Phenomenology in Action in Psychotherapy

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiv

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2. Introduction: The Naturalistic Attitude Cannot Grasp Meaning for Consciousness

   • Ian Rory Owen

   Pages 1-14

3. Defining Phenomenology and Pure Psychology

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 15-16

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   2. Phenomenology and Meaning for Consciousness

      • Ian Rory Owen

      Pages 17-31

   3. Two Interpretative Positions in Phenomenology

      • Ian Rory Owen

      Pages 33-49

   4. The Reflective Method of the Pure Psychology of Consciousness

      • Ian Rory Owen

      Pages 51-67

   5. Concluding on the Ideals of the Things Themselves

      • Ian Rory Owen

      Pages 69-88

4. The Findings on Meaning for Consciousness

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 89-89

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   2. Concluding on Biopsychosocial Essences

      • Ian Rory Owen

      Pages 91-111

   3. The Being of Consciousness

      • Ian Rory Owen

      Pages 113-141

   4. The Pure Psychology of Meaning

      • Ian Rory Owen

      Pages 143-160

   5. Consciousness in Its Habitat of Other Consciousness

      • Ian Rory Owen

      Pages 161-187

5. Applying Pure Psychology to Psychotherapy and Mental Health Care

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 189-191

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   2. Formulations of Intentionality

      • Ian Rory Owen

      Pages 193-211

   3. On Meta-Representation: The Theoretical and Practical Consequences of Intentionality

      • Ian Rory Owen

      Pages 213-224

   4. Two Telling Examples About Belief and Time

      • Ian Rory Owen

      Pages 225-240

   5. A Formulation of the Ego and its Context

      • Ian Rory Owen

      Pages 241-261

   6. Formulating Syndromes

      • Ian Rory Owen

      Pages 263-285

   7. On Being Unable to Control Variables in Intersubjectivity

      • Ian Rory Owen

      Pages 287-310

   8. Conclusion

      • Ian Rory Owen

      Pages 311-315

This book takes Edmund Husserl’s phenomenology and applies it to help psychotherapy practitioners formulate complex psychological problems. The reader will learn about Husserl’s system of understanding and its concepts that can point to first-person lived experience, and about the work of Husserl scholars who have developed a way to be precise about the experiences that clients have. Through exploring the connection between academic philosophy of consciousness and mental health, themes of biopsychosocial treatment planning, psychopathology of personality and psychological disorders, and the treatment of complex psychological problems all emerge. The author shows that Husserlian phenomenology can be used in the design of interventions for each client in a process called formulation. Once the intentionality of consciousness of an individual is understood, by asking simple questions, it becomes possible to define problematic experiences. This is a means of creating informed consent for treatment and it also makes it clear to clients what is happening for them, so helping them understand themselves and how they see the world. We also see how Husserl’s phenomenology is a vehicle for psychotherapists to present their knowledge about the research literature of what has been found to be effective care. This volume applies the concepts and practices of phenomenology in a concrete way, relating them to the practice of therapy and showing the value of a qualitative approach to understanding mental processes and the nature of human beings as motivated by values, meanings and other conscious experiences. This is a readable text in simple language that condenses key aspects of Husserl’s thinking in relation to the theory and practice of psychotherapy, and it is suitable for philosophers and practitioners of psychology, psychiatry, and the psychotherapies, including psychoanalysis.

• Biopsychosocial treatment planning
• Formulation of complex psychological problems
• General psychotherapy
• Husserlian phenomenology
• Psychopathology of personality and psychological disorders
• Treatment of complex psychological problems

• Leeds and York Partnerships NHS Foundation Trust, Leeds, United Kingdom

  Ian Rory Owen

Ian Rory Owen is a practising psychotherapist within the British National Health Service who works with complex psychological problems and the so-called disorders of personality. He first met the work of Freud and Husserl in January 1990. Since then he has kept a keen interest in both with my preference going to Husserl. His style of practice is a general one. He has no allegiance to any specific school of practice. Please see his website for details of his bibliography. Specifically 72 peer reviewed papers, 3 self-published books, and other peer reviewed publications in a wide selection of paper and electronic journals.

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