Redecision Therapy

Redecision therapy has roots in transactional analysis, as originated by Eric Berne, and Gestalt therapy, as developed by Fritz and Laura Perls. The action-oriented treatment model created by Bob and Mary Goulding in the 1960s is built around contracting for change, insisting on a language of self-responsibility, enacting change within the therapy session, and encouraging action outside the therapy session. Editor Carolyn Lennox characterizes the redecision therapist as a director in an improvisational theater. Guided by the client's personal contract for change, the therapist helps the client select and rewrite old scripts in which he or she was cast as victim. By keeping the dialogue moving and assisting the client in confronting negative messages, the therapist supports revision of the last act so that the self can be experienced as triumphant protagonist and the victory can be carried over into everyday life. The book's thoroughly accessible approach to brief, action-oriented therapy will be welcomed by students and practitioners alike as what Dr. Lennox gracefully terms "teachable and learnable magic."