Nossrat Peseschkian – författare

Fast einhundert gleichnishafte orientalische Geschichten sind in diesem Band versammelt und in Beziehung zu Fallbeispielen aus der psychotherapeutischen Praxis gesetzt. Es sind unterhaltende Geschichten, die jedoch nicht nur unterhalten, es sind Lehrstücke, die nicht nur lehren, es sind literarische Miniaturen, die nicht nur um der Kunst willen erzählt und niedergeschrieben wurden - es sind Gleichnisse zur Lebenshilfe, die jeder seinen eigenen Bedürfnissen entsprechend anwenden kann.

Many authors shy away from religious definitions of human purpose. But Nossrat Peseschkian, who shares with me the Baha'i perspective of purpose, clearly shows how the quest to unite a soul with its God serves and is served by scientific and cultural perspectives of meaning. Spiritual verities become beacons to guide us to find ways to work together and create new dimen­ sions for consultation in the making of decisions. Depression is rife today. We often do not feel that we are in charge of our own lives, and feel impotent to influence the destiny of society. Peseschkian brings us a positive approach. He provides a key for us to discover the relationship between our various capacities and their development. For so many of us, our capacities lie unused, often even unrecognized. This book seeks to answer the question «How can I use my capacities?" and to demonstrate practically and specifically how science, politics, religion, and the web of human relationships can assist in their development and use. Balance is the key: the balance betwen various aspects of our life, the balance of our modes of learning and thinking and feeling, the balance in our concept of man and his purpose, the balance found in the lessons of the past and the vision of the future, and the balance which defines our responsibility for our personal and our societal destinies.

In this book East and West are united in a total vision which gives the reader an expansive view of inner lives and behaviors, some of which are healthy and some not. The author presents an analysis of contemporary social relationships and the attitudes associated with them. But he does far more than this. He also vividly describes the "primary" and "secondary" capabili­ ties of the psyche, capabilities that are valid for all times and all situations. Peseschkian draws on his experiences in the Middle Eastern homeland of his youth and also on the insights he has gained through his psychotherapeutic practice. He does not stop with special examples, but draws conclusions that are valid for people everywhere. He then molds these conclusions into an illustrative system. Uniquely interesting are the passages where the author describes errors in the development of a child and erroneous attitudes on the part of the educator, such as when he characterizes the punitive behavior of parents: "Right from the start a child must learn to obeYi" "There must be punishmenti" and "You have to break the child's wilL" Or when he shows how tensions between the parents are transferred to their children: "You're just like your father. He doesn't know what punctuality is either. " The author attempts to integrate his faith in psychotherapy with his vision of the world and also tries to understand the world's religions as an expression of their times.

The author's principal aim is to win over the patient through the development of the "positive" aspects of his psychopathology-a concern the significance of which I have also discovered, especially in schizophrenic therapy. It is in this specific sense that Peseschkian speaks of "positive" psychotherapy. His model is a notable synthesis of psychodynamic and behavior-therapeutic elements, making an essential contribution to unified relationships within psychotherapy. In this way Peseschkian is attempting not to directly confront the patient's resistances. The consultation takes place in a loving way through allusions to poetry, proverbs and oriental fairy tales and myths, to which Peseschkian, as a Persian, has direct access. His ability to offer his patient a great treasure of handed-down wisdom knows no bounds. Anyone who has personally experi­ enced the author's therapeutic enthusiasm and optimism will understand why this method of short psychotherapeutic procedure is highly successful in its effects. Professor Gaetano Benedetti, M. D.

The union of Eastern and European points of view in an effective psycho­ therapy, such as is described by the author, is very salutary. Especially the parables portray, in attractive symbolism, the wisdom ofthe East, in which psychological insights are represented in what seems to be the simplest way. The author understands how to bring his heritage to bear upon psy­ chotherapy. Although the categories of his psychological system, for ex­ ample basic capacities and actual capacities, certainly represent only one of many possible theoretical conceptions, we must conclude from his re­ port that they can be used effectively in treatment. To be sure, such a sy­ stem of categories, such a metapsychology, will be of greater assistance to the therapist than to the patient in explanation and clarification. In the fi­ nal analysis the only essential thing for the patient who seeks out the psy­ chotherapist for help is whether the physician or psychologist is candid with hirn and accepts hirn unconditionally, no matter what he is like. Peseschkian's "positive psychotherapy" and the author's lucid personal conduct transmit to the reader the impression that a born psychotherapist, with a special motivation to assist professionally those who consult hirn in the resolution of their conflicts, is at work. I wish the author complete suc­ cess with this book. Prof. Raymond Battegay, M. D.

In vielen orientalischen Kulturen wurde der Arzt so lange honoriert, wie sein "Patient" gesund war. Nach diesem alten orientalischen Versorgungssystem war der Arzt nicht primar fur die Krankheit, sondern fur die Erhaltung der Gesundheit zustandig. Der aus dem Iran stammende Autor des vorliegenden Buches und Begrunder der positiven Psychotherapie knupft an diese Tradition an, indem er Gesundheit zur Grundlage therapeutischer Konzepte macht und die positiven Anlagen fordert, die dem Patienten helfen, wieder gesund zu werden. Dieser erfolgreiche, in vielen weiteren seiner Veroffentlichungen dokumentierte Ansatz wird in diesem, jetzt in zweiter, verbesserter Auflage erscheinenden Buch auf 40 psychosomatische Krankheitsbilder angewandt. Jedes Kapitel ist durch einpragsame orientalische Geschichten, Sprachbilder und Volksweisheiten erlautert und - ebenso wissenschaftlich fundiert wie didaktisch aufbereitet - systematisch abgehandelt (Positive Deutung der Krankheit, Definition, Symptomatik, transkultureller Aspekt, Epidemiologie, Fragebogen fur Arzte/Patienten, Literaturhinweise u.a.).Dieses vom Autor erarbeitete Konzept bietet vielfaltige therapeutische Einsatzmoglichkeiten fur die arztliche Praxis, aber auch fur alle Bereiche des Gesundheitswesens. Da das Selbsthilfepotential des Patienten therapeutisch genutzt wird, stellt das Buch eine wichtige Erganzung zur uberwiegend somatisch-kurativ orientierten Medizin dar.

Autorenportrait: Dr. med. Nossrat Peseschkian wurde 1933 im Iran geboren und lebt seit 1954 in Deutschland. Medizinstudium in Freiburg, Mainz und Frankfurt, psychotherapeutische Ausbildung in Deutschland, der Schweiz und den USA. Seit 1969 fuhrt er eine psychotherapeutische Praxis und Tagesklinik in Wiesbaden und leitet den Wiesbadener Weiterbildungskreis fur Psychotherapie und Familientherapie. Er ist Begrunder der Positiven Psychotherapie und Autor zahlreicher Bucher, darunter des ebenfalls im Springer-Verlag erschienen Buches "Psychosomatik und positive Psychotherapie".

Während in der Regel in der psychotherapeutischen, psychologischen und pädago­ gischen Literatur die funktionellen und dynamischen Zusammenhänge Berücksich­ tigung finden, ergab sich für diese Arbeit die Aufgabe, systematisch und kritisch auf Inhalte von Erziehung, Therapie, zwischenmenschlichen und innerseelischen Kon­ flikten einzugehen. Mit anderen Worten: Man hat sich daran gewöhnt, danach zu fragen, wie etwas geschieht (Konfliktprozeß). Was geschieht, welche Inhalte es bestimmen (Konfliktinhaltl, wurde bislang nur am Rande beachtet, und dann eher als willkürlich ausgewähltes Beispiel. Die Frage nach den inhaltlichen Ursachen und Bedingungen von Störungen führte zu den Aktualfähigkeiten und Konzepten. Es geht darum, die familiären und partnerschaftlichen Spielregeln herauszuarbeiten, den körperlichen und seelischen Symptomen ihre Bedeutung zu vermitteln, und danach die Familie und ihre Mitglieder aus den aufgetretenen Konflikten zu lösen. Dieses Vorgehen ermöglicht es, sowohl auf bestehende Selbsthilfekapazitäten der Familie zurückzugreifen, als auch fokussierend familiäre Konflikte aufzuarbeiten. Das vorliegende Inventar ist das Ergebnis neunzehnjähriger Erfahrungen in einer psychiatrischen, psychotherapeutischen und psychosomatischen Praxis und Tagesklinik sowie zwölf jähriger Mitarbeit als Dozent an der Akademie für ärztliche Fort- und Weiterbildung der Landesärztekammer Hessen in Bad Nauheim. Es besteht aus vier Teilen. 1. Fragebogen Das Erstinterview in der Positiven Psychotherapie: Es wird vom Therapeuten im Gespräch mit dem Patienten ausgefüllt. 2. Fragebogen Wiesbadener Inventar zur Positiven Psychotherapie und Familien­ therapie (WIPPF): Er wird vom Patienten und anderen Familienmitgliedern selb­ ständig ausgefüllt. 3. EinBeobachtungs- und Trainingskalender für Seelische Gesundheit: Er dient dem Patienten und anderen Familienmitgliedern zur Selbsteinschätzung im Ver­ lauf der fünfstufigen Therapie.

In this book East and West are united in a total vision which gives the reader an expansive view of inner lives and behaviors, some of which are healthy and some not. The author presents an analysis of contemporary social relationships and the attitudes associated with them. But he does far more than this. He also vividly describes the "primary" and "secondary" capabili­ ties of the psyche, capabilities that are valid for all times and all situations. Peseschkian draws on his experiences in the Middle Eastern homeland of his youth and also on the insights he has gained through his psychotherapeutic practice. He does not stop with special examples, but draws conclusions that are valid for people everywhere. He then molds these conclusions into an illustrative system. Uniquely interesting are the passages where the author describes errors in the development of a child and erroneous attitudes on the part of the educator, such as when he characterizes the punitive behavior of parents: "Right from the start a child must learn to obeYi" "There must be punishmenti" and "You have to break the child''s wilL" Or when he shows how tensions between the parents are transferred to their children: "You''re just like your father. He doesn''t know what punctuality is either. " The author attempts to integrate his faith in psychotherapy with his vision of the world and also tries to understand the world''s religions as an expression of their times.

The author''s principal aim is to win over the patient through the development of the "positive" aspects of his psychopathology-a concern the significance of which I have also discovered, especially in schizophrenic therapy. It is in this specific sense that Peseschkian speaks of "positive" psychotherapy. His model is a notable synthesis of psychodynamic and behavior-therapeutic elements, making an essential contribution to unified relationships within psychotherapy. In this way Peseschkian is attempting not to directly confront the patient''s resistances. The consultation takes place in a loving way through allusions to poetry, proverbs and oriental fairy tales and myths, to which Peseschkian, as a Persian, has direct access. His ability to offer his patient a great treasure of handed-down wisdom knows no bounds. Anyone who has personally experi­ enced the author''s therapeutic enthusiasm and optimism will understand why this method of short psychotherapeutic procedure is highly successful in its effects. Professor Gaetano Benedetti, M. D.

The union of Eastern and European points of view in an effective psycho­ therapy, such as is described by the author, is very salutary. Especially the parables portray, in attractive symbolism, the wisdom ofthe East, in which psychological insights are represented in what seems to be the simplest way. The author understands how to bring his heritage to bear upon psy­ chotherapy. Although the categories of his psychological system, for ex­ ample basic capacities and actual capacities, certainly represent only one of many possible theoretical conceptions, we must conclude from his re­ port that they can be used effectively in treatment. To be sure, such a sy­ stem of categories, such a metapsychology, will be of greater assistance to the therapist than to the patient in explanation and clarification. In the fi­ nal analysis the only essential thing for the patient who seeks out the psy­ chotherapist for help is whether the physician or psychologist is candid with hirn and accepts hirn unconditionally, no matter what he is like. Peseschkian''s "positive psychotherapy" and the author''s lucid personal conduct transmit to the reader the impression that a born psychotherapist, with a special motivation to assist professionally those who consult hirn in the resolution of their conflicts, is at work. I wish the author complete suc­ cess with this book. Prof. Raymond Battegay, M. D.