In part 2, we looked at the various approaches and goals of psychotherapy, and showed that many modern and popular psychotherapies, although deriving a measure of benefit, are nonetheless based on a paradigm of understanding emotion that is not supported by modern neuroscience. We will now explore what CMT psychotherapy has to offer in the tool kit of psychotherapies.
The CMT approach to psychotherapy incorporates aspects of CBT as well as meditation, but from an alternate vantage point and paradigm. CMT is based on the understanding that the rational mind is composed of the integration of emotion and logic, each playing a contributing role to being rational. CMT, or Constructive Mindset Therapy, starts at emotions as a sensory organ, and from there integrates thoughts, the relational dimension, and actions in a sequence that is distinct from the sequence of events as understood by the CBT approach. Although CMT could apply to both positive and negative emotions, we will primarily discuss the experience of negative emotions, as these are the emotions that get most of the attention when it comes to therapy.
The theory of the CMT approach is that a person experiences a negative emotion and anger as a sensory response to a situation of injustice. The person’s emotions and thoughts are then understood in the context of a mindset, which is a concept that incorporates the relational dimension. The person understands their emotions and thoughts either in the context of the destructive mindset, or the constructive mindset. If the person forms a destructive mindset, the result is a cycle of negative and irrational thoughts that lead to unresolved and increasingly intense negative emotion, which can further lead to overwhelming anger, depression, anxiety, problematic substance use, relationship problems, etc. It can easily be surmised that what the CMT approach calls the destructive mindset is what the CBT camp calls negative and irrational thoughts; however, the CBT approach does not overtly recognize the relational dimension of a human being. This distinction leads to a profound difference between what CMT has to offer as compared with CBT.
If, however, the person experiences negative emotions and anger in response to a situation, and then integrates the experience of emotion and thoughts with the formation of the constructive mindset, the result is what takes the person out of the loop of negative and irrational thoughts. Emotions are incorporated as part of life, therefore living within the constructive mindset, the person is free to derive a sense of who they are (their identity), and to be free to live life according to what they are passionate about. It does not mean that everything will work out in the way that they hope, but they are free to be creative in the pursuit of their passion, and free to navigate and persevere through the ups and downs and especially beyond failures. Emotions become resolved in the context of forming the constructive mindset, and so anger is resolved, there is resolution of depression and anxiety, relationships are improved, and there is less need of the use of substances to combat or control emotion. Life becomes about life, rather than about emotion.
CMT psychotherapy displays commonalities with CBT, but differs in nomenclature. What CBT calls negative and irrational thoughts, CMT calls the destructive mindset. However, CMT understands this dynamic in terms of relational criteria, whereas CBT has no concept of the role of relationship. CMT could therefore be called “CBT plus.” People who venture into CBT have indicated an enhanced understanding of CBT concepts on the basis of understanding CMT. CBT, however, can be complex and time consuming, whereas CMT Psychotherapy simplifies the many categories of what CBT calls cognitive distortions to simply the destructive mindset. The goal of CBT is to put a brake on the cycle of negative thoughts and emotions that lead to mental distress by being positive and acting with positive behaviours, whereas the goal of CMT is to learn to live outside the negative cycle by being constructive. Positive behaviours become genuine rather than an act.
Therefore, the process of CMT psychotherapy is that of mental fitness training. The basis is constructive psychology. In the same way that people train for physical fitness, CMT is about mental fitness. The idea is that the more mentally fit a person is, the healthier he or she will be. CMT psychotherapy is about learning to play a game. In this case, the game is called the game of life. Whoever we are, we encounter various situations in the course of our life, and there are two ways we can play the game. We can either play it within the destructive mindset, or we can play it constructively. This is the case our entire lives. If we find that our wheels are spinning along the course of our life, it may be an indication that, for whatever reason, we are living and playing life more on the destructive side.
The purpose of CMT psychotherapy then, is to train a person to live the game of life as constructively as possible. I believe the best we are able to do is to train ourselves to be constructive for the most part. Learning to play constructively does not mean that we will never play the game destructively. But we can learn to recognize when we are playing it destructively, so that we can catch this tendency before it goes too far down the path of the destructive mindset. We can then transform and reroute our mindset over to the constructive side and go from there. I think that is the best we can accomplish.
I like the idea of CMT psychotherapy as compared to learning to play a game, because in any game we wish to play, whether soccer, hockey, or even for that matter learning to play a musical instrument, there are two components to learning. One component is theoretical, and the second is practical. If a person desires to play soccer, the theory involves learning the rules of the game, learning what the individual skills are that are required to play, and learning the team strategies. So if you are aware of these theoretical components, you have an understanding of how to play soccer, but you don’t really know how to play soccer.
So you add the practical component and join a team. There may be a coach for the team. You attend training sessions with your teammates and prepare for a game. You play the game. Following the game, you attend for more training, and your coach helps you and your team to pick up on what went well during the game, weed out what did not go so well, and make adjustments as you prepare for the next game. You have a whole season of play in which you integrate theory with practice and you find that you improve in your ability to play soccer as the season progresses.
CMT psychotherapy has many similarities to learning to play soccer, but there are obvious differences as well. In the game of life, you are playing it 24/7. You are not playing it for one or two hours at a time on the weekend. Actually, you are also playing it on the weekend if you are playing soccer! Also, if you have a CMT psychotherapist, he or she is your coach. However, when you are playing the game of life, your coach is not with you giving you direction on what is constructive or destructive; rather, you are on your own. When you attend for a session with your therapist, this is the coaching session. Your CMT psychotherapist is interested to help you to train yourself to play the game of life as constructively as possible.
The theory of CMT psychotherapy is available in the book Put Your Potatoes on the Desktop, written by Dr. Ralph Sinn. The first chapter of the book lays the foundation. It discusses the physiology of negative emotions and anger, describes the difference between the destructive mindset and the constructive mindset, and then explains the homework assignment. The homework assignment is not about writing answers to questions in a workbook or keeping a log of thoughts; rather, it is a practical tool to put to use out in your world as you play the game of life. It is really a way to gain insight and awareness about the times you are forming the destructive mindset and the times you are forming the constructive mindset, so that with this awareness, you become able to work and train yourself to form the constructive mindset as much as you can. The homework assignment is about mindfulness of your mindset, and so CMT includes principles of meditation. The homework assignment is the basis of the mental fitness training that CMT is about.
The next few chapters of the book talk about various dynamics of the destructive mindset, so that if you resonate with any of the dynamics, it helps you to gain awareness of when you are in the destructive mindset. With this awareness, and with your understanding of the difference between the destructive and the constructive mindset, you can transform your mind to the constructive mindset and see what difference the constructive mindset makes in the context of the situation you find yourself in.
The last chapters talk about the constructive mindset in more detail, first for here and now situations, and then applied to situations from the past. Some forms of psychotherapy work primarily on past issues: “Ze reezon vy you are having ze problems in ze present are because of ze past. So if vee clean up ze past, it vill free you to be who you are meant to be in ze present!” Now, this is another acceptable form of psychotherapy that has its pros and cons. CMT psychotherapy, however, works first in the present, to help you to be as constructive as you can be in the present, knowing that past issues can impede with your ability to do so. However, despite this challenge, CMT psychotherapy works first in the present, and then on the basis of understanding how to form the constructive mindset in the present, the constructive mindset is then applied to the past, with the goal of transforming any “baggage” from the past from the destructive to the constructive mindset.
The two resources that Edmonton Emoti-Games Ltd has available to assist you in mental fitness training, other than the ongoing Dr. Sinn’s Bin online writings, are the book Put Your Potatoes on the Desktop, available in both a Standard Edition and a Christian Edition, and the board game FC Strategy®. If you do not have a CMT psychotherapist/coach in your area, it is hoped that these resources will help you to get started on your way to be as mentally fit and constructive as possible. If you are reading the book, try not to read it all within a short period of time. If you do, you may find that you have a lot of theory knowledge, but not a lot of practical experience to apply it to. Therefore, begin by reading the first chapter to glean a foundational understanding of CMT theory, and then read the next chapters a bit at a time over a period of weeks. This plan affords you the ability to integrate the theory of CMT with practice (which is how the experiences and relationships of your life play out over time). You will hopefully achieve mental fitness that will last your entire life.