Time Perspective Therapy in a Nutshell

When our time perspectives are skewed, usually in the negative, not only are we affected, but the people we come in contact with - families, friends, co-workers, even an innocent store clerk - can be affected as well.  Time Perspective Therapy helps people see patterns that they may have adopted as coping mechanisms for living with stress, anxiety, depression, or day to day struggles and worries. It shows them how to help themselves while they help their loved ones.

Time Perspective Therapy takes into consideration not only a person’s past and present, but also their future. Many approaches to therapy, including self-help, focus on a person’s history and how past events affect their thought processes. Through our practice we’ve found that constantly reliving past traumas or adverse experiences can have extremely negative effects on a person—it’s as if they are frozen in the past. A person may be stuck between a traumatic past experience (what we call “past negatives”) and their hopeless present (what we call “present fatalism”). This may leave them unable to think much about the future. And if they do think about the future, it’s usually negative.

In Time Perspective Therapy we focus on balancing past negatives with positive memories of the past; present fatalism with some present hedonistic enjoyment; and make plans for a bright, positive future. It’s a simple, effective therapy that can be used by clinicians in therapeutic settings, or by anyone seeking self-help.