This paper explores the psychotic hallucination from an empathic experiential perspective. Starting from Gendlin's conception of the hallucination as "structure-bound" experiencing, the problem is formulated as how to develop the hallucination into process experiencing. The first step is a philosophical shift from a purely phenomenological assumption (man is experiential) to a symbolic assumption (man symbolizes experience). Next, the symbolizing of experience is presented on a continuum of abstractness to concreteness ending with the Pre-Symbol ("self-indicative" or "self-referential"). Finally, the motivation to symbolize experience is described as "self-intentional." These concepts are given concrete illustration, and case material is presented to demonstrate their presence in the therapeutic experiential process of hallucinations.
Next, two aspects of schizophrenia are explored: (a) primary process (b) the divided self. Although Freud described dreams and hallucinations as one concept (primary process), a different language of description is suggested. The dream is a projection within the experiential boundaries of self and the hallucination is an extrajection outside the experiential boundaries of self. The unconscious as described by Freud is an inference from experience. The unconscious as described in this paper is a direct manifestation derived from hallucinatory experiencing and processing. Perhaps it is best expressed as the "not conscious". Finally, the clinical processing of hallucinations with a schizophrenic woman shows us that it is possible to describe hallucinations as the unconscious self. The spatial gestalt of the several hallucinations provides us with a spatial phenomenology for the client's unconscious.
The tPeP (Journal Person-centered experiential Psychotherapy) is the scientific journal for Dutch and Flemish psychotherapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists, that work from, or are interested in a client-centered perspective.