Rhythmic Integration - Finding Wholness in the Cycle of Change (Ronald Robbins, PhD)

Ronald Robbins has created a new psychology based on character types, positioned on a continuum of change and rhythm. He delineates six phases in the cycle: dreamer, creator, communicator, inspirer, solidifier, and achiever. In working with patients, Robbins helps the person move emotionally and energetically from wherever he is stuck to the next phase in the cycle. The phases are clear and understandable to me. And they are grounded in common sense. Robbins writes beautifully, often poetically, with insight and sensitive use of language. He illustrates the various phases with vingnettes that are brief and to the point. Also he presents sketches about other therapists who developed their own methods of psychotherapy relating to rhythm. They include Carl Jung, R. D. Laing, J. L. Moreno, Albert Ellis, Jacqui Schiff, Carl Rogers, Virginia Satir, and Alexander Lowen. Most of them he was able to interview personally. These biographies are interesting and they help clarify Robbin's notions. At times, however, I became so absorbed with the profile that I was distracted from the larger theme of the book. Throughout the book Robbins does not use the terms "sickness" or "health." I find this to be the most creative aspect of his therapy. Near the end of the volume, the author presents the rhythmic cycle linearly, following its course in quantitative terms and tracing its amplitude graphically. Later he discovers that a physics diagram that traces the course of energy from nerve excitation to muscle movement is an almost exact duplicate of his own psycho/biological graph. This finding helps us understand the pause that occurs after achievement, a brief rest that enables an organism to collect itself and start the cycle anew. Because so much information is offered from different fields, I believe it would be helpful if the book had an index in the next edition.