Most of the counselling work that Egan does takes place within a variety of organisations and institutions worldwide. He describes this work as his fourfold approach; consultant, coach, counsellor and confidant.  

In the first Chapter of his book The Skilled Helper, Egan describes what helping is all about, including the positive and negative elements. He also addresses the issue of whether or not helping is for everyone.

In the second chapter we are introduced to the helping model, which Egan refers to as the Skilled Helper Model. You can read a detailed description of this model by clicking here.

The third chapter focuses on the value of respect, the culture of helping and the value of client empowerment, an important element of any counselling relationship.

Part two of the book (chapter four to six) describes the power of active listening, basic empathy techniques and the art of summarising.

Part three (chapter seven to twelve) deals with helping the client to tell their story, reluctance and resistance from the client and how to successfully challenge.

Part four (chapter thirteen to eighteen) focuses on discovering what the client really wants, and what they are willing to do to get there, and finishes by discussing strategies for achieving these goals.

I would recommend this book to anyone studying to be a counsellor, it is usually standard reading on counselling courses, or to experienced counsellors who are serious about taking their skills to the next level. You can purchase the book by clicking the The Skilled Helper: A Problem-Management Approach to Helping to the left under ‘Links’.

Approximately 1% of the population has, at one time or another, used self-inflicted physical injury as a means of coping with an overwhelming situation or feeling.

It’s important to remember that, even though it may not be apparent to an outside observer, self-injury is serving a function for the person who does it. Figuring out what functions it serves and helping someone learn other ways to get those needs met is essential to helping people who self-harm. Some of the reasons self-injurers have given for their acts include:

• Affect modulation (distraction from emotional pain, ending feelings of numbness, lessening a desire to suicide, calming overwhelming/intense feelings)
• Maintaining control and distracting the self from painful thoughts or memories
• Self-punishment (either because they believe they deserve punishment for either having good feelings or being an “evil” person or because they hope that self-punishment will avert worse punishment from some outside source.
• Expression of things that can’t be put into words (displaying anger, showing the depth of emotional pain, shocking others, seeking support and help)
• Expression of feelings for which they have no label – this phenomenon, called alexithymia (literally no words feeling), is common in people who self-harm.

People who self-injure often never developed healthy ways to feel and express emotion or to tolerate distress. Studies have shown that self-harm can put a person at a high level of physiological arousal back to a baseline state.

It’s natural to want to help people who self-injure develop healthier ways of coping when they feel overwhelmed, but it’s important not to let your discomfort with the concept of self-harm cause you to issue ultimatums, punish self-harming behaviour, or threaten to leave if the person self-harms again. Ideally, you should set boundaries to keep yourself feeling safe while respecting the person’s right to make his or her own decisions about how to deal with stress.

For more information about self harm, its causes and some common myths click here

Neurotransmitters are biochemical substances which carry signals from one neuron to the next. These signals are sent via a complex web of synapses, which are essentially junction points between neurons. The role of neurotransmitters is important to us because they have a significant impact on our mental health. What are the types and what roles do they play?

Dopamine: involved in movement, attention and learning. Too much has been associated with schizophrenia, while too little has been associated with depression.

Acetylcholine: involved in learning, voluntary movement, sleep and memory. Too much has been associated with depression, while too little has been associated with dementia.

Epinephrine: involved in energy and glucose metabolism. Too little has been associated with depression.

Serotonin: involved in sleep, appetite, mood and impulsive and aggressive behaviour. Too little has been associated with depression and anxiety, although this can be treated with some anti-depressant medications such as SSRI’s. To read more about this click here

Norepinephrine: involved with alertness and eating. Too much has been associated with schizophrenia, while too little has been associated with depression.

GABA (Gamma-Amino Butyric Acid): inhibits excitement and anxiety. Too little GABA is associated with anxiety.

Endorphins: involved in feelings of pleasure and pain relief.

It is worth noting that these increases and decreases in certain neurotransmitters are one possible cause for the mental health issues described.

1. All individuals (organisms) exist in a continually changing world of experience (phenomenal field) of which they are the centre.

2. The organism reacts to the field as it is experienced and perceived. This perceptual field is “reality” for the individual.

3. The organism reacts as an organized whole to this phenomenal field.

4. A portion of the total perceptual field gradually becomes differentiated as the self.

5. As a result of interaction with the environment, and particularly as a result of evaluational interaction with others, the structure of the self is formed – an organised, fluid but consistent conceptual pattern of perceptions of characteristics and relationships of the “I” or the “me”, together with values attached to these concepts.

6. The organism has one basic tendency and striving – to actualize, maintain and enhance the experiencing organism.

7. The best vantage point for understanding behaviour is from the internal frame of reference of the individual.

8. Behaviour is basically the goal directed attempt of the organism to satisfy its needs as experienced, in the field as perceived.

9. Emotion accompanies, and in general facilitates, such goal directed behaviour, the kind of emotion being related to the perceived significance of the behaviour for the maintenance and enhancement of the organism.

10. Values are experienced directly by the organism, and in some instances are values introjected or taken over from others, but perceived in distorted fashion, as if they had been experienced directly.

11. As experiences occur in the life of the individual, they are either, a) symbolized, perceived and organized into some relation to the self, b) ignored because there is no perceived relationship to the self structure, c) denied symbolization or given distorted symbolization because the experience is inconsistent with the structure of the self.

12. Most of the ways of behaving that are adopted by the organism are those that are consistent with the concept of self.

13. In some instances, behaviour may be brought about by organic experiences and needs which have not been symbolized. Such behaviour may be inconsistent with the structure of the self but in such instances the behaviour is not “owned” by the individual.

14. Psychological adjustment exists when the concept of the self is such that all the sensory and visceral experiences of the organism are, or may be, assimilated on a symbolic level into a consistent relationship with the concept of self.

15. Psychological maladjustment exists when the organism denies awareness of significant sensory and visceral experiences, which consequently are not symbolized and organized into the gestalt of the self structure. When this situation exists, there is a basic or potential psychological tension.

16. Any experience which is inconsistent with the organization of the structure of the self may be perceived as a threat, and the more of these perceptions there are, the more rigidly the self structure is organized to maintain itself.

17. Under certain conditions, involving primarily complete absence of threat to the self structure, experiences which are inconsistent with it may be perceived and examined, and the structure of self revised to assimilate and include such experiences.

18. When the individual perceives and accepts into one consistent and integrated system all his sensory and visceral experiences, then he is necessarily more understanding of others and is more accepting of others as separate individuals.

19. As the individual perceives and accepts into his self structure more of his organic experiences, he finds that he is replacing his present value system – based extensively on introjections which have been distortedly symbolized – with a continuing organismic valuing process.

Psychosynthesis is another word used to describe human growth. It is the ongoing process of bringing together all the different energies and facets of an individual into a powerful and harmonious whole. Psychosynthesis is both spiritual and holistic in its approach.

The Fundamentals

The psyche: when the various elements of the psyche are not connected, or clash with one another, the individual can feel a sense of imbalance and meaninglessness in their lives. When these different elements become connected individuals feel a release of energy and a sense of well being.

The Map of the Psyche

The lower unconscious: contains repressed memories, dreams and complexes. The middle unconscious: contains the skills and states of mind including sensations, images, feelings, impulses, desires and thoughts. The higher unconscious: contains intuition, inspiration, insight and our basic drives. According to Assagioli, the conscious self is something we must all be aware of in order to maintain good psychological health.

Differences between Psychoanalysis and Psychosynthesis

Assagioli described the differences in an interview conducted in 1974: “Perhaps the best way to state our differences is with a diagram of the psychic functions. Jung differentiates four functions: sensation, feeling, thought, and intuition. Psychosynthesis says that Jung’s four functions do not provide for a complete description of the psychological life. Our view can be visualized like this: We hold that outside imagination or fantasy is a distinct function. There is also a group of functions that impels us toward action in the outside world. This group includes instincts, tendencies, impulses, desires, and aspirations. And here we come to one of the central foundations of psychosynthesis: There is a fundamental difference between drives, impulses, desires, and the will. In the human condition there are frequent conflicts between desire and will. And we will place the will in a central position at the heart of self-consciousness or the Ego”.

Links between Psychoanalysis and Psychosynthesis

Psychosynthesis is versatile and can be included in any therapy. It adopts a very optimistic approach to human development, and sets out to help individuals understand the importance of meaning and purpose in their lives.

Our private self consists of what we are and feel inside, while our public self is the identity we present to others. Our private self is the part of us that we want to keep hidden while our public self is the part of us that we want others to see and acknowledge. Both persona’s influence our behaviour because there is a difference between how we are when by ourselves, and how we are when in the public eye.

Private Self dominant: we behave according to our own values and beliefs, are more self aware, prone to anger when provoked and more likely to experience regular mood changes. We are able to disclose private aspects of ourselves to loved ones and close friends with ease and often analyse our own behaviour.

Public Self dominant: we tend to be more sensitive to rejection by groups, readily comply with other’s expectations, conform to social values and place a great deal of importance on our social identity. We are good at predicting the impression we make on others.

However, we don’t necessarily fit into one group all of the time and there can be some crossover. We all have public and private elements to our personality. For example, a person who is private self dominant may well feel different in a group of people they are familiar and at ease with. Clients may be struggling to understand ‘who is the real me?’ and may benefit from considering questions that gently examine both elements of their personality. Questions may include “for whose benefit is your public self?”

It is also worth remembering that some aspects of our public self are defense mechanisms, such as putting on a brave face, which we may believe maintains our self esteem and confidence.