Catharsis: the process of emotional release

What is catharsis and what relevance does this concept have in psychotherapy?

Catharsis is a Greek word that refers to purification and is used in psychology to explain the process of releasing negative emotions. The term became popular in the psychotherapeutic field thanks to Freud's psychoanalysis.

Catharsis and psychoanalytic theory

Catharsis is the emotional release that occurs with the free association method.

In psychoanalytic theory, this emotional release refers to the "purgation" of unconscious conflicts. The method of free association or cathartic method was originally created by Breuer, a friend of Freud, but Freud developed it as part of his psychoanalytic theory.

Trauma and repressed drives

First, the method of free association was part of hypnotic therapy, in which the patient was subjected to the memory of traumatic experiences from his past, in order to release those repressed emotions or repressed drives. The evolution of psychoanalysis unlinked this method from hypnosis and made it part of psychoanalytic therapy.

In the early days of psychoanalysis, Anna O, a hysterical patient of Breuer, coined the cathartic method as "chimney cleansing" or "talking cure".

• To learn more about psychoanalytic theory, we recommend our article "Sigmund Freud: life and work of the famous psychoanalyst".

Origin of the word catharsis

The word catharsis comes from the Greek term. κάθαρσις (katharsis) meaning, "purification" or "purging". Aristotle used the word in his work The Poetics. According to him, catharsis occurred in Greek tragedy because of the effect it had on the spectators, since the spectacle (tragedy) caused sensations of compassion and fearand the spectators left the theater feeling cleansed, with a greater knowledge of the ways of men and the gods.

Thus, the term alludes to a process of purification of our feelings and values.. At the moment when we must reflect on life and human reflections beyond the here and now, we are able to value things in a different, renewed way. It is important, then, to understand that emotional catharsis is an ideal that can be achieved from self-reflection and from direct contact with our condition as thinking beings.

Theory of catharsis: media and violence

In psychology, the use of the word catharsis is known for the concept used by psychoanalytic theory and its function in psychotherapy. But from social psychology the term has also been used in the "catharsis theory".

The assimilation of certain ethical values

For several decades there has been a debate about the influence of the media on viewers and its relation to the development of violence in childhood. No one denies the role of the media in the socialization of people, since they are involved in the internalization of values and the participate in the internalization of values and norms, and in the way in whichand in the way individuals relate to the world around them.

But the media often distort reality and create an invented world, fictitious stories that try to influence our tastes, our interests and our opinions, something known as media reality. This constructed reality has a very powerful effect on the creation of the mental world of modern society. of modern society.

Many theorists, such as Albert Bandura, believe that the majority of media consumers absorb the social representations of the mass media without discrimination. This point of view, shared by other authors, is known as the mimetic theory. Faced with this panorama, catharsis becomes a complicated process, since there are many imputs that we internalize automatically. If we drag backpacks of media contentthe catharsis process can be compromised.

Another point of view: passive catharsis in front of the TV set

On the other hand, and contrary to this view, there is a current that defends (or at least excuses) violence in the media. For the defenders of this point of view, the diffusion of violence in the media functions as a form of catharsis, something known as the "catharsis theory". For example, according to the cathartic theory, violent scenes on television constitute a form of catharsis, violent scenes on television would be a way of releasing the aggression nestled in viewers' minds..

Although the debate has lasted several decades, and despite the interest of many theorists in demonstrating that the catharsis theory is true, research has not shown results that defend this position.