A Research Into The Theory Of Altered States Of Consciousness And It's Application To Psychotherapy

Altered States of Consciousness (ASC) has always been an important issue in the psychological research. Behavioristic psychology sticking to the positivism stand once advocated spurning the study of consciousness and ASC. However, since the 60s in the 20 century, almost all the psychological researchers at home and broad have admitted the legal status in which consciousness experience including ASC can be studied in the positivistic method. Currently, positivistic, phenomenological and clinical studies of ASC have flourished and pooled a driving tide in this field, which is, in turn, deepening the scientific understanding about the field and also demonstrates its huge clinic and applied significance. Compared with the quick-changing advancement abroad, the research of ASC in China is still under the state of fragmental introducing and partial researching. Hence, it is of great necessity to relatively systematically tease, introduce and analyze the research achievements abroad and deeply recognizes the theory of ASC and its application to psychotherapy, which can heighten the statue of the research into ASC in the cross-discipline study of consciousness.Based on the abundant literature, firstly, the connotation, the concrete classification and the research methods of ASC are introduced and analyzed. After that, the thesis briefly introduces to the point the micro and macro researches of ASC from the aspect of psychophysiology and the studies of levels of consciousness states from the angle of cognitive neuroscience, with the purpose of comprehensively revealing the research course, the focus and the situation in this field. In addition, due to ASC's widely application to clinical field, the main ideas of different psychotherapy schools are tentatively analyzed and abstracted from the aspects of ASC research, with aim of indicating the concrete transformations and various applications in clinical practice. In the end, according to the trend of integration of notions and technology in psychotherapy practice, the thesis makes attempts to analyze the active significance from ASC study to the integration of notions and techniques in psychotherapy practice.On the above analysis, the thesis argues that the theory of ASC and its application to psychotherapy can be understood from four aspects. At first, ASC contains far-reaching psychological content. Individuals usually lie in a specific consciousness state on the specific occasion. Influenced by extra or intra factors, ASC of individuals may change variously, in which self-awareness is one of the basic conditions. On the more macro level, ASC can embody the different consciousness state levels of individuals. ASC can be classified into five categories, which are occurring spontaneously, evoked by physical and physiological stimulation, induced by psychological means, caused by diseases and activated by pharmacology. Secondly, Systematic phenomenological analysis mainly explains the multiple ASC from four dimensions, that is, activation, awareness span, self-awareness, and sensory dynamics, which can well describe and explain the different levels of states of consciousness. The psychophysiological research on ASC indicates not only can a compromised brain structure, transient changes in brain dynamics, and neurochemical and metabolic processes exert influence on people's altered states of conscious experience, but also environmental stimuli, mental practices, and techniques of self-control can temporarily alter functioning states of man's consciousness. The research based on. the cognitive neuroscience shows that levels of consciousness states generally are classified into four level, that is, unconsciousness, consciousness, self-consciousness and meta-self-consciousness. Among of them, self- consciousness and meta-self- consciousness can be further studied from the types of self information. Individual' s levels of consciousness state is a gradually developing course in which higher levels of consciousness states need the engagement of language and self-cognition. Thirdly, ASC are the focus of various psychotherapy schools. During their practice they paid attention to the different aspects of individuals' ASC and developed relatively systematic techniques and methods for improving consciousness states and enhancing individuals' spiritual growth. The author argues that the research into the theory of ASC and its application to psychotherapy can exert active influence on the integration of the current psychotherapy practice at least from three shades, that is, the techniques and methods, the common factors and specific visual angle. Fourthly, studies on ASC have accumulated abundant positivistic data, deepened people's scientific understanding in this field, which greatly heightened the scientific status of the researches in this field. However, the studies on this field also facing big problems such as the breaking through of the research methods, integration of theory models and weakness of meta-theoretical construction etc. Along with advancement of consciousness science, the research into the theory of ASC and its application to psychotherapy is bound to achieve greater development.