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When Transgressing Standard Therapeutic Frames Leads to Progressive Change, Not Ethical Violations

Secret Garden Work

Bibliographic Data

ID20178643
AuthorsEdward T Novak (Russian State Agrarian Correspondence University, corresponding author)
Year2016
Volume46
Issue4
Pages288-298
Publication date2016-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueTransactional Analysis Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0362-1537 • E-ISSN: 2329-5244
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1177/0362153716662267
OpenAlexW2489032908
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited11

The author uses Eric Berne’s metaphor of secret gardens to explore therapeutic relationships that allow for a fuller immersion in the client’s private internal world. Garden work requires a level of therapeutic intimacy that matches the depth of this private space and also, perhaps, adjustments to the therapeutic frame that are specific to the client’s unique issues and needs. This way of working and relating can create fears and vulnerabilities for both client and therapist, and, at times, the changes may feel transgressive. The author defines transgressive in therapy as work with a specific client that violates family protocols or traditional therapeutic frames but is not unethical. He describes how the transgressive functions as a bridge of exploration between regressive work and movement toward more progressive ways of relating and being. Throughout the article, the author reflects on his own personal garden work to help connect theory with practice

Aesthetics · Art · Epistemology · Linguistics · Metaphor · Psychoanalysis · Sociology · Therapeutic relationship · Transgressive · Working through · Counseling, Therapy, and Family Dynamics · Engineering · Psychology · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications · Social Psychology · Transactional Analysis in Psychotherapy

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Unique citing works10
Citations per year1,67
Citation span2020 - 2025 (6)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 10
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