Initiative and involvement in existential consulting. Analysis of a case

Introduction. Among various psychological problems, characteristic for the modern person, there is a problem today demanding categorical judgment at all levels: from conceptual to individual and household. It is an involvement problem: unities of the person and business of his/her life, compliance of the integrity of human life and what the person devotes the life to. In this regard, the authors of the article consider necessary to study such an important question in existential consulting as initiative. The research hypothesis consists in the following: initiative is a marker of the structure of human involvement. Materials and data. Experience of overcoming of a situation of destruction of a habitual way of life on the example of a case from advisory practice was the basis for the research. At the address, the client formulated such inquiries as difficulties in relationship with parents, children; sense of guilt because she acted as the initiator of divorce and continuous thoughts on recreating it; constant fears, uncertainty in herself and in opportunities to lead a full-fledged life. From the first consultations the attention was focused on the bases, egoism, authenticity, Evgenia's mission. Evgenia's reasoning constantly "came across" her "Christian ideals", as she believed, and in interaction with the consultant it became clear whether her representations really correspond to reality and how they correlate with her inner world. Gradually, it became clear where original values, inherent in Evgenia's spirit, and where stereotypes alien to her authenticity take place. As a result, distinct ideas were formed on how she needs to change her life and what resources there are for this purpose. Results of discussion of materials and data, and their interpretation. The main meanings the client realized during existential consultations: - meanings always lived in Evgenia, that is were reality, but she did not accept and avoided them; - the support of the consultant expressed in the help with clearing and identification of reality, check of its authenticity allowed to see and accept the reality Evgenia had rejected; -for overcoming of the feeling of "deadlock", Evgenia had "to fly into a rage" and to look from "another point of view". Conclusions. At all variety of the concepts and practices of psychological assistance existing today, ignoring of such an aspect as the structure of involvement of the person into his/her life is not permissible. Without it, psychological assistance turns into realization by the consultant of his/her abilities and knowledge, but it does not obligatorily become the help, therapy at all. Not to lose this important aspect of help, on which existential analysis is focused and which consultants adhering to other concepts use, it is necessary and enough to analyze the person's involvement into his/her life, at that identifying initiative of the client, that is to phenomenologically explicate meanings of the person's activity in coordination of values of his/her life and constancy of his/her real actions.

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