Future oriented therapy
Encyclopedia
The term future oriented psychotherapy is a term first introduced by Stanley Lesse and William Wolf. They stressed the need for all future psychiatrists, psychologists, social scientists, and political scientists to understand the relationships between sociodynamics and individual psychodynamics. They viewed discussion of the future as a prophylactic technique and guided patients over a relatively brief number of sessions to consider their role in the future in order to prepare for the impending stresses and challenges.
In 1972, Frederick T. Melges also wrote a paper about a future oriented intervention, which he referred to as FOR and later on wrote a book chapter describing the intervention”. FOR is based on a psychodynamic model and was intended to be an adjunctive intervention not a treatment for psychiatric disorders. Melges described it a “useful adjunct to past and present oriented therapies” to help patients with low self-esteem and identity diffusion.
There were five stages to his FOR treatment
1) Assessment and selection of patients – According to Melges “FOR therapy is indicated for nonpsychotic patients whose predominant problems are lack of identity, low self-esteem and recurrent emotional spirals of the neurotic type.” (p. 246)
2) Interpretation of vicious cycles- The main purpose of formulating and expressing vicious cycles to the patient is to work out a common background shared by both the therapist and patient.
3) Redecisions – The goal here is to activate the child ego-state. “The patient’s child within him is encouraged to confront the script messages and to make redicision about them.” (p. 250).
4) Self-Futuring - In this stage the “patient is helped to rework his choices as realistic goals of his ego ideal.” The Ericksonian semantic differential scale was used to help people examine the words that reflect their idealized future self. Inconsitency in word choices “such as the choice to be ‘warm’ but also ‘self-absorbed’, should be reconciled. Sometimes such apparent conflicts represent poles of existence evoked by imagery specific to certain situations.” (p. 258).
5) Temporal Organization – “In FOR therapy, temporal organization helps give the patient’s chosen images the reality of time in terms of duration, succession, and temporal perspective.” (p. 259). “In FOR therapy, an attempt is made to reawaken the patient’s free child and to link these positive experiences of the past with the patient’s future self-image.” The linkage between the free-child experiences and the future self-image can be facilitated by metaphors.” “The present cues can also serve as reminders of free-child experiences associated with the future images. In these ways, cueing images with the present enhances the temporal organization of the past, present, and future.” (p. 261-263)
Melges (1982, p. 43) summarizes his general thesis: “The general thesis is that time distortions disrupt anticipatory control and lead to psychopathological spirals. That is, problems with time, such as distortions of sequence, rate, and temporal perspective, disrupt the normal interplay between future images, plans of action, and emotions, thereby leading to lack of anticipatory control and vicious cycles (spirals).”
There is no published research on this topic.
In 1972, Frederick T. Melges also wrote a paper about a future oriented intervention, which he referred to as FOR and later on wrote a book chapter describing the intervention”. FOR is based on a psychodynamic model and was intended to be an adjunctive intervention not a treatment for psychiatric disorders. Melges described it a “useful adjunct to past and present oriented therapies” to help patients with low self-esteem and identity diffusion.
There were five stages to his FOR treatment
1) Assessment and selection of patients – According to Melges “FOR therapy is indicated for nonpsychotic patients whose predominant problems are lack of identity, low self-esteem and recurrent emotional spirals of the neurotic type.” (p. 246)
2) Interpretation of vicious cycles- The main purpose of formulating and expressing vicious cycles to the patient is to work out a common background shared by both the therapist and patient.
3) Redecisions – The goal here is to activate the child ego-state. “The patient’s child within him is encouraged to confront the script messages and to make redicision about them.” (p. 250).
4) Self-Futuring - In this stage the “patient is helped to rework his choices as realistic goals of his ego ideal.” The Ericksonian semantic differential scale was used to help people examine the words that reflect their idealized future self. Inconsitency in word choices “such as the choice to be ‘warm’ but also ‘self-absorbed’, should be reconciled. Sometimes such apparent conflicts represent poles of existence evoked by imagery specific to certain situations.” (p. 258).
5) Temporal Organization – “In FOR therapy, temporal organization helps give the patient’s chosen images the reality of time in terms of duration, succession, and temporal perspective.” (p. 259). “In FOR therapy, an attempt is made to reawaken the patient’s free child and to link these positive experiences of the past with the patient’s future self-image.” The linkage between the free-child experiences and the future self-image can be facilitated by metaphors.” “The present cues can also serve as reminders of free-child experiences associated with the future images. In these ways, cueing images with the present enhances the temporal organization of the past, present, and future.” (p. 261-263)
Melges (1982, p. 43) summarizes his general thesis: “The general thesis is that time distortions disrupt anticipatory control and lead to psychopathological spirals. That is, problems with time, such as distortions of sequence, rate, and temporal perspective, disrupt the normal interplay between future images, plans of action, and emotions, thereby leading to lack of anticipatory control and vicious cycles (spirals).”
There is no published research on this topic.