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Cognitive Psychodynamics as an Integrative Framework in Counselling Psychology and Psychotherapy

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Abstract

In this penultimate chapter, we address elaborate forms of mental navigation, which involves the subtlest capacities of the human mind. First, we deal with epistemic navigation, i.e. the encounter with the inner world of others (or of oneself). We show in particular that intersubjectivity, the condition of the richest social relationships, such as love or therapeutic relationships, requires complex nesting of worlds and refined explorations of the inner worlds of others (or ourselves). We then approach aesthetic navigation as a dialogue between the inner world of a subject and the worlds opened by an artwork. We also show that science, despite its apparent austerity, builds on navigation in possible worlds and can thus offer a stimulating model for therapeutic work. Finally, we suggest that more specific attention to the inner world could enrich the exploration of spiritual life in care.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See, for example, the (debated) “Intense World Theory” (Markram & Markram, 2010).

  2. 2.

    In general, according to Lindquist, Wagner, Kober, Bliss-Moreau, and Barett (2012), “studies in which people are asked to imagine an emotional scenario probably create real experiences (as anyone knows who has become immersed in a mental reverie)” (p. 141).

  3. 3.

    Plato, Phaedrus (247c, 251c, 255c).

  4. 4.

    Eye contact is sufficient to trigger an empathic simulation of what the others’ face express, for example, the meaning of his/her smiles, and the activation of the brain circuit “of the reward” may be directly linked to this intimate connection (Niedenthal et al., 2010).

  5. 5.

    See the definition of symbolic structures in Chapter 9, Sect. 2.3.

  6. 6.

    See the notions of landmark and anchor point in Chapter 10, Sects. 2.1.1 and 2.2.

  7. 7.

    See the notions of globalization and focusing in Chapter 10, Sects. 2.1.1 and 2.2.

  8. 8.

    See Chapter 10, Sect. 2.

  9. 9.

    For example, to understand that Andy Warhol’s Brillo soapboxes are works of art, it is necessary to know about artistic design stance (Bullot & Reber, 2013, pp. 124–125 and p. 132).

  10. 10.

    However, the genius of the artist also lies in his/her success in embodying a world in a work by evoking a resonance with universal symbolic structures already present in all minds. For example, according to Abbot Suger, father of the French Gothic cathedrals, the works that adorn the basilica of Saint-Denis (France) aim first and foremost to elevate the lay people into the spiritual spheres—even if the profound meaning of these works is only accessible to the most subtle clerics who alone have the symbolic structures to access this profound meaning (see Baschet, 2006, Chapter 6).

  11. 11.

    Plato (≈375BC/1992), Republic, VII, 514a–519e.

  12. 12.

    See, for example, Delusions and Dreams in Jensen’sGradiva (Freud, 1907/1959).

  13. 13.

    This poem illustrates the main axis towards which all MBCT sessions tend, according to Mirabel-Sarron, Docteur, Sala, Siobud-Dorocant, and Penet (2018).

  14. 14.

    “Oh my God! This wound has bled for so long/Anguish in my soul is always the strongest/And my heart is obedient, but not resigned” (our translation). A Villequier was written by Hugo on 4 September 1847, 4 years to the day after Leopoldine drowned in the Seine at the age of 19 (which Hugo learned 5 days later by reading the newspaper Le Siècle on his way back from Spain). This tragic and spiritual experience of the great French romantic poet can be compared to Lamartine’s at the death of his daughter Julia, mentioned in Chapter 7, Sect. 4.4 (see also Plagnol, 2014).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health and Social Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK

    Tony Ward

  2. Paris 8 University, St. Denis, France

    Arnaud Plagnol

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Ward, T., Plagnol, A. (2019). High-Level Navigation. In: Cognitive Psychodynamics as an Integrative Framework in Counselling Psychology and Psychotherapy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25823-8_11

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