Alison Strasser - Time-Limited Existential Therapy

This understanding of self as a fluid experience that oscillates and shifts is quite different to that often proffered by the humanist thinkers with their belief that the self is within us, can be found and is to some extent ‘static’. It is remarkable how this prevailing attitude towards the ‘real’, ‘fixed’ or genuine self is embraced in the minds of the general public.

The notion of ‘plasticity’ can be borrowed from neuroscience to support the existential understanding of a fluid self. Sometimes referred to as neuroplasticity, the ‘plastic’ brain is a term used to describe the brain’s ability to change and adapt as a result of experience. We continually create new synaptic connections, which in essence is how we form new memories. As we tell and retell our stories, we add and subtract from our narrative, creating something new in each retelling.

When we take into account the notion of the ‘plastic’ self – the self that is not stagnant, that is ever changing – the process of therapy itself becomes flexible. It is not only the client that changes; the idea of the ‘plastic self’ also signifies the importance of the therapist retaining an open mind and not becoming fixed on how the client’s sense of self might be at any given moment. This availability of the therapist to stay present to the client’s shifting experiences of self in turn assists the therapist to not fix or label and to facilitate the client’s own journey to finding their path.

Returning to Maggie, she was more secure and could easily self‐reflect when in a space where she felt uninterrupted and connected, such as during our sessions. When having to negotiate other people’s requests both at work and with her husband, or having to navigate her children’s concerns, she became highly anxious and self‐critical. In theory, Maggie knew that she was capable and a warm, loving person, but often this ‘self’ was replaced by a ‘self’ that believed she must be lacking if her husband and sometimes her children didn’t want to be with her. In those moments, in contrast to these other connected, relational moments, she lacked self‐esteem.

Maggie illustrates the connection between time and her relationship to her ever‐changing self. As we journey through the remaining layers, levels, sections and segments of the Wheel, we will add to our understanding of the vast interconnectivity of our living in the world, our existence.

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