Love's Executioner

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Jalem, Helmut & Schutz, Peter. Neuro-Linguistic Psychotherapy (NLPt). http://www.nlpzentrum.at/nlptarteng.html

The Research Report Yalom mentioned at the end of therapy with Thelma paints a positive picture where it depicts Thelma as being “improved significantly”. It states she is less depressed and no longer seen as a suicide risk. Her self-esteem has improved and also her anxiety, hypochondriacal tendencies and her tendency for obsession and psychotic behaviour. It also states that Thelma was very secretive about the therapeutic process. It could be said that Thelma is well capable of duping the Research Group. That leads the reader to wonder was it the therapeutic process/alliance that improved Thelma’s state of mind or was it the fact that she was meeting Matthew once monthly for a coffee and a chat, after she finished therapy i.e. just two people having coffee and chatting, no other agenda. Is this all she wanted and possibly used Yalom to facilitate the three-way meeting with Matthew so she could perhaps arrange these regular meetings at a different time? Regardless of what the Research Report stated at the end of the 6 months therapy sessions, Thelma it seemed still had trouble connecting to “reality”, but how can we the reader, judge what her reality is? She was still with her husband Harry as far as the reader knows, but yet yearning for a relationship with Matthew, but this marriage filled a need in both Thelma and Harry as they stayed together. People deserve understanding and acceptance because they are human (Cully and Bond 2004). When, during the therapy process, Thelma became aware of her obsession with Matthew being a problem and the illusion was striped away, she did feel anger but then used that as an excuse to end therapy as her losses were too great. She did commit to the therapy process for the six months which also indicates to the reader that the therapeutic process was working for Thelma. In the Beginning Stage of therapy, we saw a working relationship being established, problems defined and clarified, an assessment made by Yalom (i.e. willing to work with Thelma) and a contract was negotiated. In the Middle Stage we saw Thelma being assisted in reassessing her problems and concerns, which helped to shift the process from problems to solutions and the End Stage typically in concerned with planning for and taking effective action and focuses on ending the Counselling relationship. (Cully and Bond 2004). Thelma ended the therapy herself. The therapeutic alliance is essentially the professional relationship between the client and the therapist where the client will discover within himself/herself the capacity to use that relationship for growth and change and personal development will occur (Rogers 1967). There are several characteristics which are a sign of healthy relationship either professional or personal: Psychotherapy is a well known type of counseling which is associated to psychoanalysis popularized by Sigmund Freud and other behavioral theorists whose work focused on behavioral analysis. Existential Psychotherapy came out in the work of four psychiatrists, they are: Karl Jaspers in Germany (1951, 1964), Ludwig Binswnger (1946, 1963), Medard Boss (1957, 1962, 1979), and Victor Frank. Emmy Van Deurzen in her article entitled “Existential Psychotherapy” explained that existential psychotherapy can only be truly existential if it involved the cultural, social, political and ideological context of a person’s existence. Deurzen noted that existential approach is a holistic approach examining the human condition and tries to figure out and investigate the individual’s experienced (Deurzen). Jo Cooper and Peter Seal in their article in the Sage Handbook of Counselling and Psychotherapy said that Neuro-linguistic Psychotherapy is “not in itself a therapy but can be used therapeutically and can be remarkably effective” (Cooper and Seal as cited in Feltham and Horton, p. 329), because it has some components and methodology that are proven efficient especially in dealing with patients. Thus, it is still significant to relate the fundamental concept of existential psychoanalysis in dealing with patients associate with the neuro-linguistic psychotherapy. Sterman emphasized that NLP assist-therapist to be more effective by identifying the client’s favored representational system as a means to enhance communication and elicit information (p. 29) by establishing rapport through matching and pacing. That is, meeting the client verbally in the sensory mode, and non- verbally using the tone of voice.Sue Cully and Tim Bond 2004, Integrative Counselling Skills in Action, London, Sage Publications Ltd. Hans W. Cohn noted that most of the forms of psychotherapy “keep within a framework derived from psychoanalytic concept” (Cohn, p. 1). Cohn pointed out that Sigmund Freud’s suggestion that the core of these psychoanalytic assumptions is the ‘instinctual’ wishes “which are experienced as threatening and unacceptable are repressed into an unconscious area of the psyche” (Cohn, p. 1). Cohn identified these instinctual wishes as various forms of disturbed behavior which attempt to re-enter consciousness that when they do, they appear as dreams and as symptoms, and as various forms of disturbed behavior (Cohn, p. 1). Cohn’s therapeutic process is an exploration of the client world design in its various dimensions – the physical, social and psychological (Cohn, p. 1). Sterman also pointed out that NLP framework for changing behavior is based on their basic assumptions as follows: Psychodynamic therapy is less frequent in clinical intervention while existential psychotherapy is more frequent three to five times a week. These differences according to Bateman, Pedder and Brown are rather blurred (p. 96).

Anthony Bateman, Jonathan Pedder and Dennis Brown noted that psychodynamic is based on the provision of a setting in which a person may begin to reconcile with this disowned aspects of himself, his experience (Bateman, Pedder and Brown, p. 63). They pointed out that the setting for this process is the relationship with the therapist, which without it, psychodynamic therapy cannot begin. They confirmed Cohn’s findings that dynamic psychotherapy had begun with Freud and psychoanalysis (p. 96), which utilizes three different meanings and functions. First, it is technique for investigating unconscious psychic life; second, it refers to theoretical body of knowledge built up on the basis of such observations; and third, it is used to describe an intense method of psychotherapeutic treatment. Yalom himself felt guilty at the end of the treatment and he felt his belief that “he could treat anyone” let him down and embarrassed himself professionally. However, Thelma did not throw any blame on Yalom and remained secretive with the Research Group about the details of her therapy which certainly did not point the finger of failure at Yalom as a therapist, which leads the reader to believe that Thelma did not think the therapeutic process or therapeutic alliance was a failure. Thelma is a very interesting case though and there are several factors in the story which leaves you wondering if Thelma was just a person vulnerable to being fixated (she cannot accept the loss of Matthew) but this may not be a conscious thing. Her age is also important as she’s thinking of “the meaning of her life” and what’s it all about. As the reader I wanted to “fix” Thelma and this made me realise that it also brought out an exaggerated sense of responsibility in me – this is possibly from bringing up my kids as a single parent. Thelma was having a need met by attending therapy and at the end of the six months, there was no mention of suicide in the Research Report, she was happily meeting Matthew for coffee every month or so and her psychological issues and depression had improved. It certainly seems like the therapeutic process and therapeutic alliance did work.

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Schapira, Sylvie 2000. Choosing a Counseling or Psychotherapy Training: A Practical Guide. Routledge Discuss the therapeutic process and therapeutic alliance as case studied in Irvin Yalom’s Love’s Executioner. Is the therapy working? Explain. Dr. Helmut Jelem and Peter Shutz pointed out some similarities between neuro- linguistic psychotherapy and the psychoanalysis or psychoanalytic theory. According to them, both the existential psychotherapy and psychodynamic and neuro linguistic psychotherapy placed the importance attached to relation. Both the NLP and the existential psychotherapy and psychodynamic could see fundamental power of un- conscious process. Both therapies’ approaches are aimed at self-recovery and for the patient to be able to face his or her problems and not to avoid it by turning to some escape goat habit. The two therapies engaged in modern technique of dealing with patients. The collection of ten absorbing tales by master psychotherapist Irvin D. Yalom uncovers the mysteries, frustrations, pathos, and humor at the heart of the therapeutic encounter. In recounting his patients’ dilemmas, Yalom not only gives us a rare and enthralling glimpse into their personal desires and motivations but also tells us his own story as he struggles to reconcile his all-too human responses with his sensibility as a psychiatrist. Not since Freud has an author done so much to clarify what goes on between a psychotherapist and a patient. Love’s Executioner and Other Tales of Psychotherapy by Irvin D. Yalom – eBook Details The story “Love’s Executioner” is a story that presents a fascinating case of a seventy-year old woman who fell in love with a younger man. Yalom in his personal counseling with this old lady had also overcome his ageism as part of his experience. Peggy Papp in his analysis of the story concluded that old people have many tendencies of having deviant behavior because of special needs they foresee ahead of them. These people according to Papp are more dependent to their loved ones physically and emotionally that in case of separation due to death or marital separation, they long for companion (Papp, p. 26). This case is particularly mentioned in the study of psychoanalysis and therapeutical approaches for patients with disrupted behavior.

If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help! Essay Writing Service Carl R. Rogers, 1967, On Becoming a Person, a therapist’s view of psychotherapy, U.K., Constable & Robinson Ltd. To summarize, the concept of existential and psychoanalysis, to apply in the therapeutic concept, requires the counselling session some amount of time to be given to the patient to ‘communicate him or her self’ including his or her past; by communicating one’s thought, the patient finds some comfort and releases tension caused by irritating circumstances of the past. The therapeutic process for a client usually means meeting with a therapist to resolve problematic behaviours, beliefs, feelings, relationship issues and)/or somatic responses (sensations in the body). (Cully and Bond 2004).

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Psychodynamic according to Cohn is often used loosely but it supports Walrand Skinner’s definition of psychodynamic as relating to a theory of interacting mental forces, operating within the psyche (p. 1). Cohn noted that psychodynamic is rooted in the psychoanalysis (p. 1).

Bateman, A. Pedder, J., 2000. Brown, D. Introduction to Psychotherapy: An Outline of Psychodynamic Principles and Practice. Routledge

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Bateman, Pedder and Brown noted that there had some attempts to compare and contrast existential psychotherapy with psychodynamic practice and with other types of psychotherapy, but nothing substantial has come up yet. Therefore, this paper can only compare these two therapies in the light of their similarities and origin. Book Genre: Autobiography, Counselling, Health, Medicine, Memoir, Mental Health, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Psychiatry, Psychology, Science, Short Stories, Social Science, Social Work Existential psychotherapy, psychodynamic principles and practices and neuro-linguistic are all basically therapeutic approaches which deal with human experiences, human behavioural patterns and verbal and non verbal reactions about the different problems the patients encounter and the impact of these experiences in their lives. Feltham, Colin & Horton, Ian (compiler) 2006. The Sage Handbook of Counseling and Psychotherapy. USA: Sage Publications