Assagioli’s Theory of Psychosynthesis

Assagioli’s Theory of Psychosynthesis The I, the Self: Building the Bridge Only the development of his inner powers can offset the dangers inherent in man’s losing control of the tremendous natural forces at his disposal and becoming the victim of his own achievements. —Roberto Assagioli Introduction Therapists use Assagioli’s theory of psychosynthesis to help clients develop a complete and authentic identity that is fully able to access the true Self that pervades all levels of the conscious and unconscious mind. Because it is a common assumption that personality structures form by the time a child is five years old, transforming a fragmented consciousness into a whole identity is often a long and difficult process, especially in cases of severe trauma. This paper seeks to examine this process—in particular, how an individual can develop a new mental field that is freed from the past and oriented toward a hierarchy of values rather than specific affective events. The secondary purpose of this study is to examine which dynamics keep the individual locked into destructive personality patterns that no longer serve them and the solutions this method (psychosynthesis) offers to prospective clients. Soul Trauma More than two thousand years ago, Siddhartha Gautama famously declared that ‘life is suffering.’ Indeed, very few people get through it without suffering some kind of trauma in their formative years. Quite often, these early traumas cause a breach between the personal self (I) and the Self. When this connection is disrupted, the individual feels a palpable threat to his very existence.[1] When a child incurs the wrath of his caretakers, he feels the lack of connection more intensely. Because the caretakers are so instrumental to a child’s survival, the child perceives displeasure as a genuine threat that the caretaker will hurt him or stop fulfilling his needs. The child then becomes sensitized to external threats. This overwhelming sense of a threat is what psychosynthesis theorists refer to as the primal wound that is responsible for the individual’s fall from grace. Before this wound makes its indelible mark upon the soul, the individual has little sense of his own mortality—and the personal self is indistinguishable from the Self. Because this fracture is so painful to the psyche, people will create defence mechanisms to preserve the integrity of their being—even if it means splitting themselves into parts.[2] Shutting oneself off from the wound is tantamount to amputating a gangrene-infested leg—cutting off the poison in order to preserve the whole, even if it means causing it damage. Although this shutting off can contribute to maladaptive conditions later in life, these defence mechanisms help the individual cope in the present. However, when relationships begin to suffer or they are not accomplishing personal objectives, some people are aware that something is fundamentally wrong and seek professional help. The difference between psychosynthesis and traditional psychoanalytic therapy is a lessened emphasis on the past with more of a focus toward reorienting one’s core values; however, prior events a re not completely ignored because it can shed light on the fundamental assumptions governing the client’s life and turn them in a more healthy direction. Repression, Denial, and Splitting In most families, children conform to the rules and will of their parents, partially because it helps them survive and partially because these structures help them define themselves as individuals. However, some people will hold beliefs or thoughts that they know is not acceptable to their family of origin or culture and thus denying that part of themselves or part of the experience in order to retain that sense of belongingness. Causes and symptoms of this split include: a fundamentally weak sense of self, a fragmented consciousness where one’s conceptual map has very few connections, in a clinical setting the therapist can never be certain what the client is thinking or feeling, the client believes that he or she is fundamentally a bad person and that no one could possibly love him or her after personal revelation, etc.[3] These attitudes often originate in clients with a past history of abuse, neglect, or a need to protect family members by creating a persona that is more t o their liking.[4] This mechanism of repression is not without cause, as many people have been killed for deviating from cultural, social, and familial norms. However, in cultures that place great value on individual happiness and finding a purpose that is congruent with one’s gifts and talents, this is a liability, as the individual must discover the S(s)elf before finding his path. Interestingly, some theorists believe that what lies at the root of the problem is not the experience, but the repression of it. ‘Many people evidence the psychological symptom of denial, or psychic numbing. If denial has become a social norm, how can we use social norms to gauge a person’s health or to set appropriate goals in therapy?’[5] The Institute of Psychosynthesis encourages therapists to first build the strength of the ego and discover the personality while avoiding attacks on personal weaknesses, mirroring the client to encourage identification and connectedness, an d possibly integrate the disowned parts of the client.[6] Another approach involves encouraging the client to move to the core of one of the sub-personalities in order to find something that is good—the root of its dysfunction is the non-allowance of the expression—i.e. a high achieving person needs love but cannot ask for it directly, nor can the critical person ask for the security of being in control.[7] In fact, this approach includes treating the sub-personality as one would a person, because distortions are most often found in this realm. ‘Compassion can become pity; love can become dependency; humour can become sarcasm; strength can become rigidity. But the converse is also true, for these qualities can be elevated to or transformed into their essential nature.’[8] Using guided imagery, the therapist can contact each aspect of the individual; help bring its most beneficial aspects to the surface in order to facilitate the re-integration process. The Personal ‘I’: The Story of the ‘Self’ Although the framework for transpersonal experience has existed for thousands of years, it is only within the past fifty years that it has become a respectable method of psychotherapy. Both the Eastern and Western religious traditions support the rediscovery of the Self—the part of the individual that is beyond the personal self even as it includes it. In the West, the Self (or the Soul) is the immortal part that is elevated above the dross of every day life. In the Eastern traditions, the Self is attempting to reintegrate with the Cosmos by having multiple experiences. Native Americans undergo rigorous purification rituals such as body piercing, hours in the sweat lodge, and the Sun Dance in order to induce a trance state and to make contact with the spirit world.[9] In both religion and psychosynthesis, the Self is the culmination of a person’s experiences and attributes. Until Assagioli had come up with the concept, this approach was unutilised by modern psychologist s, as the dominant therapeutic approach was psychoanalysis where therapists and clients will discuss the client’s past and analyse it in order to give the client a greater understanding of himself. While that is a good place to begin the journey of self-discovery, it does not take the client to the point of unification. Traditional psychoanalysis did not include an understanding of this higher Self, simply the tripartite ego structure and the basic drives that motivate humans. Assagioli makes use of Freud’s model as the lower and higher unconscious functions correspond with the id and superego respectively, while the middle unconscious corresponds with Freud’s conception of the ‘preconscious.’[10] He also borrows from Jung’s concepts by including the spiritual realms of the psyche. One practical application therapists may use in their practice is CEIS: Creative Exploration of Inner Space. It is a twelve-step application of Assagioli’s theories that was developed after twenty-seven years of practice.[11] The first step is solitude. The client creates a ‘sacred space’ or an inner sweat lodge to begin his journey inward. Brown argues that this dissociation from the personal identity will lead to objectivity about day-to-day activities and concerns.[12] Solitude is encouraged because individuals have great difficulty maintaining a strong sense of self with pervasive influences such as the media or when significant others (friends, family members, mates) have strong personalities and expect the individual to conform to their idea of what is correct. Next, the therapist will invite the client to relax for five minutes before progressing to the next step, which includes deep reflective thinking upon a subject for ten minutes (this is done in writing). This is followed by receptive thinking, visualization, mandala art, cognitive analysis, and inner dialogue. After this, the client arrives at step nine, the s ymbolic identification or psychodrama with which the Psychosynthesis School is concerned. ‘Clients are instructed to take one step forward and enter the image; to become the image physically; and to allow movements or gestures to occur or postures that might help them connect, identify with, and become the image completely†¦ Symbolic identification can lead to more expressive uses of the body, to new sensations, and to the development of empathy and compassion.’[13] Ideally, after the experience is complete, the client will integrate the experience in their homework, attain closure, and share the experience with someone close to them. Brown had great success with this method because the session was infused with a meaning that is specific to the client, as opposed to categorizing him or her as an obsessive-compulsive, depressive, etc. and drugging the client accordingly. Crises of Meaning Perhaps there was less mental confusion in the past because the ancients had rites governing each stage of life and people were more aware of what they were supposed to do. Today, there are so many choices and very few cultural traditions for the life cycle, especially in industrialised Western nations. This is where we observe the common crises at birth, adolescence and mid-life. When the individual is born, he leaves a warm environment where his every wish is granted to a place where he is cold, hungry, and separate.[14] The infant is distressed because it intuitively knows that separation is dangerous, and even the most attentive parents cannot provide the security the child is missing from the womb environment. As the infant grows, the psychological structures such as the Superego and Ego begin to gain strength, and this is where a child learns how romantic relationships work by observing the parental imagos. When relations between the parents (as well as the parent-child relatio nship) are dysfunctional, the child often grows up to project these issues onto a romantic partner. In ancient society, the onset of puberty signalled to the group that there was a new full participant in the social order. There was a ceremony where the individual would shed his status as a child and be welcomed into the group as an adult. There is no such phenomenon today because childhood is legally extended years past biological maturity, which would make the final transition to adulthood more difficult. At this point, the individual becomes emotionally separated from childhood and parents to embrace a new identity independent of childhood structures†¦this is a time of self-definition. In the mid-life crisis, the individual comes to face his own mortality and experiences the mental/personality separation. This is the time when people are most likely to seek therapy to resolve past issues as many are afflicted with severe depression out of a feeling of wasting their life and looking toward a future where death looms larger than safety. In sum, psychosynthesis proposes to unite the various and sundry portions of ourselves in order that we may be better equipped to confront the crises that will ultimately affect everyone. Bibliography Brown, Michael. ‘A Psychosynthesis Twelve Step Program for Transforming Consciousness: Creative Explorations of Inner Space, Counselling and Values, Vol. 45, No. 2, (2001), pp. 103-17 Brown, Molly Young. Unfolding Self: The Practice of Psychosynthesis, New York: Allworth Press, 2004 Evans, Joan. Institute of Psychosynthesis Manual. (1990) Firman, John Ann Gila. The Primal Wound: A Transpersonal View of Trauma, Addiction, and Growth, New York: SUNY Press, 1997 Grof, Stanislav. Beyond the Brain: Birth, Death, and Transcendence in Psychotherapy. New York: SUNY Press, 1985 Whitmore, Diana. Psychosynthesis Counselling in Action. London: SAGE Publications, 2004 Footnotes [1] John Firman Ann Gila. The Primal Wound: A Transpersonal View of Trauma, Addiction, and Growth, (New York: SUNY Press, 1997) 89 [2] Firman and Gila, 90 [3] Joan Evans. Institute of Psychosynthesis Manual, 1990, 64 [4]Evans, 65 [5] Molly Young Brown. Unfolding Self: The Practice of Psychosynthesis, (New York: Allworth Press, 2004) 10 [6] Evans, 65 [7] Diana Whitmore. Psychosynthesis Counselling in Action. (London: SAGE Publications, 2004) 93 [8] Ibid. [9]Michael Brown. ‘A Psychosynthesis Twelve Step Program for Transforming Consciousness: Creative Explorations of Inner Space, Counselling and Values, Vol. 45, No. 2, (2001) 103 [10] Stanislav Grof. Beyond the Brain: Birth, Death, and Transcendence in Psychotherapy. (New York: SUNY Press, 1985) 193 [11] Michael Brown. ‘A Psychosynthesis Twelve Step Program for Transforming Consciousness: Creative Explorations of Inner Space, Counselling and Values, Vol. 45, No. 2, (2001) 113 [12] Brown, 114 [13] Brown, 115 [14] Evans, 210

Alcoholics Anonymous Support Group Report Essay

Group therapy has evolved so much that the participant are learning how to help themselves and others. Self-help groups are one of the most popular forms of group therapy. One of the most known self-help groups is Alcoholics Anonymous also known as A.A. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international organization produced to assist alcoholics to recover and live alcohol free lives. It was founded by Bill Wilson and Robert Holbrook Smith in 1935. It is a program, complete with twelve steps and twelve traditions, that was put together to help addicts recover from their addictions and inspire them to remain sober. Robert Holbrook Smith was a doctor who struggled with an alcohol problem since his teens. He tried unsuccessfully for many years to overcome his addiction. His alcoholism had impacted his personal life and profession in a negative manner. He could not function properly without alcohol. In quest of finding help, he found in Bill Wilson. Bill Wilson was a part of the Akron Oxford Group that Smith joined in efforts to sober up. Bill Wilson saw how detrimental alcoholism affected his life and spoke to other alcoholics to try to help them. He helped Smith to completely abstain from alcohol and dedicated his life to assist alcoholics to remain their sobriety. The main idea to their approach was to recognize alcoholism as a disease and to realize that recovery could be maintained through working with others who were experiencing the same problem, alcoholism. I attended an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting called A New Day. This group was held in a shopping center where two sports bars are located. I thought that the location was not an ideal place to have an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. There were about twenty-five people at each meeting that I attended. They were all very approachable and welcoming to me as an observer and everyone was very open about their situation and dependence on alcohol. Overall, the participants were of all ages, ethnicities, and there was an even amount of  men and women. I noticed that the participants did not look like what I perceived someone who was suffering from alcohol dependence would look like. They looked like productive law-abiding citizens. I am embarrassed to say that it never occurred to me that these individuals could live positive lives while battling alcoholism. I assumed that they would be dysfunctional and incapable to participate in the meeting. Instead many of them looked healthy and were eager to engage in the group discussion. We began the meeting by introducing those who are new to AA or those who were visiting from a different group. If a person did not want to introduce themselves, they were not made to do so. The meetings were very calm and were conducted in an orderly fashion. In a support group, the leader should create a safe environment where members can share (Jacobs et al., 2012 p. 43). I felt very comfortable being there and even though I was there as an observer, the group leader always encouraged me to ask questions or comments. Regardless of the topics that were discussed, no one was judgmental. I believe the positive energy I felt while in the group was because everyone truly cared about each other’s sobriety. There was one occasion in the group that I felt changed the momentum of the group because of a conflict. The group leader asked if there was someone who had a â€Å"burning desire† that they needed to talk about. A burning desire is an issue that a person is going through that may cause them to drink. It was a young man by the name of Jason who was been sober for about sixty days. He expressed how he was experiencing some trouble at work and at home. He rece ived his quarterly evaluation from his supervisor and he thought that he was evaluated unfairly. When he brought this issue to his supervisor, his supervisor started to curse at him. Then when he went home, he found out that his wife was secretly spending their savings on gambling. While he was sharing, another man interrupted him by saying, â€Å"let’s talk about something other than this crap!† Jason was very offended but before he could respond the group leader stepped in. Conflict will arise sometimes in group sessions, Forsyth states, it â€Å"seems to be an unavoidable consequence of life in groups† (Forsyth, 2014, p. 435). Our texts, workbook, and DVD all points out that as leaders, we do not have to be afraid of conflict and dealing with it. The group leader did an excellent job in dealing with the rude participate by encouraging Jason to continue his burning desire. The stage  that I believe the group was in was the working stage. The middle, or working, stage is the stage of the group when the members focus on the purpose (Jacobs et. al., 2012). Throughout the meeting, group members discussed different topics and shared their personal experiences. They also realized why they were there and did not stray from the topic. Even thou gh there were newcomers in the group, it was easy for them to participate because they could relate to what was being said by other members of the group. The natural leader of the group was a woman by the name of Beverly. Beverly has been sober for thirty years as of September 5, 2014. She is a teacher by trade and she continues to attend meetings. During the meeting, she reflected on her journey on staying sober. She came from a family of alcoholics. Alcohol has caused a strain on her relationship with her son and she feels that her being an alcoholic added undue stress to his life. She said something that I thought was profound during her testimonial. She stated that in order for her to stay sober, she had to look for the lesson that God was trying to teach her. Instead of complaining about life’s sad state of affairs, learn what need to be learned, change what needs to be changed, and move on. What I learned from her testimonial was to view failure as an opportunity to reassess God’s will for your life. I do believe that Alcoholics Anonymous meetings are effective ways to treat alcohol. Alcoholism is not something tha t can be treated alone. It is important to maintain physical, mental, and spiritual health while achieving sobriety. In each testimony given, everyone had a different way they initially made their approach to get better. Those who attend AA meeting realize that they have lost the capability to control their drinking. Because of this, they need the help and support of other alcoholics in A.A. References Corey, G., Corey, M. S., & Haynes, R. (2014). Groups in action: Evolution and challenges (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole. Forsyth, D. (2014). Group dynamics (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing. Jacobs, E. E., Masson, R. L., Harvill, R. L., & Schimmel, C. J. (2012). Group counseling: Strategies and skills (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Franchising Opportunities in McDonald

Operating since 1955, McDonalds is world’s leading food service retailer with approximately 30,000 outlets in 119 countries serving roughly 46 million customers per day. McDonalds holds a large share in the globally branded fast food restaurants practically in every country and is one of the most famous and valuable brands. Since the very beginning, McDonald has always been a franchising company with franchising as its business focus. Moreover, since it is a well established brand franchising with it will ensure business security. The company poses attractive franchising opportunities as it is spread globally franchisees can literally choose the city of their choice. The franchisee will be assured that the brand is strong and business would be steady as the brand knows how to survive through generations despite the cutthroat competition. There are advantages for the franchisee as working with a giant is lucrative and adds to personal business knowledge. McDonald takes personal interest and supports the business whether local or international especially in areas of training, operations,   advertising, marketing, human resources, real estate, construction, purchasing and maintenance. This would enable maintenance of standards and be a big support to the franchisee for running the business. The franchising process is quite flexible and attainable. A new McDonald restaurant varies from $466,000 -955,500 USD. Of course the size of the facility of the restaurant, area and locality, expenses of pre-opening, the inventory, equipment, signage, dà ©cor and the landscaping will impact the cost. An initial fee of $45,000 USD is paid to McDonald's Corporation for all new restaurants. The initial cash investment is $175,000 minimum for a conventional purchase or $100,000 for a Business Facilities Lease. However the company doesn’t offer financing to franchisees and the initial fee capital should be your own and not borrowed. This means that the franchisee has to have a solid initial capital of its own. McDonald itself will develop the location and will evaluate and select it. It acquires the property, improves the site and undertakes the construction. It is the responsibility of the franchisee to equip the facility. Once the sites are developed they are offered to prospective franchisees. This ensures that the business is set in the right place and will be lucrative and at the same time standards will be maintained. The profitably defers due to reasons like sales location of the restaurant, occupancy and the cost of operating and the individual ability of the franchisee to manage and control. 4% of monthly sales are given as royalty to the company which could at times be heavy for the franchisee. The prospects look good but from the point of view of the franchisee they may not be so. Firstly, McDonald being a world renowned firm has its exceptionally high standards of quality and services which have to be met by world standards. There is tough competition between outlets in terms of promotions and services which the franchisee has to keep up. Also, there is a heavy down payment and a royalty from monthly sales. The franchisee may not be able to open the franchise in the location of his choice. Lastly, obtaining a franchise may be difficult as there is a long wait in line. Nevertheless, because of the steady flow of business and prospective relations with a world renowned brand, franchisees choose McDonalds evident by their ever growing franchises globally. Reference [Online] Available at: http://www.mcdonalds.com/corp/franchise/franchisinghome.html/

The Heart, Mind And Soul, By Kurt Vonnegut - 952 Words

Equality; the most sought after desire in society. Each person has the felt the disease of envy for another’s talent, wisdom, or beauty. The heart, mind and soul are never replicated between two humans. This places one’s envy as a never ending cycle. Kurt Vonnegut’s story, Harrison Bergeron, focuses on the theme that society and government aspire to make all citizens equal by restricting them and making all handicapped for the purpose of obedience only to inadvertently achieve inequality. The short story is set in the year of 2081 when society has achieved ultimate equality. The characters George and Hazel are introduced in the beginning of the story sitting in their living room and watching television. They have just experienced a traumatic event as their son, Harrison Bergeron, was taken from them by government officials. In this time period the government has taken it upon itself to establish equality among society. They have done this by requiring all citize ns to acquire handicaps to anyone with a higher intelligence than another. George Bergeron has a higher intelligence level than his wife, Hazel, therefore is handicapped by having a small ear piece placed in his ear to play obnoxious and distracting sounds that scatter his thoughts every twenty seconds. In addition to this handicap George is also required to carry extra weight with him in a bag tied around his neck. Although Harrison was taken only minutes before, his parents have already forgotten about him. TheyShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Kurt Vonnegut s Harrison Bergeron 953 Words   |  4 PagesEquality. The most sought after desire in society. Each person has the felt the disease of envy for another’s talent, wisdom, or beauty. The heart, mind and soul are never replicated between two humans. This places one’s envy as a never ending cycle. 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About, my brain.—Hum, I have heard that guilty creatures sitting at a play have, by the very cunning of the scene, been struck so to the soul that presently they have proclaimed their malefactions. For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak with most miraculousRead MoreAlice Malsenior6001 Words   |  25 PagesHonoring the Difficult and a collection of political essays named Anything We Love Can Be Saved: a Writer’s Activism. Within three years she has written a further three books, By the Light of My Father’s Smile in 1998, The Way Forward is with a Broken Heart in 2000 and A Long Walk of Freedom in 2001. In light of the tragedy at the World Trade Centre in New York City, she wrote her most recent work: Sent by Earth: A Message from the Grandmother Spirit After the Bombing of the World Trade Center and the