Electronic dance music (EDM) artist Amir Hussain’s 2013 track “Catharsis” is a proverbial assault on one’s auditory sense in a manner that I find pleasing. It reminds me of songs from the early 2000s, whereby rave anthems metaphorically battered listeners across global dancefloors.
Regarding an experience that those individuals who dislike EDM may consider uncomfortable, Hussain’s track and others like it are quite enjoyable to those of us who appreciate music with elevated beats per minute. What some individuals perceive as distressing, I find pleasing.
Contemplating this matter through the perspective of rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), I think of the ABC model and how the process of self-disturbance unfolds. Are you familiar with this model of self-induced distress?
REBT theory maintains that when an unexpected Activating event occurs and a person uses an irrational Belief about the situation, it’s one’s unhelpful attitude and not the undesirable circumstance that causes unpleasant emotional, bodily sensation, and behavioral Consequences.
Rather than remaining self-disturbed, an individual is invited to try Disputation which may lead to an Effective new belief that is used in place of an unproductive self-narrative. With the ABC model, a person learns to stop needless suffering which is caused by unhelpful assumptions.
Self-induced suffering isn’t a concept about which I’ve heard many people outside of REBT circles discussing. Especially within the field of mental, emotional, and behavioral health, I’ve listened to psychotherapists advocating victimhood narratives rather than considering reality.
If person X – who’s a 36-year-old individual reporting “trust issues” in intimate partner relationships – speaks with a non-REBT therapist, the clinician may claim that person X is a victim of her upbringing. How easy is it to play the blame game and point the finger at parents?
Never mind the fact that person X has lived away from home for 18 years, an equal amount of time that she lived with her parents. Neglect of personal responsibility and accountability allows for the client to point to a perceived historical villain and experience temporary relief right now.
When failing to own one’s reaction to perceived or actual events of an undesirable nature, an individual may experience catharsis—the process or effect of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions. In other words, short-term relief from long-term issues.
Aside from a colloquial description of this effect, the American Psychological Association (APA) defines catharsis as “in psychoanalytic theory, the discharge of previously repressed affects connected to traumatic events that occurs when these events are brought back into consciousness and re-experienced.”
This is the general understanding of therapy that I often hear expressed by others. The notion is that psychotherapy is a process to help people feel better. However, REBT is a psychotherapeutic modality that is designed to help people get better and not to merely feel better.
Suppose that I were to see person X and merely validate the irrational beliefs she uses. Having a professional therapist tell her that what she feels is valid, without doing anything to help her stop from continually feeling distressed in the future, may feel good in the moment. That’s catharsis.
Thus, seeking additional relief from unpleasant emotions down the road, person X may unproductively believe that the psychotherapeutic process is the only thing that can help her feel better. In so doing, I’d be fostering the process of codependence – whether intentional or not.
This is precisely why REBT – a humanist modality – aims to help people get better rather than to merely feel better. This is done by teaching people about the ABC model and the tool of unconditional acceptance so that people can stop disturbing themselves with unhelpful beliefs.
Noteworthy, the late psychologist who developed REBT, Albert Ellis, once practiced psychoanalysis. In an interview regarding his experience, Ellis stated:
I thought that psychoanalysis was deeper, more intensive, so I got analyzed and practiced psychoanalysis for 6 years. But then I found that my clients were often worse rather than better.
So, in 1953, I stopped calling myself a psychoanalyst and did a survey of the scores of therapy techniques and took the best of them. I felt that many therapies were woefully ineffective so I formulated REBT in 1955 with the goal of making therapy more efficient.
Getting better versus feeling better isn’t a process in which catharsis is necessary. In actuality, I’ve found that discomfort or intensification of self-induced distress, rather than comfort or relief in the form of catharsis, is a better psychoeducational tool in the interest of fostering resilience.
Think about it for a moment. What will logically and reasonably favor person X’s process of learning about how to reduce self-disturbance, telling her that her parents are to blame for something that happened many years ago or inviting her to consider personal ownership?
Why condemn her parents for their past fallible behavior when it’s person X who remains personably responsible and accountable for her current experience? Although it may be uncomfortable to admit one’s own role in this regard, doing so helps people get better.
The APA also states of catharsis that “more generally, [it relates to] the release of strong, pent-up emotions.” Who is it that pens up strong, uncomfortable, or distressing emotions which person X experiences – her parents, person X, or perhaps some unfalsifiable ominous being?
Taking personal ownership of one’s own reaction to undesirable events may not feel better when not engaging the effect of catharsis any more than continuing to listen to rave-style music may provide relief for someone who doesn’t care for EDM. This is understandable.
Nonetheless, if getting better is something in which you’re interested – and not merely experiencing temporary relief in the moment – then I invite you to push through or even sit with discomfort as a means of actually getting better. Are you ready to give this approach a try?
If you’re looking for a provider who works to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As the world’s foremost EDM-influenced REBT psychotherapist—promoting content related to EDM, I’m pleased to help people with an assortment of issues from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply helping you to feel better, I want to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
References:
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APA. (2018, April 19). Catharsis. American Psychological Association. Retrieved from https://dictionary.apa.org/catharsis
AudibleChemistry. (2015, September 10). Amir Hussain - Catharsis (Original mix) [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/s-G_995cQPM?si=uC4aE9sC_PGG_lbQ
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