Counselling and the Work - what's the difference?

What's the difference between counselling and the Work? Sometimes people interested in psychology confuse the two, but although they have some things in common they are really quite different. First, the common factors: both help people to become aware of the various influences in their psyche which prevent them from living life to the full. Both help people to change. But they work on different levels.

Counselling - and many Work teachers like me are also qualified and practicing counsellors - works best with clients who have specific problems they want to understand and overcome, and who are willing to put in the "homework" necessary to achieve this. The presenting problem may be quite easy to understand and to deal with, or it may be necessary for client and counsellor together to delve more deeply into childhood memories, current dreams, and so on. Like the Work, counselling can involve the intellect, the emotions and the moving centre, sometimes called the "effective centre", because using it actually helps us to get things done. Whichever method is used, and however long or short the therapy, once the problems are addressed the client and counsellor part company.

I've had counselling and found it helpful. Once I'd become sober, it was useful in helping me to see the origins of my alcoholic drinking, and later in dealing with my disability in practical ways. And different types of counselling are suited to clients with a wide range of problems. The most popular method amongst counselling students, and perhaps the safest in terms of reassuring the client, is the Rogerian approach, where the therapist shows "unconditional positive regard" to the client, experiences empathy with him or her, and offers the client an authentic response. Following these "core conditions" enables the counsellor to create a safe space where the client can share freely with the therapist, and look at their problems in depth. Rogers thought the client always knew best, and that deep down he or she was aware of what they needed to do in order to be healed.

But this approach doesn't work with everyone. In helping clients with drug or alcohol problems it doesn't work at all. The client in these circumstances definitely doesn't know best, and needs directions and advice more than empathy, because their very lives are at stake. Other situations are greatly helped by the therapist's own input and suggestions, because he or she sees aspects of the client's thinking or behaviour that the client has overlooked. Obviously, establishing a good rapport is vitally important, and studies have shown that it's the counsellor's personality - in Work terms, his or her level of Being - that has the most effect on the client, regardless of which method is followed.

Long-term therapy along Jungian or psychosynthetic lines is probably the closest that counselling comes to the Work, as it offers a more thoroughgoing transformation.

The line of Work I follow is the Nicoll approach. Maurice Nicoll was a Jungian psychoanalyst who studied with both Gurdjieff and Ouspensky, and who in his role as therapist also worked with clients who knew nothing about, and would not have been interested in, the Work. 

The Work itself begins where counselling ends - in the realm of the holistic, spiritual quest. Followed under the guidance of an authorized teacher, it can lead to very deep self-knowledge and understanding, and eventually to complete psychological transformation.

Counselling helps clients to live their lives in a more functional, fulfilling way. The Work helps us to transform our lives and ourselves. Many people find counselling helpful; far fewer are willing to undertake the lifelong effort of the Work. 

For a fuller account of the differences and similarities, I'd suggest reading the essays by Charles Tart and Robin Skynner in "Gurdjieff - Essays and Reflections on the Man and his Teaching", ed. Jacob Needleman and George Baker. Both authors have written books on the uses of therapy, and in their essays they relate counselling to the Work, and point out the differences and similarities.

What is the Fourth Way?

The Work is often called the "Fourth Way" towards enlightenment. The term originated with Gurdjieff, who used it to point out the differences between the Work and other spiritual paths. He taught that people could be divided into three basic types: those who were centred on their Intellect (he called this Man or Woman Number 3); those who based themselves on their Emotions (Number 2); and those who were mainly aware of their bodies (Number 1). Someone who, through personal work, becomes balanced in all centres, equally able to use them all according to the needs of the situation, is called in this system Number 4. These latter are always the result of school work, and are not found naturally. 

We'll look at the centres in a future Post. For now, it's easy to understand the different types just by taking the terms in their ordinary sense. For example, we've all known intellectually based people who try to act rationally in all circumstances, and choose employment which primarily uses this centre - university professors, administrators, clerks, and so on. Then there are the emotional people, the social workers, counsellors, codependent family members, and the like. They judge every situation by their emotional reaction, and their decisions are based on emotions. And those who prefer the physical body as the seat of action include sports players and fans, surfers, epicures, dynamic business leaders, and many more. 

And, just as we are all based on one or another centre and prefer using it to others, so there have always been religious paths to enlightenment that were likewise one-sided. The path of the intellect Gurdjieff called "Raja yoga", but it also applies to theologians, especially in religious orders, who believe the answers can always be found in the rational mind. The path of emotional people is that of "Bhakti yoga", or devotion, and similarly can be found in popular devotions to saints and religious leaders. Finally, the path of the body can be seen in "Hatha yoga" and similar physical disciplines, including martial arts, physical culture, and so on. Traditionally, the fullest practice of any of these ways would necessitate either living in a monastery or ashram, or else spending long periods of retreat there.

The Fourth Way is different because it is practiced in ordinary life. The Work says that the best conditions for our development are to be found right where we are, in the circumstances in which we live. We don't need to change anything in life in order to practice the Work, and we don't, and shouldn't, abandon our responsibilities to do so.

The Fourth Way is also unique in developing all centres together, so that no one centre outstrips the others. In a Work group, a teacher will give exercises designed to develop the different centres and . will encourage students to work particularly on the less used centres.

To get a clearer idea of your own type, you can look at systems such as the Myers Briggs Type Inventory, or any of the excellent books on the Enneagram which are now very popular. Try to see what motivated your major life decisions, which centre you mainly used. Observe your habitual reactions to daily events. It's much easier to do this with the help of others, of course. 

Sometimes people object to being classified in this way. They think they are unclassifiable and that such a system would restrict them. They are usually those who haven't fully observed themselves, because when we do become more observant we can see how, all through our lives, we have generally resorted to one particular centre when faced with decisions and circumstances. Sometimes we use a second centre to help, but there will be a third centre that we have neglected. Working on this centre will be particularly helpful.

Introduction: a blog about the Gurdjieff Work, counselling and the 12 Steps

When I first heard of the Work in 1970, I had no idea how much my life and my "self" would be transformed by it. I was fortunate in studying under a wonderful and gifted teacher, Marian Davison, who succeeded Beryl Pogson after Mrs Pogson's death. I remained her student for most of my life, although I was also lucky enough, with her permission, to be taught for a while by Dr Bernard Courtney-Myers, who had been Gurdjieff's personal physician. I also spent time with a large group in Israel, and from 1978-1992 I studied with an Atlanta group linked with the Foundation in New York.

I kept my link with Mrs Davison through notes and telephone calls while I was in the USA, and by personal visits and participation in her group again when I returned to England, in 1992. I am more grateful than I can express for the unstinting help and the Work education which she gave me.

What I didn't anticipate was that, some time in the 1980s, I would fall into the living hell of alcoholic drinking. 

For a while, my personal work continued untouched, as I thought, by my drinking. But after a near-fatal car crash it was no longer possible to deny my diminished state. I literally died, and was brought back to life, now permanently and severely disabled. Fortunately, I discovered AA and the Twelve Steps, and I practiced them together with the Work principles I'd already digested.

I was surprised and delighted to find that the two programs went very well together - and so they still do, as I continue to use both today in my spiritual journey.

It shouldn't have surprised me, because both are inspired by Christianity, the program of AA directly so, and the Work by Esoteric Christianity, along with many of the principles of the other great religions. 

For more than 20 years I've been a Work teacher myself, authorized to teach by Mrs Davison. And I celebrated 24 years of sobriety last year, 2014.

I wrote a book about my experiences, "A Raging Thirst: My Life in the Chamber of Yearnings", which I'm publishing on Kindle. And I started a website, and this blog, in the hope that the story of my journey may be of help to others, and because Mrs Davison always insisted that we must try, in every way we can, to pass along what we've learned. The Work isn't just for ourselves. It's given to us for our own spiritual growth, yes, but also for the benefit of others and so that we can contribute to the evolution of this unique planet.

Or, as AA puts it, we keep what we have by giving it away. And it's in that spirit that I offer this blog to anyone who may find it helpful.