Page 36 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 11

Sartre and Marx. The first five chapters of the to continual repetition from which there is litt-
Phenomenology of Spirit traces the transition le escape. Analysis of the intrapsychic conflict
of consciousness to self-awareness and chapter through the lens of a Crucifixion holds hope
6-8 traces the realization of reason through the for redemption. Through pain comes change,
spirit, religion and absolute knowledge. Peter through death comes life.
Hodgson’s (2005) research has rediscovered 3. “The Resurrection is the point in Hegel’s nar-
Hegel’s extensive reference to Jesus’ incarnation, rative where the new creation and relating be-
crucifixion, and resurrection. This initiates the gins and suffering is transformed into creative
coming of the Spirit and an ultimate reconcilia- possibilities. No longer do ghosts of the past
tion that connects a person relationally to God dominate relationships, but people are seen for
and also to one’s neighbor. The Hoffmans have who they really are” (Hoffman, present artic-
called this the “Rhythm of Redemption” and le). According to the founder of TA, Eric Ber-
have adapted it to explain spirituality within the ne (1972:192), therapy should aim for “cure”
psychotherapeutic process: rather than “progress”. This correlates with the
1. The Incarnation demonstrates Christ’s iden- Resurrection motif. Instead of remaining in, or
tification with conflicted humanity. He became merely managing the pain of crucifixion, the
“like us” and attached Himself to us as deeply aim of therapy is resurrection and freedom.
as a Mother attaches herself to her Child. The Hegel’s description of these - the incarnation,
Rhythm of Redemption model of psychothe- crucifixion and resurrection -resonates with the
rapy begins with the identification of therapist therapeutic process. Further application of this
with patient and the formation of an attach- motif can assist TA to advance the understan-
ment between therapist and patient. When He- ding of “spirituality and its complex interfaces
gel deepens our understanding of the internal with religiosity and religious psychopathology”
tension between personal perception and coll- (Mellacqua, 2016:149). The Hoffman article was
ective consciousness, he highlights the lack of strengthened by the addition of a Case Study
attachment to others and the conflict within that applied the Rhythm of Redemption model
ourselves. In TA, intrapsychic conflict is deri- of Incarnation-Crucifixion-Resurrection in the
ved from parental injunctions clashing with the treatment of Rachel, a woman suffering with
child’s perceptions and resulting in a conflicted obsessive-compulsive disorder.
personal script that needs untangling in the
therapeutic process. Further, the attachment The “Rhythm of Redemption” section was
between the therapist and the patient empha- strongly grounded in theology as well as He-
sized in Relational TA that uses transference gelian philosophy/theology. As such it is a wel-
and counter-transference as a valuable psycho- come link to therapeutic practice in an increa-
therapeutic tool (e.g. Hargaden and Sills, 2002). singly arid secular world. However, the section
This article provides a welcome theological lin- on the “Relationship with the Holy Spirit in
kage between the Incarnation and therapeutic Clinical Work” was less convincing – perhaps
practice. because the link between the theology of He-
2. Christ’s suffering in the crucifixion is a pictu- gel and the list of “five clinical recognitions of
re of the pain and grief experienced in the the- a Spirit-led, intersubjective, relational perspec-
rapeutic process. An empathic door is opened tive” was unclear to me. I have no objection to
to the painful, unmourned memories endured the list per se, but the Hegelian conception of
by the patient. Hegel presents the narrative the intersubjective Trinity described as “relating
of the crucifixion as a story of “infinite love to two equal parts” was confusing. As a result,
that arises from infinite anguish that creates a the concept of the “intersubjectivity of humans
unique and unsurpassable intersubjectivity” relationally to God” was also unclear. I would
(Hodgson, 2005:182). In TA, the conflictual in- welcome further explanation of this point.
terplay between painful memories within the
three ego states (Parent, Adult, Child) informs Further, the description of “intersubjectivity”
an unconscious script that condemns a person between therapist and patient occurred in a

35