DISCIPLE

"Perhaps the most enduring but unsubstantiated theoretical belief among therapists is the timeworn notion that difficulties in adulthood stem from childhood misfortunes. Almost all therapy approaches, from psychoanalysis and Imago therapy to the emotion-focused and sensorimotor methods, embrace some version of this dogma. Given its venerable pedigree, this belief in the potency of childhood events is one of the most difficult to deconstruct. Nevertheless, as a general clinical hypothesis, it's deeply flawed. "The simple truth is that a preponderance of the evidence mitigates [sic] against assigning any great importance to childhood experiences and memories- processed, unprocessed, or reprocessed. Martin Seligman, the former president of the American Psychological Association, puts it this way: 'Childhood events-even childhood trauma-and child rearing appear to have only weak effects on adult life. Childhood, contrary to popular belief, does not seem, empirical...