The Future is Prediction
I bring the concept of prediction from different angles to show the common ground. Through this, one may get a glimpse of its future importance. The Future of A.I. The concept of prediction pops up regularly in different ways to look at future A.I. developments. For instance, in temporal difference (TD) learning as expanded upon Read the full article…
I Want to Do in Group
This may be the most fundamental motivational sentence. David McClelland’s motivation theory This is arguably the most prominent motivation theory. It suggests three basic needs for anyone: the need for power, achievement, and affiliation. Many see in this distinction three different personalities, promptly dividing people into three classes: a) those mainly bent on power and control; Read the full article…
Is a Good Coach Makeable?
In a broad sense, much in the world hangs on this. The answer depends on a profound view upon the human being. What is a good coach? Straightforwardly, a good coach is a successful coach. But what is success in coaching/therapy? This question may be answered in several ways. [see: “What is Success in Therapy?“] Read the full article…
What is Success in Therapy?
This is as simple and as complex as the primary choice about the goal of therapy. In this text, I try to describe the problem domain. For now, let’s take psychotherapy and coaching as synonyms at a higher level. We are talking about the broad domain of healthcare now, including psycho-somatics. Most straightforward answer: If Read the full article…
About Open Communication
Open Communication ― encompassing the subconceptual ― is like opening doors together with another person and you don’t know what lies behind them. Please read [see: “Deep Listening”], [see: “About ‘Subconceptual’“] Towards empathy-beyond In Open Communication, Openness is empathy beyond the conceptual. It is also the aim of such empathy. [see: “Empathy in 1, 2, Read the full article…
Introducing Lisa (Animated Video)
Without further delay, in this animated video, I bring you an introduction to Lisa. [Lisa animated video – 13:15′] If you want to cooperate, please contact us. If you have feedback, please let us know. This is a draft version. Here is the full written text. Hi, my name is Jean-Luc Mommaerts. I am a Read the full article…
Are RCTs valid in Psychotherapy?
Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) are a lab-based study design in which one tries to minimize confounding factors by comparing groups that are as similar as possible except for the property or properties under study. Getting physical These trials are meant to be as close as possible to studies in the field of physics. In these, Read the full article…
The Post-Postmodernist Brain
“because your experiences are unique, so are the vast, detailed patterns in your neural networks. Because they continue to change your whole life, your identity is a moving target; it never reaches an endpoint.” [1] This is a quote from a recent book on neurocognitive science. The book (and author) is top-notch in this domain. Read the full article…
Coaching Happens In-Depth
In issues that transcend the purely conceptual, change is needed at the same level as the issue. Please read first [see: “Mental Change: How it Works“] Contrasting In order to clarify the coaching endeavor, it is interesting to contrast it with the therapeutic one. Both can be enacted simultaneously. The coaching endeavor may be openly Read the full article…
Competence vs. Comprehension
We don’t usually make the difference between competence and comprehension in anything that we regard as under conscious control. That may be wrong in many cases and, at present, increasingly dangerous. Competence, comprehension Competence is about what an agent can do. Comprehension is about the understanding of this agent concerning his own doing. To what Read the full article…
Apollonian – Dionysian – Odyssean
In therapy/coaching and in everyday life, one may be more Apollonian oriented or more Dionysian, or see it all as an adventurous journey. Nietzschean dichotomy Nietzsche used ancient Greek mythology to characterize two different mindsets in culture, art, and individual: Apollonian: more orderly, yet illusory and socially constructed Dionysian: more passionate, at the same time Read the full article…
The Placebo Patchwork
In a placebo patchwork, contradictory elements are stitched together with no deeper ground. This is very different from a set of well-grounded and integrated elements. From the outside, it may be challenging to discern the difference. Unfortunately, placebo patchworks can be pretty tenacious. Much of this tenacity lies in their not being one thing, but Read the full article…
Compassion over Addiction
Addiction and Compassion (with capital C) are subconceptual happenings. Thus, they belong to the same domain and which is different from the merely conceptual one. This opens specific perspectives. Please make sure to read first: [see: “Essence of Compassion”] [see: “Addiction: in Search of Deeper Meaning”] [see: “About ‘Subconceptual’”] Also, please follow the other links Read the full article…
Triangle of Therapy
This is a conceptual landscape of psychotherapy/coaching. The three corners are A) Instrumental methodologies, B) Good-friend-therapy, and C) Open coaching. Conceptual landscape This has an abstract intention, being about concepts. The three corners are extremes of three continua (the triangle’s lines). Individuals and individual opinions can be present at any point (or subarea) within this Read the full article…
The Life that Could Have Been
Every woman with a child in her belly has an emotional bond with it. That is why she calls it a child. If this child’s life is abruptly ended, we have an abortion. When? To some women, this may be the moment of the positive predictor test. To other women, it may be much later. Read the full article…
Placebo and the Predictive Brain
The ‘brain as a predictive machine’ sheds an interesting light on the placebo effect. It shows that we are born with the wetware in place to experience the influence of placebo. Yet, the present-day may be the time to go beyond. Subconscious placebo Several explanations of the placebo effect have been put forward, such as Read the full article…
Problem- vs. Growth-Oriented in Mental Issues
This may lead to diametrically opposed ways of being and many misunderstandings. As a mindset. All of us continually encounter issues, from minor to life-size. This way, there is ample occasion to practice in seeing them either as problems or as invitations to grow. Problems may lead more generally to stress; invitations to positive challenges Read the full article…