Happiness-Focused Therapy: The Introduction
Main Article Content
Abstract
In this article, we seek to develop a new therapeutic path, which we call Happiness-Focused Therapy (HFT) for the promotion of mental health and, in particular, increasingly frequent experiences of happiness. This, from a new theory, which is based on Aristotelian ethics and evolutionary science. In this sense, the HFT was designed to focus on what is special about us humans: the ability that we all have to understand reality more and more accurately (acquisition of wisdom) and to act based on what we know so far (rational act) in view of the increasingly frequent production of good consequences, of which we can be proud of having been the causative agent through our choices, pride that we understand to be the true happiness. With this in mind, we propose that the HFT consists of four stages of treatment, each with its main objective (expansion of wisdom, acquisition of the habit of acting rationally, elaboration of a happy life project, and elaboration of a routine in favor of the realization of a happy life project), and that the patient must go through all of them, but according to the rhythm of the evolution of their treatment (minimum of nine sessions in total); and also that each stage has its structure of sessions fixed (for better use of time).
Keywords:
Happiness, Virtues, Aristotle, Evolutionary, Science, Psychopathology, Psychotherapy
Article Details
How to Cite
OSMO, Flavio; BORRI, Maryana Madeira; BARBOSA, George C. G..
Happiness-Focused Therapy: The Introduction.
Medical Research Archives, [S.l.], v. 10, n. 4, apr. 2022.
ISSN 2375-1924.
Available at: <https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/2792>. Date accessed: 05 nov. 2024.
doi: https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v10i4.2792.
Section
Research Articles
The Medical Research Archives grants authors the right to publish and reproduce the unrevised contribution in whole or in part at any time and in any form for any scholarly non-commercial purpose with the condition that all publications of the contribution include a full citation to the journal as published by the Medical Research Archives.
References
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3. Pinker, S. O Novo Iluminismo: em defesa da razão, da ciência e do humanismo. Companhia das Letras, 2018. (pp. 452, 455).
4. Pinker, S. Como a mente funciona (L. T. Motta, Trans.). São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2001. (pp. 34, 49, 68, 69, 73, 189, 239, p. 279, p. 358, 504-507).
5. Osmo, F. Basic Evaluation Process and some Associated Phenomena, Such as Emotions and Reactive Defense of Beliefs. Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science. 2021: 1-30.
6. Seligman, M. E. Authentic happiness: Using the new positive psychology to realize your potential for lasting fulfillment. Simon and Schuster, 2002. (pp. 12, 22, 25, 56, 359).
7. Mill, S. Sobre a liberdade e A sujeição das mulheres. (P. Geiger, Trans.). São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2017. (p. 108-109).
8. Nussbaum, M. C. The therapy of desire: Theory and practice in Hellenistic ethics. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994. (pp. 24-26, 109, 114, 237, 353, 354, 399, 502).
9. Fowers, B. J. From continence to virtue: Recovering goodness, character unity, and character types for positive psychology. Theory & Psychology. 2008; 18(5): 629–53.
10. Kristjánsson, K. Virtues and vices in positive psychology. Cambridge University Press, 2013. (pp. 5, 199)
11. Schwartz, B. & Sharpe, K. E. Practical wisdom: Aristotle meets positive psychology. Journal of Happiness Studies. 2006; 7(3): 377–95
12. Sugarman, J. Practical rationality and the questionable promise of positive psychology. Journal of Humanistic Psychology. 2007; 47(2): 175–97.
13. Seligman, M. E. P. Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. New York: Free Press, 2011. (pp. 77, 215).
14. Gruda, M. P. P. Breves considerações, comentários e ideias acerca de uma Psicologia Social Crítica. Pesquisas e Práticas Psicossociais. 2016; 11(2): 514-526.
15. Fowers, B. J. An Aristotelian framework for the human good. Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology. 2012; 32: 10-23.
16. Lipman, M. A filosofia vai à escola (M. E. de B. Prestes & L. M. S. Kremer, Trans.). São Paulo: Summus, 1990. (pp. 20, 69, 168).
17. Beck, J.S. Cognitive Therapy. In The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology. (eds I.B. Weiner and W.E. Craighead). 2010. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470479216.corpsy0198
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19. Foot, P. Natural goodness. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2001. (p. 15,16, 24, 32).
20. Fowers, B. J. The Evolution of ethics: Human sociality and the emergence of ethical mindedness. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015. (pp. 6, 7, 18, 30-37, 228, 246, 256).
21. Aquino, T. Onze lições sobre a virtude: comentário ao segundo livro da ética de Aristóteles (E. Tondinelli, Tans). Campinas: Ecclesiae, 2014. (p.54-55).
22. Gopnik, A. Explanation as orgasm and the drive for causal knowledge: The function, evolution, and phenomenology of the theory formation system. In F. C. Keil and R. A. Wilson (Eds.), Explanation and Cognition. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2000. (p. 312).
23. Lazarus, R. S. Thoughts on the relations between emotion and cognition. American Psychologist. 2982; 37(9): 1019.
24. Oatley, K., & Johnson-Laird, P. N. Cognitive approaches to emotions. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 2014; 18(3): 134-140.
25. Osmo, F., Borri, M. M. Educação das virtudes através dos mitos gregos: Ajude nossas crianças e jovens a realizarem seu potencial racional. Salvador: Escola das Virtudes, 2021. (pp. 21-22, 56, 59, 61, 111-112, 125-126, 126, 127, 131-132, 154-156, 158-161, 178-180, 184-188, 191-192, 192-195, 199-201, 202, 203, 204-205, 205-206, 208-209, 212-213, 230-232, 257
26. Frankl, V. E. Em busca de sentido: Um psicólogo no campo de concentração (W. O. Schlupp & C. C. Aveline, Trans.). São Leopoldo: Sinodal, 1987. (pp. 88-99, 139).
27. Penn, D. C., Holyoak, K. J., & Povinelli, D. J. Darwin's mistake: Explaining the discontinuity between human and nonhuman minds. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 2008; 31(2): 109-130.
28. Povinelli, D. Folk physics for apes: The chimpanzee’s theory of how the world works. Oxford University Press, 2000. (p. 299).
29. Povinelli, D. J., & Dunphy-Lelii, S. Do chimpanzees seek explanations? Preliminary comparative investigations. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology/Revue Canadienne de Psychologie Expérimentale. 2001; 55(2): 185-193.
30. Boyle, M. Essentially rational animals. In G. Abel and J. Conant (Eds.), Rethinking Epistemology. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2012.
31. Aristóteles. Ética a Nicômaco (E. Bini, Trans.). São Paulo: Edipro, 2018. (097a29-1097b1, 1098b30-1099a8, 1099b34-1100a5, 1100b6-13, 1106b36-1107a6, 1115b10-14, 1123a32-1123b31, 1138b35-1140b20, 1141a8-19, 1143a1-b1, 1145a5-8, 1151b20-1153b19, 1167b16-1168a19, 1176a1-4).
32. Aristóteles. Ética a Eudemo (E. Bini, Trans). Edipro, 2015. (Book III).
33. Stichter, M. The role of motivation and wisdom in virtues as skills. In: J. Annas, D. Narvaez , & N. E. Snow (Eds.) Developing the virtues: integrating perspectives. Oxford University Press, New York, 2016. (p. 204–223).
34. Davison, G. C. Systematic desensitization as a counterconditioning process. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 1968; 73(2): 91–99.
35. MacIntyre, A. Dependent rational animals: Why human beings need the virtues. Chicago: Open Court, 1990. (pp. 26-27, 52).
36. Hutchinson, D. S. Ética. In J. Barnes (Org.), Aristóteles (R.H.P. Machado, Trans.). Aparecida: Ideias & Letras, 2009. (p.276).
37. Marco Aurélio. Meditações (A. Pires Vieira, Trans.). São Paulo: Montecristo Editora, 2019. (3.6).
38. Jimenez, M. Aristotle on “steering the young by pleasure and pain”. The Journal of Speculative Philosophy. 2015; 29(2): 137-164.
39. Sherman, N. The fabric of character: Aristotle’s theory of virtue. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989. (p. 191).
40. Seneca, L. A. Da tranquilidade da alma; Da vida retirada; Da Felicidade (L. S. Rebello & E. I. N. Vranas, Trans.). Porto Alegre: L&PM, 2012. (p. 53).
41. Herdt, J. A. Guilt and shame in the development of virtue. In J. Annas, D. Narvaez , & N. E. Snow (Eds.), Developing the virtues: integrating perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016. (pp. 224-234).
42. Kuppens, P., & Van Mechelen, I. Interactional appraisal models for the anger appraisals of threatened self-esteem, other-blame, and frustration. Cognition and Emotion. 2007; 21(1): 56-77.
43. MacIntyre, A. Depois da virtude: Um estudo em teoria moral. Bauru: EDUSC, 2001. (p. 99-100)
44. Séneca, L. A. Cartas a Lucílio (J. A. Segurado e Campos , Trans.). Lisboa: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, 1991. (letter 34).
45. Kristjánsson, K. Flourishing as the aim of education: Towards an extended, “enchanted” Aristotelian account. Oxford Review of Education. 2016; 42(6): 707-720.
46. Damon, W. The path to purpose: How young people find their calling in life. London: Free Press, 2008. (pp. 43, 49, 91).
47. Maslow, A. H. Motivation and personality. New York: Harper & Row, 1954. (pp. 35-58, 46, 198).
48. Cosmides, L., & Tooby, J. Evolutionary psychology: A primer. Center for Evolutionary Psychology. Santa Barbara: University of California, 1997. http://cogweb.ucla.edu/EP/EP-primer.html
49. Gilbert, P., & Allan, S. The role of defeat and entrapment (arrested flight) in depression: an exploration of an evolutionary view. Psychological medicine. 1998; 28(3): 585-598.
50. Seligman, M. E. P. Learned helplessness. Annual review of medicine. 1972; 23(1): 407-412.
51. Abramson, L. Y., Metalsky, G. I. & Alloy, L. B. Hopelessness: a theory-based subtype of depression. Psychological Review. 1989; 96: 358–372.
52. Kübler-Ross E, Kessler D. On grief & grieving: finding the meaning of grief through the five stages of loss. New York: Scribner 2014. (chapter 1)
53. Lee, S. A., & Gibbons, J. A. The Dark Triad and compassion: Psychopathy and narcissism's unique connections to observed suffering. Personality and Individual Differences. 2017; 116: 336-342.
54. Cloninger, C. R. A systematic method for clinical description and classification of personality variants: A proposal. Archives of general psychiatry. 1987; 44(6): 573-588.
55. Séneca, L. A. Cartas a Lucílio (J. A. Segurado e Campos, Trans.). Lisboa: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, 1991. (letter 85; letter 12).
56. Hollon, S. D., DeRubeis, R. J., Shelton, R. C., Amsterdam, J. D., Salomon, R. M., O’Reardon, J. P., et al. Prevention of relapse following cognitive therapy versus medications on moderate to severe depression. Archives of General Psychiatry. 2005; 62: 417–422.
57. Beck, J. S. Terapia cognitiva: teoria e prática (Trans. S. Costa). Porto Alegre: Artmed, 2007. (pp. 20-24, 252).
58. Fowers, B. J. Virtue and psychology: Pursuing excellence in ordinary practices. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2005. (p. 16).
59. Pinker, S. Rationality: What it is, why it seems scarce, why it matters. New York, NY: Viking, 2021. (pp. 151-161).
60. Marks, I. Exposure Therapy for Phobias and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders. Hospital Practice. 1979; 14:2: 101-108. DOI: 10.1080/21548331.1979.1170748
2. Anscombe, G. E. M. Must one obey one´s conscience? In: M. Geach & L. Gormally (Eds.), Human life, action and ethics: Essays by G. E. M. Anscombe. Exeter: Imprint Academic, 2005. (pp. 243- 247).
3. Pinker, S. O Novo Iluminismo: em defesa da razão, da ciência e do humanismo. Companhia das Letras, 2018. (pp. 452, 455).
4. Pinker, S. Como a mente funciona (L. T. Motta, Trans.). São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2001. (pp. 34, 49, 68, 69, 73, 189, 239, p. 279, p. 358, 504-507).
5. Osmo, F. Basic Evaluation Process and some Associated Phenomena, Such as Emotions and Reactive Defense of Beliefs. Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science. 2021: 1-30.
6. Seligman, M. E. Authentic happiness: Using the new positive psychology to realize your potential for lasting fulfillment. Simon and Schuster, 2002. (pp. 12, 22, 25, 56, 359).
7. Mill, S. Sobre a liberdade e A sujeição das mulheres. (P. Geiger, Trans.). São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2017. (p. 108-109).
8. Nussbaum, M. C. The therapy of desire: Theory and practice in Hellenistic ethics. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994. (pp. 24-26, 109, 114, 237, 353, 354, 399, 502).
9. Fowers, B. J. From continence to virtue: Recovering goodness, character unity, and character types for positive psychology. Theory & Psychology. 2008; 18(5): 629–53.
10. Kristjánsson, K. Virtues and vices in positive psychology. Cambridge University Press, 2013. (pp. 5, 199)
11. Schwartz, B. & Sharpe, K. E. Practical wisdom: Aristotle meets positive psychology. Journal of Happiness Studies. 2006; 7(3): 377–95
12. Sugarman, J. Practical rationality and the questionable promise of positive psychology. Journal of Humanistic Psychology. 2007; 47(2): 175–97.
13. Seligman, M. E. P. Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. New York: Free Press, 2011. (pp. 77, 215).
14. Gruda, M. P. P. Breves considerações, comentários e ideias acerca de uma Psicologia Social Crítica. Pesquisas e Práticas Psicossociais. 2016; 11(2): 514-526.
15. Fowers, B. J. An Aristotelian framework for the human good. Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology. 2012; 32: 10-23.
16. Lipman, M. A filosofia vai à escola (M. E. de B. Prestes & L. M. S. Kremer, Trans.). São Paulo: Summus, 1990. (pp. 20, 69, 168).
17. Beck, J.S. Cognitive Therapy. In The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology. (eds I.B. Weiner and W.E. Craighead). 2010. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470479216.corpsy0198
18. Darwin, C. On the origin of species. London: CRW Publishing Limited, 2004. (p. 525).
19. Foot, P. Natural goodness. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2001. (p. 15,16, 24, 32).
20. Fowers, B. J. The Evolution of ethics: Human sociality and the emergence of ethical mindedness. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015. (pp. 6, 7, 18, 30-37, 228, 246, 256).
21. Aquino, T. Onze lições sobre a virtude: comentário ao segundo livro da ética de Aristóteles (E. Tondinelli, Tans). Campinas: Ecclesiae, 2014. (p.54-55).
22. Gopnik, A. Explanation as orgasm and the drive for causal knowledge: The function, evolution, and phenomenology of the theory formation system. In F. C. Keil and R. A. Wilson (Eds.), Explanation and Cognition. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2000. (p. 312).
23. Lazarus, R. S. Thoughts on the relations between emotion and cognition. American Psychologist. 2982; 37(9): 1019.
24. Oatley, K., & Johnson-Laird, P. N. Cognitive approaches to emotions. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 2014; 18(3): 134-140.
25. Osmo, F., Borri, M. M. Educação das virtudes através dos mitos gregos: Ajude nossas crianças e jovens a realizarem seu potencial racional. Salvador: Escola das Virtudes, 2021. (pp. 21-22, 56, 59, 61, 111-112, 125-126, 126, 127, 131-132, 154-156, 158-161, 178-180, 184-188, 191-192, 192-195, 199-201, 202, 203, 204-205, 205-206, 208-209, 212-213, 230-232, 257
26. Frankl, V. E. Em busca de sentido: Um psicólogo no campo de concentração (W. O. Schlupp & C. C. Aveline, Trans.). São Leopoldo: Sinodal, 1987. (pp. 88-99, 139).
27. Penn, D. C., Holyoak, K. J., & Povinelli, D. J. Darwin's mistake: Explaining the discontinuity between human and nonhuman minds. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 2008; 31(2): 109-130.
28. Povinelli, D. Folk physics for apes: The chimpanzee’s theory of how the world works. Oxford University Press, 2000. (p. 299).
29. Povinelli, D. J., & Dunphy-Lelii, S. Do chimpanzees seek explanations? Preliminary comparative investigations. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology/Revue Canadienne de Psychologie Expérimentale. 2001; 55(2): 185-193.
30. Boyle, M. Essentially rational animals. In G. Abel and J. Conant (Eds.), Rethinking Epistemology. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2012.
31. Aristóteles. Ética a Nicômaco (E. Bini, Trans.). São Paulo: Edipro, 2018. (097a29-1097b1, 1098b30-1099a8, 1099b34-1100a5, 1100b6-13, 1106b36-1107a6, 1115b10-14, 1123a32-1123b31, 1138b35-1140b20, 1141a8-19, 1143a1-b1, 1145a5-8, 1151b20-1153b19, 1167b16-1168a19, 1176a1-4).
32. Aristóteles. Ética a Eudemo (E. Bini, Trans). Edipro, 2015. (Book III).
33. Stichter, M. The role of motivation and wisdom in virtues as skills. In: J. Annas, D. Narvaez , & N. E. Snow (Eds.) Developing the virtues: integrating perspectives. Oxford University Press, New York, 2016. (p. 204–223).
34. Davison, G. C. Systematic desensitization as a counterconditioning process. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 1968; 73(2): 91–99.
35. MacIntyre, A. Dependent rational animals: Why human beings need the virtues. Chicago: Open Court, 1990. (pp. 26-27, 52).
36. Hutchinson, D. S. Ética. In J. Barnes (Org.), Aristóteles (R.H.P. Machado, Trans.). Aparecida: Ideias & Letras, 2009. (p.276).
37. Marco Aurélio. Meditações (A. Pires Vieira, Trans.). São Paulo: Montecristo Editora, 2019. (3.6).
38. Jimenez, M. Aristotle on “steering the young by pleasure and pain”. The Journal of Speculative Philosophy. 2015; 29(2): 137-164.
39. Sherman, N. The fabric of character: Aristotle’s theory of virtue. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989. (p. 191).
40. Seneca, L. A. Da tranquilidade da alma; Da vida retirada; Da Felicidade (L. S. Rebello & E. I. N. Vranas, Trans.). Porto Alegre: L&PM, 2012. (p. 53).
41. Herdt, J. A. Guilt and shame in the development of virtue. In J. Annas, D. Narvaez , & N. E. Snow (Eds.), Developing the virtues: integrating perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016. (pp. 224-234).
42. Kuppens, P., & Van Mechelen, I. Interactional appraisal models for the anger appraisals of threatened self-esteem, other-blame, and frustration. Cognition and Emotion. 2007; 21(1): 56-77.
43. MacIntyre, A. Depois da virtude: Um estudo em teoria moral. Bauru: EDUSC, 2001. (p. 99-100)
44. Séneca, L. A. Cartas a Lucílio (J. A. Segurado e Campos , Trans.). Lisboa: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, 1991. (letter 34).
45. Kristjánsson, K. Flourishing as the aim of education: Towards an extended, “enchanted” Aristotelian account. Oxford Review of Education. 2016; 42(6): 707-720.
46. Damon, W. The path to purpose: How young people find their calling in life. London: Free Press, 2008. (pp. 43, 49, 91).
47. Maslow, A. H. Motivation and personality. New York: Harper & Row, 1954. (pp. 35-58, 46, 198).
48. Cosmides, L., & Tooby, J. Evolutionary psychology: A primer. Center for Evolutionary Psychology. Santa Barbara: University of California, 1997. http://cogweb.ucla.edu/EP/EP-primer.html
49. Gilbert, P., & Allan, S. The role of defeat and entrapment (arrested flight) in depression: an exploration of an evolutionary view. Psychological medicine. 1998; 28(3): 585-598.
50. Seligman, M. E. P. Learned helplessness. Annual review of medicine. 1972; 23(1): 407-412.
51. Abramson, L. Y., Metalsky, G. I. & Alloy, L. B. Hopelessness: a theory-based subtype of depression. Psychological Review. 1989; 96: 358–372.
52. Kübler-Ross E, Kessler D. On grief & grieving: finding the meaning of grief through the five stages of loss. New York: Scribner 2014. (chapter 1)
53. Lee, S. A., & Gibbons, J. A. The Dark Triad and compassion: Psychopathy and narcissism's unique connections to observed suffering. Personality and Individual Differences. 2017; 116: 336-342.
54. Cloninger, C. R. A systematic method for clinical description and classification of personality variants: A proposal. Archives of general psychiatry. 1987; 44(6): 573-588.
55. Séneca, L. A. Cartas a Lucílio (J. A. Segurado e Campos, Trans.). Lisboa: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, 1991. (letter 85; letter 12).
56. Hollon, S. D., DeRubeis, R. J., Shelton, R. C., Amsterdam, J. D., Salomon, R. M., O’Reardon, J. P., et al. Prevention of relapse following cognitive therapy versus medications on moderate to severe depression. Archives of General Psychiatry. 2005; 62: 417–422.
57. Beck, J. S. Terapia cognitiva: teoria e prática (Trans. S. Costa). Porto Alegre: Artmed, 2007. (pp. 20-24, 252).
58. Fowers, B. J. Virtue and psychology: Pursuing excellence in ordinary practices. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2005. (p. 16).
59. Pinker, S. Rationality: What it is, why it seems scarce, why it matters. New York, NY: Viking, 2021. (pp. 151-161).
60. Marks, I. Exposure Therapy for Phobias and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders. Hospital Practice. 1979; 14:2: 101-108. DOI: 10.1080/21548331.1979.1170748