Techniques for Understanding
Counselling techniques which focus on understanding have many forms, but basically they can be reduced to two variants: 1. One tries to broaden the sphere of that which someone understands about himself. Things, which to date have been implausible, become plausible, because one brings order into a context (“Ah, now I understand my rebellious reaction, because I have often been in early situations where I had to face a lot of dominance!”). Or something which was not at all in the consciousness or in the self-perception becomes accessible, is given meaning and is put into context. 2. One attempts to replace something, which so far has been explained in a specific way, with another explanation. (“Ah, now I can understand myself differently: I am not being childishly rebellious, but I try to preserve my autonomy in an unfavourable way!”). The new understanding then has positive repercussions on other, different guiding processes. Possibly it facilitates the self-perception (“If this is permitted, then I will also dare to feel this.”), the personal responsibility (“If this is how it is, then my anger is actually appropriate, and it is good that I have it!”), or acceptance (“If this is how it is, then rebellion is initially quite sensible, and it is no reason for me to feel childish!”).