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Investigation of partner relationships and of the challenge of personal development as a result of these relationships. Elaboration of the notions collusion, co-evolution, personal niche, ecological psychotherapy and effect-guided life-course. Collusion and Co-evolution in partner relationships In his book 'couples in collusion' (1975 / 1982) Jürg Willi describes the unconscious interplay of partners in the choice of partners and in mutual conflict. In the fear of being overcharged by a close relationship, partners are more courageous, if they can enter a relationship in which both of them feel needed in their immature state to compensate for the immature behavior of the other. Essential in the book 'Dynamics of couples therapy' (1984) is the therapeutic treatment of relationships in a triangle, where the therapist is personally involved in his own responsiveness to collusions. Working with a therapeutic collusion is presented as a therapeutic technique. In the book 'Growing together - Staying together'(1992) Jürg Willi emphasizes, how a person doesn't find him/herself by isolation from external influences and relationships but rather by facing up to others. In 'Ecological Psychotherapy - Developing by Shaping the Personal Niche'(1999) the experiences with couples relationships are transformed on individual Psychotherapy. Individuals ask for psychotherapy mainly because of conflicts with partners within the family, in love-relationships or at the work place. A person needs partner relationships for challenge, structure or support of their personal growth. But partner relationships can also be destructive for their development. Psychological problems arise, if a person enters a change in their relationship, but hesitates to implement the necessary step. Often a change in direction of a mature relational behavior is postponed, until changes in the circumstances of the personal niche doesn't allow the avoidance of necessary developments and consequences anymore. The therapy uses the external forces of partners, which urge the person to development by their reproaches. In the last book 'Psychology of love' (2002) - not translated into English yet - Jürg Willi points out, that love is the essential factor, that holds a couples-relationship together, but surprisingly, love was until now only seldomly taken into consideration in couples therapy. Today people in a love-relationship expect to be 'responded' in their self-realization by the partner. To be responded makes self-realization more real. But the capability to understand the partner is always limited. That causes suffering and brings feelings of loneliness within the love, but that is the prerequisite to preserve and keep a relationship alive and to stimulate the partners in their search for explaining to each other their own feelings, thereby fostering their self-awareness. Partners are not able to accept each other without reservations. As they are dependent in their self-realization by the responsiveness of the partner, they fight for a better understanding. The reproaches, addressed to each other, often reveal a high competence in their content and are the basis of our co-evolutional concept of couples therapy. In a follow-up study of couples therapy, conducted by the Institute for Ecological Psychotherapy, the main effect of couples therapy wasn't the preservation of the couple but the positive effect on the personal development, evident also in case of separation or divorce. Some publications in English by Jürg Willi Journals Books Jürg Willi presented at the Annual Conference of the American Association for Marriage and Familiy Therapy AAMFT: |
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