Psychagogy

Psychagogy is an Ancient Greek term which – in contrast to its original meaning – is nowadays used with respect to a psycho-therapeutic method of influencing behaviour by suggesting desirable life goals. The word itself literally means guidance of the soul. However, today it is very often limited to a spiritual context. Some argue that it can also be considered a fully established method which thence could be considered to be one of many predecessors to modern psychology.

Overview

The exact expression of psychagogy has shifted throughout history, but its beginnings can be dated back to the time of Herodotus. Nowadays, it is more or less used in a psychiatric sense. Eventually the term psychagogy itself died out during the 1970s and 1980s.

Etymology

The word comes from the Greek Ψυχαγωγία being a composite noun with the two roots ψυχή ("soul") and αγωγία ("guidance") which in turn is a noun derived from the verb άγω ("to lead/guide/go"). Thus, it literally means "guidance of the soul" (both one's own as much as someone else's!!). In cases where someone else's soul is being referred to, it shifts its meaning somewhat to "enticement/inveiglement".

History

Ancient Greek psychagogy

Within the ancient Greek tradition, psychagogy was considered the evocation of a soul from the nether world Hades. But later, its use was (metaphorically) extended to the art of benevolently guiding the soul (one's own or someone else's). While the former was based on conviction and persuasion (e.g. Clement of Alexandria), the latter involved rhetoric (Plato).

Early Christian psychagogy

It is thought that the idea of psychagogy was taken up by the Apostle Paul of Tarsus and early Christian thinkers (e.g.Clement of Alexandria). However, psychagogy in Early Christianity took on a flavor of its own, differing slightly from the form of psychagogy that was familiar to the ancient Greeks. In the early Christian sense, however, a positive psychagogy of one's own soul was a character treat which each Christian was encouraged to possess. Paul wrote letters to new members of the Christian faith, often encouraging them toward virtue and to become mature and complete.

20th Century psychagogy

Psychagogy maintained its association with ethical and moral self-improvement, and during the 1920s psychagogic methods were assimilated into the work of hypnosis, psychoanalysis, and psychotherapy. The International Institute for Psychagogy and Psychotherapy was founded in 1924 by Charles Baudouin, a Swiss psychoanalyst. In turn, psychagogy was influenced by other psychological fields such as social psychology, developmental psychology, and depth psychology. Due to the additional effect of special education and social work on the field during the 1950s and 1960s, psychagogy and its practitioners found their way to the specialized role of working with emotionally disturbed adolescents. In 1955, Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) was developed by Albert Ellis, an American psychologist. Heavily influenced by psychagogic methods, REBT is an evidence-based psychotherapy that promotes goal achievement and well-being by first resolving negative emotions and behaviors. The term psychagogy fell out of use during the 1970s and 1980s.

Psychagogy's influence today

Although the term itself is no longer common, psychagogy's influence on modern-day psychology can be seen mostly within the context of pastoral counseling and cognitive behavioral therapy. Similar to psychagogues, pastoral counselors and practitioners of CBT exhibit the same kind of care, gentleness, and encouragement in the interest of helping their patients to alter maladaptive thoughts and behaviors (or in other words, changing negative patterns of thinking and behaving to more positive ways of thinking and behaving in response to a given stimulus).