Unlocking the Secrets of Modern Psychotherapy

A Guide to Understanding the Latest Techniques and Approaches for Improving Mental Health.

Are you curious about how psychologists and psychotherapists assist individuals in improving their mental health? With so many different schools of thought in the field, it can be hard to know where to start.

In this article, we’ll dive into three leading approaches in modern psychotherapy: Psychoanalysis, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, and Humanistic Psychology. Each approach has its own unique focus and techniques, and we’ll explore how they differ and how they can be used to help patients.

Take a moment to reflect on which approach resonates with you the most and why. Share your thoughts in the comments. Keep in mind that ultimately, the approach that works best for you may depend on your personal needs and personality. As we explore the different approaches, we’ll also take a look at how psychotherapy is constantly evolving and changing over time. So, let’s dive in and discover the fascinating world of psychotherapy together!”

Trends in Psychotherapy

Over the past 30 years we have seen the rise of popularity in the following trends:

• Use of Mindfulness and Meditation in psychotherapy.
• Change of attitude towards mental illness. Psychologists tended to focus entirely on the negative sides of the human condition. Now we see a trend in positive psychology that focuses on aspects like gratitude, happiness, wisdom, optimism, etc.
• More of a holistic approach to treating patients in opposition to the structural view of the human psyche (ID, EGO, SUPEREGO). For more information on this topic read this.

Let me start by explaining the role of Mindfulness and Meditation in the evolution of psychotherapy.

The third wave of psychotherapy

Change in “waves” (approach) of cognitive and behavioral therapies is a great example of how psychotherapy is evolving.

CBT or cognitive-behavioral therapy was the most tested by scientists and has shown great results( Germer, Siegel, Fulton, 2015).

The first wave was behavioral therapy focusing on human behavior. Its practitioners had no interest in the subjective states of the mind (thoughts, emotions, etc.).

Psychotherapists (if you can even call them that) based their practice on classical and instrumental conditioning.

The second wave combined the behavioral approach with cognitive psychotherapy. It is called cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy. Very popular, and successful.

Psychotherapy shifted towards discovering and changing thought patterns.

The third wave is psychotherapy based on mindfulness, acceptance, and compassion.

Psychologists focus now more on working with patients' experiences in the present moment.

They try to help by getting out of negative mental chatter and concentrating on sensations. I talk a lot about mindfulness and meditation on my profile.

To see the list of specific therapies using this approach click here.

Being aware of one’s thoughts, emotions, actions, and sensations seems to have profound healing benefits.

If you would like to learn tips about how one can improve his or her practice of mindfulness and meditation I’ve made an article on this topic.

As you can see psychotherapy is changing and meditation seems to be at the forefront.

There are many reasons why it’s the case (you can read about the research done on meditation Here).

The next trend in psychotherapy is Positive Psychology. It has been rising in popularity for the past 20 years. Many researchers and psychotherapists have embraced this growing field.

Positive psychology

Positive psychology is about teaching people to discover “the good” aspects of their personalities, situations, and life.

Sounds obvious right?

Just look at the positives more and you’ll feel better, have more satisfying relationships, etc.

Well, there is more to that.

Positive psychologists want people to look at both sides of the coin.

And also practice gratitude, optimism, cultivating wisdom, and virtuous behaviors.

Studies had shown that people who show gratitude to other’s get a sense of reward, feel positive emotions, and have more meaningful social relations.

For more information about the potential effects of gratitude click here.

The founder of this new scientific sub-discipline Positive Psychology Martin E.P. Seligman created it because he saw negative and unhelpful tendencies in conventional clinical psychology.

Psychiatrists, psychologists, and psychotherapists were stuck in a loop of trying to find what is wrong with people, which caused them to undermine positive aspects of human condition.

Revelations came like a storm, and they were destined to change the tides of how a person’s mental health is approached.

The first significant discovery came with an experiment on learned helplessness.

Researchers concluded that a person who has an impact on a situation in the first stage of the experiment will actively try to influence his situation in the next stages of that experiment. The opposite also applies.

Conclusion

People can learn to be optimistic or pessimistic. Science suggests that a person has more influence over his or her condition than he or she may realize.

Before the “learned helplessness” experiment scientists mainly thought that pessimism and optimism is either genetic or a byproduct of a particular childhood experiences/upbringing. And that is often the case.

But now we know mental attitude can be changed.

So there is less room for excuses.

That’s good, right?

You can change your mental attitude from pessimism to optimism if you have the desire and right understanding.

I highly recommend reading more about this topic, so you can learn how to change your attitude from pessimism to optimism, and improve your health, relationships, and well-being.

It helped me get through some of my problems. Like lack of self-belief, pessimism, or writing my master's thesis at the university. My topic was literally about optimism and health :)

If you would like to learn mindfulness, meditation, and implementing positive psychology contact me via e-mail at blissful_breaths@proton.me.

Here are references.

Thank you for reading :)

We acknowledge who we are, consciously, honestly, with acceptance. With kindness and acceptance we even lean on the worst of our experiences. — Susan Pollack