Editorial
Enikő Albert Lőrincz
ARTICLES
Theoretical study
Béla Buda: Spirituality and psychotherapy
Overview
Bartha Dávid Péter: The most influential approaches in the present development of transpersonal psychology
Questions of practice
Stuart W. Twemlow, Peter Fonagy, Frank C Sacco:: A developmental approach to mentalizing communities: The Peaceful Schools experiment. Part I. Translated by Ágota Gaskó, Boglárka Horváth and Borbála Sarkadi; Commentary byCsaba Horgász and Nóra Mailáth
Pearls
Imre Hermann: Why did leave Gauguin left his family? Translated by Annamária Hansjürgens;Commentary by Annamária Hansjürgens
This is how we work… insights into psychotherapeutic, and counseling hours
László Bokor: The complexities of interrelating effects in the therapeutic process
Presentation of a standard psychoanalytic session
Commentary by Noémi Császár
Commentary by Magdolna Moretti
Commentary by Judit Székács
PROFESSIONAL LIFE
News and reports
Point of view
The practicing doctor and the „psycho”-professional — Katalin Dobó, István Ormay, Ágnes Riskó. Ferenc Túry
Conferences —Tibor Cece Kiss, Gábor Szőnyi, István Tiringer
About this journal — János Füredi
Book reviews — Viktória Csikós, Kerekes Zsuzsanna, Aranka Tiringer, István Tiringer
Lists of professional books — Animula, Lélekben Otthon, Ursus libris
Professional programs
Theoretical study
Béla Buda: Spirituality and psychotherapy
In the last decades we can witness the increasing loss of influence of the scientific rationality, which has dominated modernity. Instead of rational critical stances a variety of mystic, transcendent, unscientific beliefs are mushrooming and spreading which contradict rationality. The man of our times – often called „postmodern” person – accepts these beliefs because they seem relevant to his everyday life. The paper tries to give an overview of these beliefs and their new doctrines and disciplines, especially those, which somehow interfere with the philosophy and practice of psychotherapy. Some new psychotherapy schools (especially theories and techniques of humanistic psychology) use such concepts and methods, not leaving necessarily the territory of psychology, but presupposing its new, somewhat mystic, transpersonal capacities. Since psychotherapists may encounter beliefs and rites of spirituality and forms of spiritual experience, they cannot neglect these phenomena, and they have to deal with them.
It is easier to do, if spirituality conceals pathological or detrimental processes in the personality, if it serves avoidance and escape from reality. If, however, spiritual experiences can enhance self-efficacy and can be sources of coping and problem solving, they deserve closer scientific scrutiny. New forms of self-experience, new cultural contexts for human relationships and meaningful communication and other manifestations, which positive psychology describes would warrant that psychotherapists take spirituality more seriously.
Key words: postmodern — spirituality — New Age mentality — pathology of spirituality — spirituality in psychotherapy
Overview
Bartha Dávid Péter: The most influential approaches in the present development of transpersonal psychology
Even though there are numerous books in Hungarian, dealing with transpersonal psychology, mostly from American authors, it is difficult if not impossible to find articles that are discussing the subject in a wider context and with the inclusion of critical comments. Therefore the aim of this essay is to present a short critical summary of the most influential three American theories in transpersonal psychology and psychotherapy. The article will present their relation to each other, the critiques of the theories and its situation in the wider field of psychology. In the author’s experience the three theories are: Stanislav Grof’s map of the human unconscious based on his observations in LSD psychotherapy and holotropic breathwork; Ken Wilber’s integral psychology, mainly built upon the structuralist and hierarchical approaches in psychology; and the psychoanalytic transpersonal theory of Michael Washburn on the development of the relationship between the dynamic ground and the ego. I will present the approaches’ transpersonal developmental levels, their logic of development, their differentiation of the “pre” and “trans” stages of development, their view on the ontological status of the transpersonal dimension and the critiques they received. Furthermore the article will discuss critiques received by the wider field from Rollo May, saying that the transpersonal approach gives little attention to the dark and the instinctive side of human nature and Albert Ellis’ book presenting the field mainly as an unscientific religious sect. Finally I will shortly discuss a new theoretical approach mainly promoted by Jorge N. Ferrer, which try to solve the problems of the previous approaches by a change of the paradigm of the field, which also includes a divorce from some of the basic assumptions of “traditional” psychology.
Key words: transpersonal psychology — transpersonal theories — Stanislav Grof — Ken Wilber — Michael Washburn
Questions of practice
Stuart W. Twemlow, Peter Fonagy, Frank C Sacco:: A developmental approach to mentalizing communities: The Peaceful Schools experiment. Part I. Translated by Ágota Gaskó, Boglárka Horváth and Borbála Sarkadi
Commentary byCsaba Horgász and Nóra Mailáth
This paper summarizes a theoretical argument for the use of a mentalization-based approach to the systemic problem of school bullying. The Peaceful Schools Project of the Menninger Department of Psychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine, is an experimental test of this model. Data is presented from a randomized controlled trial of this intervention in nine elementary schools in the Midwest.
Applying attachment theory and mentalization concepts to complex social systems is an innovative use of these ideas. This second paper (Twemlow, Fonagy, and Sacco 2005b), a companion piece to the first article in this issue (Twemlow, Fonagy, and Sacco 2005a),contrasts a social systems approach to school bullying and violence with a mentalization approach to the same problem and then attempts a synthesis of the two. We then summarize the findings of a test of these ideas in a randomized controlled trial involving several schools and more than 3,000 children. In the first paper (Twemlow, Fonagy, and Sacco 2005a), we extrapolated these ideas and findings in a proposal for a series of projects that tested out these applications in a larger community.
Our goal in this paper is to see if the serious contemporary problem of bullying and interpersonal violence in schools could be approached using a focus on the relationships between the members of the social system as a whole, rather than the more traditional strategy seen in prevention studies, that is, that of identifying disturbed and at risk children and separating them from the social system for special attention.
Keywords: school bullying — social systems approach — mentalization-based approach — Peaceful Schools Project — randomized controlled trial
Pearls
Imre Hermann: Why did leave Gauguin left his family? Translated by Annamária Hansjürgens
Commentary by Annamária Hansjürgens
After many years this is the first time that the article on Paul Gauguin from Imre Hermann will be published in Hungarian language. The famous psychoanalyst attempts to give a psychological explanation to the adventurous life of the artist. His hypothesis is based on his theory of clinging instinct where the hands have got an important role. Through this erogenous zone he discovered a very prominent pattern in the life of Gauguin. The opposite of the clinging instinct is about escaping and hiding. Hermann showed how this motive and the gifted hands can be inherited in Gauguin mother’s family. The father of his mother was suspected to have an incest relationship to his daughter.
With the evoking incest feelings towards his adolescent daughter Hermann explains Gauguins sudden escape from his family.
In the comments of the translator Anna Maria Hansjürgens noted that Imre Hermann didn’t draw a comparison between Gauguin’s incest fears and his further life on Tahiti.
The author Hermann surprisingly missed to mention the fact that Gauguin shared his life with girls (vahine, maori wife) in the same age as his own daughter, Aline.
Key-words: Fear of incest — erogeneity of the hands — clinging instinct — hiding-escaping
This is how we work… insights into psychotherapeutic, and counseling hours
László Bokor: The complexities of interrelating effects in the therapeutic process
Presentation of a standard psychoanalytic session
Commentary by Noémi Császár
Commentary by Magdolna Moretti
Commentary by Judit Székács
The complexities of interrelating effects in the therapeutic process
Presentation of a standard psychoanalytic session
The reader is presented with the first part of a series. In contrast with the usual case studies this series shows the way the therapist acts and thinks during his work, with the help of detailed notes taken of the consulting hours.
The form: presentation of the process of one or two sittings, that includes the actual words the therapist said, what he did, what he was thinking at the time, what moved him to do what he did.
Only the shortest account is given of the patient, his history, and his problems.
A short description of the therapeutic form, method and setting is given.
All this is done within the accepted ethical requirements (permission of patient, but keeping him covered).
Length of the study may vary between 10 000 and 25 000 characters.
We send out the presentation to three experts, (usually training therapists) for comments. One of the commentators is a specialist of the method followed by the writer of the notes, while the other two are selected from other modalities. The experts will comment on how they see the session, the therapeutic hour; how it compares with their way of thinking and working.
Each comment may wary between 4-8000 characters.
The series was the idea of and is being managed by László Bokor. As the first presentation was written by him, it is not edited by him. We are waiting for the reception of the series with interest, and receive similar presentations of therapeutic work with gratitude. The three commentators are: Noémi Császár (hypnotherapy), Magdolna Moretti (family therapy), Judit Székács (psychoanalysis)