Beyond Psychotherapy: Dialectical Therapy

• Published in: Journal of psychotherapy integration 1999-12, Vol.9 (4), p.365-396
• Main Author: Carere-Comes, Tullio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Dialectics; Human; Psychotherapeutic Processes; Psychotherapy
• ISSN: 1053-0479; 1573-3696
• DOI: 10.1023/A:1023295311832

Dialectical therapy is a common factors approach to psychotherapy integration, in which four gen eral therapeutic strategies are taken as the cardinal points of a map of the field. It is said to be "beyond psychotherapy" because what is commonly referred to as psychotherapy is more than psychological treatment. It is a dialectic between two basic levels or axes: the psychological remaking, which deals with defect-driven disorders, and the philosophical uncovering, which deals with conflict-driven problems. The first level can be graphically represented as the horizontal axis of the field, connecting a "maternal" and a "paternal" pole, in which the therapist responds to the basic psychological needs of secure attachment and responsible cooperation. The second level can be represented as the vertical axis of the field, connecting a K (knowledge) vertex and an O (unknown) vertex, in which the therapist responds to the basic philosophical needs of knowledge ("know thyself") and of unknown as unknowable (the noumenon of all phaenomena, the source of generative and healing powers). A map is necessary to organize the basic therapeutic needs and the range of responses to them in a coherent pattern. As a good map can help in orienting empirical research, this in turn can help in constructing better maps.