CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS OF PROFESSIONALLY COMPETENT THINKING IN PSYCHOLOGY

Abstract

The conceptual foundations of the cognitive basis (essential knowledge) for a psychologist’s professionally competent thinking, relevant to the pressing issues of our time, consist of a scientific understanding of the essential properties of: personality as a mode and form of the systematic existence and functioning of the human psyche, which is the primary object of a psychologist’s professional activity, both in research and in practice; intellect; thinking in general, and systematic, health-promoting, positive, productive and rational thinking in particular; intuition; spirituality, morality and existential responsibility; biophilia and its formation and development; the productive social character and its intellectual function as the subject’s consistent orientation towards resolving socio-political problems and addressing social challenges from the standpoint of humanistic spiritual values and ideals of humanity; self-actualisation; sanogenic satisfaction and a sense of well-being, which results from the alignment of the subject’s life (activities, behaviour, actions) with their life’s purpose, value orientations, convictions and faith, and thus the success of self-realisation in terms of self-determination. The subject’s health-promoting thinking is directed towards overcoming their own negative, destructive and pathogenic emotional experiences. One should seek the causes of these experiences first and foremost within oneself–in one’s attitudes, actions and behaviour–by assessing how they conflict with one’s life purpose and meaning; and consequently, seek constructive and effective ways and means of overcoming and mitigating these negative experiences, thereby bringing about sanogenic satisfaction and a sense of well-being.