Page 8 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 9

Friedemann Alsdorf (Germany)
My Therapy Aim –

Your Therapy aim –
God’s Therapy aim?

or “What do you want me to do for
you?”
(Jesus in Luke 18,41)
First published eJ 2, 2012

Friedemann Alsdorf, Graduate in psycho-
Therapy aims logy, psychotherapist and supervisor. After
short periods of work in psychiatry and a
Therapy definitions contain, as a rule, three special needs school there followed eight-
1
central key elements: starting with the recogni- and-a-half years of responsibility in ad-
tion of a current status requiring change (disor- diction therapy as part of Teen Challenge.
ders, problems, illnesses etc.), certain methods Since 1997 at the IGNIS Academy, leader of
and techniques are applied in seeking to reach a the social therapy area (offering addiction
desired target status (therapy aims). counselling, group therapy, social work and

supervision) and contact person for the icp,
In this context, therapy aims need not be sci- the Institute for Christian Psychology, The-
entifically grounded, but can be discussed from rapy and Pedagogics in Switzerland. Now
purely ethical and spiritual points of view. A head of the IGNIS-Academy.
consensus regarded therapy aims must be rea-
ched between the expectations and needs of the friedemann.alsdorf@ignis.de
client on the one hand and, on the other hand,
the presuppositions of the therapist based on
the foci (values, concept of man) of the therapy
in question. The various therapeutic “schools”
traditionally define their therapy aims very dif- • Symptom reduction, countering negative
ferently, and the personal values of therapists developments
add their weight as well. Examples of the aims • Freedom (to do what is good), autonomy,
of therapists for their clients: maturity, self-realisation, active life-shaping

• Congruence, genuineness, ability to live out
and show feelings, authenticity
• Awareness (attention to inner processes),
1 “Psychotherapy is a conscious and planned interactive consciousness
1
process for influencing relationship disorders and states
of suffering which are agreed in consensus (if possible • Learning ability, development of compe-
between patient, therapist and immediate relational en- tence
vironment) to be in need of treatment with psychologi- • Ability in relationships and communication
cal means (by communication) of mostly verbal, but also • The client’s experience of being important
non-verbal, nature moving towards a defined, if possible to others
jointly determined, aim (symptom minimisation and/
or structural changes in the personality) using teachable • Functional (enabling healthy develop-
techniques on the basis of a theory of normal and patho- ments) systems of relationships
logical behaviour. As a rule, a resilient emotional relati- • A life in keeping with God’s commandments
onship is necessary.” (Strotzka, H. (1975): Psychothera- • A life in an intimate, trustful relationship
pie. München, cit. from Ambühl, H.; Strauß, B. (1999): with God
Therapieziele – Ein „dunkles Kapitel“ der Psychothera-
pieforschung? In: Ambühl, H.; Strauß, B. (eds.): Thera-
pieziele. Göttingen, p.8)
7