Postmodernism

Postmodernism Therapy is based on the principle that there is no absolute truth or objective reality. They deem it impossible to determine what is psychologically healthy because there is no objective for reality.

Practitioners of postmodern therapy even try to minimizing the unavoidable power of authority  This is done through active involvement and being as collaborative with the client as possible. Unique conversation between the therapist and the patient emerges. A spoken language is created between the therapist and the client, ranging from simple words to intensely personal, complex conversation that becomes the main medium of change.

“Your attitude towards your life will be different according to which understanding you have." Suzuki

Conceptually, postmodern psychotherapy engages in traditions being truth and subjectivity of the Mind.

• Science - the truth and philosophy of knowledge
• Art - the truth of beauty and aesthetics
• Mysticism - the truth of religion, God and spirituality

Influencial people:

• 

Martin Heidegger (1889–1976)
Rejected the philosophical basis of the concepts of "subjectivity" and "objectivity" and asserted that similar grounding oppositions in logic ultimately refer to one another.

 

Jacques Derrida (1930–2004) Re-examined the fundamentals of writing and its consequences on philosophy in general; he presented a radical re-reading of  philosophical figures such as Plato, Aristotle, and Descartes as themselves being informed by such "destabilizing" notions.

Jean-Francois Leotard (1924 – 21 April 1998) was a French philosopher, sociologist, and literary theorist. He is well known for his articulation of postmodernism after the late 1970's and the analysis of the impact of postmodernism  on the human condition.



Goals of the therapy are:

• cure of a mental disorder
• symptoms reduction (i.e. decrease in their intensity, frequency, range or scope of interference with functioning)
• reduction of subjectively experienced distress or suffering
• insight, improved understanding of oneself and others
• conflict(s) resolution
• wellness, improved psychological and interpersonal functioning
• improved performance / efficacy of actions
• ability to work, play and love
• greater capacity for happiness and compassion

Techniques: 
The are three main types of postmodern therapies

• Narrative Therapy rests on two underlying principles: a) all human thought and behavior exist in cultural contexts that give them particular meaning and significance, and b) people's view of the world is shaped through a complex, generally unconscious process of sifting through experiences and selecting those that are most consistent with the story one holds of oneself.
  
• Solution-Focused Therapy emphasizes the construction of solutions to problems, rather than an examination of their causes or how they are maintained. Doing more of what has helped them succeed in the past.

• Collaborative Language Systems is a type of postmodern therapy that "dis-solves" problems through conversation and emphasizes a collaborative conversational partnership between therapist and client

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Fran%C3%A7ois_Lyotard
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Heideggerhttp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derrida
http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/p/post-modern.asp