Transcendence Based Case Conceptualization: A Trans Theoretical Approach to Integrating the Person's Capacity for Transcendence with Contemporary Psychotherapy

Abstract

Transcendence is a profound capacity of the person, yet it has received little attention or recognition from contemporary psychology and leading psychotherapies. This dissertation presents Dietrich Von Hildebrand's (1953) model of transcendence as a fundamental capacity of the person, according to which true self-fulfillment and freedom are possible. This paper presents his model as a framework for incorporating transcendence into contemporary psychology. In light of this model, Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT), and Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) as well as their conceptualizations of a common case example are evaluated to determine their openness to transcendence. These leading psychotherapies assume that the person is exclusively directed to self-actualization, which significantly restricts their ability to account for and reveal the person's capacity for transcendence. A trans-theoretical approach to transcendence based case conceptualization is proposed as a way of addressing and incorporating transcendence with leading psychological theories. Finally, this approach is integrated with CBT, EFT, and IPT and a new way of conceptualizing clinical cases in light of transcendence is offered.