Part 1
Helen Blavatsky’s contribution to the popular “New Age” psychology is remarkable. First, Blavatsky seemed to be an abnormal child by all standards. According to the video dubbed Madam Blavatsky: Spiritual Traveler , her behavior was outside the norm ( HedgeSchool28, 2013) . For instance, she had invisible visions, was temperamental and divorced because “she was not interested in getting married”. Her condition seems to have been similar to some psychological disorders today. However, she thought she possessed something special, which would help the world, and even change the way people perceived those who seemed to lie outside the norm. Her view was that cultural experiences and spirituality had profound impact on the wellbeing of people.
Instead of using and embracing what is known, Blavatsky set to explore the unknown, particularly to discover herself and why she was different. This quest by Blavatsky is crucial to psychology because the seemingly ‘abnormal’ people see themselves as normal. Perhaps it is only that the society in which they live does not have a majority like them. When Blavatsky explored the mystic traditions especially Buddhism and Hinduism, she began to understand her condition and felt that she needed to let people know about the unknown.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Most prominently, Blavatsky played a crucial role in exporting the culture and concepts of the East to the Western world ( HedgeSchool28, 2013) . The concepts of yoga and meditation are now being used widely in the United States. These concepts have influenced therapy by insisting on the importance of the relaxation of the body and mind. For instance, while cognitive-behavioral approach emphasizes on changing an individual’s habits and behavior, therapists seek to change a patient’s mind first. Patients are led through a process of discovering themselves and adopting positive thinking patterns. Therefore, self-discovery through meditation as well as through body and mind relaxation exercises are crucial in the “New Age” psychology.
Part 2
The history and evolution of psychology have been guided by theory and hypothesis. Psychology usually deals with aspects of the mind and behavior, and is evidently a dynamic field. Seeking to understand why and how people behave, think, and act in different ways is prone to have contradictory results. In the past, people who were perceived to be abnormal were secluded and mistreated because they seemed to be less human. However, the treatment of such individuals is different in the contemporary world.
Dynamic Science (2018) explains a hypothesis as an effort to explain observations. Therefore, the attempt is to answer the question “why?” It is in essence the best guess in explaining why a certain phenomenon occurs. For instance, while Freud Sigmund was ‘treating’ patients with psychological disorders, he realized that many of them seemed to have internal conversations (Nathan, 2014). Some would even appear to talk to themselves. Sigmund consequently formulated the hypothesis that it was the subconscious mind that was at work. He later theorized that concept as the psychoanalysis theory, which says that people’s childhood experiences that are repressed are stored in the subconscious mind and will always surface in adulthood. This theory holds because there is no other compelling evidence that discredits it.
It is through theory and hypothesis that approaches towards psychological disorders have been going through transformation. In the past, psychology was not important because people were either classified as either normal or abnormal (Nathan, 2014). It was through curiosity and observations that some people wanted to know the differences in attitudes, behaviors, and thinking patterns. After conducting observations, hypotheses were formed, which were consequently tested and transformed into theories. Such theories guide the field of psychology, especially in treating and caring for people who seem to be abnormal.
References
Dynamic Science. (2018). Space science-Science as a Human endeavor- Hypothesis, Theory, Law . Dynamicscience.com.au . Retrieved 3 October 2018, from http://www.dynamicscience.com.au/tester/solutions1/space%20science/hyplawtheory.html
HedgeSchool28. (2013). Madam Blavatsky: Spiritual Traveller . YouTube . Retrieved 3 October 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFulhyWaArg
Nathan, J. (2014). Understanding Psychoanalysis By Matthew Sharpe & Joanne Faulkner. Acumen.£ 13.99 (pb). 230pp. ISBN: 9781844651221. The British Journal of Psychiatry , 194 (4), 382-382.
