The Dual-Dialectical Conceptualization in Psychotherapy

The current paper describes the dual-dialectical conceptualization, a theoretical psychotherapeutic conceptualization based on three major rules: duality, contradiction, and complementarity. The paper surveys these rules with respect to various theoretical approaches in philosophy and psychotherapy. The essential feature of this conceptualization lies in its reinterpretation of problems that patients habitually regard as being one dimensional (e.g., patients are "stuck" in a solely negative attitude). Within the conceptualization, problems are reframed as dual dimensional, thereby offering patients more options and freeing them to better contend with the problems. Introduction of a novel psychotherapeutic tool known as the differentiation/integration approach provides patients with freedom of choice and enables them to distinguish between alternatives in verbal expressions and psychotherapeutic themes.