Friday, July 25, 2008
The Relaxation Response
See below for an interesting video detailing Herbert Benson's Relaxation Response. It's a tad long (approximately 15-20 minutes), but well worth your time. In my opinion, this video does a couple things very well. First, it does a fantastic job of demonstrating the power of psychological techniques. Second, it does psychology a huge favor by explicating the physiological changes brought about by intentional relaxation techniques such as meditation, visualization, progressive muscle relaxation, etc.
Highlighting physiological changes in both the body and brain is important because it helps to validate the field of psychology and the techniques we practice. Basically, a video like this one helps people understand that psychotherapy is more than the sum of its parts (i.e., more than simply "talking about one's problems"). Sure, psychotherapy involves "talking about one's problems," but the reason we talk is because it evokes desirable physiological changes that result in a higher quality of life.
For the most part, I make a concerted effort to avoid pimping my chosen profession in this space, but sometimes the temptation is too great. Like it or not, psychology is often pit against psychiatry when everyday folks find themselves in a state of cognitive disrepair. If they're lucky enough to overcome the stigma associated with visiting someone in the mental health profession, their next dilemna frequently involves choosing between a psychiatrist and a psychologist. Although most individuals say they don't want to take psychotropic medications, these same individuals will frequently choose a psychiatrist over a psychologist because of the belief that mental illness is caused by neurotransmitter imbalances & the only way in which these imbalances can be corrected is to take psychotropic medication.
Whether neurotransmitter imbalances actually cause mental illness (and I doubt they cause mental illness in every instance) is a moot point because the fact remains that psychotherapy (and all that it encompasses) evokes changes in the levels of various neurotransmitters in our brain. What this means, then, is that if you're depressed because your levels of serotonin are low, you can either take a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) such as Prozac or participate in psychotherapy as both are likely to drive up the levels of serotonin in your brain. Of course I'm oversimplifying things a bit as serotonin isn't the only neurotransmitter linked to depression and the two primary modes of treatment, psychopharmacology vs. psychotherapy, are not on equal grounds in the treatment of all mental illnesses (psychotherapy is actually more effective in some instances), but hopefully this post helps to further validate the profession in the minds of my readers...you know, if you were skeptical in the first place.
Anyway, let's get back to the video I spoke of earlier. In order to view the video, click on the link below.
Just Relax.
Highlighting physiological changes in both the body and brain is important because it helps to validate the field of psychology and the techniques we practice. Basically, a video like this one helps people understand that psychotherapy is more than the sum of its parts (i.e., more than simply "talking about one's problems"). Sure, psychotherapy involves "talking about one's problems," but the reason we talk is because it evokes desirable physiological changes that result in a higher quality of life.
For the most part, I make a concerted effort to avoid pimping my chosen profession in this space, but sometimes the temptation is too great. Like it or not, psychology is often pit against psychiatry when everyday folks find themselves in a state of cognitive disrepair. If they're lucky enough to overcome the stigma associated with visiting someone in the mental health profession, their next dilemna frequently involves choosing between a psychiatrist and a psychologist. Although most individuals say they don't want to take psychotropic medications, these same individuals will frequently choose a psychiatrist over a psychologist because of the belief that mental illness is caused by neurotransmitter imbalances & the only way in which these imbalances can be corrected is to take psychotropic medication.
Whether neurotransmitter imbalances actually cause mental illness (and I doubt they cause mental illness in every instance) is a moot point because the fact remains that psychotherapy (and all that it encompasses) evokes changes in the levels of various neurotransmitters in our brain. What this means, then, is that if you're depressed because your levels of serotonin are low, you can either take a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) such as Prozac or participate in psychotherapy as both are likely to drive up the levels of serotonin in your brain. Of course I'm oversimplifying things a bit as serotonin isn't the only neurotransmitter linked to depression and the two primary modes of treatment, psychopharmacology vs. psychotherapy, are not on equal grounds in the treatment of all mental illnesses (psychotherapy is actually more effective in some instances), but hopefully this post helps to further validate the profession in the minds of my readers...you know, if you were skeptical in the first place.
Anyway, let's get back to the video I spoke of earlier. In order to view the video, click on the link below.
Just Relax.
# posted by Jude : 1:21 PM
