Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector - Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, was a guest of the Sarı Psikoloji Mental Health Center. Tarhan, who made important assessments to professionals on “Positive Psychotherapy from Theory to Practice,” said: “Positive psychotherapy began to emerge based on affective neuroscience. There are three main dimensions in evidence-based treatments. We always reduce evidence to experiments. However, the therapist's clinical judgment, the patient's values, and choices are very important. Full evidence emerges with the combination of these three.”
We cannot reduce evidence to experiments!
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, speaking about the emergence of affective neuroscience in the nineties, said: “In those years, affective neuroscience was not very prominent, but as scientific evidence began to proliferate, affective neuroscience began to reflect in therapy and came to the forefront. Positive psychotherapy began to emerge based on affective neuroscience. There are three main dimensions in evidence-based treatments. We always reduce evidence to experiments. However, the therapist's clinical judgment, the patient's values, and choices are very important. Full evidence emerges with the combination of these three.”
Behavioral entropy for being a good person…
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, speaking about entropy, the second law of thermodynamics, stated that the universe is moving from order to disorder. Tarhan used the expressions, “Everything in the universe is regularly moving towards disorder. For example, if we don't heat a room, it gets cold; if we don't light a room, it becomes dark; if we don't cultivate the weeds in the garden, the garden is covered by weeds,” emphasizing the importance of entropy and behavioral entropy. Tarhan underlined that behavioral entropy is needed for a person to be a good person, stating that being intelligent and successful is important, but being a good person must be taught.
“Virtual reality is used in therapies”
Tarhan pointed out that phobia treatment can be done with virtual reality today, stating that people with acrophobia or social phobia enter phobic environments in 3D by wearing virtual reality glasses. Tarhan stated that they use this environment in therapy where a person with a mouse phobia feels as if they are really close to and touching a mouse, emphasizing the importance of therapy techniques related to increasing and decreasing frontal activity here.
“The indication for positive psychotherapy needs to be well defined”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said: “The indication for positive psychotherapy needs to be well defined.” Tarhan noted that patients with many negative thoughts but whose illness is not very advanced can receive therapy in positive psychotherapy, explaining that some colleagues apply CBT to OCD patients and give them assignments. Tarhan stated: “In such situations, where a person has a second person in their brain, neuromodulation treatments are performed; magnetic stimulation therapy, ECT therapy is performed, and the brain is somewhat reset. When this is done, most of the thoughts in the brain are forgotten. Therefore, simultaneous therapies are needed.”