DEVELOPMENTAL CRISIS IN EARLY ADULTHOOD: A ...

growth and continued search, and by also pointing out how the new crises relate to
past habits of behaviour. This is essence is ‘relapse management’. As mentioned
earlier in the chapter, Prochaska and DiClemente’s model of change sees relapse as an
integral part of changing old habits and ways of life, and they see a spiral of change as
relapses are coped with on the way to resolution (DiClemente, Prochaska and
Gibertini, 1985). This basic principle of spiralling progression with setbacks and
steps forward alternating can be applied to understand and help individuals in the
experimental Stage 3 of a life transition, with the further assumption that in nonclinical
crises the relapses are temporary and that enduring change is possible.
Stage 4 Therapeutic Context
Out of the cases in this thesis, individuals who went into therapy during crisis
had finished it by the time they had found the new life structure that defines Phase 4
and crisis resolution. So it may be that the therapeutic relationship comes to an end
naturally at this point. For those who do stay in therapy in Phase 4, the process can be
engaged in without the concerns of pressing change and transition; this may allow a
longer-term focus and will negate the need for a transitional framework to aid the
process of counselling.
This perspective of framing therapy within the context of transitions supports
the position of Caplan (1964), Bridges (2004) and Kegan (1982), who all assert that
mental distress and life problems should be understood within a developmental
framework. Bridges (2004) criticises much therapy for being based on a mechanical
metaphor similar to fixing a car. In this paradigm, a person who goes for therapy has
a fault that needs fixing, for example fixing their maladaptive thoughts, or
maladaptive/conditioned behaviours. Bridges points out that this approach is deficient
because while cars are static objects that do not develop after they have been
constructed, human beings are forever being challenged to develop and grow, to
accommodate new life challenges and life stages. For him, psychological suffering
other than that caused by an organic lesion should be considered as resistance to
growth, and the corrective measure for a suffering human being should be the
facilitation of growth and sometimes navigation of a transition or crisis. Kegan takes
the same position, and states that the job of the counsellor is “offering the client a
culture to grow in.” (Kegan, 1982, p.276).
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