Depth and Digital in Conversation| Practicing Marriage and Family Therapy Directly With Video Game Avatars

• Main Author: Roan, Robert
• Language: EN
• Published: Pacifica Graduate Institute 2017
• Subjects: Information technology|Counseling Psychology|Sociology
• Online Access: http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10261875

<p> Some psychotherapy clients have created video game avatars whose lives in virtual worlds include imaginal material and therefore invite depth psychological consideration. Using hermeneutic, alchemical hermeneutic, and artistic-creative methodologies, this thesis expands the conception of the therapeutic container to include these worlds and characters. The research explores how depth psychology can help Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists integrate their clients&rsquo; virtual lives into therapy. A literature review examines the ways computer simulations are different from other activities and describes a postmodern realm where identity is an experiment in a multiplicity of simulations that are both rich and ideological. A multicultural approach is taken in order to treat clients&rsquo; avatars and their worlds with dignity and involves an attempt to understand the cultures of technology, digital systems, and video worlds. The author proposes both an overall attitude toward and specific interventions for incorporating the virtual realm into psychotherapy.</p>