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While both Gretchen and Bob are broadly trained in all of the standard psychotherapeutic methods, we probably would be classified as leaning toward the Cognitive Therapy model. Cognitive therapy recognizes that emotions are generated by thinking (what we are telling ourselves). But emotions also affect how we think and even perceive the world around us. How we feel can also be influenced by experiences that we have had at earlier times in our life. The interaction between our emotional life and our intellectual activities combine to give us our own unique "slant" on the world. To complicate the problem further, emotions can also be generated by biological imbalances of chemicals called "neurotransmitters" which govern how brain cells communicate with each other. Other biological conditions can also influence how we think and feel. How all these factors interact in a given individual makes the world's most fascinating puzzle. When something is not working right, we can perceive our world as a dangerous place; or an angry place; or a dismal place; or in some cases, an unrealistically happy place. The psychologist's job is to consult with his client to clarify thinking, based on a reality based assessment of the world. If we can understand why the perception is inaccurate, we are well on the way to change it, and thus change the resulting emotional state. While these ideas may be a little on the abstract side, they are easy to apply. Even children can learn how their thinking affects their mood, and consequently what to do to change this state of affairs. It takes a great deal of skill to quickly, and correctly, determine why and where distortions in thinking occur, and that is the job of the psychologist. |
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