Erling Jorgensen (950720.1315)
Bruce Nevin (950706 11:15 EST)
I want to get back to the question I raise in my previous post
(950720.0915) about how we explore the relative interactions
of the levels... One difficulty that I see rising on the horizon
is the notion of contextual loops. To me they seem inescapably
necessary for looking at some of the twists that go on in counseling.
The difficulties are these:
1) As soon as we breathe the word "context," I think we are dealing
with multiple layers of hierarchical perception. As we're finding
in these discussions, that is not an easy topic to sort out.
2) The family therapy literature, in particular, has noticed the
paradoxical nature that context can sometimes have. In other words,
it is not always clear which is the higher (contextual) level.
3) Sometimes the situation is "reflexive," that is, _each_ level
seems to be the context for the other, at the same time that it is
framed by the other.
4) Cronen, et al., speak of "charmed loops" and "strange loops".
Charmed loops are reflexive, but the meaning does not change
regardless of which level is seen as contextual. By contrast,
strange loops do involve a change in meaning, depending on which
level you start with.
5) The dilemmas posed by strange loops look quite similar to the
push-pull phenomenon of equal-gain control systems in conflict.
But if any of the reflexive analysis is correct, multiple levels
are involved on each side of that conflict. In other words,
the conflict is not only horizontal but vertical, almost like
a figure-8 pattern.
I'm not sure how to sort this all out yet, but I wanted to pose
it, as an example of notions parallel to PCT that are appearing
in the applied literature. It's also the kind of issue I may
need to address, to try to marshall PCT insights in the field
of counseling.
Again, all the best,
Erling