And a brief moment for psychobabble

I've had a vague interest in psychotherapy theory ever since working for a therapists' office for that one summer. In particular, I've been amused/disgusted by the overwhelming stranglehold that neoFreudianism still has on the practice, if not the movement, and intrigued by cognitive therapy, which has weird echoes of behaviorism, but acknowledges the being inside the black box.

So that was how I wandered across an article describing a form of third-wave therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy. Mostly I'm finding it just interesting, until I stumble across a quote . . .

"You are asking, 'Can I live a valued life, even with my pain?' Let me ask you a different question. What if you can't have the second without the first? What if to care the way you do care, means you will hurt. But not the heavy, stinky, evaluated, categorized, and predicted hurt that has crushed you. Rather the open, clear, knife-through-butter pain that comes from a mortal being who eventually will lose all and yet who cares.

Imagine a universe in which your feelings, thoughts, and memories are not your enemy. They are your history brought into the current context, and your own history is not your enemy."

. . .

. . .

. . . Smash the world's shell!

We'll see if future research lives up to the hype, but if it does,it'll be a cool revolution to watch.

And a brief moment for psychobabble

I've had a vague interest in psychotherapy theory ever since working for a therapists' office for that one summer. In particular, I've been amused/disgusted by the overwhelming stranglehold that neoFreudianism still has on the practice, if not the movement, and intrigued by cognitive therapy, which has weird echoes of behaviorism, but acknowledges the being inside the black box.

So that was how I wandered across an article describing a form of third-wave therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy. Mostly I'm finding it just interesting, until I stumble across a quote . . .

"You are asking, 'Can I live a valued life, even with my pain?' Let me ask you a different question. What if you can't have the second without the first? What if to care the way you do care, means you will hurt. But not the heavy, stinky, evaluated, categorized, and predicted hurt that has crushed you. Rather the open, clear, knife-through-butter pain that comes from a mortal being who eventually will lose all and yet who cares.

Imagine a universe in which your feelings, thoughts, and memories are not your enemy. They are your history brought into the current context, and your own history is not your enemy."

. . .

. . .

. . . Smash the world's shell!

We'll see if future research lives up to the hype, but if it does,it'll be a cool revolution to watch.