Ecological, phenomenological and embodied approach in psychotherapy and its significance for the education of psychotherapists

Summary

Thomas Fuchs combines phenomenology, enactivism, ecological psychology, topological psychology, and existential psychiatry into a unified approach. His work rehabilitates philosophical anthropology and Naturphilosophie, particularly Helmut Plessner's idea of the two-dimensional embodied subject. The article distinguishes ecological approach from ecological methodology, showing how Fuchs uses ecology to radicalize the phenomenological attitude and naturalize phenomenology. This justifies blending seemingly contradictory methodologies into a coherent theoretical stance for psychology, psychiatry, and psychotherapy.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The article is devoted to the basic elements of ecological and phenomenological approach in psychology, psychiatry and psychotherapy, as they are present in the philosophy of the famous German psychiatrist-philosopher Thomas Fuchs, as well as to justificate the translation strategy of Fuchs' philosophy and description of the most difficult terms. The originality of Fuchs' attitude is shown, which is a combination of different modern research approaches: phenomenology, enactivism, ecological psychology, ecological psychotherapy, topological, vector psychology and field psychology, as well as existential psychiatry and psychotherapy. It is proposed to interpret the theoretical and methodological attitude of Thomas Fuchs as based in part on the enactivist guidelines of two-dimensional consideration of the embodied subject, in part on the rehabilitation of philosophical anthropology and Naturphilosophie of Helmut and the natural philosophy of Helmut Plessner and his version of the idea of two-dimensional embodied subject in the methodology of humanities and natural sciences. In particular, the possibility of interpreting Professor Fuchs' approach as a modern Naturphilosophie within the general project of naturalization of phenomenology is shown. In addition, the article shows the difference between the ecological approach and ecological methodology. The emphasis on the fact that Fuchs uses an ecological approach in his philosophy justifies the use, at first glance, of such contradictory methodologies as phenomenology, ecological and topological psychology, enactivism, and so on. Along with this, the ecological approach is considered as a project of radicalization of the phenomenological attitude or as a radical phenomenological stance.

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