ABSTRACT
Healing involves recognition, acceptance and commitment to change. Ex-boarders can move from survival to living through an intentional process of change. Change involves re-owning the split-off parts of one's personality and integrating new ways of being into life. In the change process there must be a positive balance for a client whereby the perceived benefits of change outweigh the perceived costs of changing. Dynamic models of change really took off in the 1960s with systems theory, based on cybernetics, and anthropology, in particular the work of Gregory Bateson. Robert Pirsig's work is most applicable to the psychological change process, explaining resistance, breakdowns and breakthroughs, as is the work of transpersonal philosopher Ken Wilber. However, working with masochistic ex-boarders, the likelihood for the therapist is that the drama triangle from Eric Berne's Transactional Analysis is the working ground.
