There is nothing more personal than a family history. But sometimes you can’t do without the help of specialists. Here are 4 main types of therapy that work with family secrets and their impact on our lives.
Psychoanalysis
Founder: Sigmund Freud.
How does this happen? The basic principle of psychoanalysis is immersion in the unconscious and the study of it in order to save a person from problems of a neurotic nature. In the process of meetings with a psychoanalyst, the “method of free association” is used: the patient, lying on the couch, says everything that comes to mind. The analyst interprets the hidden meaning of words, deeds, dreams and fantasies of a person, tries to unravel the tangle of associations in search of the main problem.
The patient talks about his childhood, relationships with his parents – thus family secrets are revealed.
Where to look? Center for Contemporary Psychoanalysis, tel. (095) 240 6594; Moscow Society of Psychoanalysts, tel. (495) 201 4711.
Psychodrama
Founder: Jacob Moreno.
How does this happen? Important stories for a person are played out; role-playing game explores his inner world, social relationships, dreams. Family history work may involve “meeting” with one of the ancestors (with the help of members of the therapy group). Being in the role of an ancestor helps the client feel emotions, confront deep conflicts, see things with different eyes. The client can communicate with his ancestors, ask them questions, ask for advice.
Psychodramatic action always ends with a conversation about the feelings of all participants in the session.
Where to look? Institute for Group and Family Psychotherapy, tel. (495) 917 8020.
Family Therapy
Founders: Mara Selvini-Palazzoni, Murray Bowen, Virginia Satir, Carl Whitaker.
How does this happen? Family therapy includes several approaches; common to all – focusing not on one person, but on the family as a whole, sometimes on many of its generations. The work often uses a genogram – a “scheme” of a family drawn on a sheet of paper, reflecting marriages, divorces, births and deaths, family ties.
In the process of compiling it, a secret that changes the life of a family is often discovered.
Where to look? Society of Family Counselors and Psychotherapists, tel. (495) 951 4928; Institute of Psychotherapy and Counseling “Harmony”, tel. (812) 371 8220.
family constellations
Founder: Bert Hellinger.
How does this happen? The method “materializes” the idea of the place occupied by one or another ancestor in a person’s idea of his family. The client arranges the family: arranges around him the members of the therapeutic group, representing his relatives. The psychotherapist analyzes the place of family members in space. The main difference between this method and psychodrama is that there is no exchange of roles, the assistants talk about their own feelings and sensations, after which the client can change the arrangement.
Where to look? Family Constellation Workshop, tel. (8 910) 452 0809.