Self Help and Psychology 2

The self help movement really began with the advent of psychiatry and the first revolutionary ideas of Dr. Sigmund Freud. Although Freud is ideas have been largely supplemented and many of them have been outright replaced, his work concerning the subconscious mind have revolutionized the way we view ourselves and our future.

Psychology really began with Dr. Sigmund Freud and his inner circle of students who later went on to establish the science of psychoanalysis and the technique for raising the unconscious to the conscious level of awareness. This process of clinical psychoanalysis was the first rigorous science of the mind which has since been used as the foundation for many other practices and techniques that have spread throughout the Western world.

» Read more: Self Help and Psychology 2

Related posts

Tags:

Integrating Psychotherapy and Spirituality

Why “integrating” psychotherapy and spirituality?  This question seems silly to many people for one of two reasons.  Some would say it is silly because the two must necessarily be kept separate, like church and state.  Others would say it is silly because they are inherently intertwined and don’t require any effort on our part to be integrated.

I am inclined toward the view that the two are inherently intertwined, but believe that they have been artificially separated by psychology, the discipline that most clearly undergirds most of what we practice in psychotherapy, in its zeal to be scientific.  Freud’s disdain for religion didn’t help either.  Of course there have always been those, like Carl Jung, who have kept alive the perspective that psychology and psychotherapy have an intrinsic relationship to spirituality.  However, this perspective has only moved toward widespread acceptance among psychotherapists in the last few decades, thanks in part to the Journal of Humanistic Psychology, and the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology.  Such acceptance in mainstream psychology, as reflected in the American Psychological Association, has only been noticeable in the last few years.

» Read more: Integrating Psychotherapy and Spirituality

Related posts

Tags:

The Psychology of Desire

On the three different types of desire and the need for progeny, power and purpose

Desire is a very intriguing subject to poets, philosophers, psychologists and to every inquisitive human. Desire is shaped by several factors which could have physiological and endocrinal explanations, psychoanalytic, sociological and philosophical explanations. Desire is a fundamental force of human existence and the primary manifestation of sexual energy and is present in all human beings without which survival would be meaningless. Although desire can have negative connotations with societal pressures on controlling desire, desire is largely positive and constructive although aggressive impulses lead to destructive desires as well.

Desire is the root of all human activity from creative pursuits to business pursuits and we are all motivated by one form of desire or another and these may be a desire for fame, desire for benevolence, desire for money, desire for admiration and popularity or even desire for power. Of course this is not an exhaustive list of desires and the range of desires could vary according to the range of human emotions and experiences. The manifestation of desire could be largely restricted by society and there is a huge difference on how society perceives desire in men and women. Society still remains hypocritical as far as sexual desire is concerned and sex or sexual desire is not talked about freely. In fact negative perceptions about sex are rather widespread in which men are considered as sexual predators and women are the victims. At best sexual desire in men is still accepted although sex desire in women is still perceived with certain skepticism. This would not be the right kind of perception as both men and women should have a healthy sexual drive and negative perceptions in society are detrimental to one’s moral and sexual development.

» Read more: The Psychology of Desire

Related posts

Tags: