The concept of encounter in psychotherapy and developmental psychology

The article discusses possibilities for application of the concept of encounter in two areas of practical developmental psychology — in the work with the aesthetic experience gained by people in the perception of artworks and in relation to mental health services for older people, for whom one of the most important activities is the recollection of their life. Authors take as basic the understanding of the encounter proposed by W. Schutz, who showed psychological tools to achieve it in psychotherapy, and R. May, who applied this concept in the psychology of creativity. The authors clarify psychotechnical tools to achieve basic aspects (openness, self-consciousness, responsibility, etc.) in relation to the work of psychologist with the aesthetic experience as a result of the perception of artworks, and recollections of the life in mature and advanced age. The importance of encounter with aesthetic experience is considered in the context of forming a system of means mastering our own emotions (L.S. Vygotsky). Authors stressed the importance of the encounter with recollections of the past for the growth of psychological new formations of mature ages.

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