I Ching creates a crisis for the psychotherapist during a session

I Ching creates a crisis for the psychotherapist during a session

The I Ching brought me to one of the most serious crises of my career as a psychologist. This ancient Chinese oracle may reflect the wisdom of the unconscious or higher self. It had helped me solve problems, make decisions and even literally saved my life. But the doctorates I earned in psychology and social work were conducted from very different professional spaces.

After many years of relying on the I Ching as a spiritual guide, I had begun incorporating the method into psychotherapy sessions. It is a valuable tool that empowers clients (who may be able to learn the method themselves), and it provides an objective perspective that often uncovers the hidden problems of the unconscious. I was a Jungian-oriented psychotherapist and Jung himself had relied on the I Ching for decades. He even wrote the introduction to the translation of Wilhelm and Baynes.

This all made sense and had worked perfectly for years until one day, in an extremely difficult case, I was able to see that the I Ching that the client was reading during a therapy session was thatincorrectAnswer. And that wasn't itlightwrong, but totally and terribly wrong. It's like telling a small child that their parents' divorce is realwasAfter all, her fault.

The judgment of the I Ching directly contradicted my professional judgment as a psychologist. That threw me into onespiritualCrisis of faith and aProfessionalConflict in real time during this session.

The client in question was trapped in denying the damaging nature of her father's failures. (He wasfewerNursing as Attila the Hun.) She had created an adaptive delusion of his paternity that had helped her survive childhood but had imprisoned her as an adult and had to eventually be outgrown.

Any attempt to discuss the father's negative story elicited a vigorous defense of her "rosy" deception. “He wasn’t as bad as people say” had counteredanycriticism for decades. It blocked a reality that was too painful for the child but necessary for the adult. Perhaps, since she had trusted the I Ching, giving a reading during her session could provide an objective perspective that she could take to heart.

The client was excited to hear this feedback and so was I – until I saw the answer, it was my job to read to her. She had asked, “How am I supposed to see my father?” She flipped the coins and released the hexagram of “The Family,” which made sense, but there were only positive comments describing and praising the behavior of the head of the family! (OH MY GOD)

Psychologically, it was absolutely wrong. This view could fuel and further solidify their resistance to the truth. Should I choose psychology over spirituality and stop reading because I didn't like the result? How could I responsibly include this reading in her session if it could further confirm her debilitating delusions about Daddy? Should I even use this powerful Jungian tool in therapy if I don't have control over the answers?

I decided at the moment to finish what I had started and read aloud - with great distress and excitement - how too much "sternness towards one's own flesh and blood leads to remorse", but it isbetteras well asfewDiscipline. This seemed to justify the father! Lines 5 and 6 were worse! I read in agonizing things like:

"As a king, he approaches his family...a king is the symbol of a fatherly man, rich in thought. He does nothing to be afraid; on the contrary, the whole family can trust him because love governs their sexual intercourse. His character exerts the right influence...His work commands respect" and more (translation by Wilhelm & Baynes).

Fortunately,BeforeI was ready to give up this act of belief in the I Ching, the client burst into tears. “Oh dear God!” she screamed, “that’s the definition of arealFather…My father never did any of these things!“And their lifelong deception began to melt away right before our eyes.

The I Ching had reminded her of its “severity” (since it was justified)somethingcases it did not trigger their resistance) and then continued to closepraisethat “strictly” horrible father that she wasn’t prepared for. She could not overlook the injustice and untruth of suchpraisefor the man. On a yin-yang path of opposites excessivepositiveComments also served to uncover a truthNegativeadmit.

The customersdelusional systemwas defended against everyonecriticismof the father... but no one ever hadpraisedhim; why defend against it? Resistance is often directed in one direction. “Sometimes you initiate real change by taking things in the wrong direction to unlock that resistance,” a wise shaman once told me. What a brilliant use of this “reverse psychology” by the I Ching. I can assure you that it has reversed some of my problemsownDoubts about supporting the customer.

The second or related hexagram was “The Turning Point,” for which this session was…bothTherapist and client. I ultimately decided not to continue incorporating the I Ching into psychotherapy sessions. Because I stopped “psychotherapy” completely and worked exclusively with dreams and the I Ching.

What initially seemed like the first serious mistake of the I Ching or Book of Changes resulted in two lives being changed in one session and the sessions themselves reshaped over time.

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