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What Psychodynamic Psychotherapists Think About Free Will and Determinism and How That Impacts Their Clinical Practice : a Qualitative Study

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What Psychodynamic Psychotherapists Think About Free Will and Determinism and How That Impacts Their Clinical Practice : a Qualitative Study Smith ScholarWorks Theses, Dissertations, and Projects 2012 What psychodynamic psychotherapists think about free will and determinism and how that impacts their clinical practice : a qualitative study Patrick J. Cody Smith College Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.smith.edu/theses Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Cody, Patrick J., "What psychodynamic psychotherapists think about free will and determinism and how that impacts their clinical practice : a qualitative study" (2012). Masters Thesis, Smith College, Northampton, MA. https://scholarworks.smith.edu/theses/872 This Masters Thesis has been accepted for inclusion in Theses, Dissertations, and Projects by an authorized administrator of Smith ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Patrick Cody What Psychodynamic Psychotherapists Think about Free Will and Determinism and How that Impacts their Clinical Practice: A Qualitative Study ABSTRACT This qualitative study explored psychodynamic psychotherapists’ beliefs about free will and determinism and how these impact their work with clients. A secondary goal was to determine if and how knowledge of psychodynamic theory, neuropsychology and/or physics has shaped those views. Twelve clinicians were asked questions related to free will, determinism and clients’ behavioral change. All participants said that psychodynamic theory has influenced their beliefs, and a majority said that neuropsychology has done so. Major findings include that 11 of the 12 participants endorsed the concept of compatibilism, that free will and determinism can co- exist and are not mutually exclusive in impacting behavior. This finding compares to, but does not confirm, research that found psychodynamic clinicians were more deterministic than other clinicians (McGovern, 1986), and it contrasts with research that suggests that the science related to free will and determinism has not reached the field and influenced clinical practice (Wilks, 2003). Clinicians named a variety of biopsychosocial factors that act as determinants and impose certain limitations on clients’ ability to exercise free will. But they believe—and research supports—that psychotherapy can help clients be more conscious of their behavior patterns and reduce automatic, reactive decision-making and activity. In this way, therapists help clients have greater access to and ability to exercise their free will. WHAT PSYCHODYNAMIC PSYCHOTHERAPISTS THINK ABOUT FREE WILL AND DETERMINISM AND HOW THAT IMPACTS THEIR CLINICAL PRACTICE: A QUALITATIVE STUDY A project based upon an independent investigation, submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Work. Patrick Cody Smith College School for Social Work Northampton, Massachusetts 01063 2012 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis could not have been completed without the assistance of many individuals whose contributions are greatly acknowledged and appreciated. I wish to thank my thesis advisor, Dr. Caroline Hall, and my research instructor, Dr. Gael McCarthy, for their steady patience, support and encouragement. I thank my clinical supervisor at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Community Psychiatry Program, Daniel Buccino, MSW, who encouraged me throughout the year, talked theory and practice with me, and generously agreed to be my second reader. I am grateful to the study participants for their cooperation, interest and dedication to quality care. With pleasure I recall how family, friends, and colleagues lightened my load this past year with support, and humor. In particular, I would like to thank Tiffany Adams, MSW, and Ryan Moore, MSW, for their help and support. This thesis is dedicated to my father, from whom I gained my interest in philosophical questions and their practical application, and to my mother, from whom I gained my interest in the mental health field. Thank you. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................... ii TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................... iv CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 1 II LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................. 4 III METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................... 14 IV FINDINGS ....................................................................................................................... 19 V DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................... 37 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................... 55 APPENDICES Appendix A: Human Subjects Review Board Permission Letter.. .......................................... 58 Appendix B: Informed Consent ............................................................................................... 59 Appendix C: Interview Questions ............................................................................................ 62 iii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Study Participants ............................................................................................................. 20 iv CHAPTER I Introduction Whether a therapist believes in determinism, free will, or something in between as a significant contributor to clients’ behavior patterns, their beliefs impact their clinical practice and thus their clients themselves. This thesis primarily set out to explore what psychodynamic psychotherapists believe about free will and determinism and how these beliefs impact their work with their clients. Secondarily, this research aimed to determine if and how psychodynamic theory, neuropsychology and/or physics shaped those beliefs. Questions about free will and determinism have been central to the study of philosophy since the dawn of recorded history and have been central to the study of psychology since its founding a scant 13 decades ago (Bricklin, 1999). In recent years, neuroimaging has shown that thoughts, emotions, brain chemistry and behavior are intertwined (Siegel and Douard, 2011). Hence, questions about free will and determinism as factors in behavior have become more complex and nuanced. What psychotherapists believe about the cause of their clients’ problems and their ability to change likely impacts what form of psychotherapy they choose to practice. For example, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has its roots in behavioral theory, which teaches a form of causality related to “inputs.” Think, for example, of the dinner bell “causing” a dog to salivate in a conditioned response. With CBT, it is our thoughts that 1 lead to emotions and behavior, and changing these mental “inputs” then leads to change. Similarly, psychodynamic psychotherapists believe that human behavior is largely determined by prior events that imprint individuals’ minds and emotions so powerfully they “cause” certain behaviors and ways of operating in the world. Existential psychotherapists, on the other hand, are more likely to ask patients what they want and what they are going to do with the lives they have been given (they believe people are not responsible for being born into their circumstances, but they are responsible for what they do with their lives). Psychodynamic psychotherapists seem to operate on two separate tracks. On the one hand, they assume that that a client is the way he is because factors in his past thus formed him (in a deterministic sense). On the other, they work with the client as if he has the free will to change or not (Smith, 2003). In fact, many psychodynamic psychotherapists may believe that muted versions of both determinism and free will operate in individuals’ lives. This is what philosophers call indeterminism (or soft- determinism). In Free Will and Responsibility: a Guide for Practitioners, John Callender (2010) discusses how impaired brain functioning in certain mental illnesses like psychopathic personality disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and dissociative disorders impacts a clinician’s sense of free will and causal determinism. Callender suggests that if a therapist can help an individual client with his mental and emotional functioning, he or she can help increase his agency and freedom in a world where many forces impacting an individual are outside of his control. 2 This thesis attempts to answer the question: What do psychodynamic psychotherapists believe about free will and determinism? Do they believe that individuals have freedom of action, including the ability to change, only limited capacity to determine their own behavior, or how do they view this question? What’s more, what factors impact how a therapist views this fundamental question? Do contemporary developments in neurobiology or physics impact how clinicians practice? Key terms in this exploration include free will, determinism, and indeterminism. Free will can be defined as self-determinism or personal agency. Determinism is synonymous with causality, the idea that everything in life happens due to prior events. Indeterminism (and
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