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Modern society's complexity and chaos may be driving increased collective psychological distress.

There is a deep hunger for existential and spiritual guidance beyond quick symptom fixes.

Much psychotherapeutic wisdom seems enigmatic, precious, and shielded from public view.

This post is Part 1 of a series that will examine the nature of what I refer to as clinical wisdom and provide specific examples of some of these esoteric secrets of psychotherapy.

How much of what we call psychotherapy is about the teaching or transmission of certain esoteric and well-guarded secrets about psychology, life, and how to best live it? What are some of these secrets? Where do they come from? And exactly how would such profound and transformative "clinical wisdom" be conveyed from clinician to client or patient? These are difficult questions. Difficult because there are so many (400 to 500) different types of psychotherapy practiced today with diverse approaches, goals, techniques, and methods.

Most contemporary therapies are strictly symptom-centered, while some are more concerned about treating the whole person (holistic) and promoting personal growth and, perhaps, spiritual development. And there are, of course, various and very different reasons that people seek psychotherapy in the first place, though, for most, it is the painful or debilitating presence of psychiatric signs and symptoms. (See my prior post.)

But if I could distill the primary reason for the continuing existence, and recent resurgence, of psychotherapy as a practice and profession, and what mainly motivates someone to seek it, it would generally come down to this: the universal or archetypal experience of suffering and the perennial problem of evil. We may not be fully conscious of what truly causes us to seek psychotherapy, but rumbling beneath the surface are profound philosophical, existential, and spiritual questions: Why do we suffer? Why is there evil in the world? Does life have meaning? Is there free will? What am I responsible for in life? Why must we die? Is there anything beyond death? Why do I........

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