Whenever we speak of psychotherapy we have to ask  “which psychotherapy?” as the numerous and divergent modules of theory and practice are confusing even to the professional practitioner. The last two  decades have seen a greater integration of various denominations of psychotherapy, resulting in a “post-schoolist” movement where positive similarities are   embraced more than negative differences are fought over (Balick, A. et al, 2004). Contemporary Psychotherapy offers a unique combination of the disciplines of Ericksonian Hypno-Psychotherapy and Systemic Neuro-Linguistic Psychotherapy and an integrated foundation of traditional wisdom and latest discoveries.  Systemic Neuro-Linguistics affords the practitioner a set of skills and understanding that facilitates the informed adoption of ‘what works’ with each individual client. Drawing first on the client’s unique map of the world and personal resources, the practitioner stimulates these through therapeutic alliance, to promote healing of the past, development of lifeskills and meaningful achievements in well being and greater happiness. For the   purpose of this document, Contemporary Psychotherapy shall be referred to as a product of this movement, defined generally below.

The word “con-tempo-rary” means literally “with time” or “moving in time”. There are many ways in which this title can refer to some of the defining features of Contemporary Psychotherapy.

Responding to latest advances in psychotherapy

Contemporary Psychotherapy is such that is aware of and responds to most useful current advances in the understanding of and practice with individuals, families, communities and organisations, while bringing a multiple perspective to assessment and treatment protocols. To this end, Contemporary Psychotherapy teaches modelling skills advanced from the work of Albert Bandura (1977), developed further by Richard Bandler, John Grinder, Robert Dilts and Judith DeLozier (1976), whereby practitioners may observe and absorb from the client as the primary source of information, while drawing from the most successful approaches to psychotherapeutic treatment. This  results in a model of psychotherapy that is constantly evolving, and a practitioner’s self attitude as life-long learner.

Meeting current needs within today’s society

Contemporary Psychotherapy seeks to adapt itself to best serve the most pressing needs of society and     individual. Therefore a Contemporary Psychotherapy embraces challenges and needs experienced by   people through current prevalent circumstances as providing focus to its methodological and theoretical aspirations. Current examples at the time of writing may be considered as increasing prevalence of addiction, work-related stress, non-conformist family units, gender-influenced challenges, minority group experience such as racism and cultural displacement and various political perceptions and anxieties such as global instability and conflicting positions resulting from wars and other major political conflicts.

Attending to the full life path of the individual

A psychotherapy that is “with time” works with the full life trajectory  (“timeline”) of the subject and the internal representation of past, present and future that is present within the human mind. This promotes attending not only to past analysis and etiology, but focussing especially on motivational factors present in current experience of life – decisions, behaviours, stresses, resources and health – reaching progressively into time by attending to recovery outcomes through expectations, plans, future challenges and goals (Erickson, M. H. 1954). Therefore Contemporary Psychotherapy focuses not just on causation, but especially on the immediate needs of the client and their short and long term well-being, concerning the client’s management of their condition or situation, recovery and personal development, for now and in the manageable future.

Adapting and responding to the process of the individual

A psychotherapy that is flexibly responding “with time” observes that people and their conditions are never static but in constant process. Therefore a person’s  identity is an evolving entity, for better or worse, and a   condition, situation or circumstance is seldom constant, but moving either further to or away from health and equilibrium. A person is as they are in this moment and locating and accepting the client’s experience of “this now” is a key skill operating from the practitioner’s trained acuity and authentic personhood. Similarly,  recovery and personal development are not single events, but a series of events that may go through   several stages over time. Treatment is likewise required to be responsive, appropriate and synchronised with the client’s progress.  The Contemporary Psychotherapist is trained in the practical skills of cognitive, linguistic and behavioural modelling offered through the work of Robert Dilts and Judith DeLozier in Systemic Neuro-Linguistics, to enable them to be accurately adaptable to the unique experience and functioning patterns of the client, constantly evolving their model of the client’s world according to the client’s process and communication.

Recognising the mind and body

A psychotherapy that is responsively pacing the development over time of the client, is aware of the “biological timepiece” that is the human body and the crucial engagement of the somatic intelligence in affecting positive psychotherapeutic change. Effective treatment is sympathetic and sensitive to the innate circadian and ultradian rhythms of the human biological and affective systems that are observable to the trained practitioner who is able to synchronise to and utilise these cycles, also called “trance”, “hypnosis” or “altered state”, to facilitate the client’s process of change (Rossi E.L. 1982, 1986). Therefore Contemporary Psychotherapy approaches treatment with a consideration of psychobiological components of distress, recovery and development. Treatment recognises and utilises the natural biological and behavioural cycles of the client, such as the rhythm and sequence of affective and somatic  experiences, the pace set by behavioural routines and the utilisation of naturally occurring altered awareness states (Rossi, E.L. 1992). This therapeutic utilization of  psychobiological cycles is a way of accessing and   facilitating the new neuroscience of gene expression and brain plasticity to optimise the client’s health and well-being at the most fundamental molecular-genomic levels of mind-body healing, memory, learning, consciousness, and creativity (Rossi, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007).

Flexible timeframes for treatment