States of Consciousness: Models for Psychology and Psychotherapy PDF
Preview States of Consciousness: Models for Psychology and Psychotherapy
States of Consciousness EMOTIONS, PERSONALITY, AND PSYCHOTHERAPY Series Editors: Carroll E. Izard, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware and Jerome L. Singer, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut Current volumes in the series FINDING MEANING IN DREAMS: AQuantitative Approach Written by G. William Domhoff FROM MEMORIES TO MENTALILLNESS: AConceptual Journey Written by William M. Hall LANGUAGE IN PSYCHOTHERAPY: Strategies of Discovery Edited by Robert L. Russell SAMPLING INNER EXPERIENCE IN DISTURBED AFFECT Written by Russell T. Hurlburt SHYNESS: Perspectives on Research and Treatment Edited by Warren H. Jones, Jonathan M. Cheek and Stephen R. Briggs THE COGNITIVE FOUNDATIONS OF PERSONALITYTRAITS Written by Shulamith Kreitler and Hans Kreitler THE EMOTIONAL BRAIN: Physiology, Neuroanatomy, Psychology and Emotion Written by P.V. Simonov THE PSYCHOBIOLOGYOF EMOTIONS Written by Jack George Thompson THE PSYCHOLOGYOF EMOTIONS Written by Carroll E. Izard THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS IN SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT: History, Theory and Research Written by Carol Magai and Susan H. McFadden THE TRANSFORMED SELF: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS CONVERSION Written by Chana Ullman WHAT DEVELOPS IN EMOTIONALDEVELOPMENT? Edited by Michael F. Mascolo and Sharon Griffin STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS:Models for Psychology and Psychotherapy Written by Andrzej Kokoszka AContinuation Order Plan is available for this series. Acontinuation order will bring delivery of each new volume immediately upon publication. Volumes are billed only upon actual shipment. For further information please contact the publisher. States of Consciousness: Models for Psychology and Psychotherapy By Andrzej Kokoszka Medical University of Warsaw Warszawa, Poland With chapter by Andrzej Bielecki Institute of Computer Science Jagiellonian University Kraków, Poland ABC Andrzej Kokoszka II Department of Psychiatry Medical University of Warsaw Ul. Kondratowicza 8 03-242 Warszawa Poland [email protected] Library of Congress Control Number: 2006926440 ISBN-10: 0-387-32757-6 e-ISBN-10: 0-387-32758-4 ISBN-13: 978-0-387-32757-0 e-ISBN-13: 978-0-387-32758-7 Printed on acid-free paper. ©2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews orscholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 springer.com For my wife, Bogna Preface Thestateofconsciousnessisourcommonexperienceineverydaylife.Itisanatu- ralandobviousphenomenon.Wedonottroubleourselveswithsubtleortransient changesofstatesofconsciousness.However,thepathologicalstates,i.e,dysfunc- tionalandpainfulones,causeustoseektherapy.Psychiatricandpsychotherapeutic diagnosesbeginfromtheassessmentofthepatient’sstateofconsciousness.The main goal of this book is to present a general model of states of consciousness thatwilldescribethevarietyofmodalitiesofexperiencing,aswellastopropose a comprehensive model for the assessment of the main psychological structures andfunctionsofinformationprocessing,i.e.,ofinformationmetabolism. Theassessmentofthequalitiesofstatesofconsciousnessisacommonpartof psychological,psychotherapeuticandpsychiatricdiagnosis,butonlywhenthere are apparent abnormalities, e.g., persistent insomnia. Therapists do not pay at- tention to the subtle fluctuations in the form of natural states of consciousness. However, there is data supporting Kleitman’s (1963) hypothesis of a biological rhythm of a 90-minute cycle i.e. “basic rest-activity cycle” (BRAC) of changes inthebrainactivity.ItismanifestedbywelldocumentedREM-NonREMcycles duringsleep.ItismoredifficulttofindthedailymanifestationsoftheBRAC,due to other activities performed in waking. The suppression of this rhythm and its indirect manifestations are described by concepts of “ultradian stress syndrome and ultradian healing response” (Rossi, 1991) and of protective mechanisms of theBRAC(Kokoszka,1990)namedalso“protectivemechanismsofinformation” (Kokoszka, 1993b). They received meaningful confirmation in the research of DuchniewskaandKokoszka,(2003),thatwillbepresentedindetailinchapterV. UntilnowneitherRossi’snormyideasreceivedclinicians’attention. Fortunately,thesimilarideaofmindfulness,i.e.nonjudgmentalpresent-moment experience(Miller,Fletcher,Kabat-Zinn,1995),hasbeengiventheincreasingat- tentionofpsychologistsandcognitivetherapists.Accordingtotheapproachpro- posedinthisbook,mindfulnessisunderstoodasaspecificattitudethatnotonly facilitatesoccurrenceofthenaturalstateofconsciousnesscharacterizedbyapas- siveattitudeofmind(contemplation)anddominationofreceptionofinformation coming from internal sources of stimulation (an individual brain and body), but also enhances its duration in a day, at the expense of the state of consciousness vii viii Preface characterizedbyagoal-orientedactivityanddominationofthereceptionofinfor- mationfromexternalsourcesofstimulation.Takingintoaccountthecontemporary culturalpressurefortask-orientedactivity,theroutineofpracticingmindfulness ineverydaylifemaybeunderstoodasameansofprotectionagainstpressurefor unlimited activity. Fortunately, the concept of mindfulness has more empirical confirmation than the ultradian healing response and the protective mechanism of the information metabolism (the BRAC). However, it will be argued that all thoseconceptsarerelatedtothesamenaturalstateofconsciousnessandwaysof achievingit. It should be stressed that the models presented describe general qualities of statesofconsciousnessandgeneralstructuresofinformationprocessingthatcon- stituteacomprehensivemeta-rationalefortheexistingpsychotherapeuticmodels thatarefocusedonthoseaspectsofinformationprocessingthat,accordingtothose approaches,havetheimportantrolesinsymptomformationandtherapy.Forex- ample,thepsychodynamicapproachconsidersinformationprocessinginmental processes in terms of defense mechanisms and object relations; behavioral ther- apyintermsoflearningprocess;thecognitiveapproachintermsofthemeaning assignment;etc.Theproposedmodelcanbefollowedbysomeofthoseconcepts inthedescriptionofthespecificpathologicalconditions. Thecreationofconsciousnessmodelsrequiresconsideringmostoftheaspectsof psychicalactivity.Therefore,inthebook,manypsychologicaltopicsarediscussed. Although the book is not a fully updated review of the literature; that is not the goalofthiswork.Thebookaimstopresentmoregeneralconclusionsaboutthe structureoftheinternalhumanworldbasedoncontemporaryscience. Iwouldliketoproposethatreadersconsiderthisvolumeasaguidebookforthe investigationofthestructureofourinternalworld.Forclarity,theideaspresented are illustrated in models, and the theoretical discussions are limited to the most necessarytopics.Thecurrentstateofknowledgeontheconstructionoftheinternal worldisconcernedwithaccumulatingdetailedfindingsandorganizingtheminto moreorlesscomprehensivemodels,whicharesubsequently,testifiedandverified. The other important goal of the models is to facilitate the formulation of new importantquestions. Thebookisdevotedtoavarietyofaspectsofconsciousness,whichisafunda- mentalpsychicalphenomenon.However,itstillremainsachallengeforscience. Weknowitbetterfromourdirectpersonalexperiencethenfromresultsofresearch. Consciousnessisanobviousaspectofourlifeanditsexistenceisunquestionable, butitisinsomewaysineffable.Eventually,anyinformationthatcanchangeour intuitive,“direct”understandingofconsciousnesscancausemanyotherchanges inouroutlookonlife.Therefore,studiesofconsciousnessmaybefascinating,or threatening,foraninvestigator.However,untilnowtherehaven’tbeenanycrucial, unequivocaldiscoveries.Instead,weareleftwithanenormousamountofpubli- cationsondifferentaspectsofconsciousness.Thereisalsoagrowingnumberof booksonthistopic,buttherearenogoodtheoreticalframeworks,noristherea rationalefortheintegrationofexistingpartialknowledgeaboutconsciousness.On onehand,neurobiologicalmodelsarenotveryhelpfulinunderstandingcommon Preface ix everyday subjective experiences. On the other hand, current psychotherapeutic modelsareverysimplifiedincomparisonwiththevarietyofdescriptionsofsubtle differencesinindividualexperiences. Thesereflectionscompelledmetostudymedicine,psychologyandphilosophy nearly 30 years ago and, later, to work on models of consciousness. I continue thisinterestinordertobetterunderstandthedifferentandspecificmodesofex- periencing not only of the patients whom I meet in psychotherapy, but also of people who reported experiencing so-called higher states of consciousness, and last but not least, the variety of my own experiences. In my studies I took dif- ferentapproaches.Atthebeginningofmyinvestigations,whenPolandwasstill inisolationbehindthe“ironcurtain,”Iwasfascinatedbyhumanisticpsychology and Eastern tradition. I completed the training for the professional certificate of “authorizedinstructorwithinthescopeofrelaxation-concentrationtraining”(i.e., yoga),issuedbythePolishMinistryofPhysicalEducation.Thetrainingwasled byTadeuszPasek,trainedbySwamiKuvalayanandaandS.L.VinekarinLonavla, India.Eventually,Iconductedthetrainingforhealthypeopleandfordepressed, neurotic,andschizophrenicpatientsforacoupleofyears.Thiswasalsothetopic ofmyresearchandthethesisformyM.A.inpsychologyatJagiellonianUniversity “OnPossibilitiesofApplyingRelaxationTechniquesLeadingtotheAlteredStates ofConsciousnessforPsychotherapeuticandPsychohygienicPurposes.”However, soonafterwardIswitchedtoapsychodynamicapproach,andafterapproximately tenyearstoacognitiveone.Recentlythecognitiveapproachhascomeintoalign- mentwiththeEasterntraditionasseenintheprogramoftheInternationalCongress ofCognitiveTherapyinconfluencewiththeIXWorldCongressonConstructivism TherapyinGoteborgin2005.ThereweremanylecturesonBuddhistpsychology andmindfulness,includingaspectaculardialogueofHisHolinesstheDalaiLama withAaronBeck,thefounderofcognitivetherapy. Twenty years ago, after a careful study of the literature on altered states of consciousness,Inoticedthatthetheoriesoftwo,nowdeceased,prominentPolish psychiatrists,JanMazurkiewicz(1871–1947)andAntoniKepin´ski(1918–1972) (cid:2) might significantly contribute to the creation of a general meta-rationale for the study of consciousness. These psychiatrists published mainly in Polish, because theyhadverylimitedpossibilitiesforinternationalcontactsduetopoliticalcon- ditions.Later,Isuccessfullyappliedtheirideasinthecreationofmodelsofstates ofconsciousness.Thisbookreformulatesandmorepreciselypresentstheresults ofmystudiesthatweregraduallypublishedinaseriesofpapersininternational journalsduringthelasttwodecades. My interest in models of consciousness was reinforced by my environment. My professional duties were divided between research in cognitive psychology and clinical psychiatry at the psychodynamically oriented Ward of Neuroses Treatment.Ifeltastrongneedtointegratethesetwoparadigms.Myinternation- allyrecognizedpsychotherapeutictrainingalsoincludedthepsychodynamicand cognitiveapproach.Icompletedtrainingingroupanalysis(psychoanalyticgroup psychotherapy) organized in Warsaw by the Institute of Group Analysis from Heidelberg,Germany,in1995,withWernerKnaussasourgroupanalyst,andthe x Preface training in cognitive and behavioral therapy organized in Warsaw by an Italian Association of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy in 2002. It was led by Tullio ScrimaliwithameaningfulcontributionbyArthurFreeman.TullioScrimaliinte- gratesacognitive-behavioralapproachwiththeconstructivisticideasofVittorio GuidanoandMichaelMahoney,whicharequitecompatiblewiththeinformation metabolismtheory.Myfriend,mathematicianAndrzejBieleckiandIdiscovered that my models can be described in terms of dynamic systems theory, which is oneoftheinspirationsformodernconstructivism.Themathematicaldescription ofinformationmetabolismispresentedinChapter7(writtenbyhim). Ourpersonalexperiencestendtobeego-syntonicandwithoutcognitivedisso- nance. The internal events which are within our usual range of experiences are obviousandconsideredratherasnatural,andnotasaltered,evenifsomeofthem varyfromthemainstreamofourstates.Therefore,wedonotrecognizesuperficial ASCinoureverydaylife.Additionally,becauseofatendencyforareductionof cognitivedissonance,profoundASCbecomesgraduallytransformedintoamore and more natural shape; and as time goes by, the experiences originally expe- rienced as very unusual acquire a more usual meaning. Therefore, the reader is kindly requested to take into consideration these tendencies and to reflect upon thefluctuationofhisorherownstatesofconsciousnessaswellastotrytorecall unusual experiences that happened sometime in his or her life. I hope that the presentedmodelwillbehelpfulinallowingreaderstoreflectuponthetheoretical andpersonalaspectsofstatesofconsciousness,justasithashelpedme. It is recommended, but not necessary, to read all chapters of the book con- secutively.Inordertomakeitpossibletoreadindividualchaptersthereissome repetitioninthebook. AndrzejKokoszka (cid:2)Lomianki,Poland August2005
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