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During the early years of the twentieth century, psychology became established as a field of study, with two distinctly different approaches. One approach was clinical psychology, which was largely based on the psychoanalytical work of Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) that psychic tension – the difference between our unconscious and conscious thoughts – can only be released when repressed memories are uncovered through psychoanalysis.
The Skinner Box
The other approach, mainly experimental, was behavioral, stemming from the early experiments of Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), which involved stimulus in dogs to provoke conditioned responses. The work of B.F. Skinner (1904-1990), famous for developing the “Skinner Box,” postulated that behavior is shaped by positive and negative reinforcement, i.e., scientific, evidence-based research versus philosophical theories.
Perception and Reality
By the 1940s, both approaches were being critically examined. Fritz Perls (1893-1970), one of the founders of gestault therapy, said that the brain operates in a holistic way, taking account of whole conscious experiences, rather than separate events. Dr. Perls believed that our perception shapes our reality, how we interpret the reality and how we react to it. His theories formed the foundation of cognitive therapy.
A Third Approach
Come the 1950s, psychiatrist Aaron Beck became disillusioned with the psychoanalytical approach and its limited success. His work with depressed patients and their perception of it brought solid success. He found that helping his patients recognize and evaluate how realistic or distorted their perceptions were, was the first step in overcoming their depression. Apparently we automatically make interpretations of the unending dialogue we have with ourselves. These thoughts are constant and powerful enough to create the most intense emtions – what we generally refer to as “self-talk.” Dr. Beck refers to them as “automatic thoughts” beause a person perceives them as if by reflex.
Circle Back to the Ancient Past
In 1955, Albert Ellis (1913-2007) founded Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT), which was influenced by Aaron Beck, and based on the theory of ancient Greek philosopher Epictetus who proclaimed in the year 80 CE “that men are disturbed not by events but by the views which they take of them.” Dr. Ellis believed that irrational thinking about events causes unhealthy emotional consequences. That when we take time to consider a response and thus respond in rational ways, the world holds infinite possibilities. His theories challenged the slow-moving methodology of psychoanalysis and created the first form of congnitive behavioral therapy. The internal dialogue Aaron Beck called “automatic thoughts” was referred to as “self-talk” by Dr. Ellis. Aaron Beck described Dr. Ellis (who wrote over 70 books) as an “explorer, revolutionary, therapist, theorist, and teacher.”
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