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A New Perspective - Current Trends in PsychotherapyPsychotherapy has always offered a new perspective on life to those who undertake it. As the understanding of human behavior has grown in recent years the underlying paradigms of psychotherapy have changed, and psychotherapy has improved. The new perspectives it offers now are more helpful than ever, and people are finding new paradigms for their lives. Several trends contribute to this.
Trend #1: Attachment as organizing principleAttachment has been an important principle in psychology for years. However, in recent years it has become much more prominent as an organizing principle in understanding human behavior.
Trend #2: Utilizing neuroscienceNeuroscience is about brain function--how specific parts of the brain are implicated in common human problems. It has become very integrated with attachment theory.
Trend #3: Focus on the bodyRead the special section on Mindfulness, especially the page on the mind-body connection to learn more about this helpful area of psychology. Trend #4: Internal Family SystemsOne of the more interesting newer ways of working in the therapy room comes from a style of work called "Internal Family Systems." In this work an emphasis is placed on working with the emotional "parts" of us in many of the same ways that family therapy works with members of a family. This work is creative, effective, and much faster than some other forms of treatment. Typically people also find it easy to embrace, seeing themselves in its explanation of human behavior.
I may be stretching things a little to call this a trend. But it certainly is a welcome addition to the field. I won't write more here, because you can read about it here on my blog. Also, take a look at another blog post where I describe an encounter with an "emotional part" of my own. Trend #5: More engaged therapists and active therapy stylesMany of our newer understandings have led us toward more active therapy styles and techniques. There has been a resurgence of gestalt therapy types of work, though they go by many different names. Therapists are more able to pinpoint needs and help clients understand how to meet their needs.
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