Freedom and therapy: From self-liberation to self-control

Author(s): Stravynski, A.

Journal/Book: Psychotherapy. 1997; 34: 3900 E Camelback Rd #200, Phoenix, AZ 85018. Amer Psychological Assoc, Div Psychotherapy. 144-153.

Abstract: This article focuses on how subjective feelings of freedom and lack of freedom can influence a client's motivation to change, Freedom can be expressed as a positive desire to act (freedom to), or by the negative impulse to escape constraints (a freedom from), More often, it is the negative aspect that brings clients to therapy: the desire to be liberated from the burden of thoughts and emotions which restrict their freedom to be, or to act, as they wish. In therapy, the positive aspect of freedom is often raised in the context of establishing autonomy and self-regulation as desirable goals, But shifting from notions of self-liberation to those of self-control involves exploring the complex interaction between subjective feelings of freedom, and objective limits on freedom to act, Clients may become fearful at what they perceive as too much freedom to act, in the absence of meaningful limits on choice and behavioral possibilities. This ''freedom anxiety'' as a clinical condition can inhibit the potential for change.

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