1st Edition
Intuition in Therapeutic Practice A Mind-Centered Depth Approach for Healing
Margaret Arnd-Caddigan helps clinicians to expand their understanding of intuition by introducing mind-centered dynamic therapy (MCDT), providing them with the tools to incorporate this approach into their practice.
Written accessibly for clinicians new to MCDT, the book presents this powerful method to help clients alter their thinking and overcome suffering. Divided into two parts, the book begins by clearly exploring the origins of intuition in philosophical thought, covering ideas such as panpsychism, cosmopsychism, and depth psychology views of mind, before examining how problems arise in psychotherapy from a Relational Perspective and how MCDT can help. Chapters then demonstrate how MCDT can be used in practice by exploring specific issues and treatment implications, clearly explaining how clinicians can define and develop general intuition, what the difference between clinical intuition and intuitive inquiry is, and how clinicians can help clients develop their own intuition during sessions. Filled with practical examples, key points, and creative activities such as journaling and body work throughout, this book helps both clinicians and clients attune to and trust their own intuition in the process of healing.
Rooted in empirical research and clinical practice, this book is essential reading for counselors, psychotherapists, and clinical social workers looking to incorporate intuition in their therapeutic approach.
Biography
Margaret Arnd-Caddigan, PhD, is an associate professor of social work and a licensed clinical social worker. She is the co-author and primary researcher for Intuition in Psychotherapy: From Research to Practice.
"Dr. Arnd-Caddigan provides readers with a window into her method of psychotherapy, Mind-Centered Depth Therapy. This process is grounded in empirically based research and historically defined psychodynamic theories and techniques. The basis of Mind Centered Depth Therapy places it on the evolutionary ladder of psychodynamic frameworks. MCDT is organized around the construct of intuition and intuitive inquiry.
The substance of the book describes the capacity to connect psychotherapeutic relationships through the force of intuitive inquiry. The emphasis on the reality of the mind is fortified through a recognition that intuition is analogous to one of the five senses. Intuition is to appreciation and understanding of the mind as touch, taste, smell, and sight are to experiences of physical sensation.
Dr. Arnd-Caddigan makes the case for ‘intuition’ as a valuable data point for influencing therapeutic action. The reliance on formulaic and protocol-driven therapies defies the value of clinical wisdom derived from the inclusion of intuitive process. Empathy as the process that enables clinicians to appreciate and understand the internal world of the client relies in part on intuition and, as stated by Dr. Arnd-Caddigan, creates the ‘ability for an instance of mind to acquire information directly from another instance of mind.’ The acquisition of knowledge from another requires a specific and carefully developed mode of listening. Dr. Arnd-Caddigan prompts us to listen to the internal voices that interact with the internal process of the client.
Dr. Arnd-Caddigan’s work reminds clinicians that self-preparation is essential and continuous. She provides instructive advice to enhance clinicians' and client’s capacity to identify and use intuitive processes in the therapeutic dyad. his is not a self-help book, but a mandate to develop and use our own internal processes as clinicians. I think it is a wise inclusion to instructors of social work and psychology practice, but also is a useful book for clients to better understand the nature of therapeutic action and to be able to engage more fully in the process." - Marcia Spira, PhD, Loyola University Chicago, USA
"In this eclectic and wide-ranging text, Margaret Arnd-Caddigan draws from the fields of psychoanalysis, analytical psychology, and philosophy of mind to offer a significant corrective to commonplace psychotherapeutic assumptions. Articulating what she terms a ‘mind-centered’ approach to practice, Arnd-Caddigan writes passionately of the importance that clinicians be willing to question the implicit metaphysics of Western medical discourse. Opposing biological reductionism with an emphasis on creativity and intuition, this book should be welcomed by psychotherapists looking to broaden their theoretical and clinical horizons." - Robin S. Brown, PhD, Columbia University, USA
"It was a pleasure to read Intuition in Therapeutic Practice: A Mind-Centered Depth Approach for Healing. Dr. Arnd-Caddigan gracefully honors and integrates classic psychoanalytic perspectives with the sometimes elusive element of intuition. Her book provides solid theory with guidance for developing and utilizing intuition in psychotherapy, making for a stronger, more diverse approach to working with clients. Both the novice and experienced intuitive will find this book a useful addition to their clinical repertoire." - John Burton, EdD, LPC, Clinical Hypnotherapist, author of The Sacred Sequence: Remembering the One Truth
