Human Development

Assertion-structured therapy

Description:
Behavioural possibilities are selected by the perceiving-acting person to meet the situations confronted. They are not a function of the "depths" of the person, namely the unconscious mind, but rather of the choices made. The person therefore lives by assertions about the situations confronted, which have varying probabilities of confirmation or disconfirmation. The neurotic is essentially a person who is constantly betting on a set of assertions or assumptions that have a high probability of disconfirmation. Certain patterns of behaviour tend to be repeated in a circular self-defeating way, leading to redundancy and inflexibility in the organism. The task of the psychotherapist is to reduce the redundant condition of disconfirmation and the resulting tension, so that the individual can engage in effective problem-solving and thus be more firmly oriented in reality.
Broader:
Therapy