Customer Reviews

Ego States: Theory and Therapy

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Mmmmm, I liked this one but do not,will not use it as much in my work. It was like remedial reading for something I skimmed over when in school. The book was recommended for background with dissociative disorder work and I'm glad I took the time with it. I disagree with some of the interventions used because others seem to cause less distress with clients and I'm not so much into the hypnosis stuff. I kind of took it with a grain of salt for being a good piece from the time frame the authors were doing the research and the work. For current ego state work I highly recommend April Steel.

I am taking a graduate course on Advanced Thereupitics Techniques. Though this book was recommended I consider to be a MUST READ book. Much basic understanding came from chapter two. It helped me understand Freud's cathexis and how it connects the conscious and unconscious mind. Cathexis is an energy that binds thoughts together.

My metaphorical understanding is as follows: Tom (Conscious) and Dick (unconscious) are in a locked room looking at each other. The lights (cathexis) are turned off and Dick moves without sound to another location in the room. In Tom's mind's eye, he pictures Dick exactly where he was before the lights went out. However, the darkness (broken cathexis) has broken the visual bond so they are no longer visually in touch with each other even though they are still in the same room.

This is just one example of the insight that I gained from reading this book. This book is helping me understand and use NLP and hipnotherapy techniques with greater effectiveness.