Counselling Theory and Practice:- RELATIONSHIP THERAPY

Relationship Therapy

Theory and Practice

PART FOUR

Malan’s Triangles
Hidden Conflict
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© 2010 - Peter Creagh, Trainer, Supervisor and BACP Registered Counsellor UKRC
Malan’s
 Counselling Theory and Practice:- RELATIONSHIP THERAPY

Handling the Anxiety

Defences - Hidden Feelings & Malan’s Triangle.
INTRODUCTION

Very often clients enter therapy in order to deal with issues that are causing them some
considerable anxiety and confusion. However, this anxiety and confusion can very often
be connected with a combination of hidden or unaware feelings and issues from their
past. This brief note will look at how therapists can relate the client’s anxiety with the
client’s ( typically unaware) use of defences and their unconscious or unaware feelings.
It will examine how clients could be helped to relate these to the here and now, the
present.

This ‘present’ occurs within all of us and in our relationships with others ,both in the here
and now and also in the recent past. It also is influenced by our relationships with major
figures ( often parental type figures ) from our past. The last of these give rise to issues
of transference and counter-transference and all these can be related using a concept
known as Malan’s Triangles.

MALAN’s TRIANGLES

MALAN’s TRIANGLES is a schematic way of relating the client’s life and relationships in
the present and the past and how these impact on the therapeutic relationship in the
counseling room. This is a schematic method, whereby we can relate all these ideas and
concepts using two triangles. These will now be explored in further detail..

Very often in counseling the task of the therapist is to assist the client to gain insight into
the feelings and emotions that are confusing and distressing. Very often these are part of
our natural psychological defences. Anxiety can give rise to the natural human reaction of
avoidance. Our brain responds and, if the anxiety rises above a certain level, then it gives
rise to our ‘Flight- Fight’ response. Very often , our anxiety is rooted in the depths of our
consciousness. It is not immediately open to our awareness. This may be because the
real ‘roots’ are hidden deep in the depths of our past.

However, if these hidden anxieties are rooted in our infancy, then neuro-science informs
us that this also means that strong negative neural pathways will have been produced.
Consequently, these ‘anxieties’ can lie deep beneath the surface like fissures or ‘plates’
that can give rise in later life to emotional earthquakes with many after shocks.

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© 2010 - Peter Creagh, Trainer, Supervisor and BACP Registered Counsellor UKRC
Malan’s
 Counselling Theory and Practice:- RELATIONSHIP THERAPY

Now experience tells us that these deep anxieties often lie undetected for many years.
However, as we engage in and experience deep and meaningful relationships, the
anxieties begin to bubble up into our sub-conscious or, as humanistic approaches call it,
our ‘ edge of awareness’. This is often triggered by changes in our life ( see the paper
on Life Stages – part of this series)

The good news is that once our anxieties reach this level, then they are more open to
exploration and consequential insights. One method, that is often used in relationship
therapy is to make use of Malan’s Triangles. These are a series of triangles that assist
therapist and client to engage in, and identify, the triad of defences- anxieties and hidden
feelings that can so often give rise to difficult and challenging emotions.

Malan’s Triangle of Conflict

The Figure below shows the triangular relationship between (D) defence, ( A) anxiety
and ( H) the Hidden feeling. This is often referred to as the ‘Triangle of Conflict’.
Interestingly, this triangle can also apply to Group Dynamics and in the event of ‘storming’
as groups form, may help to explain these difficulties. Note:- This is the subject of a
separate handout on Group Dynamics.

Malan’s hypothesis is that the Defence is in reaction to the Anxiety which in turn is
rooted in the Hidden Feelings.

Defence Anxiety
( caused by feelings )
(D) (A)

Hidden Feelings (H)

( Often an impulse & from early age )
No 1:- The Triangle of conflict : - Feelings – Anxiety and Defences

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© 2010 - Peter Creagh, Trainer, Supervisor and BACP Registered Counsellor UKRC
Malan’s
 Counselling Theory and Practice:- RELATIONSHIP THERAPY

USING MALAN’s TRIANGLES TO ASSIST CLIENTS

But how can this idea of Malan , and his Triangles of Conflict assist us in the Counselling
Room ? . To see how we need to look further into his work.

Malan goes on to introduce his second and related triangle which indicates how we might
bring the unconscious into the conscious and thereby give clients understanding and
choices. He links this with the major psychodynamic concept of ‘transference &
counter-transference’ ( see separate notes on these in this series)

Other Person ( O) Transference ( T)

( usually current or recent past ) ( usually here and now
& related to the Counsellor)

Parental Figure (P)

( usually distant past )

No 2 :- Link Triangle – ( Other – Transference – Parental Figure )

The above triangle shows the link in the present with the major figure of the past. The
encounter and relationship with ‘the Other’ here in the present evokes a mixture of
thoughts, feelings , attitudes and behaviours which have a ‘transferred’ link with a
past parental figure.

Very often this ‘transference’ occurs in the counseling room and is similar to the problem
that occurs between the client and a ‘significant other’ outside the counselling room.

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© 2010 - Peter Creagh, Trainer, Supervisor and BACP Registered Counsellor UKRC
Malan’s
 Counselling Theory and Practice:- RELATIONSHIP THERAPY

The next step, for the Counsellor, is to decide how ton use this insight to inform the
therapeutic alliance in the counselling room.

THE THERAPEUTIC LINK - PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

How can the therapist begin to put these two triangles together and in what way could
this assist the therapeutic process?

Let us put BOTH triangles side by side and see what reasonable conclusions we could
draw out. Assuming there is a reasonable correlation between the two triangles.

D A O T

1 2

H P

The first Triangle relates to the anxieties and consequential defences that occur in the
clients present life and how these are often ‘fuelled’ by hidden feelings from the past

The second triangle relates the client’s relationships with others, the transference issues
in the counseling room between client and therapist and how these are related with
significant ‘parental’ figures in the client’s past.

Using this as a possible correlation leads to the next set of triangles.

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© 2010 - Peter Creagh, Trainer, Supervisor and BACP Registered Counsellor UKRC
Malan’s
 Counselling Theory and Practice:- RELATIONSHIP THERAPY

Working with the anxiety ( A) – defence ( D) & ( hidden) feelings (H) s.

Three Potential Link

D A O O/T T

O/P T/P

H P

The second triangle has THREE links

O/P Feelings directed at the Other are derived from those directed towards the Parent

O/T Some form of similar feelings are directed at both the Other and the Therapist

T/P Transference feelings are derived from feelings about Parents.

NOTES :

1. Each triangle is stood on its apex to denote ‘below the surface ‘ feelings and roots

2. The aim of the therapy is to reach beneath the Defence & Anxiety towards the
Hidden feelings.

3. The 2nd or Other Triangle shows how these links can provide client with INSIGHT
by tracing what is happening in the present back to the past.

4. There is a notion of ‘time’ in second triangle i.e. current and past

5. Interventions by the counsellor can be guided by these triangles and thus assist
clients to make the links.

6. When clients are ‘blocked’ it helps if the therapist looks for patterns and asks
what are they defending against ?

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© 2010 - Peter Creagh, Trainer, Supervisor and BACP Registered Counsellor UKRC
Malan’s
 Counselling Theory and Practice:- RELATIONSHIP THERAPY

FINAL NOTES

This short note on Malan’s Triangles must be read in conjunction with other notes in this
series. This is because it deals with transference issues and crisis that can so often be
connected with both Life Stages and Attachment theories.

These are merely brief notes that are informed by the Author’s 20 years experience of
working with couples.

Bibliography

Creagh,P ( 2010) Introduction to the Psychodynamic Approach, Heartsease Training,

Shropshire,UK

Creagh,P ( 2010) Transference & Spiritual Direction, Heartsease Training, Shropshire,UK

Creagh,P ( 2010) Counter- Transference & Spiritual Direction, Heartsease Training,

Shropshire,UK

Creagh,P ( 2010) , Relationship Therapt : Attachment Theory, Heartsease Training,

Shropshire,UK

Creagh,P ( 2010) , Relationship Therapy : Life Stages. Heartsease Training,

Shropshire,UK

Creagh,P ( 2010) Introduction to the Psychodynamic Approach, Heartsease Training,

Shropshire,UK

Malan D ( 1979) Individual Psychotherapy & the Science of Psychodynamics –

Butterworth )

A COMPLEMENTARY EXERCISE NOW FOLLOWS

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© 2010 - Peter Creagh, Trainer, Supervisor and BACP Registered Counsellor UKRC
Malan’s
 Counselling Theory and Practice:- RELATIONSHIP THERAPY

Handling the Anxiety - MALAN’s TRIANGLES

EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISE

HOW WE HANDLE UNCONSCIOUS FEELINGS

1. Think of a feeling you like to keep to yourself and note this down.

2. Think of a particular circumstance you MIGHT BE IN where YOU are ANXIOUS

that this ( feeling above ) might get known or be felt by and /or noticed by
somebody else.

3. Now ask yourself ‘What defence / defences might I employ to reduce or prevent
this ?

4. Share the total experience with a trusted friend or colleague or , if you are doing
this alone, then reflect deeply and record your reflections in your Personal Journal.

5. Before moving on record some immediate outcomes in the box below

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© 2010 - Peter Creagh, Trainer, Supervisor and BACP Registered Counsellor UKRC
Malan’s