The lineage of positive psychology and cognitive behavioral modalities: How Stoicism inspired modern psychotherapy

Abstract

The self-help movement has evolved into a multi-billion dollar industry in the 21st Century, as bookstores are continually replenished with manuals advertising previously undiscovered secrets of achieving happiness. These publications, however, along with newly refined versions of psychotherapeutic methodologies promising groundbreaking clinical impact, are often simply repackaging wisdom found in the ancient philosophical school of Stoicism; sometimes acknowledged, but more often not. Stoics were the first psychotherapists, and advocated for the reduction of suffering (today successfully done with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy) and the promotion of Eudaimonia (a rare point of emphasis in modern treatment plans, though Positive Psychology has begun to successfully change this). Psychotherapeutic practice is caught in a loop of rediscovering truths that have been known for millennia, perpetuating a cycle of stagnation in the field of mental health that masquerades as innovation. The present article is a call to disrupt this cycle, and instead reconnect with Stoicism’s ancient guidance on how to flourish and live excellently, rather than continue to resell its wisdom using other names.