Redecision Therapy Page

What is Redecision Therapy?

Redecision Therapy was developed by Robert Goulding, M.D. and Mary Goulding, M.S.W., in the early 1960s out of their interactions with with Fritz Perls, M.D.--the creator of Gestalt Therapy, and Eric Berne, M.D.--the originator of Transactional Analysis. After studying with these two professionals for some time the Goulding' recognized that both systems together would make a powerful therapeutic tool. Then they added a few of their own techniques to the process and Redecision Therapy was formed.

With Redecision Therapy clients' contract for changes they want to make. This system consists of:

(1) Contracting combined with

(2) Transactional Analysis and

(3) Gestalt Therapy

What is contracting?

In Redecision Therapy, contracting or "contracts" are decided upon by the client and, if necessary, clarified by the therapist. For the purposes of substance abuse counseling the client contracts to stay clean for a specified period of time and contracts to address issues which contributed to their addiction.

Contracts are commonly used in many therapy systems to facilitate growth. What is important is that the contract be specific, not vague; its purpose is to clarify changes that the client wants to make. Thus, the client is in charge of their recovery, not the therapist.

What is Transactional Analysis?

Transactional Analysis is a theory of personality and a therapeutic method for personal growth that mental health professionals have been using for over forty years.

TA theorizes that, depending on the situation we are in, we operate out of one of three "ego states": Parent, Adult, or Child (an ego state is a set of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors). The ego-state model is often symbolized by a vertical set of three circles:

The Parent ego-state mimics what we learned from our parents or parental figures. The Adult ego-state is accessed when we respond to what we are experiencing in the here-and-now. And the Child ego-state is in dominance when we respond or think in ways that are similar to what we did as children.

This method of analyzing personality and interpersonal dialogue helps people gain insight into the ways they relate with others and thus, stop acting in unproductive patterns. Its goal is the integration and empowerment of the individual.

What is Gestalt Therapy?

The Gestalt approach is to bring into awareness, in the moment, the more obvious discrepancies between a client's presentation and responses. Gestalt Therapy has been around for over thirty years, and its basic principle is that life happens in the present--not in the past or the future. Thus, a Gestalt therapist would say, "When we are not living in the present, we are not fully living."

This outlook seldom addresses why something occurs, but instead considers how it is occurring--now--and what the client wants to do about it. In the present, unresolved emotional wounds to be experienced,

and when these are integrated, change occurs naturally.

Thus, Redecision Therapy is...

the application of Transactional Analysis theory to Gestalt techniques with the goal of attaining the client's contract. The approach is very simple.

First clients are asked to give a current example of their problem. Then they are asked to describe the feelings they are experiencing and to verbalize their self-talk.

Next, clients are asked to describe a situation similar to this one that they were in as a child. The assumption of this process is that in stressful situations people re-experience familiar ways of viewing the world and reenact patterns that parallel their previous decisions. After an early scene has been contacted, Gestalt techniques are used to "talk out" the emotional issues that were not initially resolved.

The result of this process is healing and personal growth. Clients often come to a more objective understanding of the original situation and how they have adapted their lives to play out the "early script". The Redecision process allows people to free themselves from past patterns and pursue new options based in the present.

Redecision Therapy is extremely effective for treating people who have had a problem with alcohol and/or drugs and for helping them resolve issues which often coexist with addiction such as:

Anxiety
Early Trauma & Abuse
Depression
Suicidal Thoughts & Desires
Grief & Loss
Panic Disorder
Phobia
Obsessive-compulsive Disorder

Bibliography

Southeast Institute for Group and Family Therapy. (1997). Retrieved on August 20, 2002 from: http://www.seinstitute.com