The Contemporary Approaches in Psychotherapy - Essay Example

Contemporary approaches Forgiveness and Gratitude In the contemporary society, forgiveness and gratitude have a great connection because they consist of the strengths and virtues of human beings. The two concepts are linked to both positive affects and positive beliefs which is cognitive. Forgiveness is the act of letting go of any anger or bitterness towards a person who has caused you damages. When one forgives, the negative feelings such as fear, bitterness and anger are substituted with love and peace. Forgiveness also involves not punishing someone for an offence he or she has committed. Gratitude on the other hand involves the appreciation given to somebody for his or her act that touched the hearts of people. Gratitude is mostly associated with the good works done by individuals. Gratitude is given in terms of words or a gift and is given for a person who deserves it. However looking at forgiveness, the person who has wronged does not deserve to be acquainted of his or her offence but it is still granted to him or her. Forgiveness and gratitude are positive acts towards the society and are virtues that are highly valued but at the same done by a few people. Showing gratitude for something done to you or other people uplifts the spirit of individuals because it is a symbol of approval and love. Forgiveness on the other hand is a personal choice and one cannot be forced to forgive. However, lack of forgiveness may lead to emptiness and heaviness of the heart. It may also affect the social lives of the offender and the offended. This is because the offender may not be able to freely interact with the offended and would keep on remembering of how the offended thinks of him or her. The offended may also be affected negatively due to lack of forgiveness because it will be a burden that will restrain a person from moving on with life (Friedman & Toussaint, 2006). Laughter humor In the society, laughter is considered to be a way of relieving stress and bonding with family and friends. Humor has a great connection with laughter because it is out of humor that we get laughter. When friends and families laugh together, they become more close to each other. Laughter is also known to be medicine to the body and mind because it relaxes the muscles of body. It brings a feeling of goodness and positive thinking and positive attitude. When an individual is sad, laughter is the best medicine. Laughter also influences mental health because it reduces the chances of acquiring disorders such as Schizophrenia because it helps reduce stress. Humor also creates emotional connection and positive feelings. It also helps in avoiding disagreements among people. Laughter also creates a positive mood in the environment reduces the chances of heart problems. Every individual has an inborn laughter which comes out naturally. Humor and laughter can be created in a society by involving oneself in recreational activities such as: camping, sporting, swimming and sharing with friends. It is healthy for every individual to be happy and humorous because it has its positive effects. It is difficult to identify the negative side effects of laughter in the society unless when it is done on extreme. Guided imagery mediation This is the process of using the mind to think and visualize things with the help of a psychotherapist. Guided imagery is mostly used to ease the tension of life in a calm rather than confrontational manner. One is able through guiding to imagine all of the things that are in his or her mind by creating pictures in the mind. This kind of mediation prompts an individual in the process to effectively deal with his or her own issues of life through visualization. Guided imagery is a kind of exercise that involves the brain with the aim of relaxing the body and a tired and stressful mind. It is an effective way of talking ones thoughts through daydreaming. The process also allows the subconscious of an individual to articulate it when one is awake and aware. This is a good way of thinking of decisions that need critical analysis. The process is close to meditation but it does not only involve focus of the mind but the subconscious is also involved. Guided imagery mediation is mostly used to relax one’s mind from the external and internal forces of life. It helps an individual to induce positive thinking and attitudes which enables a person to deal with the issues of life in a more clear and effective way. Guided imagery mediation is more effective with the guidance of a psychotherapist because it helps a personal to have a direction on the things to put in his or her mind so as to ease tension in the brain. Since stress is a great health issue which takes place in the mind, it can lead to diseases such as headaches, insomnia, rashes, ulcers and high blood pressure. To avoid such diseases, guided imagery is an effective exercise that helps reduce tension in the mind. The exercise does not only deal with emotions but also the physical body which is highly linked to the mind. Colors chakras synchronicity Chakra is a word which involves the wheeling and anchors of life. They are known to be the anchors of one’s spirit and the gateway to the soul. Chakras give individuals the belief that the hands and feet have seven major and minor centers of energy. There are some beliefs that the clockwise spinning of chakras involved an alignment of one’s life. Chakras use color to define individuals and the colors used are determined from various parts of the body. The colors from the first to last chakra include purple, indigo, green, yellow, orange and red. The first chakra is the crown which is identified with experience. The chakra gives a meaning that the experience one is going through at the moment is linked to the color of his or her head which is indigo. The second chakra is third eye which is associated with celestial dreams. The chakra identifies that a person’s spiritual state is reflected by the color of the third day. The throat is the third chakra which is associated with communication. The chakra explains that the throat color is the expression of one’s energy through a song and energy being held back through a sore throat. The heart is the fourth chakra which means empathy. The chakra defines that the force in an individual’s life is identified by the color of the heart. Fifthly, solar plexus’s color represents pain, stress and suppression of one’s feelings. Sex is the sixth chakra which gives the belief that social impulse is influenced by energy from the sexual part. The root color is the energy to one’s reality. Psychedelic medicine These kinds of medicines have not been integrated in the health sector because they are mostly associated with the spirituality of human beings. Studies carried out to find out the effects of the drugs on the health of people. It was found out that when the drug was administered to first time users, it was accompanied by various side effects such as ineffability feelings, positive emotions, transcendence of space and time, and an insight to reality and the merging all things into one. These are the mystical experiences that are experienced on the use of psychedelic medicine. Most of the users of the drugs link the psychedelic to their spirituality and they seem to be more concerned with their spiritual life than their physical being. They consider themselves to be more spiritual than others who either use illegal drugs or do not. The drug has not been integrated in the health sector because of the effects it has on patients’ health. The drug is compared to illegal drugs because of the intense side effects it has and the symptoms of people who use the drug and those who use illegal drugs are almost the same. Some cultures in the US, take the drug on ceremonial occasions to mark certain events. The drug is also taken for religious practices and also for spiritual purposes. However, not every person who takes the drug has mystical experiences. Some people with high absorption capacity are likely to spiritually benefit from the drug unlike those with low absorption capacity. The experience that the drug gives its users is a form of satisfaction and creates a positive attitude of users towards life at general (Lerner & Lyvers, 2006). Music (with or without lyrics) rhythm tone Music is the combination of rhythmic tones to form a song. Music can involve the use of lyrics and can also be complete without the use of lyrics. Music is mostly created to pass a message across or to soothe the soul. When passing a message, the use of lyrics is important in composing a song. However if the music is for soothing the soul and dancing with the playing of various musical instruments, lyrics are not necessary. When including lyrics in a song, there are specific ways in which the words are to be arranged to fit well. The words used in making the lyrics should be catchy and memorable so that the audience can easily learn and remember it. This makes the music to be appreciated and sung by most people. The rhythm tone affects the type of tone used to fit the lyrics of the song. The composition of a song with lyrics is a difficult task and involves various processes. The words of the song should be fixed in a way that it will fit the tone and beats of the song. The song lyrics should go along with the rhyme of the song. If certain words are not appropriate for a song, they are changed and their synonyms used. Additionally, the words can be rephrased to ensure that they are in line with the rhythm tone and the rhyme of the music. It is simpler to come up with music without lyrics because all that is needed is for the instruments to blend in with each other to form a beautiful melody. Friedman. P & Toussaint, L. (2006). Changes and forgiveness, gratitude, stress and well-being during psychotherapy: an integrative, evidence-based approach. The international journal of healing and caring. Vol 6(1): 1-18 Lerner. M & Lyvers M. (2006). Values and Beliefs of Psychedelic Drug Users: A Cross-Cultural Study. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. Vol 38(2): 143-147. Read More