Three Principles Psychology
Three Principles Psychology, previously known as Health Realization, is a resiliency approach to personal and community psychology first developed in the 1980s by Roger C. Mills and George Pransky, who were influenced by the teachings of philosopher and author Sydney Banks. The approach first gained recognition for its application in economically and socially marginalized communities experiencing high levels of stress..
The foundational concepts of TPP are the Three Principles of Mind, Consciousness, and Thought, which were originally articulated by Sydney Banks in the early 1970s. Banks, a Scottish welder with a ninth-grade education who lived in British Columbia, Canada, provided the philosophical basis for TPP, emphasizing how these principles underlie all human psychological experiences.
The core of TPP lies in the understanding that an individual's psychological experience is shaped by their thought processes. TPP teaches that by recognizing the role of Thought in shaping one's experience, individuals can transform their responses to situations. This transformation is achieved by accessing what TPP refers to as "innate health" and "inner wisdom."
TPP is also known by other names, including Psychology of Mind, Neo-cognitive Psychology, Innate Health, the Inside-Out Understanding and colloquially, the 3Ps.
Discovery of the Three Principles
According to verbal accounts provided by Banks in his recorded lectures, he realised the Three Principles during a marriage seminar on Cortes Island, British Columbia, Canada in 1973.As they were preparing to depart, Banks engaged in a conversation with a therapist who was also attending the seminar. At the time, Banks described himself as "an insecure mess" and began listing the various ways in which he felt insecure. The therapist responded, "I've never heard such nonsense in all my life. You're not insecure, Syd; you just think you are."
This statement profoundly impacted Banks. He realized that insecurity was not a real, inherent condition but merely a product of his thoughts. Reflecting on the experience, Banks described it as a revelatory moment:
What I heard was: there's no such thing as insecurity, it's only Thought. All my insecurity was only my own thoughts! It was like a bomb going off in my head … It was so enlightening! It was unbelievable … there was such beauty coming into my life.
The specific terms "Mind," "Consciousness," and "Thought" were not immediately clear to Banks during this initial experience. Over time, through his talks and lectures, these terms became more clearly defined, and Banks referred to them collectively as the "psychological trinity."
Banks, who died from metastatic cancer in May 2009, challenged many traditional notions and practices of psychotherapy. He asserted that mental well-being does not require processing the past or analyzing the content of personal thought systems.
Everyone in mental institutions is sitting in the middle of mental health and they don't know it.
Banks was also against using techniques or developing concepts to convey his understanding to others.
Three Principles Psychology model
In Three Principles Psychology, all psychological phenomena—from severe disorders to optimal mental health—are understood as manifestations of three operative "principles" first articulated by Sydney Banks as the basis of human experience and feeling states.:- Mind - The energy and intelligence that animates all life, both in its physical form and in the formless. The Universal Mind, often referred to as "wisdom" or the "impersonal" mind, is constant and unchanging, acting as the source of innate health and well-being. In contrast, the personal mind is in a continuous state of flux.
- Consciousness - The capacity to be aware of one's life and experiences. Consciousness is the gift of awareness that enables the recognition of form, with form being an expression of Thought.
- Thought - The ability to think, which allows individuals to create their personal experience of reality. Thought is a divine gift, not self-created, that is present from birth. It serves as the creative agent through which individuals navigate and direct their lives.
According to TPP, individuals experience reality and their circumstances through the continual filter of their thoughts. Consciousness gives this filtered reality the appearance of being "the way it really is," leading people to react to it as if it were absolute truth. However, when their thinking changes, their perception of reality shifts, and their reactions change accordingly. Thus, TPP posits that people are constantly creating their own experience of reality through their thoughts.
Also according to TPP, people tend to perceive their reality as stressful when they are engaged in insecure or negative thoughts. However, TPP suggests that these thoughts do not need to be taken seriously. By choosing to take such thoughts more lightly, the mind can quiet down, allowing positive feelings to emerge naturally. TPP teaches that everyone has an inherent capacity for health and well-being, referred to as "innate health," which surfaces when troubled thinking subsides. When this occurs, individuals also gain access to common sense and can tap into a universal capacity for creative problem-solving, known as "inner wisdom." Both peer-reviewed and anecdotal evidence indicates that when someone deeply understands the principles behind TPP, they may experience a profound sense of emotional freedom and well-being.
Three Principles Psychology as therapy
In contrast to psychotherapies that focus on the content of the clients' dysfunctional thinking, TPP focuses on "innate health" and the role of "Mind, Consciousness and Thought" in creating the clients' experience of life.The TPP counselor does not suggest to clients that they attempt to change their thoughts, "think positive", or "reframe" negative thoughts to positive ones. According to TPP, one's ability to control one's thoughts is limited and the effort to do so can itself be a source of stress. Instead, clients are encouraged to consider that their "minds are using thought continuously to determine their subjective, personal reality in each moment."
In the TPP model, feelings and emotions are seen as indicators of the quality of one's thinking. Unpleasant or stressful emotions, suggest that an individual's thinking is influenced by insecurity, negative beliefs, conditioning, or learned patterns that may be irrelevant to, and thereby distort, the present moment. These emotions also indicate a temporary lapse in recognizing one's role in shaping their own experience. Conversely, pleasant emotions—such as well-being, gratitude, compassion, or peace—indicate that one's thinking is aligned with what TPP considers optimal for the current situation.
TPP holds that the therapeutic "working through" of personal issues from the past to achieve wholeness is unnecessary. According to the TPP model, people are already whole and healthy. The traumas of the past are only important to the extent that the individual lets them influence his or her thoughts in the present. According to TPP, one's "issues" and memories are simply thoughts, and the individual can react to them or not. The more clients recognize that they are creating their own painful feelings through their "power of Thought," the less these feelings tend to bother them.. Sedgeman compares this to making scary faces in the mirror: because we know it's just us, it's impossible to scare ourselves that way.
Thus TPP addresses personal insecurities and dysfunctional patterns en masse, aiming for an understanding of the "key role of thought", an understanding that ideally allows the individual to step free at once from a large number of different patterns all connected by insecure thinking. With this approach, it is rare for the practitioner to delve into specific content When specific thoughts are recognized as limiting or based on insecurity or conditioning, they often come with an uncomfortable feeling. The counselor points out that this understanding activates the body's homeostatic system, which naturally prefers feeling good over feeling bad. As a result, the individual has the capacity to let go of these thoughts if they choose to.
Relationships
From the perspective of TPP, relationship problems stem from a low awareness of each partner's role in creating their own experience through thought and consciousness. Partners who embrace TPP reportedly stop blaming and recriminating, leading to a different way of interacting. TPP counselors encourage couples to recognize that their feelings are not determined by their partner, and that most issues that previously disrupted their relationship were based on insecure, negative, and conditioned thinking.Counselors also emphasize that everyone experiences emotional ups and downs, and that thinking during a "down" mood is likely to be distorted. TPP teaches that it is generally counterproductive to "talk through" relationship problems when partners are in a bad mood. Instead, TPP suggests waiting until both have calmed down and can discuss things from a place of inner comfort and security.
Chemical dependency and addiction
TPP views chemical dependency and related behaviors as a response to a lack of self-efficacy, rather than the result of disease. According to TPP, individuals who are "unaware" of their own "innate health" and their role in creating stress through their thoughts may turn to alcohol, drugs, or other compulsive behaviors in an attempt to quell their stressful feelings and regain a temporary sense of control.TPP seeks to provide deeper relief by demonstrating that negative and stressful feelings are self-generated and can be self-quieted, offering a pathway to well-being that does not rely on external circumstances or substances.