For therapy to have value, it must be able to activate and work with disconnected parts of a person's self-identity. We will examine different ways to access and stay connected to these "neglected selves" during therapeutic work. The clinical concept of the neglected self will first be overviewed, followed by exercises for identifying and transforming a neglected self, followed by a brief therapeutic demonstration.
A key idea in Milton Erickson's work was that a person's problematic experiences and behaviors can be skillfully accepted and utilized as the basis for therapeutic change. Self-relations psychotherapy develops this idea further, emphasizing symptoms as indicating the death of an old identity and the impending birth of a new identity. In this workshop, we will see how a therapist can generate a ritual space where symptoms and other disturbing experiences can be "midwifed" into new identities.