雅斯贝尔斯的“理解心理学”对当代心理健康服务的意义

Karl Jaspers’ Understanding Psychology and Its Meaning for the Mental Health Promotion in China Today

雅斯贝尔斯(Karl Jaspers)1913年发表的《普通精神病理学》是现代精神病理学的奠基之作,对精神病学、临床心理学及哲学的影响延续至今。该书针对当时随着科学心理学、生物精神病学发展而出现的方法论之争,提出精神病理学应该同时包含自然科学与人文科学的方法论。由自然科学的方法论,可以发展出说明心理学(或称解释的心理学),而由人文科学方法论,可以发展出理解心理学(或称意义的心理学)。说明心理学侧重探索的是心理事件的神经机制,而理解心理学揭示的是心理事件的意义,或有意义的心理联结。目前,自然科学方法已经在心理学研究中取得了统治性的地位,而心理学的人文传统却受到忽视或有意的贬抑,但其重要性却随着社会文化的急剧变迁而愈加突显。近年来,为纪念上述经典著作面世100年而发表的许多文献普遍推崇雅斯贝尔斯对理解心理学的洞见,认为这为心理学、精神医学的健康发展引入了宝贵的人文精神与人文方法,尤其是为发展心理治疗、心身医学提供了有益的哲学启示。可以说,精神医学、临床心理学的实践活动是横跨自然科学、社会科学与人文学科"三种文化"的人类服务艺术;心理治疗师应该以说明心理学与理解心理学两条腿走路,通过共情与服务对象互动,实现助人的目的。

The background of Karl Jaspers’ book "General Psychopathology" was a methodological debate in the European academic circle in early 1900 s. Karl Jaspers proposed that psychopathology should include methodology of both natural sciences and humanities. On the basis of the methodology of natural sciences,explanatory psychology can be developed;and on the basis of humanities methodology, understanding psychology(or psychology of understanding) can be developed. Explanatory psychology focuses on exploring the neural mechanisms of mental events, while understanding psychology strives to grasp meaningful psychic connections between mental events. Nevertheless, in the past 100 years, the methodology of natural sciences have achieved a dominant position, whereas the understanding psychology is considered unscientific. Karl Jaspers’ insights provide useful philosophical revelation for humanism in psychiatry and in psychotherapy today. The practice of psychiatry and clinical psychology is an art of human services that straddles the three cultures of natural science, social sciences and humanities. Psychotherapists should achieve the goal of helping people by interacting with their clients through empathy from the perspectives of psychology and understanding psychology.