Ego-state Therapy
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ego state therapy is a parts-based
psychodynamic Psychodynamics, also known as psychodynamic psychology, in its broadest sense, is an approach to psychology that emphasizes systematic study of the psychological forces underlying human behavior, feelings, and emotions and how they might relate t ...
approach to treat various
behavioural Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems or artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or organisms as wel ...
and
cognitive Cognition refers to "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...
problems within a person. It uses techniques that are common in
group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...
and
family therapy Family therapy (also referred to as family counseling, family systems therapy, marriage and family therapy, couple and family therapy) is a branch of psychology and clinical social work that works with families and couples in intimate relationsh ...
, but with an individual patient, to resolve conflicts that manifest in a "family of self" within a single individual.


History

The concept of segmentation of personality has been around for many years, and that of ego states was highlighted by the psychoanalyst
Paul Federn Paul Federn (October 13, 1871 – May 4, 1950) was an Austrian-American psychologist who was a native of Vienna. Federn is largely remembered for his theories involving ego psychology and therapeutic treatment of psychosis. Life and career Feder ...
. The creation of ego-state therapy is attributed to John G. Watkins, an analysand of
Edoardo Weiss Edoardo Weiss (1889-1970) was the earliest Italian psychoanalyst, and the founder of psychoanalysis in Italy. His most important theoretical contributions were perhaps to the development of Ego-state therapy, ego state theory. Weiss's first art ...
who was himself analysed by Federn. The first research on the efficacy of Ego state therapy was conducted by Gordon Emmerson. Emmerson conducted his research during a sabbatical from Victoria University. In this research he showed that the therapy could reduce menstrual migraines 5-fold in just 4 weekly sessions. It further indicated that Ego state therapy could not only reduce the occurrence to menstrual migraine, but participants also showed a significant reduction in both Anger and Depression on the MMPI-2. This quasi-experimental study was the only causal study included in the Watkins, book, Ego States: Theory and Therapy.


Ego states

Distinct ego states—in the most rigorous sense—do not normally develop except in cases of
dissociative identity disorder Dissociative identity disorder (DID), better known as multiple personality disorder or multiple personality syndrome, is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states. The di ...
. However, Ego state therapy identifies and names facets of a patient's personality, e.g., the "frightened child" or "
control freak The colloquialism control freak usually describes a person with an obsession with getting things done a certain way. A control freak can become distressed when someone causes a deviation in the way they prefer to do things. Control freak can als ...
". After the characteristics and function of each ego state are identified, the
therapist Therapist is a person who offers any kinds of therapy. Therapists are trained professionals in the field of any types of services like psychologists, social workers, counsellors, life coachers and others. They are helpful in counselling individuals ...
uses various
psychotherapeutic Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome prob ...
techniques (e.g. behavioral, cognitive, analytic, or humanistic therapies) to achieve a kind of integration or internal diplomacy. Ego state therapy may use
hypnosis Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychologica ...
, but is not necessarily required to do so, employing conversational technique instead. Ego state therapy has sometimes been able to resolve complex psychodynamic problems relatively quickly.


Psychological process

In the development of the human personality, there are two processes that are essential: integration and differentiation. Through integration a person learns to put concepts together, like a
shirt A shirt is a cloth garment for the upper body (from the neck to the waist). Originally an undergarment worn exclusively by men, it has become, in American English, a catch-all term for a broad variety of upper-body garments and undergarments. I ...
and a pair of
trousers Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending across both legs as in robes, skirts, and dr ...
, to build more complex units known as clothes. By differentiation the person separates general concepts into specific meaning, such as the differences between a comfortable shirt and an uncomfortable shirt. Such differentiation allows humans to experience one set of behaviours in a different situation to another. Psychological processes do not exist on an either/or basis. Things such as moods and
emotion Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. ...
s like depression,
anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...
, and
fear Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...
exist on a continuum with differing degrees of intensity. It is the same with differentiation-dissociation. Disorders such as
dissociative identity disorder Dissociative identity disorder (DID), better known as multiple personality disorder or multiple personality syndrome, is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states. The di ...
are often in the extreme end of the continuum that begins with normal differentiation. It is a matter of intensity. Therefore, the general principle of personality formation in which the process of separation has resulted in discrete segments, called ego states, with boundaries that are more or less permeable. Where however an ego state is a response to
psychological trauma Psychological trauma, mental trauma or psychotrauma is an emotional response to a distressing event or series of events, such as accidents, rape, or natural disasters. Reactions such as psychological shock and psychological denial are typical. ...
, it may remain completely walled-off from the rest of the personality. Ego states exist as a collection of
perception Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous system ...
s,
cognition Cognition refers to "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...
s and affects in organised clusters. An ego state may be defined as an organized system of behavior and experience, whose elements are bound together by common principle. When one of these states is invested with ego energy, it becomes "the self" in the here and now. This state is executive,J. Sky, ''The Many Parts of You'' (2012) p. xviii and experiences the other states which are then invested with object energy. Ego states vary in their volume. A large ego state may include all the various behaviors activated in one's occupation. A small ego state are the behaviours one experiences in a simple action, such as using a
mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
. They may represent current modes of behavior and experiences or, as with hypnotic age regression, include many memories, postures, feelings, etc. that were apparently learned at an earlier age. They may be organised into different dimensions. For example, an ego state may be built around the age of 10. Another one may represent patterns of behavior toward a
father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...
or
authority figure In the fields of sociology and political science, authority is the legitimate power of a person or group over other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' is practiced in ways such a judicial branch or an executive branch of government.''The Ne ...
s and thus overlap with experiences from the age of 10. Behaviors to accomplish a similar goal may be uniquely different from one ego state to another, especially in true multiple personalities.


Hypnosis

Hypnosis Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychologica ...
is a process to assist focus and dissociation. Through hypnosis, the therapist can focus on a single ego state or segment of personality and dissociate other parts. Many practitioners today are hypnotically activating covert ego states and announcing that they have discovered another multiple personality. Although multiple personalities are usually studied through hypnosis, they should be diagnosed only when the ego states can become overt spontaneously and when the main personality is generally
amnesic Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be caused temporarily by the use ...
to what occurs when the alter is overt and executive. When a covert ego state can be induced to emerge only through hypnosis, we do not consider this as a true multiple personality, and it should not be diagnosed. Ego states are commonly found through student volunteers for hypnotic studies. Because hypnosis is a form of dissociation, it is not surprising to find that good hypnotic subjects often manifest covert ego states in their personalities without being mentally ill.


See also


References

{{Reflist, 2} Family therapy Ego psychology