International Journal of Emergency Mental Health and Human Resilience
Open Access

Abstract

Background: Pragmatic psychology started with the question, what else is possible for people with the diagnosis. Are they truly disabled or are those disabilities hiding not yet discovered abilities? As a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist, I had started to investigate on this topic. I worked at the university clinic in Lund, Sweden with diagnosing, therapy, coaching, neuropsychological testing and method development. The patient group was very diverse. People with ADHD, ADD, autism, OCD, depression, anxiety, PTSD, substance addiction, psychosis, personality disorders came to me for evaluation and therapy.

Objectives: The target with pragmatic psychology is to empower clients to know that they know. Most clients are used to receiving answers from experts rather than being their own experts. Pragmatic psychology is about having no point of view what is right and wrong, sane and insane. Pragmatic psychology uses questions to facilitate the client to find out what strongness is hiding behind the wrongness to open the doors to truly creating their lives. Psychology used to be the study of knowledge and became the study of behavior, fitting in and adapting to normality. Pragmatic psychology takes psychology back to being the study of knowledge for people to create greater lives than what can be achieved by controlling behavior. Diversity is being used as a strength and resource.

Methods: The methods used with pragmatic psychology are questions and tools to empower the client to know what they know. Questions empower, answers disempower. Every true question unlocks what has not been available as a possibility the moment before.

Results: Those are countless. ADHD patients being able to use their hyperactivity as a resource to create their lives and businesses. Depression and anxiety being discovered as extreme awareness that no longer, being overwhelming and having to be defended against, can be used as sources of creation. Patients coming for anger management discovering their potency that was covered by their labels. Everything is the opposite of what it appears to be. PTSD and abuse ceasing to haunt clients and the potency slumbering all those years behind the victimizing story being discovered. Clients saying that therapists having given up on them and who now see that they have what it takes to the greatness they truly are. Autism being discovered as a highly interactive and communicating group regardless of what is being said about that diagnosis. Client after client saying if I just had this perspective and those tools years ago my life would look totally different now.

Conclusions: What if having to have problems was no longer the paradigm to live and be on our planet? What if our past no longer determines our future but can be created and chosen as desired at every moment? What if we all knew what works for us no matter what is being put out there as conclusions and answers? Time to create a different world?

Biography

Susanna Mittermaier is a licensed psychologist, psychotherapist and author of the #1 international bestselling book, Pragmatic Psychology: Practical Tools for Being Crazy Happy. As a global speaker, she offers a new paradigm on psychology and therapy called pragmatic psychology. She is known for her revolutionary perspective on mental illness and for inspiring people all over the world to access the greatness they are beyond abuse and disease. She offers a different, healing perspective on pain and suffering, unveils people’s brilliance and guides others to see problems and difficulties instead as possibilities and potent choices. Growing up in Vienna, Austria, she learned an enormous capacity to facilitate lightness, joy and ease in a unique and profoundly healing way. She studied to become a psychologist at the university of Lund in Sweden and worked as a psychologist, therapist and counselor at the university clinic in Sweden both in children oncology and in the mental health department. She also conducted numerous neuropsychological testing’s. She developed a new psychology, called pragmatic psychology. She has been featured in publications such as TV Soap, Maria Shriver, Women’s Weekly, Empowerment Channel Voice America, Om Times, Motherpedia, Newstalk New Zealand and Holistic Bliss. She has hosted her own radio show and often appears on TV for expert comment.

E-mail: info@susannamittermaier.com