Ecological, phenomenological and embodied approach in psychotherapy and its significance for the education of psychotherapists

Thomas Fuchs combines phenomenology, enactivism, ecological psychology, and existential psychiatry into a coherent philosophical approach for psychology and psychotherapy. His work draws on the enactivist idea of the two-dimensional embodied subject and rehabilitates philosophical anthropology and Naturphilosophie, particularly Helmut Plessner's version. Fuchs' approach can be interpreted as a modern Naturphilosophie within the broader project of naturalizing phenomenology. The article distinguishes ecological approach from ecological methodology and argues that Fuchs uses an ecological approach to justify combining seemingly contradictory methodologies. This ecological approach is presented as a radicalization of the phenomenological attitude or a radical phenomenological stance.

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Abstract

The article is devoted to the basic elements of ecological and phenomenological approach in psychology, psychiatry and psychotherapy, as they are present in the philosophy of the famous German psychiatrist-philosopher Thomas Fuchs, as well as to justificate the translation strategy of Fuchs' philosophy and description of the most difficult terms. The originality of Fuchs' attitude is shown, which is a combination of different modern research approaches: phenomenology, enactivism, ecological psychology, ecological psychotherapy, topological, vector psychology and field psychology, as well as existential psychiatry and psychotherapy. It is proposed to interpret the theoretical and methodological attitude of Thomas Fuchs as based in part on the enactivist guidelines of two-dimensional consideration of the embodied subject, in part on the rehabilitation of philosophical anthropology and Naturphilosophie of Helmut and the natural philosophy of Helmut Plessner and his version of the idea of two-dimensional embodied subject in the methodology of humanities and natural sciences. In particular, the possibility of interpreting Professor Fuchs' approach as a modern Naturphilosophie within the general project of naturalization of phenomenology is shown. In addition, the article shows the difference between the ecological approach and ecological methodology. The emphasis on the fact that Fuchs uses an ecological approach in his philosophy justifies the use, at first glance, of such contradictory methodologies as phenomenology, ecological and topological psychology, enactivism, and so on. Along with this, the ecological approach is considered as a project of radicalization of the phenomenological attitude or as a radical phenomenological stance.