Olbrei, Ilmar Fred2013-08-232013-08-23b11766530http://hdl.handle.net/1885/10356Most semiotic approaches to psychotherapy involve the application of semiotic concepts directly to manifestations of psychological disorder, and constitute an alternative to more traditional approaches. This essay explores the utility of applying semiotics to psychotherapy as a meta-theoretical framework. Psychoanalytic theory is studied first, due to the fact that there already exists a tradition of applying a semiotic reading to Freudian theory within French structuralism. Using a different approach, it is shown here that Freud's most important discovery, the interplay of unconscious and conscious processes, is actually formulated in terms of sign phenomena, and the distinction between the two corresponds to a distinction between two types of representation involving notions of continuity and discreteness, respectively. other theories are examined to see if they yield the same dimension. To facilitate this process, Carkhuff's eclectic model of therapy, claimed by him to constitute a 'theoretic convergence' of all existing approaches to psychotherapy, is evaluated. This model turns out to represent a fusion of humanist and behaviourist schools, but is largely opposed to the psychoanalytic school. However, since its ideological commitment is virtually identical with that of Rogers' approach, it is reasoned that Rogers' theory can be regarded as an approximate representative of those approaches generally opposed to Freud. A semiotic analysis of Rogers' theory reveals the same dimension that was identified in Freudian theory. It is suggested that such a dimension may well be an essential feature of psychotherapy in general; this being the case, psychotherapy can be seen to imply a philosophical position that differs radically from the rationalism that has dominated most of traditional science and philosophy. From a more narrow point of view, it is concluded that the meta-theoretical application of semiotics serves to give a particularly useful perspective for the evaluation of theories of psychotherapy, and in particular, serves to emphasise the continuing (if not increased) relevance of Freudian theory for today.en-AU197710.25911/5d78d69617ce2