The lifelong development of identity and psychotherapy on the basis of developmental crises

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to clarify the characteristics of identity crises and developmental process in adulthood empirically based on Erikson's Epigenetic Schema. Middle age and retirement age were developmental crisis periods as well as adolescence, in which the identity was re-questioned and reconfirmed. It was found that these psychodynamic process were similar to the separation-individuation process in early childhood. Based on these empirical data, The Spiral Model ofIdentity Development in Adulthood was advocated. Many people in middle age visit psychotherapists claiming a lot of mental problems. By analysis of psychotherapy cases by the author, it was suggested that the depth of middle age crises were related to the roots of their clients' conflict level, that is, the roots of their unresolved conflict was in early childhood, the pathology of middle age crisis was serious. Some points of psychotherapy for middle aged clients were suggested according to the levels of unresolved conflicts.