Process-oriented psychotherapy. Fundamentals of Process Therapy

Process-Oriented Psychologyor process work - a fairly young and at the same time already an authoritative direction in psychology. It was founded in the late 1970s .
Process work focuses on the perception of the flow of events - and respect for it, as well as on the conviction that even in the most difficult problem the seed of its solution is initially contained.
Process work means following the path of nature. Everything that happens in the body, in the soul, in dreams, in relationships, in the space of a person - even what he perceives as a problem, is one of the ways in which his unconscious seeks to explain what exactly he needs in order to live in harmony with yourself and the world around you. Something like this in simple words can convey the main idea of ​​this psychological school.

In this section you can get acquainted with the basics of theory, practice and the structure of the international.

If you are interested in the materials you read, you can join the program on any of the proposed modules or become one, where students of the program practice in mastering the methods received.

Features of process-oriented psychology make the range of its application very wide. Its methods are effective throughout a person's life - from the perinatal period of development to near-death states. They are applicable to personal growth, working with relationships, teams, organizations, business structures and world problems. These methods are effective in dealing with physical and mental illnesses. Particular attention is paid to .

The concept of "therapist" in process psychology is giving way to the concept of a specialist who observes and reveals the client's work in a way that makes the results of this observation directly available to the one being observed so that they become part of the world he is aware of. At the same time, the facilitator strives to remain “transparent” without bringing anything of himself into the process. A more multifaceted, three-dimensional perception of oneself and reality, which is achieved as a result, leads to the solution of personal problems, the resolution of interpersonal contradictions and the cure of physical diseases.

The deep “non-dual” or transpersonal state of consciousness that becomes available at the same time is akin to spiritual and religious experiences that give sensations of “omnipresence”, “omniscience”, “enlightenment”. Here, process-oriented psychology merges with the legacy of the world's spiritual and religious schools, as well as the postulates of quantum physics.

The key concept of the psychological school of A. Mindell - In fact, this is any phenomenon that is already happening.

Processes are divided into primary and secondary. Primary processes are those that a person does not separate from his own person. The secondary process is usually somewhat opposite to the primary. It is perceived by a person as something alien.

Process psychology considers the secondary process as a manifestation of that hypostasis of a person, which he displaces in himself or does not allow into everyday life. It is for this reason that he encounters it in dreams, in the actions of others, and in bodily symptoms. For example, a person may feel like a victim, but an aggressor lives inside him, with whom he is not very familiar.

On the "edge" - the edge that separates the primary process from the secondary - one or more "edge figures" can often be found. Their judgments and actions in a rigid form prevent a person from accepting the secondary process as part of himself.

One of the first tasks of the facilitator during process work is to be aware of the primary and secondary processes of the client (group) that separate their edges and edge shapes. Enrichment of the client's personal experience is then supported by amplifying and expanding the secondary process experiences so that they become part of the client's conscious world.

This kind of work reveals a deeper level of consciousness that unifies experiences that conflict at the level of reality familiar to us (OR). This state of consciousness is called "process mind" by A. Mindell.

OUR FACEBOOK DREAM GROUP FACEBOOK GROUPfor those who are interested in new knowledge and deep methods of spiritually oriented psychology to help themselves and loved ones.

As process-oriented psychology is often called, it expands the Jungian concept of the unconscious and uses the methods of all modern psychological schools, as well as bodily and spiritual practices. . The spirit of shamanism, Taoism, Buddhism, acting and the discoveries of modern physics coexist in it. It comes into contact with the practices of healing, meditation, awareness, connecting Eastern spiritual practices and Western methods of psychology. Particular attention is paid to working with dreams. Methods of Process Psychology are used in the treatment of diseases of any complexity: cancer, addictions, recovery from traumatic brain injuries.
Process work is so far the only psychological direction that works with coma.

Process psychology, unlike traditional schools, operates more systematically and deeply - it affects not only the symptoms, but works ecologically with the entire system - the inner world of a person, his relationships, the social environment and the world in which he lives.

Process work means following the path of nature. Everything that happens in the body, in the soul, in dreams, in relationships, in the space of a person - even what he perceives as a problem - is his teacher. Everything that happens to a person carries the key to achieving integrity: harmony with oneself and the outside world, health.

Any symptom tends to heal. In other words, any conflict situation, any problem, any disease already contains information about its solution. The "problem" is a message that needs to be understood at the level of subtle signals, "flirtations", dreams, and therefore is forced to manifest itself through conflicts, deterioration in health, etc.

If you learn to track and realize your internal processes, understand them, you will be able to feel as free as possible in any area of ​​your life, direct energy in a useful direction and get extraordinary results in any kind of activity.

In addition to such important goals as solving life problems and getting rid of diseases, Process Work helps to touch your real, deep Self, understand and realize your true goals and motives, find your own unique Path and consciously participate in the Greatest Adventure of your Life - Life itself. .

Process psychology is perhaps the only area of ​​modern psychology that is equally effectively applied in areas as diverse as:
. Body work. By working with the body by the methods of process psychology, one can cope with short-term and long-term diseases, get rid of them and prevent them in the future. Including those that are "not treated" by classical and alternative medicine (see the work of A. Mindell).
. Dream work. With the help of dream work in process-oriented psychology, you can extract many messages from every, even the most insignificant dream, including life and relationship scenarios, diseases, solving current life and creative problems, etc. Techniques for working with dreams are strikingly different from psychoanalysis, and at the same time they are available not only for narrow specialists, but also for everyone.
. Dealing with conflicts and relationships. Process psychology techniques make it easy to resolve relationship problems and conflicts, group and personal.
. Working with depression. With the help of process psychology, one can not only work with depression, but also gently and environmentally remove a person from antidepressants prescribed by psychotherapists to suppress the symptoms of depression.
. Dealing with coma and brain damage. Process psychology techniques allow you to return to normal life a person who has survived a coma and brain damage.
.Working with mental disorders. Process psychologists successfully work with schizophrenia, epilepsy and other mental disorders.
. Working with dependencies. Process techniques are applicable for getting rid of addictions, alcohol, drugs and more.
. Working with business structures. With the help of the latest developments in process psychology, you can successfully optimize business processes (see).
. And so on and so forth... It is difficult to name problems that cannot be solved by process psychology, although our teachers keep repeating that problem solving is just a pleasant side effect...

Process work helps to accomplish the processes laid down "inside" a person, organization, community. She guides and strengthens them. This is the most essential backbone feature of process psychology. Not to treat patients, but to help people go their own way, to realize what they are internally ready for.

The process method was founded in the late 1970s.
The World Center for Process Psychology is located in Portland, USA, Oregon.

Trauma is any event that plunged us into a state of emotional shock that we could not survive. And then, when situations like traumatic situations arise in our lives, we either avoid these situations (the “avoidance” reaction), or we say that we don’t need it at all, or we aggressively defend our boundaries. But most often, if we once had an injury, then we simply don’t go into it. For example, if we were told that we did not look good, that they chose not us, but another partner, then we may not go into some kind of personal relationship.

If at some point our partner has told us that he does not want a child, we may either try hard to have a child with another partner or, if we have had an abortion, simply avoid contact with men. And at a moment that may seem insignificant to outsiders, we can decide that we will not go into personal relationships at all, and we will develop ourselves only in professional activities, and we will not engage in personal life.

Or vice versa, we have been climbing the career ladder for a long time and have done a lot for some organization, but another person is going to be promoted, not you. If a person is unable to survive this trauma, he can say: "I will take care of the family and children, or I will take up another professional area." And people from the outside can say: “You have been in this field for 15 years. You are simply amazing. How are we without you. And he will say, “No, no. I'm just tired of doing work." But in fact, a person could not survive this trauma of humiliation and injustice.

What may be traumatic for one person may not be traumatic for another. This is a very interesting point.
And in the trauma therapy program, we will analyze our injuries, we will do it in a group. Beyond the experience, beyond what is trauma and what is not. We will have the opportunity to receive a group resource, with people who will be a very big support throughout the year.

Injuries are divided into:
- violence trauma,
- injuries of neglect,
- deprivation trauma.

They carry feelings by which we can understand for ourselves that we have trauma. These are feelings of shame and guilt. Shame can sometimes show up as resentment, and guilt can show up as anger. Very often behind this are inner statements: "I'm not worth anything", "I don't deserve better." And this can be like an internal devaluation, which is expressed in fear: “I won’t be chosen”, “I won’t be appreciated”, a state of horror, defenselessness, helplessness.
Or it can be a state of sadness, pain, loneliness, fear of being abandoned, a state of rejection. All this underlies feelings of resentment and anger.
And you can weigh what feelings in your life are leading. If you now weigh what now takes a greater place in your life: a feeling of joy, love for the world, pleasure from your life, or feelings of disrespect for yourself, pain, sadness, loneliness, abandonment, depreciation of yourself and your actions,

***
All trauma therapy is based on working with resources. And in order to face trauma (this is called "confrontation with trauma"), we must take the person through a series of resource techniques. In addition to working with trauma with the procedural voice, today we will touch on resource techniques a little.

Resource Techniques are either about bringing back memories that are good for you. Sometimes a person who has a lot of difficult problems in his life has amnesiac resource memories.

For example, if the parents were alcoholics and fighters, the child, when he grows up, it seems that there was nothing good in his life. But when we ask ourselves and each other certain questions within the framework of trauma therapy, it turns out that everyone has resource memories.

And our psyche is arranged in a very interesting way. It is designed so that when we remember something, despite the fact that the event was in the past, or despite the fact that we imagine this event in the future, we experience emotions of joy, pleasure and love right now.
And now we will do one interesting exercise.
Write on a piece of paper your state on a scale from minus 10 (very bad) to plus 10 (very good, joy, euphoria). For what? To compare after class whether your state has changed or not.

Think of any place where you felt good. It doesn't matter if it's your apartment, a place in nature, in the country. Maybe it's a place you visited some time ago.

Imagine that you are in this good or, as we say in trauma therapy, resource place. Imagine yourself in this place. Look around. See what is around you. Maybe it's furniture, if the resource place is your own home, or the living room in your grandmother's house.
If the place is good, resourceful, then it is very comfortable for you to sit, stand or lie down. Imagine yourself in a comfortable position. While inside your body, look around. Feel that your body is pleasantly relaxed. Maybe you will hear some sounds. It can be the sounds of nature, it can be the sounds of silence. Or some music that pleases you. Maybe you will smell some smells that are inherent in a place that is a good resource for you.

And sometimes we don't even notice that there are sounds and smells in our memories. But when we put together the sounds of the resource place, the smells of the resource place, the pictures that we see there, maybe some colors, maybe some bodily sensations from the grass, trees and flowers, or from the sofa or bed on which you sit or lie in your memories.
Try to bring it all together.

Maybe you will see some people. And consider what they are wearing. Maybe it will be close people. Maybe it will be those people who are not with you now. And I ask, if any nostalgic feelings come to you, just breathe a little deeper and continue to be in this resource memory.

And now I will ask you to remember in some way, to mark how you can evoke this memory in yourself. Maybe it will be some kind of symbol. Maybe some color, some smell.

Maybe you will remember this memory, and some image will come, some sign. Something else…
And after you somehow label this memory so that you can recall it in the future, you can write to me about your condition. You got better and worse. Sometimes it improves. And sometimes it gets worse when we see people who left us for various reasons.

***
“If there is more strength, but longing is present” - this is often due to the fact that in the memories there are some people who were our former lovers, a grandmother who is now dead. And it is very important to separate the resource state from these people. And in the future, in the classes on trauma therapy, we will learn this.

In the meantime, I would really like, since we are talking about process work today, about resources, that you write about what good things you had as a child, what was good about your childhood and adolescence. Write 20 things (points) in 5 minutes. It can be anything. Holidays, going to demonstrations and concerts, music or art school, communication with relatives and friends. And many many others. Write your attitude to how many good things were in your childhood.

And this exercise can be continued. Some of my students wrote 200-300 very good things about their childhood.

Another good news is that what has been forgotten can be repeated.
For example, people who forgot that they danced from 5 to 12 sometimes went to dances as adults and were surprised to find that this is a very great resource to survive the separation from a loved one or the trauma associated with the death of parents or close friends.

Trauma therapy is an exploration of yourself. This is an opportunity to get the most out of your life.
If someone had a difficult childhood and you don’t want to remember such a childhood. Just complete the task and write ... 17 events that became very good in this difficult childhood - this is not a little.

***
In order to understand whether or not you had injuries, I will tell you what healthy parents are from the point of view of trauma therapy. Which parents are healthy parents for a child. Maybe those of you who are parents and hope to be parents will need this.

1. Healthy parents perceive the child as a separate individual person. (Immediately try this on yourself. Did your parents perceive you as a separate person?) If someone talks about a child: “We have grown teeth”, “We went to first grade”, “We went to college”, “We were born baby”, there is no such perception.

2. Healthy parents meet the physical needs of the child. The child needs a place to sleep, and it is desirable that the bed is separate. The child needs to eat, and it is desirable that these be good foods. I have come across the fact that parents are vegetarians, and they believe that it is possible to feed the child only vegetarian food. But vegetarianism for adults is one thing, and vegetarianism for a child in Russia (not in Africa) is quite another. This greatly affects its development. It is desirable that the child has a separate area where he can do his homework. And it is very important that the child had the opportunity to choose, the opportunity to make a choice.

3. Warm environment. This is such an environment when a parent believes that the child will succeed, where he trusts his child even if something is not done. But very often parents perceive children as their property, as a means to achieve their goals. I often meet women who give birth to children at the age of 40-45. She gives birth to him, because she is afraid to live alone in old age, because you can’t pull it any further, you need to give birth to a child. Moreover, this is not because a person has loneliness and does not have a real partner, but because it is a pity to waste the time of youth on a child. If a woman at the age of 45 gives birth to him, she believes that she has accomplished a feat and, accordingly, the child should go to all circles, to dances, to dances, to music. The child must bring all the diplomas to the parents. And parents say: "We love our child." In fact, parents do not try to figure out what the child needs. The parent tries to create his own image, prestige and so on at the expense of the child.

4. A healthy parent is a role model. Those. his beliefs, values, word and deed, his behavior are not contradictory. If a father scolds his son: “Sing, why are you smoking at the age of 15?”, And he smokes, he is not a role model. Or if the father says to the child: “Why did you scatter your things, you have to get out!”, And the very mess and desolation, he is not a role model. A healthy parent is an example in everything. What he says matches what he does. And the child does not need to lie.

5. A healthy parent allows the child to take responsibility for their actions. For example, a child played a prank, he was punished. The child did something good - he was praised. It is important that there is a clear predictability for the child: for these things I am punished, but for these I am praised. It is important that there should not be such a thing when the mother got a “harness under the tail”, and she praised the child. And the other day she was in a bad mood, and she scolded him.

6. A healthy parent asks for forgiveness for their mistakes. (Answer yourself: did your parents ever ask you for forgiveness for mistakes?). If parents ask their child for forgiveness for their mistakes, in the future the child will be able to ask for forgiveness for his mistakes from his partner.

7. A healthy parent teaches a child to make choices. And at the same time teaches you to take responsibility for your choice. There are parents who already at the age of 3 ask the child if you want to go to the theater or cinema, a blue toy and a red one. Wherever choice is possible, he gives the child the right to choose. Because one of the problems of children who grow up with strong-willed, powerful and controlling parents is the inability to make a choice on their own. In order not to make a choice, very often they do not want anything at all. If from childhood dad and mom forbade making a choice, the child does not have the experience of how to make a choice. And maybe that was the case in your family.

8. A healthy parent teaches a child about emotions. Teaches the child that he has the right to experience both positive and negative feelings. Teaches that it is normal to be in pain, to cry, to be upset and upset. It teaches that it is normal to rejoice and laugh. I have come across the fact that in so many families, emotions are regarded as something very bad. "Why are you laughing? What will people think? If there is a ban on emotions in the family, this leads to psychosomatic diseases in the child. At least to bodily clamps.

9. A healthy parent helps to form their own system of values ​​for their own child. As soon as the child begins to grow up, the parent begins to respect the child's value system. For example, if a mother is a music teacher, but she is a healthy parent, she will not force the child to study music. She can propose to him. And at the same time, if this child wants to box, she will not hold him back from it. She will allow him to have this experience. And decide for yourself what is good and what is bad. And I emphasize once again that a healthy parent not only teaches you to make a choice, but also teaches you to take responsibility for your choice.

10. A healthy parent inspires their child to enjoy life. A healthy parent inspires their child to be altruistic. Teaches him to give, to share. But there are parents who go too far in this. They inspire the child: "The child must give everything in the world." And then people grow up who are used to giving everything, sacrificing everything, but they don’t know how to take anything from others. This is also a double-edged sword.

11. A healthy parent does not expect the child to grow up and honor his parent as the very best. A healthy parent gives birth to a child and raises it just like that, without claims for subsequent support, subsequent maintenance of the parent. It cannot be done by force. If a parent has a narcissistic personality, children are like servants to him. And while such a parent is alive, he believes that he should be in the most important place in the child.

We will go through the scheme on the course of trauma therapy. This scheme is called Circles of Intimacy, Responsibility and Mutual Influence. So the narcissistic parent believes all his life that he should be for his child in circle number 1.

An unhealthy parent believes that a child should know everything from childhood how to behave and what to do. He perceives the child as a smaller copy of the adult. And we will talk about the fact that there are certain periods of development. In the Trauma Therapy course, we will analyze how a person develops. What a child can know and be able to do at one age and have no idea about another.

When an adult perceives a child as a smaller copy of an adult, he believes that he has the right to be annoyed when the child does not know something or does not know how. And the child in this case adapts. You have probably seen children who are very proud of their parents, who at the age of 4 can read verses 7 pages long. And parents just boast that they have such a child. But in fact, this is a traumatized child who adjusted himself to please adults. And if parents force to please, then nothing good comes out of this traumatized child.

An unhealthy parent believes that the child cannot have his own opinion.

An unhealthy parent gives the child gifts that please him, not the child.

An unhealthy parent says to a child: “I give you this, but you owe me for it.”

And this is a very important thing. If your parents once told you as a child: “You owe me for this,” this is actually a trauma for life.

I met healthy parents. But very rarely. But I met people who underwent trauma therapy with me and became healthier. And then if they couldn't give it to their children, they could give it to their grandchildren. Because the health or ill health of parents is very often associated with the society in which our parents grew up. And with the system of values ​​that was passed on to them. And a really healthy person is a mature person, this is a formed holistic personality. In general, trauma therapy leads us to the fact that you and I have become healthier, more mature and definitely more holistic. At the moment of trauma, our personality undergoes splitting. Trauma therapy aims to re-find our split parts and have a whole person. Because only a whole person can enjoy life. Only a whole person can understand what she needs. Only a whole person can move towards goals and understand that these goals are hers, and not someone else's.

Process work.

In the near future, we will have procedural work at the Olvia Center, which will be carried out by international experts. If you have a desire, you have the opportunity to watch the process work in its purest form. The announcement will be on the website. Follow the news.

One of the principles is the principle of polarity. And in terms of process work, any symptom, any emotion that we have (shame, guilt, feelings of rejection) is all related to blocked energy. And with the help of process exercises, you and I can see the quality of this energy. And today we will have an extraordinary dynamic meditation at the end of the lesson.

I ask you to remember the state that you consider unpleasant for yourself. A state of sadness, sadness. Maybe you remember an unpleasant event. Loneliness, sadness, sadness, alienation. Now I will ask you to keep this state and answer the question: “How do you feel this state inside your body? How do you understand that you have this condition? Maybe something hurts you, whines. Because any state is somehow manifested in our physical body.

And now I will ask you to move in the room or move your right or left hand, or both hands at once. If you were to show this state in motion, what would that gesture be? What kind of movement would that be? And those who have the ability to move around the room, you can move. And those who do not have such an opportunity, you can make movements with your hands, head, any part of the body. This will not change the quality of the exercise.

Now if you have already understood what kind of movement this state has, I ask you to strengthen this movement. Either way, make sure you stay safe. If, for example, the movement is expressed by whirling, do not whirl too fast so that you do not hit the furniture and walls. Keeping safety, you can change the speed and amplitude of movement.

Just express this state through movement. Try to become this movement. You are the movement. As if there is nothing, there is only movement. Movement of the head, arm, or movement of the whole body. You are in space and follow the movement that is happening inside you.
Now I will ask you to imagine what natural phenomenon, landscape, animal, this movement that you are making can correspond to. What does it look like? Maybe it looks like some kind of element, like rain, like a lake. Maybe it's like the leaves of the trees moving. Maybe it's like some kind of animal moving. Il looks like something else. Find an analogy for this movement in natural phenomena, among animals. Now try to make a sound that will symbolize this energy, the energy that comes out of you. Maybe it's the rustle of leaves, or maybe it's the roar of some animal. Or is it the sound of water.

Now become this animal, or this landscape, this element, this natural phenomenon. And try to hear the verbal message that this energy might have for you. What could this energy tell you? What she wants? Does she want calmness, contemplation, movement? You can memorize or write down these words.

In process work, this message is called the message of the essence level.
Maybe someone needs a little more time to manifest this message.

Now think, if you can apply this message to your current life, if you follow this message, what will change in your life, what will become different. If you apply this message in the difficult situations that you have, if you live by this motto, what will happen in your life? Maybe your relationship with loved ones will develop differently? Or maybe you will change something in your life? Or will something else happen?

And now I'm going to ask you to come back to reality. If you have been moving, sit down in a chair. Feel how your condition? What did this exercise give you? How are you feeling?

***
Before you end the session, share feedback on how well you did?
If you have existential experiences (tears, etc.), allow yourself these experiences.
Before you communicate with people today, stay in this state.
Maybe there will be messages that will lead you to some thoughts.
Sometimes this message is not articulated in words. Sometimes it is some state of the body. Sensation of upward movement, body expansion or something else...

***
In this sense, process work is unique. And I have a hope that within the framework of the Trauma Therapy course we will come into contact with this more than once. I will teach you what we have just done. In process therapy, this is called inner work.

"Process Mind"

International School of Process Work Certificate Program
International School of Processwork Russia (ISPWR), IAPOP standard.

Process work is following the path of nature

What is process work?

Process work or process-oriented psychology is an interdisciplinary direction in modern psychology. The main emphasis in process work is on the perception of the flow of life events - the “process”, as well as on the conviction that even the most difficult problem initially contains the seed of its solution.

What a person perceives as a problem (problems in relationships, chronic diseases, depression, addictions, nightmares, etc.) is actually a manifestation of the unconscious, which seeks to explain that we live in something that is not our life and where We go against our deep Essence. For example, a person has a chronic symptom - migraine. Living through this symptom, it may come to the understanding that a headache occurs at a time when a person feels depressed and cannot protect his interests. But in the migraine itself there are already resources that only need to be discovered and brought into life and relationships. But often some aspects of the personality (where strength, aggression, sexuality, love of freedom, etc. are manifested) are suppressed. We can say to ourselves "you can't be like that, it's not accepted." But the moment a person begins to behave differently, and if necessary shows that he can be strong and stand up for himself, the bodily symptom goes away. So, in repetitive situations in relationships, in nightmares, in bodily symptoms and other areas of life, our subconscious manifests itself, which points us to our inner strength and resources.

By doing process work, we learn to be different and flexible, depending on the situation. Lightness appears and anxieties go away, as previously rejected parts of ourselves are integrated.

The main thing in process work is to be in the flow of continuous multi-level practice of awareness, to notice the slightest changes in the surrounding space and in the body - all this can be the key to deploying a "process" that will lead a person to a more holistic and harmonious perception of himself and the world. Process workers try to follow their own process and those of the individual and the group.

Theories and methods of process work can be personally tested and verified by any person and convinced of their universality. Process work is used in individual therapy, for independent work, as well as for resolving family conflicts, conflicts in various groups and organizations.

Arnie and Amy Mindell in Moscow, 04/29/13. The history of the emergence of a process-oriented approach, the basics of the theory and work with clients. Meeting with MIP students.

I. Zingerman, "Three levels of the state of consciousness in the process approach of Arnold Mindell when working with dreams"

Arnold Mindell and process psychology

The main ideas of process-oriented psychology were developed in the late 1970s by Arnold Mindell, Ph.D., psychotherapist, author of 20 books translated into 20 languages.

Arnold Mindell studied physics at the University of Technology Cambridge and then psychology at the Swiss Jung Institute in Zurich and became a Jungian psychoanalyst. Mindell added to his knowledge of physics and Western psychology by observing Australian shamans, healers, and studied ancient spiritual practices, including Taoism and Buddhism. From these seemingly different areas, process-oriented psychology arose. She combined the discoveries of science, ancient ideas about man, dance and imagination, sensations in the body and dreams.

Arnold Mindell

Founder of the process approach

The process approach is interesting because you have to change your normal state of mind or, to put it metaphorically, you have to get on the horse backwards. In one of the tribes of American aborigines there was a funny, somewhat strange buffoon figure. He was allowed to be in the tribe as long as he was "the other way around", that is, he did everything differently from everyone else. His horse moved forward, but he sat on it in reverse, facing the tail.

To ride a horse backwards is to say to life: "Yes, it's impossible" and at the same time: "How interesting this disease can be." You walk backwards. Usually you think that death is terrible, but if you think from the point of view of a heretic, death can teach you something. You might even like it! Say "no" to the pain, and if nothing else helps, try saying "yes" to it. When trouble turns into something interesting, you will just jump for joy. It's like a divine revelation or the ability to be completely different. In the procedural paradigm, the all-encompassing “yes” to the world is presented as a potentiality, as if the seed of that which seeks to express itself.

I used to have to think before I act. Now I trust the natural course of events and think much less. Instead, I follow my feelings. My path at present is to follow the unpredictable. I act now and think later. There are many things about the process that I don't understand. I can explain a few things, but there is still a lot that I would like to study. The business of helping human processes is a boundless field, as old as Taoism and as new as the theories of the holodinamics of the universe.

- "Jump Backward", Arnold Mindell

Key Ideas

The understanding of process work is based on several basic concepts: The main ideas that can help to understand what process work is is an understanding of what the three levels of consciousness are, the concepts of primary and secondary processes, the "edge", as well as the meta-skills of the facilitator (therapist ).

Three levels of consciousness

Three levels of consciousness

In his observations, Arnold Mindell came to the conclusion that dreams and bodily symptoms "talk" about the same thing, that is, they reflect a certain life process of a person. He realized that if the message of the dream is correctly revealed, then it is possible to get around some unpleasant life situation, a tendency that is already “ripening” in everyday reality, for example, an illness or even an accident. And then Mindell began to investigate where dreams come from with the same tenacity with which he studied the origin of the universe as a student of physics. Turning to various sources, studying ancient texts, communicating with the shamans of Australia, Mindell realized that people have always known about this source of dreams. Someone called it Tao (Taoism), someone called it the Supreme God, someone called it the Foundation of the Universe, etc.

This is how the theory of three levels of consciousness was formed.

Usually we are aware of ourselves in the so-called consensus reality. The reality of consensus (generally accepted reality) is a term denoting such a description of reality, in respect of which a general (conscious or unconscious) agreement has been reached between people. In the consensus reality there is a dual perception, here everything is divided into plus and minus, good and bad, good and evil, day and night, man and woman, subject and object. This is our usual level of perception of reality. What shapes it and creates a consensus reality? In order for something to happen in life, there must be a tendency - to get sick, you need to get your feet wet. For addiction to appear, there must be a great need for relaxation, and an inability to receive it. The question arises, where does the reality of consensus come from? You can get different answers to this question: psychologists will tell you that the source of the formation of our daily life is the unconscious, shamans will call it a dream, quantum physicists will call it a wave function ... In any case, they will describe a second, deeper level of perception of reality, which and forms scenarios and options for our lives. Arnold Mindell suggested calling this second level of consciousness Dream Land (English "dream land") - the land of dreams, or the land of dreams. There is a space in our mind that shapes dreams and the future. That is why prophetic dreams are possible, predictions are possible. And Dreaming is that state of mind from which our habitual consensus reality emerges later.

Dreams can be terrible, they can be beautiful. But their duality may not be clearly expressed. For example, in a dream you can kill others and this will not cause you horror or rejection, it is possible to walk on water, fly through the air or drink tea on the top of Everest in a bathing suit or slippers. In dreams it is possible to do the most unthinkable things in terms of the reality of consensus. The second and third levels of consciousness come from a non-dual state of consciousness that is outside of our usual, and even dreamlike, perception.

The country of dreams, the country of dreams (Dream Land) is not only night images. These include any other visions. At the Dreamland level, process work deals with dreams, deep feelings, unspoken truths, "double" or unintentional cues, "ghosts" (not represented figures), and ghostly roles in stories and myths of individuals and organizations. Of great importance are history, myths, and events that affect more than one generation. Here you can also feel the impact of the future on the present.

The third level of consciousness is characterized by a non-dual state, where there is no interaction at the level of subject and object. It is from this source that the formation of the space of the second level occurs - the space of dreams.

At the deepest non-dual level, or "essence" level, the Ground, the Tao, process work deals with the sense of tendencies. Their guiding influence on us can be felt, but not yet easily put into words. Here you notice deep experiences, feelings that you usually do not pay attention to, and sensations that have not yet been expressed in the form of meaningful images, sounds, etc.

primary process, edge, secondary process

"Primary Process", "Secondary Process" and "Edge"

The next key concepts of the process approach are "primary process" and "secondary process". Primary processes are those that a person does not separate from his own person. The secondary process is usually somewhat opposite to the primary. It is perceived by a person as something alien.
Process psychology considers the secondary process as a manifestation of the person's identity, which he displaces in himself or does not allow into everyday life. It is for this reason that he encounters it in dreams, in the actions of others, and in bodily symptoms.

For example, a person may feel like a victim, but an aggressor lives inside him, with whom he is not very familiar.

Between the primary and secondary processes is the "edge", that is, the experience of experiencing the inability to do something, the experience of a limitation or obstacle. This edge can be represented by various "edge shapes". Their judgments and actions in a rigid form prevent a person from accepting the secondary process as part of himself.

In general, all process work skills are awareness skills.

Metaskills of the therapist

In process work, the concept of a “facilitator” (together a therapist) is used - a specialist who observes and reveals the client’s work in a way that makes the results of this observation directly available to the one being observed so that they become part of the world he is aware of. The facilitator needs to have some key skills that will help him lead the process of a group or one person.

One of the first tasks facilitator during the process work - to be aware of the primary and secondary processes of the client (group), separating their edges and edge figures.

This kind of work reveals a deeper level of consciousness, in which a non-dual perception of the world manifests itself, where a problem can become a source of strength and resources.

Second skill- “following” oneself and the feeling of Tao, that is, events that are observable and / or intuitively comprehended. The mystical aspect of process work attempts to follow what is not quite expressible, while its concrete and realistic part deals with observable signals and their unfolding, allowing these signals to tell us what they mean.

Third skill- "transparency". The facilitator strives to remain "transparent" without bringing anything of himself into the process. A more multifaceted, three-dimensional perception of oneself and reality, which is achieved as a result, leads to the solution of personal problems, the resolution of interpersonal contradictions and the cure of physical diseases.

Fourth Habit- awareness of oneself at three levels of reality. First, to be aware and feel at the level of conditioned reality; secondly, to live at the level of a dream: when talking with a person, fall into a light trance. This helps to expand the process even deeper. And, thirdly, we can simultaneously have a sense of ourselves and this person in a single, primordial space. From this state, we are able to make any problem our Teacher, and learn by living the source where this message comes from, where the essence of this problem of consensus reality is. Thus, we find ourselves whole.