The Meaning of Koan for Pychotherapist

Abstract

When treating a patient, a psychiatrist often unknowingly makes certain assumptions, and provides treatment based on them. Therefore, if the patient behaves in discordance with　such expectations, the psychiatrist will be confounded, thus unable to react flexibly. Once the patient senses this kind of confusion, however the psychiatrist tries to appear in control of the situation, the treatment will either come to a standstill or end up in failure in the long run. It is believed that the highly regarded psychiatrists of the past had made tremendous efforts in deepening their treatment expertise in one way or another. We can see a part of such efforts in the practice by Carl Gustav Jung and Sigmund Freud. It is often the case that questions and requests by patients inherently include inspirations that can enhance the capabilities of psychiatrists. This structure shares certain commonalities with the characteristics of Koan.