What is the true study of modern human emotion, th Essays

What is the true study of modern human emotion, th Essays What is the true study of modern human emotion, thought, and behavior, psychology or philosophy? This question's answer does not come easily to its solicitor; in fact, the two seemingly different subjects have a distinct and discernible relationship to one another. "Some things are up to us and some are not up to us. Our opinions are up to us, our impulses, desires, aversions, in-short whatever is our doing. Our bodies are not up to us, nor our possessions, our reputations, or our public offices, or that is, whatever is not of our own doing (Epictetus 1)." This citation, from a philosopher who lived around 100 B.C., illustrates the relationship between psychology and philosophy. When one examines the language housed within the passage he will understand, in order to lead a blissful life, one must have power over his reaction to an event and not let the event have power over his reaction. This effortless Stoic belief has lead to the development of a modern psychological therapy known as Rational-Emotive-Behavior-Therapy. This therapy uses a logical approach in order to solve problems with the human psyche.If one were to scrutinize the word "Psychological," he will notice the word "Psycho" which is related to the word "Psyche," which, in turn, means the human mind and its perception of consciousness. Upon further study of the word "Psychological," the person in question will notice the latter part of the word is "Logical" which deals with the processing and the capability of rational human thought; therefore, one can inf er that a psychological therapy must deal with the subjects awareness of his situation and his ability to rationalize his thoughts of such events. Rational-Emotive-Behavior-Therapy executes this conjecture to the letter. REBT is a reflexive approach to psychology that is gaining popularity. Today, REBT uses can be seen in everything from: combating unhealthy emotional outbursts, solving chemical dependencies, and improving a person's overall mental self-image. Foremost, one must understand Rational-Emotive-Behavior-Therapy in order to apply REBT to the above-mentioned modes of use. REBT is a therapy residing in a subdivision of psychological therapies known as Cognitive therapy, or an assumption based therapy relying on the premise that psychological problems are due to maladaptive patterns of thinking ( Hockenbury and Hockenbury 523). Gerald Metalsky Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology at Wisconsin's Lawrence University, explains cognitive therapy to be the process of "Identifying deprossogenic thoughts, evaluating these thoughts, and challenging the cognition of these thoughts in order to reduce future depressions ( Metalsky 23)." In other words, perception of life's events dictates emotion; however, perception is not always reality, cognitive distortions within one's mind are the actual culprit. Dr. Metalsky continues to explain with a model he uses to clarify the therapy to new patients. "We ta ke the ABC approach, which "A" is the antecedent event, "B" Is the belief one has regarding what has just transpired, and "C" is the consequence of the belief ( Metalsky 23)." This model shows the basic structure of all Cognitive therapies. For example, when a student fails an exam and the student concludes that he or she must be stupid. This is a classic example of an external event, interpreted incorrectly, creating a cognitive distortion in the mind of that individual. By understanding the outlining concept of Rational-Emotive-Behavior-Therapy, known as Cognitive Therapy, one is now ready to move on to the subject of REBT itself. What is REBT? Rational-Emotive-Behavior-Therapy, or commonly known as REBT, is a practical, action-oriented approach to coping with problems, and enhancing personal growth. The premise for Rational-Emotive-Behavior-Therapy is that a person's difficulties are the result of his or her faulty expectations and irrational beliefs (REBT facts 2). In order to restore emotional heath to the life of the individual one must utilize REBT. The therapy itself does not eliminate emotion; in fact, it emphasizes emotional involvement in every aspect of our thinking and our actions ( Metalsky 24). The therapy requires the patient to look at his situation and evaluate the emotion this situation evokes. When human emotion becomes too intense, as it often does, the person this emotion belongs to becomes unhappy. The quality of hi s or her life begins to deteriorate. It is at these times, the logical