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Symbiosis and Autonomy
This is the third book by Professor Franz Ruppert to be translated into English. In it he explores the relationship between our symbiotic interconnectedness and our ability to be autonomous in our lives. The relationship between these two aspects of being is absolutely influenced by early attachment trauma, what Ruppert has termed 'symbiotic trauma': the trauma of an infant attempting to connect with a mother who is herself already traumatised. Additionally Ruppert gives a detailed account of the 'Constellation of the Intention', the process he has devised for working with the psychological splits induced by trauma. This is a particular form of constellation that addresses issues of fragmentation. For those interested in trauma, and understanding how to work with it, this is truly groundbreaking work. Ruppert's thinking draws on many historical roots but is, even so, particularly unique. It takes us outside our normal ways of thinking about trauma, attachment and what it means to be a human being.
314 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
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507 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 29, 2016
I read most of this book while on vacation in Romania.
As I work in the field of trauma therapy, many of the core ideas were familiar to me.
But the central idea in this book is somewhat new, and I found that it enriched my own thinking in a deep and profound manner.
The author's premise is that symbiotic trauma occurs very early in life, and involves the loss of vital aspects of self. Trauma is buried and - to maintain a connection, however precarious and damaged - one sacrifices their own true nature while linking to the world of traumatized caregivers. In the process of bonding with the traumatized mother, the infant also loses his connection to much of his own body.
The work is well-informed by both contemporary attachment and trauma therapy.
As a Canadian reader, I especially appreciated that the book also draws from recent German literature, most of which has not been published in English. So this opened a larger world for me as well.
The translation from German into English is clear and easy to read.
The writer practices from a trauma-informed constellations process. His ideas are fully compatible with my own training in sensorimotor psychotherapy and respect the need to include somatic processing in the healing of trauma.
This book also offers some very thought-provoking ideas on how symbiotic traumas affect us collectively, both via individual and collective attempts to deny trauma and live in survival aspects of self dedicated to shielding us from ever again experiencing our early pain.
I highly recommend this book to all psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health care professionals as well as to people currently in (or considering) therapy.
Many of us in the healing fields of therapy and medicine have our own symbiotic trauma, and this drives us in ways that can be inimical to our own well-being. Symbiosis and Autonomy is an invitation to reflect on this process and to continue our own inner work of healing traumatic splits and of re-connecting our practice of healing to the most healthy and vital parts of self. I
It is also an invitation to parent and to love better, freer of entanglements, and truer to the one we were (had the world been a kinder and more patient and conscious place) destined to be.
As I work in the field of trauma therapy, many of the core ideas were familiar to me.
But the central idea in this book is somewhat new, and I found that it enriched my own thinking in a deep and profound manner.
The author's premise is that symbiotic trauma occurs very early in life, and involves the loss of vital aspects of self. Trauma is buried and - to maintain a connection, however precarious and damaged - one sacrifices their own true nature while linking to the world of traumatized caregivers. In the process of bonding with the traumatized mother, the infant also loses his connection to much of his own body.
The work is well-informed by both contemporary attachment and trauma therapy.
As a Canadian reader, I especially appreciated that the book also draws from recent German literature, most of which has not been published in English. So this opened a larger world for me as well.
The translation from German into English is clear and easy to read.
The writer practices from a trauma-informed constellations process. His ideas are fully compatible with my own training in sensorimotor psychotherapy and respect the need to include somatic processing in the healing of trauma.
This book also offers some very thought-provoking ideas on how symbiotic traumas affect us collectively, both via individual and collective attempts to deny trauma and live in survival aspects of self dedicated to shielding us from ever again experiencing our early pain.
I highly recommend this book to all psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health care professionals as well as to people currently in (or considering) therapy.
Many of us in the healing fields of therapy and medicine have our own symbiotic trauma, and this drives us in ways that can be inimical to our own well-being. Symbiosis and Autonomy is an invitation to reflect on this process and to continue our own inner work of healing traumatic splits and of re-connecting our practice of healing to the most healthy and vital parts of self. I
It is also an invitation to parent and to love better, freer of entanglements, and truer to the one we were (had the world been a kinder and more patient and conscious place) destined to be.
July 21, 2021
I enjoyed this book a lot. It's hard to digest, but so useful and insightful in a world where trauma is so present in our lives. I've read it in Romanian, so I will transcript here one of my favorite parts:
"Este nevoie de hotararea ca, incepand de astazi, sa faci tot ce este posibil pentru a-ti aprecia propria existenta ca barbat sau femeie. Responsabilitatea pentru propria persoana este cel mai bun fundament pentru a putea fi responsabil si integrat intr-o comunitate mai mare sau intr-o societate. Cine si-a limpezit sufletul, poate vorbi limpede."
"Este nevoie de hotararea ca, incepand de astazi, sa faci tot ce este posibil pentru a-ti aprecia propria existenta ca barbat sau femeie. Responsabilitatea pentru propria persoana este cel mai bun fundament pentru a putea fi responsabil si integrat intr-o comunitate mai mare sau intr-o societate. Cine si-a limpezit sufletul, poate vorbi limpede."
December 24, 2019
Extrem de bine documentata și cu un limbaj foarte accesibil. Tratează toate dimensiunile traumelor simbiotice, explicând procesul de formare și abordarea lor în detaliu. Scrisa pentru terapeuți cu experienta în constelații, inteligibila și pentru persoane fără formare.
April 24, 2023
Este o carte provocatoare.
E si bine si rau.
Bine e ca face o trecere prin ce e sanatos in termeni de relatii (parinti, parteneri, stramosi, natiune, etc.) si confirma sau infirma cu multe exemple, daca esti pe drumul cel bun.
Face 1001 de referiri la de ce e necesar sa facem terapie, mai ales cand nimeni, de generatii, nu a rezolvat niste probleme care, zice el, se rostogolesc inainte.
Mai face si referire la ceea ce numeste constelatii familiale, un termen si o practica pe care o foloseste de prin 2002, facandu-l un veteran.
Desi este un psiholog german, cu mentalitatea de rigoare, are susținere pentru tipul acesta de terapie care este holistică si poate Avangarde-istă, în cel
mai bun caz.
Practic aceasta este o forma de terapie de grup unde simulezi cu necunoscuti probleme actuale pe care vrei sa le rezolvi. Daca totul merge ok ( gasesti terapeut ok, tu vrei sa te deschizi si ai oameni la randul lor care au capacitatea de a empatiza) poti prin neuronii oglinda sa te vezi din afara sau sa absorbi experientele altora, scotand la iveala traume cărate de generații și de multe ori inconștiente. Aici pot fi orice fel pentru oricine.
Acum, treaba asta devine din ce in ce mai cunoscuta in Romania. Si sunt psihoterapeuti cunoscuti ca Van der Kolk care sustin efectele miraculoase.
Dar, cu mentiunea, ca este o metoda nestudiata clinic, care mai ales nu trebuie confundata cu ezoterie. Lucru pe care l-am vazut suprapus de multe ori.
Am auzit si eu de la cunoscuți ca funcționează.
Însă.
Înainte sa ne hazardam, atat Franz, cat si Kolk sau altii, si eu, cred ca trebuie incercat mai intai cu un psihoterapeut individual.
Cartea este o trecere micro-macro a originii si ramificatiilor sibiozei si drumul către autonomie, din punctul de vedere al unui psihic stabil. As zice ca e o trecere superficiala, pe alocuri. Dar poate fi utila si pentru a initia aprofundarea pe teme interesante.
Are prea multe pareri personale neverificate sau sustinute clinic. Cum ar fi faptul ca schizofrenia ar proveni de la un clivaj din copilarie in legatura cu atentate la viata copilului de catre mama. Ma tem ca lucrurile nu sunt asa simple. Sau macar as vrea mai multe surse. Dr. Nu face decat anecdote personale si da exemple din cazurile sale.
El zice ca mai trebuie studiate lucrurile, dar asta nu ma ajuta.
Mai are cateodata si un limbaj mult prea simplist.
De acolo si cele 3 stele. Cititi dar luati-o cu o doza de scepticism. Mai cautati.
E si bine si rau.
Bine e ca face o trecere prin ce e sanatos in termeni de relatii (parinti, parteneri, stramosi, natiune, etc.) si confirma sau infirma cu multe exemple, daca esti pe drumul cel bun.
Face 1001 de referiri la de ce e necesar sa facem terapie, mai ales cand nimeni, de generatii, nu a rezolvat niste probleme care, zice el, se rostogolesc inainte.
Mai face si referire la ceea ce numeste constelatii familiale, un termen si o practica pe care o foloseste de prin 2002, facandu-l un veteran.
Desi este un psiholog german, cu mentalitatea de rigoare, are susținere pentru tipul acesta de terapie care este holistică si poate Avangarde-istă, în cel
mai bun caz.
Practic aceasta este o forma de terapie de grup unde simulezi cu necunoscuti probleme actuale pe care vrei sa le rezolvi. Daca totul merge ok ( gasesti terapeut ok, tu vrei sa te deschizi si ai oameni la randul lor care au capacitatea de a empatiza) poti prin neuronii oglinda sa te vezi din afara sau sa absorbi experientele altora, scotand la iveala traume cărate de generații și de multe ori inconștiente. Aici pot fi orice fel pentru oricine.
Acum, treaba asta devine din ce in ce mai cunoscuta in Romania. Si sunt psihoterapeuti cunoscuti ca Van der Kolk care sustin efectele miraculoase.
Dar, cu mentiunea, ca este o metoda nestudiata clinic, care mai ales nu trebuie confundata cu ezoterie. Lucru pe care l-am vazut suprapus de multe ori.
Am auzit si eu de la cunoscuți ca funcționează.
Însă.
Înainte sa ne hazardam, atat Franz, cat si Kolk sau altii, si eu, cred ca trebuie incercat mai intai cu un psihoterapeut individual.
Cartea este o trecere micro-macro a originii si ramificatiilor sibiozei si drumul către autonomie, din punctul de vedere al unui psihic stabil. As zice ca e o trecere superficiala, pe alocuri. Dar poate fi utila si pentru a initia aprofundarea pe teme interesante.
Are prea multe pareri personale neverificate sau sustinute clinic. Cum ar fi faptul ca schizofrenia ar proveni de la un clivaj din copilarie in legatura cu atentate la viata copilului de catre mama. Ma tem ca lucrurile nu sunt asa simple. Sau macar as vrea mai multe surse. Dr. Nu face decat anecdote personale si da exemple din cazurile sale.
El zice ca mai trebuie studiate lucrurile, dar asta nu ma ajuta.
Mai are cateodata si un limbaj mult prea simplist.
De acolo si cele 3 stele. Cititi dar luati-o cu o doza de scepticism. Mai cautati.
September 21, 2022
Very interesting perspective about trauma, love dynamics and relationships patterns.
January 6, 2014
Franz Ruppert is a German psychologist who brings Systemic Constellation work into his private practice to work with both symbiotic and transgenerational trauma. It is the only book I've read of his three books on what he calls, "multigeneratinal psychotraumatology," and he uses "trauma constellations" in his private practice as well as in groups.
He gives a very clear explanation, with a three dimensional model for split personalities that consist of 'healthy parts,' 'traumatized parts,' and 'survival parts.' This explanation coinsides with other trauma work I am studying where the survival part is called the 'apparently normal part.' How to make contact with these split off feelings/parts and come to terms with the trauma is what he addresses. This is not easy work since a symbiosis trama causes a split very early in development, and as he says, "the child loses his connection to his original vital impulses and directs a large part of his attention away from himself towards the outside world and other people. He is therefore unable to develop an identity in his own, grounded in himself.... Even as a fully-grown adult, he is controlled in his core being by his childish fears." His work is also grounded in attachement theory.
He gives a very clear explanation, with a three dimensional model for split personalities that consist of 'healthy parts,' 'traumatized parts,' and 'survival parts.' This explanation coinsides with other trauma work I am studying where the survival part is called the 'apparently normal part.' How to make contact with these split off feelings/parts and come to terms with the trauma is what he addresses. This is not easy work since a symbiosis trama causes a split very early in development, and as he says, "the child loses his connection to his original vital impulses and directs a large part of his attention away from himself towards the outside world and other people. He is therefore unable to develop an identity in his own, grounded in himself.... Even as a fully-grown adult, he is controlled in his core being by his childish fears." His work is also grounded in attachement theory.
September 20, 2016
Partly very insightful and plausible ('practice based evidence') and partly dodgy, seemingly mixing up correlation and causation. I wish Ruppert would have stuck to his own field rather than freely speculating while dabling in other areas too.
June 5, 2021
For all those interested in understanding trauma, getting a clear view on the psychological splinters induced by it, connecting present attachment styles and diving into the mandatory root cause analysis, this is where you should begin. The author sheds light on the psychotherapeutic work done regarding traumatic events by sharing impactful study cases. The reader is taken through all types of feelings and is partially left to process his own past, trying to connect the dots and understand patterns. Childhood and adulthood come together once more, but the perspective is luckily shifted to a healthier direction.
October 18, 2021
Gelezen in het Nederlands: “Symbiose en autonomie”. “Een weg uit symbiosetrauma en destructieve afhankelijkheid”. ISBN 978 94 6316 018 6
Goed geschreven, ook toegankelijk voor niet-therapeuten. Warm aanbevolen. Franz Ruppert werkte een tiental jaar met opstellingen volgens Hellinger, daarna ontwikkelde hij zijn eigen trauma-opstellingen.
Goed geschreven, ook toegankelijk voor niet-therapeuten. Warm aanbevolen. Franz Ruppert werkte een tiental jaar met opstellingen volgens Hellinger, daarna ontwikkelde hij zijn eigen trauma-opstellingen.
August 28, 2022
A beautiful understanding of the negative impact that bad relationships in the early family can have upon the adult. It has various examples of adults that were traped in childhood stories with their parents and the need of symbiosis than can be healthy only if it comes from a place of independence and autonomy.
November 18, 2020
Goeike.
Boeiende piste over effect van transgenerationeel trauma.
Beetje moedeloos makend vond ik.
Werken werken werken om los te komen van wat niet van jou is.
Verhelderend ook rond wat liefde vooral niet is.
Boeiende piste over effect van transgenerationeel trauma.
Beetje moedeloos makend vond ik.
Werken werken werken om los te komen van wat niet van jou is.
Verhelderend ook rond wat liefde vooral niet is.
December 25, 2017
Düşünce tarzı ile travma konularına engin bir yaklaşım sunmuş biraz zor kitap ama okumaya değer
February 25, 2019
Zeer verhelderend, een ieder die zich ook maar enigszins geblokkeerd voelt raad ik aan dit boek te lezen.
June 29, 2021
Interessant. Leerrijk!
November 24, 2018
We, as human beings, are defined by our relationships with others, but what if our
relationship was atypical, then what would be the ones to blame? Are we just mirrors to the Other, or the others are mirroring us?
The retelling of the infamous tale of Oedipus has been metamorphosed over centuries into the theory of attachment, as our bond to childhood cannot be broken. The modern owe such metaphor to the world of the ancients that would colour their vision of the world with the collective phantasms of mythology, as viable answers to their mysteries.
The attachment theory, a more modern version of the psycho-dynamic relationship developed by the early psychoanalysis, is closely bound to the theory of psychogeanalogy in the form of inter-generational trauma. The basic premise is that, as Bowley had previously stated, trauma is passed on from a generation to the other when it comes to the relationship between the infant and the mother, the archetypal image of a symbiotic relationship that would become the foundation to the ones from our future relationships.
Such dysfunctional dynamic in the area of symbiosis, prevalent in cases of traumas or psychosis, which is explained by the author through the lenses of inter-generational trauma that is put on the shoulders of the one marked by the stigma of madness. Such was the family! would be the argument. The authors is very talented in his insight of such phenomenon that takes place early on, creating various splits in the personality. Moreover, the toxic relationships that are caused by such factors are clearly described, despite their grotesque appearance( eg. sadism and masochism).
A highly insightful analysis on psychopathology through the lenses of dysfunctional attachment and genealogy that I would warmly recommend, written with amazing verve and brilliant humanness.
December 28, 2015
The book describes the concepts of symbiosis and autonomy, as aspects of adult relationships and associates the symbiotically complicated adult relationships (either between parents and children, spouses or partners) to the field of personal trauma and the consequences of trauma for the individual.
The author presents his model of separation of the human psyche into 3 regions, as consequence of traumatic events (be it existential trauma, loss trauma, attachment trauma or attachment system trauma) and provides an insightful description of surviving strategies (which represent, at the same time, the individual's solution to get past the initial trauma, and, also, the self-sabotage mechanisms that prevent the individual, in the present, from getting into healthy relationships, because they continuously enforce the self-limiting belief that people - all of them - are not to be trusted).
The author describes his method of handling symbiotically complicated relationships, which is based on family constelation, specialised to the field of trauma.
The book contains valuable examples of clinical practice (fragments from conversations with pacients), in order to illustrate the presented concepts and ideas.
The author presents his model of separation of the human psyche into 3 regions, as consequence of traumatic events (be it existential trauma, loss trauma, attachment trauma or attachment system trauma) and provides an insightful description of surviving strategies (which represent, at the same time, the individual's solution to get past the initial trauma, and, also, the self-sabotage mechanisms that prevent the individual, in the present, from getting into healthy relationships, because they continuously enforce the self-limiting belief that people - all of them - are not to be trusted).
The author describes his method of handling symbiotically complicated relationships, which is based on family constelation, specialised to the field of trauma.
The book contains valuable examples of clinical practice (fragments from conversations with pacients), in order to illustrate the presented concepts and ideas.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews