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Consciousness and psychotherapy
Author(s) -
Ryle Anthony
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
british journal of medical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.102
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 2044-8341
pISSN - 0007-1129
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8341.1994.tb01777.x
Subject(s) - consciousness , unconscious mind , repertoire , psychology , opposition (politics) , neuroticism , level of consciousness , psychotherapist , resistance (ecology) , cognitive psychology , psychoanalysis , cognitive science , personality , neuroscience , physics , politics , political science , acoustics , law , ecology , biology
The origins and resistance to change of neurotic procedures are considered with particular reference to the nature and role of consciousness. It is argued that the traditional opposition between conscious and unconscious systems provides an unsatisfactory model. The crucial role of language in the formation of human self‐consciousness is emphasized. The restricted procedural repertoire of neurotic subjects, and their deficient self‐consciousness, can be attributed to a number of factors. It is argued that the main use of consciousness in therapy should be to heighten the patient's awareness of his or her damaging or restricting procedural repertoire through the process of reformulation, which allows recognition, and in due course revision to be achieved.