| Title: | From the experiential in therapy to experiential psychotherapy: A history |
|---|---|
| Author: | Friedman, N |
| Mediagroup: | journal article |
| Publisher: | --- |
| Zeitschrift: | Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice |
| Jahr: | 1976 |
| Band: | 13 |
| Heft: | 3 |
| Seiten: | 236 - 243 |
| Language: | englisch |
| Abstract: | Reviews contributions from schools of individual therapy to the emergence of the experiential orientation and discusses 5 general trends that have contributed to the historical matrix from which it is emerging. Play therapy has contributed to the shaping of experiential therapy by the priority it has given to the concrete, lived experience over psychodynamic interpretations. The encounter movement has enriched the conception of experiential therapy by showing that experience which is not a reliving can be therapeutic, that emotional intensity can be experienced through interaction with an intensely involved other, and that the healing process can be facilitated by the self-disclosures of the leader. Existentialism has moved therapy in an experiential direction with its insistence that existence precedes essence; its emphasis on authenticity, the encounter, choice, and the moment; and its rigorous critique of Freudian metapsychology. Consciousness-raising groups tend to be experiential and start from a deep respect for feelings. The increasing impact of auto-experiential disciplines such as yoga and Zen is a further influence in the direction of experiential psychotherapy. Combining what could be learned from each of these sources with an explicit theory of experiencing (E. Gendlin, 1974) has resulted in a rich conception of an experiential orientation in psychotherapy. |