Time is a paradox, on one hand it is fleeting and on the other it appears to be infinite. Henceforth, a perennial debate about the machinations of time correspond with the latter but alas the former eludes unabated. For instance, Einstein (1918) in his theory of relativity articulates that time is subjective as it pertains to the motion and speed in relation to specific objects and thus the perception of time is unique as it pertains to what it means to each and every sentient organism, however society largely subscribes to the one fit all approach, thus meaning time is assimilated in a homogeneous transaction. People invariably go to work at a 9-5 ratio, they partake in breakfast, dinner and tea at similar intervals and so forth and so on. The consequence of sacrificing the sentience of time and treating it as a construct is tantamount with treating ourselves in the same way.
The practice of projecting a particular point of view irrespective of what the latter is has the potentiality to inhibit freedom because the lexicon of which it is derived becomes a collective one. Furthermore, Newton proffered about physics in the sense of cause and effect or in other words, for every action, there has to be an equal and opposite reaction. Therefore, bearing in mind what both Einstein and Newton declared, the fact that most people tend to perceive time through compartmentalised continuums’, i.e., the past, present and future. The debate of time has entered the psychological domain, this of course would be Newton’s cause of treating time as a construct and thus Newton’s effect would manifest in becoming one yourself (Newton, 1999).
Sigmund Freud was the aetiology of the talking therapy movement and elected to focus on the past continuum of time as he postulated this phase once denied or distorted would demarcate pain and various idiosyncratic neuroses from an unconscious and nebulous hiding place. The paradox being, the practice of denying the past would in all likelihood prevent a future from being realised as the repressed past would rise and bleed into the present and in a sense contradict the reality in relation to how the original memory was experienced (Freud, 2018).
Freud (2014) would go on to develop defence mechanisms, these devices were used primarily for the purpose hitherto individuals when threatened by traumas of the past pending they did not wish to resolve them and they instead preferred to deny that this trauma ever happened. As a corollary these memories eventually became repressed, albeit Freud indicated that these traumas were in fact still being experienced unconsciously like a groundhog day. This theory was called repetitive compulsion and Freud believed that when situational stimuli in the conscious world correlated with the unconscious Groundhog Day phenomenon, flashbacks could ensue in what is clinically renowned today as P.T.S.D. (Post-traumatic stress disorder). Henceforth, trauma sufferers who live in the past invariably re-enact the trauma and therefore victimise themselves over and over again (Freud, 2003).
In corroboration, Brewin, Dalgleish and Joseph (1996) promulgates in the dual representation theory that the brain has two types of memory, SAM, (situational accessible memories) and VAM, (verbal accessible memories). So as an analogy with the unconscious, this would be played by SAM albeit once triggered by a conscious ricochet VAM who plays the conscious mechanism in this scenario would be experiencing a dichotomous memory from the past and present at the same time. Interestingly, it has been empirically documented that the right hemisphere of the brain is emotional, whereas the left hemisphere is logical and deals with language, therefore SAM and VAM correlate with Freud’s unconscious and conscious respectively (Joseph, 2012).
However, several schools of thought challenged Freud, specifically his interpretation of time, for instance Freud didn’t believe that time existed in the unconscious realm, whereas other schools of thought like behaviourism and humanism rejected the ideation of an unconscious (Freud, 1915). For example, CBT, (cognitive behavioural therapy), fused together from the dyad of REBT, (rational emotive behaviour therapy) in conjunction with CT, (cognitive therapy). This aforementioned dyadic therapy focussed on the future continuum of time. They proclaim that the provenance of mental health resides in maladaptive behaviour, meaning, if an individual learns how to control and adapt their negative thinking, this in subsequent turn would ameliorate their negative feelings and thus their maladaptive behaviour would cease to exist (Petruzzi, 2015).
However, Freud in seditious recalcitrance would argue that it is actually his death instinct theory which is underpinned by Thanatos which predisposes individuals to rampant negativity. The death instinct being an unconscious mechanism that comes into effect when a repressed memory takes centre stage in the unconscious which makes it impossible for Eros which fuels the life instinct and with it precipitating happiness within a conscious frontier (Freud, 2015). Also, Freud would pontificate that CBT alone is analogous to suppressing negative memories and thus gives birth to Thanatos which theoretically contradicts the confirmation bias of the CBT philosophy. Except that CBT therapists do not believe in the unconscious, if they are correct clients can live their future lives as they always intended, however if Freud is right then the future within CBT parameters is a fallacy.
In comparison with CBT, Carl Rogers who pioneered the Person-Centred movement of the humanistic school of thought concurred that there was no such thing as an unconscious (Rogers, 1951). This model focussed on the present continuum of time, i.e., the here and now of what clients suffering from mental distress were currently experiencing (Rogers, 1980). If Freud’s Psychodynamic therapy dealt with the past invocated memories of events or traumas (Jacobs, 2017), the CBT mandate was the future and the desire to control the past by looking onward (Trower, Jones and Dryden, 2016), whereas Person-Centred lived in the present which meant looking at feelings exclusively in an effort to discover and accept their true self and self-actualise (Mearns and Thorne, 2013).
As for myself, I agree that time has a massive role to play in relation to mental health, the antecedents of it but also its panacea as well. However, I disagree with the notion that time should be compartmentalised, segregated or separated in any fashion whatsoever, I believe that this process colludes with the time split schism that happens when clients differentiate by filtering the past, present and future as three unique time portals when in reality they are one and the same.
For example, Zimbardo in his time perspective therapy remarks on only focussing on the past in reference to memories that are concomitant with joy, participating in hedonistic events in the present that inspire happiness whereas the future is reflected in relation to the future that an individual craves (Zimbardo and Boyd, 2012). All of Zimbardo’s assertions of time correspond with positive psychology (Seligman, 2002), albeit he does this at the expense of colluding with the time split mechanism that already exists and thus in this writer’s view exacerbates a client’s already fragile state.
Moreover, clients typically who think about the past are fraught with depression and when they contemplate the future, they are inundated with anxiety (Edelman, 2012), therefore thinking about the past and future but only in positive ways is tantamount to invariably ignoring the problem, not to mention the grief that clients are experiencing.
My answer: As an Integrative Counsellor who utilises the three therapies mentioned in this blog; Person-Centred, Psychodynamic and CBT. As opposed to colluding with the time split mechanism which I refer to as a psycho paradox time distortion, I believe that assimilating from a therapy that parallels with the specific time portal that a client is trapped in will cultivate liberation and will allow a client to eventually be present in their present and overcome the struggles that they are accosted with.
For example, Psychodynamic therapy will be used when a client’s past has been distorted, CBT will be assimilated when the future appears nebulous or anxiety producing. However, in the event that a distorted past precipitates a problematic future then the latter and former will be used in dyadic form. Therefore, leading to a time in question whereupon a client is present or in other words not burdened by feelings or thoughts of the past or future. This is when an exploration of feelings and self-image can be processed for the purpose of delineating their identity or if they choose they can calcify a new one. Sometimes clients may be ready for the present-based therapy, i.e., Person-Centred in matriculation of counselling.
I call this particular style of Integrative Counselling Neo Plasma Time Therapy, Neo is ancient Greek for new whereas Plasma is ancient Greek for formation or creation. This therapy is underpinned by the 12 Constellations of Change, a map for therapy. Furthermore, the therapy that I offer is through the cathartic implementation of the E.P.O.C.H. Clock , which is the logo of my company, the idea being once you reset the E.P.O.C.H. Clock, you can experience the time of your life. I wholeheartedly believe when we take control of our lives, time is on our side because we are spending it as it was always intended, without regret and making every second count.
This blog was written by Alan Penney
References:
Boyd, J. and Zimbardo, P., (2012). The Time Paradox: Using the New Psychology of Time to your Advantage. London: Rider Books
R. Brewin, Chris & Dalgleish, Tim & Joseph, Stephen. (1996). A dual representation theory of posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychological review. 103. 670-86. 10.1037//0033-295X.103.4.670.
Dryden, W., Jones, J. and Trower, P., (2016). Cognitive Counselling in Action. (3rd ed.). London: SAGE
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Einstein, A., (1918). Relativity: The Special and General Theory. (3rd ed.). Berlin: Berlin University Press
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Mearns, D. and Thorne, B., (2013). Person-Centred Counselling in Action. (4th ed.). London: SAGE
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Petruzzi, J., (2015). Cognitive Behaviour Therapy: Resource Manual. Vita Online Ltd
Rogers, C.R., (1951). Client-Centered Therapy: Its Current Practice, Implications and Theory. London: Constable
Rogers, C.R., (1980). A Way of Being. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company
Seligman, M.E.P., (2002). Authentic Happiness: Using the new Positive Psychology to Realize your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.
