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Contemplative Psychotherapies
My thoughts and feelings about contemplative psychology are somewhat conflicted. On the one hand, there are several tenets with this particular approach to psychology that I think are valid. However, I am not sure that many of them have a place in true psychology. Psychology is a science and a discipline -- it is based on empirical evidence and fact. Many of the Eastern philosophical concepts that are incorporated into contemplative psychology are not based on empirical evidence or fact. Therefore, my view on this particular aspect of psychology remains conflicted (if not outright contradictory) -- I see some boons of this methodology, yet am not sure that I could validate them from a purely scientific perspective.
From a personal standpoint, there are numerous aspects of contemplative psychology that I intuitively can relate to and which I utilize as focal points for my own life. One of the central concepts associated with eastern religion and thought -- of which meditation, contemplation, and perhaps even rumination play a distinct part in -- is a preoccupation with the self and an intimate understanding of oneself. This sort of conception is something that I have intrinsically thought about. However, to utilize it to one's advantage in a psychological context or in any other context, one must be attuned to oneself and become fully aware of one's own thoughts and...
Additionally, it is imperative to understand why one is having the thoughts and feelings that one is experiencing. These ideas are valid from a philosophical standpoint. And personally, they factor heavily into my daily approach with life. Still, I am not too sure how pragmatic it is to attempt to induce these notions and this focus of awareness into others. There does not necessarily appear to be a quantifiable way of measuring it, although one might argue that of all scientific disciplines, psychology may be the realm where scientific thought must depend on faith and where the known world of science and the unknown world of the mind collide.
I also have mixed feelings about the fact that the focus of contemplative psychotherapy is one's internal processes and thoughts. In many ways, psychology that utilizes purely Western techniques is about understanding external factors -- the environment -- and their impact upon the individual. Although on some fundamental level contemplative psychology addresses this issue is well, it is more focused on removing the internal barriers that one has set in place in order to better comprehend one's own self and one's emotions. Granted, the fact that contemplative psychology is a hybrid of eastern and western thought helps to balance out these two somewhat different approaches. Still, it seems that it would be difficult to get someone who was uninitiated…
Contemplative Psychotherapies Some ancient contemplative customs of meditation are the Christian meditation, Jewish Tzeruf, Buddhist and Confucian meditation, Islamic Sufi Zikr and Taoist and Hindu yoga. In several settings, the practices are believed to be conventional and a part of the everyday lives of the people. All of these practices were either used for spiritual or religious purposes in the ancient days; however, they are now also used for emotional and
Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) and its theory, techniques, application, strengths, weaknesses or other related topics are: the article by Souza et al. (2016) that examines the effects of IPT on treatment-resistant depression in adults, and the article by Markowitz, Lipsitz and Milrod (2014) that examines the relevant literature available on the impact of IPT on anxiety disorders. Both articles provide assessments of the theory of IPT, which is that IPT provides a
Chapter 2: Review of Related Literature Chapter Introduction This chapter provides a review of the literature concerning hypnosis, Eastern Meditation, Chi Kung, and Nei Kung and how these methods are used to treat various ailments and improve physical and mental functioning. A summary of the review concludes the chapter. Hypnosis In his study, "Cognitive Hypnotherapy in the Management of Pain," Dowd (2001) reports that, "Several theories have been proposed to account for the effect of
Occupational Stress and Scientific MonitoringElena Georgiou*AbstractThe aim of this project was to review evidence available on occupational stress and how it can be monitored scientifically. Closed-ended questionnaires were used to obtain data from 150 participants. Data was analyzed using OLS (Ordinary Least Squares) regression analysis. Data included the demographic background of participants: age, sex, and their occupational background. From the demographic background, all participants (150) were literate where more than
Substance Abuse in America The objective of this study is to apply change theory and the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change to health promotion activities in the health care environment and examine how the 'readiness to change' factor impact the success of a change in behavior. Substance abuse in America is a prevalent problem and a challenge faced by health care provides in terms of identifying and applying effective modes of treatment
When the term depression is used it may refer to the various existing types of depression depending on the factors that lead to that depression. Existential causes of depression occur when people question their life, its meaning, death. By questioning these things they end up sinking into depression (John & Grohol., 2018). The philosophy of existentialism states that human beings find meaning in life internally through their pursuits, desires and