Important: The overlooked, the third, the deep …!

Depth psychology offers more than algorithms and scores. It is an advocate for the rich reality!

Depth psychology comes from therapeutic and research practice. These practical experiences show that psychological phenomena are highly condensed - in technical jargon: "overdetermined". Depth psychologists therefore do not single out individual aspects of behavior such as "price acceptance" or "attitudes" in isolation, but take the trouble to describe and understand the psychological phenomena in their entirety and complexity. They therefore also find dimensions of impact that are otherwise "overlooked" because they are not conscious or do not fit into rational thought patterns. Depth psychologists highlight the interaction of the effects as a separate variable and "third" force. The results thus gain a special depth and relevance.

Depth psychology can do something that mainstream science cannot.

This complexity makes depth psychology so "inspiring". Even its greatest critics - whether behavioral scientists or the famous philosopher of science Sir Karl Popper - have attested to this quality. In comparison with other approaches, depth psychological explanations are often experienced as richer and more complex. They provide "actual", more complex explanations and not just findings for focused sub-areas or sections. This ability creates envy among not a few non-depth psychologists, who often experience themselves as "drier" and "more limited" in comparison with their explanations.

This is because academic research has a different focus: it is predominantly in a tradition of enlightenment with the search for reason and logic in the phenomena that seeks to overcome the "irrational". Academic psychology therefore always has a tendency to reject depth psychological explanations for human behavior. However, university views are often contradictory: while neuroscientists today predominantly share the view of unconscious influences on human behavior, behavioral scientists in turn question this. As the "Pretty Best Enemy" of academic psychology, depth psychology repeatedly challenges established university science - and vice versa.

You can find the article on the topic "Can depth psychology explain behavior or does it only inspire" by Jens Lönneker here.