The psychological therapies of the third wave are the last great revolution of this science, pretending to offer help to people taking into consideration many areas of the life of the same.
Psychotherapy or psychological therapy is a scientific treatment of a psychological nature that, from psychic or physical manifestations of human discomfort, promotes the achievement of changes or modifications in the patient’s behavior, their health, the integration of their identity and well-being in both an individual and group environment.
The rate of assistance to the psychologist varies according to the country and culture in which we focus our attention, but it is a professional figure that is increasingly on the rise. As relevant data, we will say that the American Psychological Society (APA) estimates that there are about 85,000 professionals in this field in the US. In the USA, while in countries such as Spain assistance to psychologists has increased to more than 20% of the general population (almost 2 million people).
On the other side of the coin, we continue to observe that attendance at psychological therapy processes continues to be stigmatized in many geographical areas. For example, in Mexico it is estimated that almost 30% of the population has an emotional pathology, but only 1% of Mexicans go to the psychologist.
With a higher attendance rate despite reservations, better knowledge of the human psyche, and both scientific and social advancement, it is natural thatpsychological therapies are modified over time to achieve maximum understanding and effectiveness. Today we tell you all about the movement that is known as “third-generation psychological therapies”. Don’t miss it.
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The first and second generation waves
To begin by describing third-generation psychological therapies without briefly showing the variants of the first and second generation is like starting to build a house by the roof. We tell you what the following lines consist of, but we do not take long.
Back in the fifties of the twentieth century emerged a set of techniques, based on classical and operant conditioning, which ended up being known as first-generation behavioral therapies. This was a real rebellion against the established psychoanalysisand, in addition, was clearly based on scientific principles, since the techniques were based on the results of basic science found in relation to the human mind at the beginning of the century.
In the line of classical conditioning, techniques were developed to combat phobias, fears, anxieties and obsessions (the field of neurosis). On the other hand, the line of operant conditioning was responsible for solving problems in institutional contexts, that is, problems of “internal patients”. The wave of the first generation of psychological therapies focused on the conditioning that had as object of study and treatment to external behaviors, either due to ignorance or lack of interest in behaviors of a private or verbal nature.
In the late sixties and early seventies, second-generation psychological therapies emerged, which focused on the patient’s unwanted thoughts and emotions, such as having repetitive and irrational ideas that foster an inexplicable fear of dying.
What characterized this second wave, broadly speaking, is that currents began to consider thought or cognition as the main cause of behavior and, therefore, as the cause and explanation of psychological phenomena and disorders. According to this current, thoughts determine emotions and behavior, which is why they deserve to be the main objects of treatment.
What are third-generation psychological therapies?
Third generation psychological therapies, also known as “third wave”, are the set of therapies and treatments thatseek to modify the patient’s behavior having a global approach to it, that is, covering the individual’s experience of their problem and how the social and cultural context have made their behavior maladaptive.
If we imagine the complexity of the human being with a graph and each of the generations of therapies were concentric circles, undoubtedly the third generation would comprise the previous two and much more ground. This set of therapies can be characterized by being:
- Behaviorists: many of them focus more on the function of the behavior than on its topography (the part of describing the behavior in question, including intensity, frequency, duration… etc).
- Heterogeneous: these therapies make use of a set of very heterogeneous techniques, as is the case of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
- Their effectiveness has not yet been fully demonstrated: although they point to good destinations, most of these therapies are still in the process of being reaffirmed.
- They cover these excluded and complex patients: This is the case of people with Borderline Personality Disorder or individuals who suffer periodic depressive relapses.
Rationale for third-generation psychological therapies
Explaining what characterizes these therapies without incurring too professional terminology is a real challenge, but we will try to show you their pillars in the simplest way possible in the following lines. Let’s get to it.
1. Functional contextualism
In this type of therapy, the patient’s context becomes vitally important, that is, they adopt more contextualist assumptions instead of resorting to pure mechanism. It is time to focus attention on the patient’s problem and event holistically, that is, as a “whole”. It is necessary to take into account aspects of the daily life of the individual: how he relates, with whom he does it, where he works, etc.
The focus of treatment is the context and function of thoughts, not the intensity or frequency of the patient’s psychological events alone. One of the essential characteristics of this new wave of therapies is that they give much more emphasis to variables or issues that have traditionally been less investigated or totally ignored. Therefore, these approaches are linked to other therapies or non-scientific approaches of a more experientialist and existentialist nature.
2. Language as an engine of change
The specialist’s language can modify individual maladaptive patterns, while the patient’s can enhance their own conflicts. It is necessary to analyze what the individual says and what he says to himself, that is, the internal dialogues that are presented in his mind and that are surely correlated with his problem.
These new therapies do not focus on the elimination of private events, but seek to alter the psychological function of the particular event through the change of verbal contexts in which cognitive events are problematic.
3. Abandonment of the concept of “combating the problem”
For example, the patient does not fight his anxiety per se, because that would be fighting with the individual’s own identity and not understanding anything. Explained more simply, it is not so much about eliminating psychological discomfort, but about understanding its origin, how it works and giving it the legitimacy that is being denied. According to this premise, relating to discomfort is the first step for everything to improve.
Paradoxically, third-generation psychological therapies do not see the patient’s attempts to control their private events as a correct treatment. Although it is socially accepted and we are used to it, trying to “control”, “keep at bay” and not accept in the totality the problem itself is part of the problem itself.
This in turn promotes the concept of “depathology”, that is, not seeking the disappearance of the typical symptoms that are collected in medical books as if it were a shopping list. More global goals are sought, such as a general psychosocial adjustment that allows the individual to self-actualize.
Summary
Perhaps all this has sounded very confusing for a first contact with psychological therapy, but if we want you to stay with an idea after reading these lines, this is the following: third-generation psychological therapies seek to focus on the patient at an experiential level and that encompasses a “whole” (holistic approach), trying to change the personal context more than the problematic behaviors themselves.
Through these changes it is aspired to encompass more and more, expand the boundaries of the two previous waves and, finally, encompass all possible patients, regardless of the rarity or vagueness of their problems.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.
