EGO STATE THERAPY

 

Ego State Therapy is a psychodynamic approach to treating various cognitive

and behavioural problems in the individual. It views the individual personality

as being comprised of many parts or ego states that together form the whole.

 

Each ego state constitutes a kind of “sub-self” which has more or less individual

autonomy in relation to other states and to the entire personality. Each part has

its own story of how it came into being and how it serves the individual.

 

Parts or Ego States are separated from one another by boundaries which are

more or less permeable.  Ego States are experienced in normal people as normal

mood changes. Problems occur when ego states are in conflict or when the

boundaries between the states become more rigid and less permeable.

 

Ego Sate Therapy aims to:

• Identify and understand the different facets of personality.
  Through hypnosis some of the parts can be dissociated to allow the focus
  to fall on a single ego state or personality segment to work with in therapy.
• Resolve conflict between different parts of the unconscious mind.
  The hypnotherapist is like a facilitator who guides a process of negotiation
  between the parts, in very much the same way a negotiator would resolve
  a conflict in a company.

• Utilise the resources of the patient's unconscious mind to help the hypnotherapist in the process. Once the conflict is resolved, healing takes place.

 

Techniques used in family or group therapy will be applied to work with the individual client, to resolve conflicts, and facilitate communication between and integration of the different parts in the personality.