Kūrybinė tuštuma – edukacinė, psichoterapinė priemonė karinio personalo trauminės patirties įveikoje

LTSusidūrus su trauminiais patyrimais, vietoj natūralaus pokyčių išgyvenimo ir adaptacijos iššūkiams, karinio personalo gyvenimas kartais tampa padalintas ir fragmentiškas. Straipsnio tikslas – tirti, kaip ir kokią edukacinę ir psichoterapinę pagalbą galima teikti kariniam personalui, kad būtų įveikta trauminė patirtis. Remiantis neuromokslų tyrimais, geštalto intervencija yra grindžiama neuroplastiškumo teorija (Fuchs, 2002; Cozolino, 2006; 2016; 2017; Taylor, 2014; Solomon, & Siegel, 2017). Taikant geštalto holistinį terapinį požiūrį, ypač patyrimo / kontakto ciklo dalį, vadinamą „kūrybine tuštuma“, buvo išanalizuoti karinio personalo militaristinio gyvenimo patyrimai, ieškant „kūrybinės tuštumos“ pasireiškimo. Išvada: „kūrybinė tuštuma“, kaip geštalto patyrimo / kontakto ciklo dalis, sujungianti „nieko nedarymą“ su „veikla“, gali būti taikoma kaip efektyvi edukacinė, psichoterapinė priemonė karinio personalo trauminės patirties įveikoje. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Geštalto terapija; Karinis personalas; Militaristinis gyvenimas; „kūrybinė tuštuma“; "Fertile Void"; Fertile Void; Gestalt therapy; Militaristic life; Military personnel.

ENKey concepts: Gestalt therapy, military personnel, militaristic life, Fertile Void Hypothesis: psychological recovery from combat trauma depends on discovering a personal meaning in the traumatic experience. The concepts of the Gestalt therapy and its practical applications can help in the discovery of substance in the Gestalt therapeutic group sessions. Introduction. Stressful and traumatic experiences affect and make an impact on the life quality of military personnel. Instead of the acceptance of natural change and adaptation to challenges, a soldier’s life becomes divided and fragmented after traumatic experience (Berghaus, & Cartagena, 2014:288). Fragmentation is a very important problem of military personnel (Berghaus, & Cartagena, 2014:288). Scientific problem. How can one methodologically explain that the Gestalt psychotherapy can be an effective educational and psychotherapeutic tool for military personnel who have suffered traumatic events and fragmentation of their lives? To solve this problem, we will investigate the Fertile Void, one of the main theoretical concepts of the Gestalt psychotherapy. Scientific research topic. Can the Fertile Void, as part of the Gestalt experience/contact cycle, be used as an effective psychotherapy tool to overcome the traumatic experiences of military personnel? Research object. Military personnel and their life experiences. Aim of the work. To analyze the military experiences of military personnel from the point of view of the Gestalt psychotherapy searching for the manifestation of the Fertile Void. Aims: 1) to analyze the Gestalt experience/contact cycle model focusing on the Fertile Void; 2) to perform a qualitative phenomenological narrative analysis of military personnel’s military experiences using a semi-structured interview as a therapeutic/ educational experiment of the Gestalt therapy.3) to distinguish the results of the research using thematic analysis and to determine the continuity of the Fertile Void manifestation in the life of military personnel. Methodology of the research and course. Qualitative phenomenological research methods, including phenomenological observation, semi-structured interviews and Gestalt psychotherapy experiment were applied. The data is collected using a narrative methodology when the text of conversation (narrative) is written down. The outputs are identified using a thematic analysis. Since the interview was constructed using a methodological approach to the Gestalt psychotherapy, the interview process was assimilated to the process of the therapeutic Gestalt psychotherapy. During the interview, 11 questions related to the respondent’s military experience were asked. The phenomenological analysis of the case was taken into account how this interview, an experiment, influenced a respondent. Throughout the study, attention was paid to the way the Fertile Void manifests itself in the experiences of the respondent’s life. Results. A case concerning a 56-year-old respondent was presented. The study lasted for 2 hours. A phenomenological analysis was taken into account as well as the impact of this experiment on the respondent and the different aspects of military life during the four phases of the experience/contact cycle. Several different codes were identified: (1) manifestation of fragmentation and the impact on personality; (2) risk of injury or death; (3) unrecognizable Fertile Void to a certain extent repeating the lifestyle features of 4 military personnel investigated by Segal (1986).Conclusions. Life experiences of military personnel show that the expression of the Fertile Void may appear and are significant in two cases. First, when one feels an unsatisfactory emptiness, it is necessary to retreat from an activity and to switch to a new creative adaptation in the context. Second, education about the Fertile Void as an opportunity to recognize and use it is important, especially allowing it to stay when it feels pleasant and fulfilling (Berghaus, & Cartagena, 2013:288). In the case of the organic manifestation of the life fragmentation of military personnel, it is important to recommend the Gestalt individual psychotherapy, the essential feature of which is to promote the recognition of the fragmentation and perception of one’s experience. For the treatment of traumatic military experience, long-term Gestalt psychotherapy interventions related to the Fertile Void phase of experience/ contact cycle can be used as the Gestalt psychotherapy helps to combine traumatic experiences with the here-and-now experience. [From the publication]