Time Changing: A Resource in Psychotherapy

Abstract

AbstractOur experience of time is important for the quality of our life. Some psychological disorders, in their various forms, can be peculiar in that time is experienced as repetition. In contrast, in a healthy life, the future is viewed as something new and different from the present and the past. In successful psychotherapy, the patient changes their experience of time, which can be seen as an important sign of the therapy’s effectiveness. In this article, the author reflects on the value of repetition, which is generally regressive, although it may also be a repeated fight against an obstacle in an effort to overcome it. Reference is made to Eric Berne and to Robert and Mary Goulding and also to the author’s clinical work in order to highlight therapeutic interventions that may enable a change in how time is experienced in psychotherapy.Keywords: Repetitionchange in psychotherapyemotion theoryphenomenologypsychoanalysisEric BerneSigmund Freudtimescripttransactional analysis Disclosure statementThe author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.Additional informationFundingThe author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.Notes on contributorsFabio RicardiFabio Ricardi is a Teaching and Supervising Transactional Analyst (psychotherapy) in Milan, Italy, who works at Centro Berne in their Scuola di Specializzazione in Psicoterapia (psychotherapy specialization school) and as a psychotherapist with individuals, groups, and couples. He published Analisi Transazionale. Il sé e l'altro [Transactional Analysis: The Self and the Other] (Xenia, 1997) and L’esperienza del tempo [The Experience of Time] (Mimesis, 2018). He has also written several articles for Neopsiche Rivista di Analisi Transazionale e Scienze Umane, which is published by the Associazione Italiana di Analisi Transazionale (AIAT). Fabio can be reached at via F. Cilea 106, 20151, Milan, Italy; email: ricardifabio@gmail.com.