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Putting an end to the abusive use of psychotropics and psychotherapies

First, we will explain the fundamental and largely overlooked importance of the infernal triangle of cognitive dissonance in psychological distress. This triangle is discussed in the question 'What is cognitive dissonance?', which we recommend you read beforehand.
We will then briefly present the psychological mechanisms at work in two effective and sufficient psychotherapies in most cases.

Let us enumerate the different forms of action of the oppressor A on the victim B, within the infernal triangle of cognitive dissonance:

These three sources of oppression reflect the expression of the omnipotence of an individual at the social, physical, and intellectual levels.
In the following sections of this document, we will refer, by extension, to the infernal triangle of cognitive dissonance whenever an aggressor A causes psychological suffering to a victim B, even in the absence of compliant individuals C.

When such individuals exist, the deleterious effect of compliant individuals C on the victim B is by no means negligible. Indeed, to maintain the self-deception that preserves the alliance of the compliant individual C with the aggressor A, C must convince the victim B of the truth of that deception, and thus create confusion in B, resulting in existential distress, especially easily induced when C is experienced and highly intelligent and B is young. C inevitably becomes an A using the third modality through no other means than force of circumstances.

The MeToo movement has made us aware of the extent of inappropriate sexual behavior. Moreover, whether related to sexual aggressions in the film industry or those committed within the Catholic Church, society has become aware of the crucial role played by those who know and do nothing. We clearly have a triangle of A aggressor, B victim, and C compliant with A.
However, MeToo concerns only sexual aggressions, which, as we have just seen, are only a small part of the sources of oppression. Denial, meaning the refusal to acknowledge a fact, is a much more general issue in our society. It causes the same kind of disturbances as sexual aggressions when it is not denounced, namely the internalization of guilt by the victim and the loss of orientation caused by the actions of compliant individuals, with all the resulting harmful psychological consequences.

At the political level, the pressure to accept a falsehood or reproduce a behavior that one considers inappropriate has been particularly strong in communist countries, where the lie is almost absolute. At the domestic and professional levels, this issue is currently universal and probably represents nothing less than the main source of psychological distress that is circumvented instead of being addressed.

In the face of psychological suffering, it is important to proceed methodically:

1. Is the cause organic?
The first search for an organic cause is the basis taught during medical studies in psychiatry, and justifies why psychiatrists are also doctors.

2. Is there an infernal triangle of cognitive dissonance (with or without the presence of individuals C)?
In this case, it is necessary to identify it, explicitly denounce it at the very least, and fight if possible. We could call the implementation of this step nothing less than the greatest mental health project of the 21st century. Indeed, although this infernal triangle of cognitive dissonance is everywhere present, this step is currently omitted, especially in the exposure of compliant individuals C, to move directly to step 4 or 5.

3. Is there an attempt at abusive social normalization. For example, improving the decoding of facial expressions in mild autistic individuals. In such cases, it is necessary, like in point 2, to denounce and resist, not to correct the victim's behavior.

4. Psychotropic drugs artificially alter the chemistry of our brain.
The limitation of psychotropic drugs is that they reduce psychological distress without eliminating its source, just as painkillers reduce physical discomfort without curing the disease. The problem with psychotropic drugs, exactly like with painkillers, is the side effects.

5. Psychotherapies often aim too much like psychotropic drugs. They forget that the basic action should be that of step 2, that is to say, to bring to light, denounce, and fight the infernal triangles of cognitive dissonance. In doing so, they contribute to gradually locking the individual into a deleterious spiral of denial of reality and compensation, without confronting the real problems at their source.

To conclude, let us return once again to the infernal triangle of cognitive dissonance, and examine the effect of compliant individuals C on the victim B in the domestic context. A compliant C has an interest in the victim B using psychotropic drugs or psychotherapies rather than bringing to light the infernal triangle of cognitive dissonance. C will therefore not hesitate to manipulate for this purpose. Indeed, if the triangle is identified and denounced, then C is once again faced with their own cognitive dissonance, with an injunction to action that threatens their relationship with A, which they lack the courage to confront. See the question 'What is an adult?'.
At the professional level, it is the same thing, but the psychotherapies are administered by coaches, and the psychotropic drugs are requested by the victims to 'keep going'.

Once we have established this preface that the resort to a psychotherapy must not be a means of circumventing the necessary fight against injustice, we can present two serious psychotherapies.
To understand their mode of operation, it is necessary to first master the concept of dividing our psyche into two strata. These strata, presented in the article Should we listen to our emotions? are on the one hand the cognitive-affective system, and on the other hand the reason.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (in English, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy or CBT or simply CT)

Caution: cognitive therapies exist in multiple variants which are not equal in value. We refer here to the method 'Cognitive Behaviour Therapy' as formalized by Aaron T. Beck.

The therapeutic principle is as follows: contemporary science has established that memory is not a reliable and stable recording system of the events we have experienced. In particular, every time we recall an event, it is re-recorded, reinforced, slightly modified, one might just as well say polluted as corrected, by our current state of mind and our knowledge acquired after the event. This mechanism was established through the numerous studies conducted to determine the reliability of contradictory testimonies of witnesses in judicial cases.

La méthode Beck consiste donc à demander au patient de formuler les pensées qui lui viennent spontanément (expression de ce que nous avons appelé le système cognitivo-affectif), et les passer littéralement au filtre de la raison, pour qu'elles se ré-enregistrent sous une forme moins intrusive pour l'individu. La remise en question de ces pensées porte principalement sur la généralisation en terme de contenu et de temps que le système cognitivo-affectif tend à effectuer. La généralisation en terme de contenu peut prendre la forme d'éléments traumatiques faces auxquels nous avons été impuissants que l'on généralise en un 'je suis nul' existentiel. La généralisation dans le temps consiste à supposer que les même causes produiront toujours les mêmes effets, donc que nous serons toujours impuissants si nous avons été par le passé impuissants face à certains évènements. La méthode Beck consiste de fait principalement à combattre notre tendance à essentialiser les choses.

In Beck's cognitive behavioral therapy, the therapist's art consists, on the one hand, of breaking down the mass of negative thoughts into multiple small elements that can be effectively challenged one after the other, where confronting everything all at once would not produce a result, and on the other hand of engaging the patient's reason rather than trying to convince them.

At the beginning of the 21st century, CBT tends to include elements of ACT, especially in the form of giving more importance not only to the individual's negative thoughts, but also to positive elements such as their values and aspirations. Furthermore, the cognitive triad highlighted by Beck (negative thoughts about oneself, the world, and the future) can be seen as a prototype of ACT's axis breakdown.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (in English, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy or ACT)

While cognitive behavioral therapy aims to use reason to literally cleanse the content of our thoughts stored in our cognitive-affective system, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy aims to limit the importance and credibility we give to these thoughts. ACT is therefore relatively close to meditation methods, while being a more global system, and free from the beliefs of traditional spiritualities.

ACT psychotherapy proposes to work on 6 axes:

1. Do not try to block the emergence of negative emotions.
This is the first counter-intuitive concept, especially at a time when occupying the mind and fixing one's attention on entertainment (smartphone, TV, radio, book, etc.) has never been easier. Overloading one's schedule produces the same result.
The practice of meditation is very old, although often associated with Buddha, who is its most famous figure but not its inventor. If it is so foreign to us, it is probably because in the Judeo-Christian culture, it is largely replaced by prayer, which is only a diminished form, as one orients their thoughts toward God, and especially one seeks the ultimate truth at the level of the cognitive-affective system, contrary to point 2 below.

2. Do not consider that the emotions that arise are the reality or the expression of who we are (defusion).
This is the second and last counter-intuitive concept. Our instinct tells us that what we feel strongly is what is most real and most intimately tied to our inner self. However, the emotions that our cognitive-affective system constantly brings to the surface, and especially more strongly when the current situation vaguely resembles a past situation with a strong positive or negative emotional charge, are generally neither representative of the current reality nor of who we are. These emotions are often simply the product of our brain, whose mission is to find solutions to our problems, stuck in a loop on the problems for which it has found no solution, or simply proceeding through superficial associations.

3. We are what we seek to become.
We have too much of a tendency to represent ourselves as the product of our history (and especially of how we and others tell it), and to act purely in reaction to the emotions that our cognitive-affective system brings up, that is to say, to be oriented toward the past. ACT invites us to turn toward the future and to take the time to clearly envision the person we wish to become (and not just the social position we want to occupy), regardless of our history, even if it often remains a driving force. Transforming a past trauma or dissatisfaction into a source of motivation to act in order to realize an ideal is called sublimation. For it to work, it is necessary to clearly define and keep in the forefront of our mind the ideal we wish to realize, the person we wish to become.

4. Ground yourself in the here and now.
This axis corresponds to the concept of Carpe diem from philosophy. The same concept can be found in Buddhism. The idea is twofold:
On the one hand, not telling yourself that you will be happy... later, when such and such a problem is solved. Anchoring oneself in the here and now is a daily exercise which consists of seeking pleasure in the most trivial gestures. The sun on your skin, a kind word received, a tasty bite, etc.
On the other hand, to be fully present in what one is doing, as opposed to letting one's thoughts wander under the effect of emotions (rumination) produced by the cognitive-affective system.

There is thus a potential contradiction between point 1 (letting negative emotions arise) and this point 4, inasmuch as focusing one's attention on what is happening here and now is also a way to block the rise of negative emotions. The appropriate way to resolve this contradiction is to devote time to the rise of emotions, for example, during meditation. During these times, one focuses one's attention on these emotions, without however considering them as real (point 2).
In other words, the rise of emotions must be framed by reason and not suffered.

5. Clarify the person we wish to become.  
ACT therapy speaks of clarifying one’s values, distinguishing this from point 3 (clarifying the person we wish to become). This is somewhat risky because values are highly subject to the progressive effects of cognitive dissonance.  
In fact, ACT is only a technique. Its creators clearly understood that it needed to be grounded in content, which they associate with values, and they show great wisdom in not attempting to define them, which would lead it into ideology. In Greek philosophies, content corresponds to the representation of the world and morality.  
This site is more ambitious than ACT, since, like a Greek philosophy, it also defines the content. However, what prevents it from slipping into ideology is the result of two factors:  
First, values are the product of scientific observation of what our behavioral genetic heritage is, and the minimum that must be corrected by culture (taking facts into account and solving problems at the expense of playing the alliance game) to reduce social violence.  
Second, the acceptability of each value comes from the coherence of the whole, whereas religious and political ideologies tend to present major inconsistencies, because their broad success requires condoning the alliance game.  
The first point was not accessible to Greek philosophies.

6. Translate all this into actions.  
We find here the final point of problem-solving, namely the need to effectively advance by representing and planning the next actions to take, as opposed to thinking that one can jump directly from where one is today to what one wants to become.  
This concept is found again in Buddhism, in the form of the saying 'The path is the goal,' which invites us not to remain focused solely on the final objective (wisdom or enlightenment), but to concentrate on the next right actions to take.

The whole aims to establish what ACT calls mental flexibility, that is, in the face of adversity, the ability to reliably decide whether to persevere or adapt, instead of remaining in doubt and anxiety. This is strongly connected to the second stage of problem-solving (analysis).

Beyond psychotherapy

The two psychotherapies we have briefly presented allow one to avoid having one's future overly determined, especially in a non-constructive way, by past traumas. Moreover, they have the advantage, under the overall impetus of the DSM manual, of being supported by studies measuring their effectiveness in accordance with the modern scientific method as much as possible.

They also constitute a complete system. Thus, ACT can be viewed as Buddhism stripped of its beliefs (reincarnation, enlightenment, etc.), and CBT+ACT can be seen as psychoanalysis stripped of its beliefs (Oedipus complex, topographies, etc.).

Finally, one should not forget to learn the following complementary techniques:

Mental self-defense techniques

As indicated in the question 'In what ways are kindness and tolerance traps?', listening to others passively, with kindness, has the effect of engraving, through repetition, their speech into our memory (our cognitive-affective system), against our will. This is a principle widely used in all social contexts, by politicians, and by advertisers.

Here are two techniques one can use to limit this pernicious effect:

There are probably other techniques or variations that I do not master.

Further Reading

L'OMS propose une version simplifiée de la psychothérapie ACT, ciblée sur l'anxiété. Cet outil dénommé Selft help plus (SH+) prend au choix la forme de 5 cours audio, ou d'une BD Doing what matters in times of stress. This comic is available in many languages, with associated audio exercises.

↣ BD Doing what matters in times of stress

↣ SH tool in the form of 5 audio lessons

Réserve : L'outil SH+ repose sur une vision édulcorée de ce qu'est un humain (notions de bienveillance et valeurs).

The book Cognitive and Behavioral Theories in Clinical Practice, by Nikolaos Kazantzis, Mark A. Reinecke and Arthur Freeman, presents an overview of available cognitive therapies.

Chapter 2 (Beck’s Cognitive Therapy) contains a verbatim of a therapeutic exchange aimed at reducing the generalization of memories associated with a negative emotion.  
A more detailed presentation of this type of psychotherapy (CBT and now CB-R) is proposed in the book Cognitive Behaviour Therapy - Basics and Beyond - Third Edition, by Judith S. Beck, daughter of the founder Aaron T. Beck.

Chapter 5 (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) presents a more comprehensive method (ACT) for dealing with negative emotions of the cognitive-affective system. This method is based on six different techniques.  
The book ACT with Anxiety by Richard Sears provides an accessible manual for applying these various techniques.  
The book Acceptance and Commitment Therapy - The Process and Practice of Mindful Change de Steven C. Hayes, Kirk D. Strosahl et Kelly G. Wilson présente, dans sa partie 1, le modèle sur lequel ACT est basé, et dans sa partie 3 une version plus développée des 6 techniques qui composent la thérapie ACT. Cependant, l'article Making sense of spirituality de Steven C. Hayes (1984) explique plus clairement les origines de ACT.

See the question 'Why is politics important?' which discusses the danger of psychologism, which is interpreting all discomfort as a lack of individual adaptability.