IRC offers a new conceptual framework for understanding human experience and the basis for a new approach to helping. Why is a new approach needed?
It is now over 100 years since professional counseling and psychotherapy were created. This “modern” field was created to fit the needs of the urban middle class in Europe and the U.S.:
- Marriage was considered mandatory.
- Divorce was not an option.
- People were universally assumed to be sexually repressed and frustrated.
- Problems were attributed to inner conflicts.
- Helping was defined as a process of getting in touch with repressed parts of the self.
In the present time, a period that has been called “postmodern,” communication technologies and ease of travel have increased cross-fertilization among cultures. The European ideal of the separate “self,” dating back to classical Greece, has been challenged. The ancient image of a Relational Self —a person who exists through interactions with others--fits better with contemporary experiences of global interdependence.
In a world where difference is a constant—difference of gender, race, social class, sexual orientation—people need understandings and skills for getting along with others. Identity Renegotiation Counseling is designed to address this need.
Identity Renegotiation Counseling offers a way of understanding people’s problems and a plan for organizing the helping process.
IRC works by helping people to:
(1) Accept the complexities of continuity and change in human life;
(2) Value differences, seeing the strengths in conflicting viewpoints;
(3) Appreciate the universal human need for validation and support;
(4) Recognize the universal process of influence, through which people try to coordinate thoughts, behavior, and feelings;
(5) Develop skills for working with influence--collaborating to achieve mutually desired changes
(6) Renegotiate identities with loved ones, colleagues, co-workers, and larger communities where differences are observed and reinforced.
The goals of Identity Renegotiation Counseling can be addressed individually, in groups, and as couples and families
Whether they are seen one at a time or together, people can be helped in traditional face-to-face settings or through online connections
Text-based (chat, IM, and e-mail) technologies are especially helpful
Readings and homework exercises are often helpful for clients as they begin to change their ways of thinking and acting
You are invited to browse the site for readings directed at clients and fellow professionals; handouts and worksheets related to IRC; reading lists; and information on scheduling in-person and online counseling, training, and supervision.
