A Transactional Analysis of Obsession: Integrating Diverse Concepts and Methods

Abstract

Psychological problems such as repetitive fantasizing, habitual worrying and obsessing seem to have increased in recent years among people seeking psychotherapy. These kinds of problems transcend many psychological diagnoses. Obsessing and worrying on a regular basis can be found among the main topics of treatment in our time, they are reflections of a lifestyle and professional pressures, developmental experiences, interpersonal relationships deficits, and aspects of Life Scripts. When they are approached in psychotherapy, this rumination could receive only a superficial attention or hardly seem relevant to aspects of the Life Script. However, habitual worries and repetitive fantasies absorb much of the mental activity and hinder the person from his capacity for spontaneity, intimacy, and enjoyment of life in the present. From the Relational Transactional Analysis model and the Integrative Psychotherapy model, we present a perspective of treatment of six facets for the psychotherapy of obsession, habitual worry and repetitive fantasy. In addition, it is illustrated with a clinical case that shows the treatment of six facets, as well as various interventions integrating different concepts and methods for the treatment of obsession, from the above-mentioned psychotherapeutic approaches.