The human mind is an intricate piece of the body which is difficult to understand, it’s thinking and behavioural patterns, a complicated mix of human thoughts, emotions and feelings all included in one each expression pops out either all at once, or one at a time. Such is the human mind and its psychology.
 Ms. Arosha Dasanayaka |
It skips from one thought to another, changing an entire individual, or a situation creating a temporary or a lifetime impact. It functions in such a way that one has to do a separate study of the human mind to be familiar with its peculiar characteristics. The human brain stores all our thoughts, feelings and emotions be it for better or worse, sometimes making a lifetime impact on us. A well experienced psychologist might be able to explain the thinking / behavioural patterns and symptoms of an individual, and they might be able to distinguish the characteristics that we normally don’t get to see often.
In scientific terms, psychology is the science of mind and behaviour. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between the natural and social sciences.
Psychologists seek an understanding of the emergent properties of brains, linking discipline to neuroscience. As a social science, psychologists aim to understand the behaviour of individuals and groups. It is mostly our feelings and thoughts and how we look at a certain subject that enables us to make the right decision at the right moment. There are other sub categories which are attached to Psychology where Psychologists have done research on perception, cognition, attention, emotion, intelligence, subjective experiences, motivation, brain functioning, and personality.
Personality
All these depend on the thinking and behavioural pattern of the particular individual, and how he takes on life in general. If he has a strong personality, he has a higher chance of facing the situation in a more positive way, and if he has a weak personality, chances are high that he will get into mental trauma such as depression, loneliness, etc.
Regarding these cases, many psychologists involve themselves in some therapeutic role, practicing in clinical, counselling, or school settings. Other psychologists conduct scientific research on a wide range of topics related to mental processes and behaviour.
Most of these can be overcome through counselling and also medication. If we take depression, it is a result of an extensive mental trauma which has reached its climax. Some may be able to overcome this with proper guidance and therapy, supported by medication, but those who are vulnerable and do not have a very strong personality, can succumb into depression and even take their own life.
We have seen many instances such as this, not only among common people but also among celebrities, who gain a lot of media and public attention and are surrounded by the public. So does depression appear only when a certain individual goes through some mental trauma, lonely and isolated? Or does it occur due to other reasons as well?
Depression has turned out to be a psychological issue which has become a global threat today on people’s mental wellbeing. Other resources include spiritual healing, meditation, subliminal healing /music, since Binaural beats in the alpha frequencies (8 to 13 Hz) are thought to encourage relaxation, promote positivity, and decrease anxiety. Binaural beats in the lower beta frequencies (14 to 30 Hz) have been linked to increased concentration and alertness, problem solving, and improved memory. Despite listening to therapeutic music and meditation, what could we do to overcome depression? Is there a permanent remedy to overcome this problem?
We have Ms. Arosha Dasanayaka, Experienced Psychologist with a demonstrated history of working in the mental health care industry. Skilled in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Group Therapy, Psychotherapy, Mindfulness, and Family Therapy. That also adds strong healthcare services professionals with a Master of Science - MS focused in Counselling Psychology from Girne American University. She’s also a Counseling Psychologist at The KonTerra Group since 2020 . Thus we sat down for an informative and detailed discussion with her to talk on this crucial subject, and share her extensive knowledge.
Excerpts:
Q: How would you define human psychology in a nutshell? What was actually its origin?
A: According to the American Psychological Association, psychology is the scientific study of mind (mental functions) and behaviour. It speaks how biological influences, environmental factors and social pressure affect human behaviour, thoughts and feelings. Psychology is multifaceted and includes many sub- fields such as human development, health, clinical, sports, social behaviour and cognitive processes. Having a deeper understanding of human psychology helps a person to gain an insight of his own behaviour and understanding of other people as well.
Sometimes we think that psychology is related only to mental disorders, psychological problems, counselling and therapy sessions. But it’s much more than that. The role of psychology starts to play from the moment you wake up in the morning until you go to sleep at night. For example, taking life decisions, communicating with family, friends and others etc. you can apply psychology in all aspects in your everyday life.
When we talk about the origin of psychology, it spans centuries. Greek philosophers like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were the pioneers who started to explore the topics that are popular today. They discussed topics such as knowledge, pleasure and pain, motivation, rationality and mental illnesses and opened the world’s eye to the subject of psychology.
Later in the 17th century, French philosopher Rene Descartes theorized that the human mind and body are two separate entities and this concept was called dualism. But the English philosophers like Thomas Hobbes and John Locke argued that some psychological processes such as sensations, thoughts and feelings are interconnected with the brain function and disagreed with dualism.
With the opening of the institute for Experimental psychology, German philosopher Wilhelm Wundt stepped for a new path for modern psychology. It was the first laboratory and he was able to separate psychology as a subject from philosophy. It is the transformational period of modern psychology. By expanding upon Wundt’s ideas Edward B. Titchener found the theory of structuralism which tried to understand the human mind as a collection of varying underline parts.
Later in the 19th century, William James founded functionalism; a theory that speaks about the nature of mental status and focused largely on the functions of the human mind. Introducing psychoanalysis (1896) and developing a set of therapeutic techniques, Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud keeps a landmark to the psychology. There are many psychologists who have contributed to the development of psychology so far. The American Psychological Association and American Psychiatrists Association also play a vital role among that.
Q: How would you define your dynamic role as a psychologist, consultant etc.? Also tell us about being a roster member for the KonTerra group USA.
A: Psychological counselling has become crucial to the current society with the conflicts and problems that humans face today. So I have a huge responsibility in helping people to overcome their burning psychological issues. I play my role as a counselling psychologist in many more ways. Not only as a psychotherapist, I’m working as a lecturer to share my knowledge with the students who are waiting to enter this field and at the same time I’m offering consulting services to various organizations. Mind Heals Online Mental Health Service is one of those.
As a therapist and a consultant, I’m offering a broad service related to the mental health of the people. To help my clients to reduce psychological distress and to promote mental well-being is a major part of my career. I work with individuals, groups and families to achieve that goal.
As a counselling psychologist, I consider how people perceive the world, how they think and behave and how they function in their day-to-day life. Understanding them helps me to achieve therapeutic goals successfully. Knowing client’s social, cultural, economic, spiritual, physical and psychological experiences help in many ways to help them to achieve their targeted goal.
So I often try to keep a good therapeutic relationship with clients to understand their psychological difficulties. Not only that, I engage in academics continuously since it’s important to keep our knowledge on the subject updated to offer clients a better service.
Being a roster member of KonTerra group USA is a milestone in my life. The KonTerra group is an organization that provides support to clients who work in high- stress environments both inside and outside the USA. They help organizations and the staffs in difficulties, various challenges and to reduce unusual levels of stress and in experiences of traumatic events they face.
As a roster member I’m lucky to meet multicultural clinicians and experience the diversity. Beyond that I’m happy with the association of Friendly leadership of the KonTerra group. I provide my service to the Sri Lankan clients who work in organizations that joined the KonTerra group.
To be continued