Inner Conflicts
Dysfunctional patterns, in the context of conscious and unconscious processes, are particularly often characterised by the fact that there are contradictions and conflicts between conscious and unconscious impulses (“I want to, but somehow I never do it!” or “Somehow this happens to me again and again, although I don’t really want it to!”) or two or more unconscious impulses are interlocked (“Funny, I feel strangely unwell and without orientation, no matter how much I think about the situation!”). These conflict situations lead, amongst other things, to incongruences between the expressed/narrated and the revealed/resonance-triggering. For example: someone says he is happy, but does not look it. Unfortunately, it is usually not that simple. Usually the phenomena are rather subtle in the sound of the voice or in the type of eye contact etc. From a technical counselling viewpoint though, the observation of incongruences is often also a simpler, and one of the most valuable ways, to bring into light the inner conflicts of which the client is not conscious. What is important in this is that such feedback messages are not mistaken with interpretations, but are underpinned with a well-meaning and enquiring intention.