The real job of the director or therapist and others is to provide you with the support you need to delve into whatever you have been too afraid to explore on your own. The safety of group therapy is supposed to allow you to notice things that you have hidden from yourself—usually the things that you are most ashamed of. The most powerful emotional roadblock for many is shame. It is also probably the most hidden, neglected, and overlooked emotion in most people (and in psychotherapy). Vulnerable emotions like sadness or grief may be difficult to access and fully express for many individuals, but aversion to shame. Shame often rapidly mutates into various forms of aggression—whether directed at others or at us—or into numbness or an emotional shutting down, all of which serve as “solutions” to or distractions from whatever shame was just felt. When you no longer have to hide, the structure allows you to place the shame where it belongs—on the figures right in front of you who represent those who hurt your and made you feel helpless as a child. 

Feeling safe means that you can say things to your father (or, rather, the placeholder who represents him) that you wish you could have said as a five-year-old. You can tell the placeholder for your depressed and frightened mother how terrible you felt about not being able to take care of her. You can experiment with distance and proximity and explore what happens as you move placeholders around. As an active participant, you can lose yourself in a scene in a way you cannot when you simply tell a story. And as you take charge of representing the reality of your experience, the witness keeps you company, reflecting the changes in your posture, facial expression, and tone of voice. In some experience, physically re-experiencing the past in the present and then reworking it in a safe and supportive container can be powerful enough to create new, supplemental memories: simulated experiences of growing up in an attuned, affectionate setting where you are protected from harm.

Science is a powerful way of asking questions about the World and getting trustworthy answers. Structures do not erase bad memories, or even neutralize them. Structures offer fresh options—an alternative memory in which your basic human requires are met and your longings for love and protection are fulfilled. Most of us would be skeptical when buying a used car or an old house. However, all too often, we may be tempted to “buy” outrageous claims about topics such as dowsing, the occult, the Bermuda Triangle, hypnosis, UFOs, numerology, healing crystals, and so forth. Likewise, most of us easily accept our ignorance of sub-atomic physics. However, because we deal with human behavior every day, we tend to think that we already know what is true in psychology. For these and many more reasons, learning to think critically is one of the lasting benefits of a college education. 

Critical thinking refers to an ability to evaluate, compare, analyze, critique, and synthesize information. Critical thinkers are willing to as the hard questions, including those that challenge conventional wisdom. For example, many people believe that punishment (a spanking) is a good way to reinforce learning in children. Actually, nothing could be farther from the truth. That is why a critical thinker would immediately ask: Does punishment work? If so, when? Under what conditions does it not work? What are its drawbacks? Are there better ways to guide learning? The core of critical thinking is a willingness to actively evaluate ideas. Critical thinkers analyze the evidence supporting their beliefs and probe for weaknesses in their reasoning. They question assumptions and look for alternate conclusions. True knowledge, they recognize, comes from constantly revising and enlarging our understandings of the World.

Critical thinking is built upon four basic principles: Few truths transcend the need for empirical testing. It is true that religious beliefs and personal values may be held without supporting evidence. However, most other ideas can be evaluated by applying the rules of logic and evidence. Evidence varies in quality. Judging the quality of evidence is crucial. Imagine that you are a juror in a courthouse, judging the claims made by two battling lawyers. To decide correctly, you cannot just weigh the evidence. You must also critically evaluate the quality of the evidence. Then you can give greater weight to the most credible facts. Authority or claimed expertise does not automatically make an idea true. Just because a teacher, reporter, guru, celebrity, or authority is convinced or sincere does not mean you should automatically believe them. It is unscientific and self-demeaning to just take the word of an “expert” without asking, “What evidence convinced her or him? How good is it? Is there a better explanation?  

Critical thinking requires an open mind. Be prepared to consider daring departures and go wherever the evidence leads. However, it is possible to be so open minded that you simply become gullible. Critical thinkers try to strike a balance between open-mindedness and healthy skepticism. Being open-minded means that you consider all possibilities before drawing a conclusion. It is the ability to change your views under the impact of new and more convincing evidence. Here are some questions to ask over and over again as you evaluate new information: What claims are being made? What test of these claims (if any) has been made? Who did the test? How good is the evidence? What was the nature and quality of the tests? Are they credible? Can they be repeated? How reliable and trustworthy were the investigators? Do they have conflicts of interest? Do their findings appear to be objective? Has any other independent researcher duplicated the findings? Finally, how much credence can the claim be given? High, medium, low, provisional? A course in psychology naturally enriches thinking skills.