ABSTRACT
The renowned Dr Hanscarl Leuner developed CIP and was a psychoanalyst and psychotherapist himself. Using daydreams as the substance of mindful therapy—strange as it may sound at first—catathym imaginative psychotherapy (CIP) is a form of depth psychology orientated psychotherapy that has been validated in several scientific studies. “Catathym” translates to “desired condition” in the sense of an emotional desire, that is, not wilfully directed. For therapist Erhard Freitag, catathym imaginative psychotherapy is the ideal method to spotlight undiscovered conflicts. Catathym imaginative psychotherapy enables direct access to the client’s unconscious, as well as his repressed knowledge. Since the therapist remains in constant awareness of his client’s vision, he can gently intervene at any given moment. Every form of catathym imaginative psychotherapy begins with this first of three steps; if the therapy continues, the basic level is succeeded by the intermediate, and possibly the advanced, level.
