(Paul C. Vitz is Professor of Psychology/Senior Scholar at the Institute for the Psychological Sciences and Professor of Psychology Emeritus at New York University. He is our guest blogger for the month of August, and this is his second post).

Psychology is generally understood as one of the most important forces in contemporary society.  As such, it is useful to trace its modern history in order to truly grasp psychology’s current directions. 

During the first half of the twentieth century, American psychology was dominated by two schools of thought: behaviorism and psychoanalysis.  While both schools made significant contributions to the field of psychology neither seriously acknowledged nor explored the inherent dignity of the human person.  On the whole, mainstream American psychology at first was captured by the mechanistic beliefs of behaviorism and by the reductionism and determinism of classical psychoanalysis.

Sigmund Freud, initiator of talk therapy and the founding father of the psychoanalytic tradition, was led by his study of physical ailments in his patients to probe into the psyche of the person.  He recognized that often there was something mental underlying the observed physical symptoms. His work led to the exploration of the unconscious mind and to understanding the importance of the unconscious in both normal and pathological mental life.

Although Freud claimed his was a scientific psychology, his theory was largely founded on anecdotal clinical evidence. While his theoretical ideas were largely literary (e.g. the Oedipus complex) or metaphors derived from natural science (e.g. his drive or energy theory), he promoted a separation from philosophy and developed a clinical descriptive approach that paved the way for later scientific contributions, such as the evidence for the importance of early mother/child relations, of early physical and sexual abuse, and the findings generated by attachment theory.

While psychoanalytic methods might lead to the amelioration of symptoms for clients, Freud’s view of the human person was generally quite negative.  His reduction of the human person to unconscious sexual and aggressive drives and unconscious defense mechanisms left out much of the actual psychology of the person. In theological terms man is more than his fallen nature. 

In addition, especially in the United States, a pragmatic and scientific school known as behaviorism became widely influential. Developed by such prominent theorists as Ivan Pavlov (Russian), Edward Thorndike, John Watson, and B.F. Skinner behaviorism initially was fueled by frustration with the ambiguity and lack of reliability of the philosophical and non-empirical approaches, which for them included the psychoanalytic model.  

The behaviorist, of course, demanded behavioral evidence for a psychological phenomenon.  This school purported to explain human and animal behavior in terms of external physical stimuli, responses, learning histories, and reinforcements. 

From this point of view, it follows that the person can be reduced to a product of external factors. As a result, behaviorists thought they could solve human problems by controlling environmental factors and thereby shaping human behavior. The clinical implications of this are to ignore anything beyond what is observable. Hence, the internal mental life of the person is bypassed. Nevertheless, within academia, behaviorism was more appealing than psychoanalysis, because it meant the possibility of doing controlled research.

In the middle of the 20^th century came a new kind of psychology called Humanistic, or Self-psychology, developed primarily by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers.  They laid the groundwork for a more positive person centered psychology that tried to understand the client as more than just a sum of environmentally determined behaviors or unconscious factors laid down in childhood.  They were reacting against both psychoanalysis and behaviorism; as a consequence this movement was often called the 3^rd force in psychology.

Throughout history, of course, many individuals and groups have affirmed the inherent value and dignity of human beings and humanistic or self-psychology was a largely successful relatively recent psychological attempt to reaffirm that value.

While the value and goodness of the human person were affirmed by the humanists, they failed to recognize man’s fallen nature, e.g. strong natural tendencies to aggression, cruelty, exploitation, narcissism and many kinds of reality denying defenses. They put absolute trust in the self’s ability to govern itself and choose the good.  The pursuit of ‘self-actualization’ which was advocated as the goal of man isolated the individual from others and from God; the total subjective fulfillment of the individual was elevated above all else.  In his client-centered emphasis, Rogers encouraged clients to follow their feelings in every instance.  Thus, a tyranny of narcissism and moral relativism often left individuals controlled by their feelings and isolated from committed relationships with others.

Some years after the humanistic theorists a different and much more pragmatic psychology known as cognitive-behavior therapy was developed and has remained influential. This approach pioneered by Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis generally ignored the patient’s childhood and his or her unconscious. Instead it focused on changing a person’s cognitions and self understanding that were interpreted as causing the problem, e.g. depression or anxiety. In addition, new behaviors that would counter mental pathology were strongly encouraged. Besides emphasizing cognitions and behavior this school engaged in research that demonstrated its effectiveness. Research was neglected by both psychoanalytic and humanistic psychologists.

At present, the newest approach is that of Positive Psychology which began in the late 1990s with Martin Seligman, who has led psychology to a rediscovery of virtues and character strengths.  He began to look at what constitutes a good human life. He is interested in those virtues and character strengths that when developed can both enable persons to recover from past trauma and protect them from possible future psychological problems. This is an important movement which opens the door to the psychological study of what is good and leads to human flourishing. It also reintroduces to psychology the discipline of philosophy and indirectly theology. This is inevitable once psychology admits purpose or teleology into its understanding of the person. The positive psychologists are now starting to introduce training or practice in the virtues into psychotherapy, an innovation much supported by the earlier development of cognitive/behavioral psychology.

Concern for the sources of human flourishing and happiness is now present not only in psychology, but it has also been growing in the general culture where many are searching for meaning in a consumer dominated and hedonistic society.  Self-fulfillment has failed to provide the happiness and peace it was supposed to give. Some of this new mentality is shown by a marked shift toward religion and spirituality as important parts of man’s search for a deeper and more satisfying life. Indeed, religion and spirituality are beginning to become part of contemporary psychotherapy. For example, thanks to the work of such psychologists as Robert Enright and also Everret Worthington the practice of forgiveness is now far from unusual in therapy.

Today, probably more than ever people are aware of their psychological problems and of how these problems undermine happiness and general flourishing. Among our major problems are anger, resentment, depression, anxiety, addiction and narcissism. People know this and are even willing to understand the problem as one of “sin”, that is, as thoughts, feelings and behaviors that hurt others and themselves. Although they know that they shouldn’t live this way, they don’t know how to change.  A good Catholic therapist can help clients address and change these destructive behaviors by using both the best of psychology plus support from Catholic faith and morals. This is how IPS understands the issue of integration: It is the bringing together of sound psychological principles with a Catholic anthropology. Such integration will enable therapists to effectively address psychological problems and to prepare one for a genuine Christian spiritual life.

For example, Jesus told us not to hate but to love our enemies, but he didn’t tell us very much about how to do it. Many people are trapped in a world of resentment and grudges. They would like to forgive those who have wronged them, but do not know how to do so. An integrated psychology allows the introduction of forgiveness as a process into psychotherapy. Of course, one major subject of concern at our Institute is the intellectual nature of integration between psychology and the Faith. Specific psychological problems of special interest to IPS are addictions, narcissism and the familiar problems of depression and anxiety.  Catholics especially have a strong desire, even a duty, to help find answers to these types of suffering both as an expression of agape love and to deepen the faith in the lives of their Catholic/Christian clients.  We are also blessed to have the sacraments, especially confession and the Eucharist to give our lives meaning.

The best secular psychology has paved the way for such a Catholic approach to psychology. One hundred years ago we knew little that was systematic or scientific about abnormal human psychology or how to help those with mental suffering and behavioral problems. Catholics are indebted to the field of modern psychology for opening up an understanding of the psychological interior life of the person. Our present widespread appreciation of the previously unknown psychology now presents a new arena for theology to make contributions. Today the richness of the Catholic faith and theology coupled with philosophy and the discipline of psychology are prepared to more effectively enhance the health and wellbeing of the human person. To help bring this about is the goal of the Institute for the Psychological Sciences.