Someone recently reminded me of the Johari Window concept, created by psychologists Joseph Luft (1916–2014) and Harrington Ingham (1916–1995) in 1955. The idea has become a heuristic exercise used by the corporate sector to improve individuals’ effectiveness and allow them to fit better into a working environment. Any exercise or concept disconnected from its theoretical basis might become abusive and toxic. I heard horror stories about that exercise being used to micromanage individuals.
But…
We can also use Johari Window in therapy, which has more blessed effects. However, my point is not to advertise what exercises I might use in the therapy room.
The Johari Window illustrate how complicated a person is. The person in the counselling armchair is not just the characteristics visible to people outside. The person is not identified by their job, social role, or age. What is more, the Johari Window assumes that there is an unknown part of a person. Unconscious, but ever present and working underneath.
This part you can discover in therapy.
That is why therapy provokes anxiety and fits of uncontrollable childish behaviour. It is scary and overwhelming to think we have not met ourselves completely. Yet.
