On the Use of the Nonsensuous in Psychotherapy

Abstract

This study offers an original contribution to the field of clinical psychology by integrating the theory of the nonsensuous psyche with the practice of psychotherapy. The concept of the nonsensuous psyche was developed in relation to psychoanalysis by Wilfred R. Bion, who built from a philosophical tradition stemming from Plato to Immanuel Kant and the process philosophers. In this study, the theoretical basis established by Bion, which considers the psyche to be a part of nonsensuous, or ultimate, reality, was used to develop a clinical strategy relating to the practice of psychotherapy. This study encompassed an alchemical hermeneutic method that was supplemented by an adaptation of the common factors framework. The epistemological and ontological basis of this study, relating to both the research topic and its methodology, was examined as a matter of central importance to resolving the challenges inherent to investigating and articulating the concept of the nonsensuous.