Adapted from material written by Lany King in

Adapted from material written by Larry King in

behavior today

Psychotherapy is the art and science of easing emotional problems. Many forms of psychotherapy are designed

to help us know and understand what is in our unconscious. Very few are designed to actually change what is in our

unconscious. However, if the material in the unconscious is not changed, it retains its enormous power to occasionally

override even the most powerful of conscious egos. When it does that, we call it “neurosis.” In one way or another,

it always results in emotional pain.

The unconscious is primarily a record of the past and a storehouse of past physical and emotional tensions. These

tensions can be triggered by present events so that we feel them in the present. In fact, because their origin is from

the unconscious and we are thus unaware of their actual source, these powerful tensions seem to originate in the

present, and the person or situation triggering them appears to be their primary cause. However, present people and

situations may in fact be only a very minor part of the cause.

Most of us recognize the value of catharsis in connection with recent trauma-- such as crying to express the grief

of losing a loved one. It vastly lowers tension levels. But long-forgotten past traumas still maintain very high, though

unconscious, tension levels. It is this tension that gives such incredible power to neurotic impulses. We all know people

who say, “I know I’m hurting myself and the people I love, but I can’t seem to stop myself.” Knowledge isn’t enough!

To reduce old emotional tension stored in the unconscious we must do a catharsis of the feelings stored there. We

must get Out-- safely and in the present-- the feelings that were unsafe for us to express in the past. And when we

do, our neurotic impulses greatly diminish (and some are gone forever).

In a session, I first help my client become highly conscious of previously unconscious memories (being very careful

not to suggest anything that wasn’t there already). The past is actually emotionally “re-lived.” We feel like we are

going back in time. We do this through feelings, not through reasoning or logical thought. Previously buried motivations

become obvious to the client. No interpretation or analysis is needed from the therapist.

Most clients make a big discovery: that some of their childhood pain was so intense or prolonged that it had to

be buried, and that those forgotten memories and their accompanying angers, fears and unmet needs have been the

source of life-long painful emotions, psychosomatic illnesses, neurotic thoughts, defenses and self-defeating behaviors.

The more we work on the past material the less power it has to take us over in the present. As an example, the

anger we have as a child at a parent gets held in and then buried because it can’t be expressed at that time. It then

comes out as exaggerated anger at someone in the present. By going back into the past in therapy and expressing the

anger to the parent at the time when we felt the hurt and anger but could do nothing about it, we unlock that old

anger and get rid of most of it by expressing it to the person-- and at the time-- it was appropriate for, instead of taking

it out on an inappropriate person in the present. Actually confronting a parent in the present with old anger is not only

not necessary but is usually counterproductive as it may further prevent us from getting the love from them that we

have always wanted. Also, the child is now an adult, the situation is totally different, and the parent has often

mellowed. In fact, getting out past traumas in therapy usually allows us to see our parents in perspective, as people

who did the best they could given their own upbringing. This allows our underlying love for them to emerge.

Clients discover that in having to build walls to contain childhood pain, they not only reduced their sensitivity to

painful feelings, but also reduced their ability to enjoy pleasurable feelings. By slowly confronting the old pain they had

to endure, they start to regain the compassion for themselves that they had to diminish in order to survive; with

compassion for ourselves comes more compassion for others and greater ability to feel warmth and closeness.

In therapy, the material in our unconscious changes. As it loses much of its power to influence us in the present,

the therapy changes. From an emphasis on discovering and expressing emotions from the past, it changes to an

integration of the insights that have come from reliving the past. We clearly see what made us live our lives the way

we have. We now move on to changing our lives, and the way we think, feel, and interact with others. Because we

have lived largely from unconscious programming all our lives, there are areas where we are inexperienced at living

in a relatively un-neurotic way. The therapy then focuses on exploring the new life-styles, relationships, and

wonderfully deep emotions that are so much easier to have when our conscious mind (rather than our unconscious),

For more in formation about this therapy, p/ease call (212) 580-3734, or write to:

H. Lawrence King; 365 West End Avenue, #13C; New York, N.Y. 10024-6532