Cite as (APA style): Dong, H. & Deng, J. (2026). Key Conflict classification: Insights from traditional Chinese culture. The Global Psychotherapist, 6(2), 167-177 http://doi.org/10.52982/lkj324
This paper examines Professor Peseschkian’s theory of key conflict in Positive Psychotherapy, alongside diverse interpretations of its classification in existing academic literature. It systematically identifies and analyzes the limitations inherent in current accounts of reaction types to key conflict. Drawing on traditional Chinese culture, this study reinterprets the reaction types to key conflict from an indigenous cultural perspective. Inspired by the Taiji Diagram – a classic symbol of ancient Chinese philosophy – the paper constructs an intuitive graphical classification model for key conflict. This visual model reduces comprehension barriers for researchers and practitioners, allowing them to better grasp the connotations of key conflict and its varied reaction patterns. More importantly, the theoretical framework proposed herein is expected to facilitate the localized interpretation, popularization, and practical application of Positive Psychotherapy within the Chinese cultural context. By integrating traditional cultural insights with theoretical innovation, this study helps reconcile Western psychotherapeutic frameworks with Chinese cultural values, thus enhancing the pertinence and efficacy of Positive Psychotherapy in indigenous Chinese cultural settings.
Keywords: key conflict, balanced type, ambivalent type, Positive Psychotherapy