Peace, Sexuality, and Family – A theoretical inquiry into the blockages at the persona’s layers of sexuality and family from the perspective of the humanistic psychology as a transformative approach to elicitive conflict work
The academic purpose of my master’s thesis was to increase the understanding of the fundamental dynamics at the core of human relationships which hinder us human beings in our peace. I assumed that personal blockages are central to conflictive processes. These blockages are defined as a barrier which disrupts the natural urge for the dynamic equilibrium of the self-regulatory quality of open systems, preventing the person from experiencing fully, and from self-actualizing as described in the person centred approach. Based on the writings of John Paul Lederach and Wolfgang Dietrich, I focused on the blockages in the layers of sexuality and family.
The main research question focused on how an unblocked flow of the homeostatic balance in the sexuality and family layers can be facilitated. I split the main research question into the sub-questions of how blockages at those two layers manifest, how a person can become aware of the blockages, how those blockages can be transformed, and how these findings can contribute to elicitive conflict transformation. I used the writings of the person-centered approach, the Gestalt therapy and Satir’s approach to family therapy, as three different lenses to find answers to my research questions. Additionally, as a reflective process, I identified and discussed potential blockages in the layers of sexuality and family of my own societal background and compared my first-hand experiences with findings from the literature of different fields.
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On a personal level, writing the thesis was a creative and healing process. It was fun to engage with the literature and to apply and discuss it within the thesis. I reflected about my own social background, personal patterns and own blockages. It was a journey into my own past and present with a healing effect on my present awareness and my close relationships.