A “GENERAL THEORY OF MENTAL SUFFERING”, AND THE ROLE OF AN INNOVATIVE NARRATIVE THERAPEUTIC APPROACH
Psychological Thought October 30, 2021 DOI: 10.37708/psyct.v14i2.572 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Interventions | narrative therapy psilocybin |
| Topics | Addiction Anxiety |
| Keywords | Psychotherapist Narrative Context archaeology Anorexia nervosa Eating disorders Clinical psychology |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key points | Proposes that narrative therapy, informed by brain plasticity and psilocybin research, could offer a safe and effective approach for mental suffering states classified as DSM disorders. |
Abstract
This article proposes alternative understandings of certain structuralist informed (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - DSM-IIIrd to 5th Eds.) configurations of mental disorders. Life’s negative discourses and the mind’s captive responses present a “general theory of mental suffering” which phenomena are classified as modernist, DSM mental disorders, such as addictions, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Recent research has indicated that the psychedelic drug, psilocybin, has produced safe and effective outcomes for these mental suffering states. In this context, the article draws on the concept of brain plasticity order, firstly, to identify the means for a person to move away from subjection of life’s negative, dominant discourses that “capture” the brain, and then to intentionally move towards more acceptable, preferred, ethical subjectivities. These explanations, using the phenomenon of depression, provide the foundation for further proposals that an innovative form of narrative therapy could be a safe, effective and meaningful approach for persons in relationship with other similar ways of mental suffering, such as, anxiety, addiction, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and anorexia nervosa.