Fragmentation and re-integration of experience

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychotherapy
• Counseling Theory

Background:

• Counselors require a model of psychotherapy that views individuals as conscious, goal-seeking entities.
• The proposed model is based on the construct of "being in one's own world."

Purpose of the Study:

• To outline a psychotherapy model for secular and religious counselors.
• To introduce the concept of the "existential gestalt" as a framework for understanding human experience.

Main Methods:

• The model utilizes "intentional modes" as the core components of the self-world dialectic.
• These modes are organized into a gestalt-like whole, the "existential gestalt."

Main Results:

• The concepts of "intentional clarity" and "modal congruence" are derived from the existential gestalt.
• These concepts explain the fragmentation and re-integration of experience central to psychotherapy.

Conclusions:

• The "existential gestalt" provides a framework for understanding therapeutic processes.
• Inclusiveness and purposefulness are key factors in assessing the adequacy of this existential gestalt.