The Psychologist As Systems Analyst

Psychotechnology

     The particulars of NeuroCybernetic Psychology (see Sarmiento, 1990) will undoubtedly be modified as they are empirically tested against alternative concepts. However, this approach illustrates a general conceptual framework in which the psychologist can be viewed as a systems analyst. To further explain this, consider the treatment implications of this view.

      Malfunctions and overloads require physical treatments because they involve physical defects in the brain, or hardware problems. As such, they are largely the province of physicians, the biocontroller equivalent of electronics engineers. Program errors, bugs and disturbed interlocks, on the other hand, can usually be corrected with psychological interventions because they are largely software problems.

     In doing psychotherapy, the psychologist may use any or all the programming languages of the biocontroller, whether explicitly or not. It is more accurate to say that the therapist helps the patient to alter his or her own software using the various programming languages. In short, the psychotherapist is a systems analyst who helps the client identify and correct the various errors and bugs common to the human biocontroller. In this view, the purpose of psychotherapy is to teach clients how to correct their own software, if they so choose.

    Many therapists will object that they do not serve the function of systems analyst for their clients. This is to be expected given the popular conception of therapy as healing. However, I propose that when therapy is effective, it is because it has directly or indirectly resulted in the client altering his or her software to eliminate or reduce programming errors and bugs. Some therapies, notably cognitive/behavioral therapy, can be easily seen in this light. Others may be less obvious.

    Presumably, however, whether the therapist uses hypnosis, client centered unconditional acceptance or intensive psychoanalysis, when it is effective, it may be so largely because it results in fundamental changes in the client's software. However, as Albert Ellis has pointed out, much therapy helps people to feel better but not to get better (Ellis, 1973).

<< Previous Section | Back to Top | Next Section >>