Identities, confessions and nationalities

Abstract

To conceptualize the psychotherapeutic identity like a nationality or a confession leads to defining one’s identity by differentiating from an outgroup. Psychotherapeutic organizations should teach a conceptual system or a technique like a “language”, which enables the trained psychotherapist to use this instrument, instead of promoting the “identity” of psychotherapists in the sense of identificating with a method or an approach. The diversity of languages should be guaranteed, because a specific language may be more appropriate for some clients or some problems. And there should be some sort of esperanto in which psychotherapists can communicate. In daily practice this can already be found, whereas it is still rare on the level of organizations.

Key words Profession, methods, psychotherapy-organizations, psychotherapeutic identity