Frank A. Gerbode, M.D. and the Genesis of
Metapsychology
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The Background of Metapsychology
"I may use the name metapsychology for any psychology that leads
behind consciousness," wrote Sigmund Freud nearly a century ago. In his
system of psychoanalysis, Freud had incorporated the concept of
abreaction, or "the talking cure", from his own mentor Josef Breuer. It
was based on a recalling or re-experiencing of those stressful or
disturbing situations or events which precipitated a neurosis. Freud
noted that the key to a recent disturbance lay in an earlier, similar
trauma - sometimes an entire "chain" of traumatic incidents.
This is the foundation for the theory and procedures developed by Frank A.
Gerbode, M.D., which are part of the subject of metapsychology.
About Frank A. Gerbode, M.D.
Dr. Gerbode is an Honors graduate of Stanford University who later
pursued graduate studies in philosophy at Cambridge University in
England. He received his medical degree from Yale University, and
completed a psychiatric residency at Stanford University Medical Center
in the early 1970s. Gerbode is the author of numerous papers and
articles, which have been published in the Journal of
Neurochemistry, the International Journal of
Neuropharmacology, the Journal of Rational Emotive and
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, IRM Newsletter and elsewhere.
He
teaches and lectures internationally, and is the author of Beyond Psychology: An Introduction to
Metapsychology, published in 1988.
Early Influences in the Development of Metapsychology
In addition to Breuer and Freud, Gerbode credits Carl RogersĖ "client-centered"
approach to therapy, and the gradient repetitive procedures of
"desensitization" developed from the behavior therapy of Joseph Wolpe,
as instrumental in his formulation of metapsychological procedures.
Various alternative techniques, including Gestalt Therapy, Cognitive
Therapy, Dianetic Therapy, and Rational Emotive Therapy contributed
materially to the subject of metapsychology.
Dr. Gerbode was also strongly influenced by the ideas of the Hungarian
psychiatrist Thomas Szasz, who objected to the labeling of people as
"mentally ill" simply because they were undergoing cognitive or
emotional disturbances. For this same reason, metapsychology rejects
the traditional forms of diagnosis and the "healer/patient" medical
model, choosing to call its procedures viewing rather than "therapy".
In addition to removing any stigma from the practice of viewing, this
nonevaluative, non-judgmental approach to mental exploration returns
appropriate dignity to the one who is doing the real work- the viewer.
In 1986, Dr. Gerbode founded the Institute for Research in
Metapsychology and the Center for Applied Metapsychology in Palo Alto,
California. Subsequently, Centers have
been opened throughout the United States, Europe, and Australia by
those trained in the technical procedures of metapsychology.
How to contact Gerbode
He can be reached by email to frank@metapsy.org
737 Addison St
Palo Alto, CA 94301
USA
Work: 415-327-0921
Fax: 415-568-0709