The Evolution of Psychotherapy (original) (raw)
Related papers
Psychoanalysis as Evolution: Beyond the Cobwebs of Unthought Known
Psychotherapy Bulletin, 2023
Regression is a regression not just from the truth towards lies, from reason towards unreason; it is a regression from Caritas (love), caring, and kindness towards either indifference to the needs of others or outright rejection of their needs. The regression we are currently undergoing is not just a regression of reason; it is a regression away from caring, essentially from love towards indifference, narcissism, and hate. To evolve, then, to use Bion’s O is not to develop a capacity to love but to be l(O)ving. What cures, then? Is it insight or relationship? Perhaps both. We need to reflect on the capacity for listening from the therapist’s end. The work is in confrontations, hiatuses, and awkward moments of the therapeutic relationship. We need not only good enough mothers (Winnicott, 1971) but also good enough therapists to evolve towards being l(O)ving.
Division/ReviewFall, 2016
Panel on Psychoanalytic Education , with Otto Kernberg and Dany Nobus and myself
Evolutionary psychiatry: a new College special interest group
BJPsych Bulletin, 2016
SummaryEvolutionary science remains an overlooked area in psychiatry and medicine. The newly established Royal College of Psychiatrists' Evolutionary Psychiatry Special Interest Group aims to reverse this trend by raising the profile of evolutionary thinking among College members and others further afield. Here we provide a brief outline of the importance of the evolutionary approach to both the theory and practice of psychiatry and for future research.
The Vices and Virtues of Monolithic Thought in the Evolution of Psychotherapy
Journal of Psychotherapy Integration Vol 24(2), Jun 2014, 79-90. , 2014
Psychotherapists loyal to Single Orientation (SO) movements (such as cognitive–behavioral therapy [CBT], psycho-dynamics, Gestalt, etc.) are usually described in negative terms as having attitudes of superiority, contempt, and aversion toward other adjoining therapeutic “cultures.” In contrast to such a viewpoint, this article using post-positivists philosophy emphasizes the importance of theoretical fundamentalism associated with SO to the evolution of theory in psychotherapy. Through an analogy between the evolution of psychotherapy and the assimilation of the discoveries of the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century, the article illustrates the extent to which loyalty to a single approach enables and encourages the enterprise of inventors, developers, and implementers belonging to various psychotherapeutic movements. The article calls upon integrationist theoreticians to embrace a dialogic and dialectic perspective and to adopt a tolerant view in relation to theoretical fundamentalism. Finally, the implications of this approach to training, practice, and the integration movement are discussed.