good skiers know in their cells how
to turn with ease, how to balance their weight exactly and dance gracefully
down the slopes, while Sunday skiers come tumbling painfully down,
getting stuck in deep snow, making a nuisance of themselves or even being
a danger to others.
The field of counselling is just like that. Some people, improvising
themselves as counsellors, try to convert their clients to their own views, or
unconsciously attribute to them their own problems. Seeing themselves as
great rescuers, they invade their clients’ lives with their own emotions, get
angry at their resistances or upset by their pain, judge them harshly or push
them to change, thereby confusing them even more in their predicaments.
They are the Sunday skiers of the helping professions.
Others are like champion skiers: they make the right intervention at the
right moment, they glide through the asperities and the dangers of the
client’s inner world with great ease. They evoke the best resources in their
clients, and assist them in becoming what they choose to be.
Diana Whitmore definitely belongs to this second category. For many
years I have worked with her in the training of psychosynthesis profes-
sionals. And many, many times I have seen her extend her intuition while
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viii Psychosynthesis Counselling in Action
working with participants. And I have seen her accompany many of them
into a freedom beyond their blocks.
Don’t expect to learn her art by reading this book. That cannot be
communicated. But you may expect the next best thing: if you have any
interest in counselling, this is a good place to start; if you are studying to be
a counsellor, this book will give you a balanced view and help bring out the
best in you; if you are already working in this field, you may find new vistas
and surprising directions.
Psychosynthesis counselling is innovative. It is an energetic, pragmatic
approach aimed at producing results easily and quickly. It emphasizes the
will and the human capacity to choose; it makes ample use of imagery; it
acknowledges the presence of a transpersonal realm in all human beings–
the realm of inspiration, awe and joy; it encourages clients to work on their
own using a variety of specific techniques.
All good counselling has stringent requirements. A good counsellor has
to be clear, feel at ease with the inner world, meet serenely with pain and
rage, deal with the unexpected effectively and, above all, be open and
receptive to others.
And yet, beyond all the dilemmas and demands, one finds a great
beauty in counselling– in all counselling. Helping people to discover them-
selves, make decisions and change their attitude is a creative endeavour.
Again and again, you deal with life’s most profound questions: Why am I
here? How can I deal with pain and solitude? What is love? What course
shall I give to my existence?
Psychosynthesis Counselling in Action is a powerful contribution to
meeting the challenges of counselling and appreciating its beauty.
Piero Ferrucci PhD
Centro di Studi di Psicosintesi R. Assagioli
Florence
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Preface to the Third Edition
In the years since the first edition of this book two important things have
happened within the international psychosynthesis community. It has
deepened and elaborated its understanding of what we call transpersonal
psychology, and the need of humanity for goodness and the creation of
well-being has greatly increased. From our continued and worsening social
problems, to the dangers of genetic engineering; from the decline of our
natural resources, to the increased violations of human rights, mankind
today is having to cope with an acceleration of stress. Since the second
edition of this book, globalisation has shrunk the planet to the point where
our Interconnectedness can no longer be denied. Equally challenging, is
the emergence of terrorism on an unprecedented scale. We have watched
our nations go to war on questionable grounds with questionable motives.
Insecurity, instability and fear, whether real or imagined, govern our con-
sciousness more than they used to. Today we are urgently in need of a more
positive meaning to our lives. Amid the noise and struggle, we need to find
a place within ourselves, which is untouched by the clamour, which is still
and quiet and, most importantly, which can perceive our life and world in
an optimistic and beneficent way. Without wanting to sound arrogant, I
believe that this book is more needed today than it was when first pub-
lished. The need for psychology and counselling is to see beyond the
client’s presenting issues and to recognize that being human is ultimately a
spiritual experience and one which includes our interconnectedness with
each other in a collective sense. The impact of the global situation on our
experience of the quality of life increasingly needs to be accommodated in
the counselling arena. While this book contains much practical input on
confronting one’s problems from a solid psychological basis, I whole-
heartedly recommend that special attention is paid to Chapters 6 and 7
which take us deeper towards the transpersonal explanation and work with
those same problems.
Because psychosynthesis is really a broad vision and context of per-
sonal, interpersonal, social, global and universal evolution, it is hard to
define it as a form of counselling. When addressing the human soul it is
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