Practicising psychotherapy employing Gregory Bateson's epistemological models

Abstract

Purpose

The task is to report what with more details was exposed in one of the author's recently published works, and consist in trying to develop a new approach to psychotherapy.

Design/methodology/approach

The method of this research is to employ Gregory Bateson's epistemological models to acquire new ideas to think and practise psychotherapy.

Findings

In the course of the work it was found that, in a Batesonian perspective, psychotherapy can be considered, at the same time, ethical and aesthetic: ethical because one type of the therapist's action is founded on a conscious purpose; aesthetic because another type of the therapist's action is “spontaneous”.

Research limitations/implications

The practical implication of these reflections consist in the use of the Batesonian method of double description in psychotherapy.

Originality/value

The original value of the paper is that the ethical nature of Batesonian psychotherapy imposes two different types of responsibility on the therapist: the first concerns the actions he takes based on the extrovert purpose and the second concerns his actions with regard to the introvert purpose, which creates the conditions for the flow of “spontaneous” action.

Citation

Madonna, G. (2007), "Practicising psychotherapy employing Gregory Bateson's epistemological models", Kybernetes, Vol. 36 No. 7/8, pp. 932-935. https://doi.org/10.1108/03684920710777441