Beyond Empathy: A Therapy of Contact-In Relationship
by Richard G. Erskine, PH.D.
Janet Moursund, Ph.D.
Rebecca Trautmann, M.S.W.
Relationships between people form the basis of our daily lives. We require this contact with others as well as the subsequent sense of respect and value it produces and the relational needs it fulfills. As we face the inevitable traumas of life, large and small, our ability to make full contact with others is often disrupted. As contact decreases, relational needs go unfulfilled, often producing psychological dysfunction. Beyond Empathy offers therapists a methodology for helping people rediscover their ability to maintain genuine, contactful relationships and thus, better psychological health.
The authors describe an integrative psychotherapy approach drawn from Rogers' client-centered therapy, Berne's transactional analysis, Perls' Gestalt therapy, Kohut's self psychology, and the work of British object-relations theorists. They teach this therapy they have developed at the Institute for Integrative Psychotherapy in New York City. Written in a conversational style, Beyond Empathy introduces the theory behind the approach while using real life interchanges between therapists and clients to illustrate the concepts it presents. Details of the application of this method in therapy work and almost complete transcripts from seven therapy sessions are provided, offering examples of psychotherapeutic regression, work with a parental introject, couples psychotherapy, and more.
The open writing style of Beyond Empathy suits both beginners and seasoned practitioners. Its versatile approach to therapy promises to be effective across a wide range of therapeutic situations, making this a valuable resource for both students and clinicians across the spectrum of mental healthcare providers.
Review by Charles Bowman, Indianapolis Gestalt Institute
TABLE OF CONTENT:
Basic Concepts
Inquiry
Attunement
Involvement
Relational Needs
Through the Keyhole
Greta: "Mother, Come Home"
Sarah: Therapy With a Regressed Client
Edward: Exploring the Function of Defenses
Loraine: Therapy With an Introjected Other (Part I)
Loraine: Therapy With an Introjected Other (Part II)
Integrative Psychotherapy With Couples 13. The Keyhole Revisited
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