Conscious and Unconscious

All forms of psychotherapy deal with the limitations of our awareness. We have limited knowledge of our creative potential, of the details of our own behaviour, of our everyday emotional states, of what motivates us, and of the many factors within and around us which influence the decisions we make and the ways we act. Some therapists, especially those influenced by Freud and Jung, speak of the 'unconscious', giving the unintended impression that it is a kind of realm or domain of activity. Others, reacting against the specifics of Freudian theory, shun the word 'unconscious' altogether. However, so limited is the reach of everyday awareness and such is the range of unconscious factors, that one way or another these limitations must somehow be spoken about, sometimes in metaphor, sometimes more explicitly. This book offers a broad survey of psychotherapy discourses, including: The psychoanalytic The interpersonal The experiential The cognitive-behavioural The transpersonal This book offers a comprehensive overview of the ways in which these discourses employ a rich variety of concepts to address the limits of our everyday consciousness. Conscious and Unconscious is invaluable reading for all those interested in counselling and psychotherapy, including those in training, as well as for experienced therapists.

Table of Contents:
Series editor's preface Preface and acknowledgements Constructing and deconstructing the unconscious Conscious and unconscious in historical perspective Freud, Adler and Jung: contrasting perspectives on the psychology of the unconscious The development of alternative discourses: Harry Stack Sullivan, Fritz Perls and Medard Boss Evolving psychoanalytic discourses of the unconscious Cognitive therapy, cognitive science and the cognitive unconscious Invisible worlds, unconscious fields and the non-egoic core: evolving discourses of the transpersonal unconscious Conscious and unconscious: the next hundred years References Index.

About the Author :
Michael Jacobs is Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Health and Community Studies, Bournemouth University, having worked for many years at Leicester University. He is is a Fellow of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, a psychodynamic psychotherapist registered with UKCP. His publications on psychodynamic counselling and therapy are used as key texts on many training courses. David Edwards has taught at Rhodes University in South Africa since 1972 and has a longstanding interest in humanistic and transpersonal psychotherapy. He offers postgraduate courses in transpersonal psychology and the expressive arts in therapy. He is also a Founding Fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy and currently teaches and supervises trainee clinical psychologists in cognitive therapy and group therapy, and supervises research on clinical applications of cognitive therapy.