Category » Applied Philosophy & Psychology
Embodied, Active, Situated Intelligence: Assumptions III
In the last few weeks, this blog space has been used to outline conditions necessary to successfully change lives through psychotherapy. Those conditions are that: A unifying soul/self/psyche exists within each of us: genotype + phenotype + X We seek to understand and grow. That growth occurs through self-actualizing a semi-plastic medium—the self, psyche, or […]
(Bio-Psycho-Social-Spiritual) Assumptions II
This blog continues to outline a set of assumptions I believe underlie successful psychotherapy. We can begin with the roots of that word: psyche comes from the Greek, psuche, or soul; and therapeuein to therapeia to therapia (ancient Greek, Greek, and Latin, respectively) meaning to minister medically, or to heal (Google: Definitions from Oxford Languages). […]
(Bio-Psycho-Social-Spiritual) Assumptions I
The focus of the last blog was on preconditions of positive growth in human lives. Those preconditions were 1) endorsement of agency, 2) recognition of the inevitable directionality and momentum in human lives, and 3) the capacity to change. This week begins an examination of assumptions associated with positive growth. Some of those assumptions are […]
Before We Change
Most readers of this blog are people recovering from addiction or people related to others recovering from addiction. To do what I do, and to write what I write, I am clearly invested in the proposition that recovery is possible. But what are the assumptions validating that position? If recovery were not possible, what would […]
Horses for Courses: REBT v DBT
This blog is about an apparent conflict found between the premises of Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy (REBT) and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT). Specifically, as described by an astute attendee of SMART Recovery, REBT states that a change in thinking leads to a change in actions. DBT states that one cannot think herself into new ways […]
Coherence & Narrative
Last week I continued the discussion of Antonovsky’s salutogenesis, the origins of health. We looked at the life of a person who had left addiction behind, in favour of building a new life from the bottom up. What she found was that simple successes had much more meaning for her the second time around. With […]
Acceptance and Meaning
Again, I return to salutogenesis, the origin of health: Salutogenesis has one major premise and three ancillary premises. The major premise is that stress must violate your sense of coherence before it can cause harm. The three ancillary premises define one’s sense of coherence: Comprehensibility: the conviction that life makes sense, is orderly, and predictable. […]
Acceptance as Faith
Last week’s blog ended with the outline of salutogenesis, one of the roots of mental hygiene, with the former recapped below: Salutogenesis has one major premise and three ancillary premises. The major premise is that stress must violate your sense of coherence before it can cause harm. The three ancillary premises define one’s sense of […]
Coherence & Salutogenesis
One interesting theory behind positive psychological interventions (PPI) is the Transactional Model of Stress (TMS) developed by Lazarus & Folkman (1984). The theoretical claim is that stress is “psychologically mediated” which means we have choices in how we register and categorize any stressful stimuli or event which Lazarus & Folkman (1984) describe as a two-part […]
Use Your Resources & Count Your Blessings
After writing last week’s blog on mental hygiene, I wanted to research the efficacy of some of the recommended practices, specifically, positive psychological interventions (PPI). Much of the literature search concerning PPIs involved studies that were too broad, too narrow, and of less value, as I saw them, to the addictive/trauma community. Finally, I found […]