A “GENERAL THEORY OF MENTAL SUFFERING”, AND THE ROLE OF AN INNOVATIVE NARRATIVE THERAPEUTIC APPROACH
Derek Botha
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.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on anxiety, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychedelics as Medicines: An Emerging New Paradigm General population | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Learning to Let Go: A Cognitive-Behavioral Model of How Psychedelic Therapy Promotes Acceptance | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Taking Psychedelics Seriously | 2018 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How could MDMA (ecstasy) help anxiety disorders? A neurobiological rationale | 2009 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Embedding existential psychology within psychedelic science: reduced death anxiety as a mediator of the therapeutic effects of psychedelics | 2019 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 10
- Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized double-blind trial Journal of Psychopharmacology November 30, 2016
- Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: an open-label feasibility study. The Lancet Psychiatry May 17, 2016
- The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2014
- Neural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 23, 2012
- Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of Psilocybin in 9 Patients With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry November 15, 2006
and 5 more in the library