Criteria for Mental Health

Psychologist Dr. Doping tells about behavioral psychology, methods of analysis of mental health and functional behavior.

This is one of the most difficult topics. We can say that it is part of a wider theme issues of norm and pathology. In most definitions of health, including mental stresses that health - it is not so much a lack of well-being, not so much the absence of symptoms, ie, it is not only the norm, but this is something else. If you select the main criterion of health according to the basic definition that is found in the literature, it is the norm, where there is some additive - additive is not a symptom, but as the, relatively speaking, the positive: a creative approach to reality, the transformation of reality, active life and an active position of acting in reality.

The different psychological concepts of this additive was interpreted in different ways. Let's start with psychoanalysis. It should be noted that the original analysis - Clinical symptoms and concept, explain the nature of the symptoms were always more important to him than the study of health. But in any psychological concept, which is engaged in the clinic and wants to find a concept to heal patients, should be their own idea of what is not only the norm, many health - to aspire to a specialist, bringing the patient from the symptoms. If from the point of view of psychoanalysis nature of the patient's mental disorder is in the repressed unconscious drives, early childhood traumas, repressed feelings, frustrations, it is very interesting, as Freud, his students and colleagues interpret health.

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Freud said that the mental health of a psychoanalytic point of view - is to love and work (his famous idiom). To love and to work - this is a supplement, which he identifies. In addition, there should be no symptoms, must be some kind of product. It is not so much the realization of infantile, primitive libidinal tendencies, ie, sexual tendencies (psychoanalysis very much attention to the repressed sexuality) as a mature sexuality, which is present not only at the body level, but also at the level of attachment.

When he says, "work", it is understood that it may create, in your life to realize some creativity. Psychoanalysts say that the intellectualization and sublimation as protective mechanisms, ie The conversion of infantile and primitive sexual tendencies in creative direction - is characteristic of mature and healthy personality. Somewhere in the 1950-1960's analysts drew attention to the fact that their patients - is not only a bunch of destructive and sexual energy (as Freud said, bubbling cauldron of passions), and they realized that their patients think they have mind and intellect, and they started to develop cognitive psychotherapy. Parallel to this, behavioral psychologists (behaviourists) decided to direct the theory of behavioral psychology to track practice.

There was a large area that is now called cognitive-behavioral psychology, cognitive-behavioral therapy. It is the second column in the world of scientific psychology, which is opposed to psychoanalysis. The idea is that the nature of mental disorders associated with incorrect processing of data, that is a cognitive error in the interpretation of reality, distorted perception of reality, and dysfunctional behavior. What can be dysfunctional behavior? For example, avoid: in response to stress a person out of it. Or aggressive: it attacks and thereby violates any rules.

If the disease appears as a breach of information processing and disruption of behavior, the health - is adequate, heuristic behavior: processing of information from the environment to human adaptation of the most compact and fastest way and kind of functional behavior. But the functional behavior, when we talk about some creative supplement - is not avoidance, is not aggression, but it is something in the middle. It is not easy to ignore the conflict, and this is some kind of interaction with a stressful situation. This assertive behavior, confident behavior: calmly say to an individual, which escalates the conflict, that to do so is not desirable, because it can lead to some consequences. That is a calm response and delivery of information to the instigator of the conflict with the help of words.

The third approach - it is existential and humanistic psychology, which is also opposed to psychoanalysis. It began its development work with existentialist philosophy and practice of psychoanalysts who, unlike Freud, decided to look into the eyes of their patients, rather than just putting them on the couch and analyze their association. Humanistic psychology is usually associated with the name of the psychologist Carl Rogers. Health is understood not simply as the absence of symptoms, as well as the constant development, constant design of its existence, a constant awareness of itself in the world, awareness of the existential conflicts (conflicts loneliness, life of course). The pathology is associated with the fact that any factors frustrating the development. I would like to emphasize that, when we talk about mental health, we must always understand that it is not only the norm, but still some supplement that speaks of creation and the creative principle in man.