In short, the synton approach is the psychology of common sense for healthy people. Synton approach, as a direction in practical psychology, developed in the process of Sinton’s work by N.I. Kozlov and his colleagues. This is an independent, original psychological direction, which has its own philosophy, personality theory, scientific and methodological base, its own system of psychological and pedagogical technologies.
If very briefly. In the choice of «work with the past» / «work with the future», the SP chooses the future. By choosing a process / result, the SP chooses the result. And from the results, it chooses not the average, which is simpler, but the vertex. More often he focuses not on internal sensations, but on objective, external indicators, and in general prefers decisions not “psychological”, where the attitude to what is happening changes, but “business”, where what is happening itself changes. We prefer not to adapt to life, but to change life.
Synton approach is one of the most promising areas of Russian practical psychology. It is within the framework of the synton approach that the most serious scientific studies of the results of training practice have been carried out in recent decades. Most of the trainers who have become the stars of the training business in Russia today were brought up on the basis of the synthon approach, and several dozen independent training schools were formed on the same basis. The synthon approach is currently showing high performance in the field of personal training and is successfully used in advisory practice. It is important that the synton approach is an obviously integrative psychological direction, built on the basis of independent domestic developments and including the achievements of many modern psychological approaches — the synton approach has its own history, its own characteristics and many similarities with other popular directions.
The synton approach is materialistic and builds its practice within the framework of an exclusively scientific worldview. The approach is based both on our own scientific developments and on the scientific developments of L.S. Vygotsky (cultural-historical theory of personality development), developments of neobehaviorism, cognitive psychology, modern psychoanalysis and humanistic psychology, leaving mysticism, esotericism and myths of worldly psychology behind.
In the synton approach, a person is not only an organism that adapts to the environment in order to satisfy its needs and comfort. A person is not reduced to his body, he can live as a person, adapting the environment to himself, guided by his goals and values. Taking care of yourself, your health and happiness is not the goal of psychological work, but only a natural condition in order to continue serving life, people and society. Attention to your inner world, work with your problems and self-improvement is not an end in itself, but a way to increase your efficiency in business and in relationships with people.
In choosing between adaptive behavior and development, the synton approach suggests focusing on development. To adapt to life is a less worthy task than to develop oneself into a worthy personality and create a worthy life around oneself. In the synthon approach, a person is seen as an author, as a creator of his own life, having free will and reason.
The synton approach is a personal-active approach in which a person, as a person, is responsible not only for his behavior and activities, for his decisions and choices, but also for his internal behavior, for his thoughts and feelings. Mindfulness helps us, but it will not solve all our problems: only accurate and energetic actions will lead to the result. Intentions are important, but even more important are the results of our intentions — what we actually did. Excuses do not change the final result, and the person is responsible for what he actually did — or did not do.
The synton approach actively discusses issues of values, meanings and direction of life. As an ethically oriented approach, the synton approach proceeds from the fact that it is impossible to give psychological tricks into the hands of someone who can irresponsibly use it as a weapon against others. The most important aspect of the ethics of the synton approach is the idea of ethicotypes, ways of life of the Consumer, the Parasite, the Romantic and the Creator. The synthon approach devalues selfishness and the values of individual advancement, while upholding the value of cooperation. Happiness and inner well-being for the synton approach is not a value in itself, but a means for effective service to people. Assessing your life, you should ask not what I received from life and people, but what I gave to life and people. The goal of the synton approach is to improve people’s lives by means of personal development; building a person who lives by the principle: «Whatever I do, the amount of good in the world should increase.»
“Good beginning” in a person for the synton approach is not a given, but a task. Children are born with different inclinations, but the task of society and the family is to educate in him a person and a person. In the synthon approach, society and culture are not dangerous introjects, but the source of civilization, that which created us as people, which gave us our tools, our strengths and capabilities, our individuality. The synton approach is humanistic in terms of values, but realistic in terms of means of work, and is aware of itself within the framework of realistic psychology. The synton approach is practical, focused primarily not on explanation, but on change. Theoretical explanations for the synton approach are good only when they become a working tool, make it possible to solve the tasks.
The synthonic approach is successfully used both in training activities and in counseling practice, insisting on a combination of both instrumental and value approaches. The synton approach is technological, it gives many working techniques, usually starting from the position of the Author, total Yes and internal Good. The best developments of the synton approach in the field of personal training are presented in the Synton program, in the field of coaching — in the Distance program. The main features of the synton approach in counseling are the transfer of the client from the position of the Victim to the position of the Author, a combination of coaching and mentoring features, work mainly through positive and constructive, a combination of moments of warm support and tough demands.
The Synthon approach believes that people can be strong, intelligent and strong-willed, have a mission in their lives, live to the maximum, set big goals and achieve their goals. The fundamental difference between the Synton approach and other psychological concepts is that Sinton is primarily focused on personal development, its trainings provide powerful tools for personal growth. However, the ability to deal with oneself, remove unnecessary worries, learn to manage emotions and live happily is only the first task on the path of personal growth. The next most important task of a developed multifaceted personality is to achieve the full realization of one’s potential, to become successful in this world: in relationships, personal life, in one’s business, career, in society. The synton approach is the psychology of high achievements. In order for belief in human capabilities to become a reality, the synthon approach teaches people to be realistic, skillful and efficient. Teaching is more effective than healing. The synthon approach does not welcome negativism. There are many things in people, and it is wrong to look for weaknesses, meanness and problems in them first of all, pushing them to the need for psychotherapy. You need to see everything in people, but it is more worthy to show people their strengths and capabilities, focusing on personal growth and development.
The framework of the synton approach is positive, constructive, responsible.
Psychotherapy in the synton approach occupies the same place as visiting a doctor by a healthy person: the less, the better. Mental health is ensured by a healthy lifestyle, the correct setting of life goals, the ability to build relationships and live in a “positive, constructive, responsible” mode. If psychotherapy is needed, the synton approach recommends starting with the elimination of the vitally obvious causes of psychological problems, without looking for underlying causes where the issue can be resolved in a simple way.
To normalize sleep and nutrition, establish physical activity and eliminate elementary psychological illiteracy in relation to oneself and building relationships are the tasks of the first priority. It is not professional to start digging into early childhood or past lives without having established this base.
The synton approach appreciates the human mind and encourages the head not to turn off, but to turn it on more often, not to be lazy to think. Intelligence is the ability and habit to comprehend everything that happens, using all five positions of perception: from the position of one’s personal interests, the interests of a partner, from the point of view of an external observer, a systematic approach and a position of service, the position of an Angel.
In the synton approach, the existing personality and emotions are not an intrinsic value, but a personal toolkit: something from which a person can build himself of the future. They are not born as a person, they become a person — a person of different levels of development. The duty of a developed person is to develop his feelings and be able to control his feelings. Only those who do not control their emotions are forced to suppress their emotions. Feelings must live in harmony with the mind and under its control. In a developed person, any emotion should be targeted and expedient.
Childhood is the most important stage when personal ways of a person’s relationship with the world are laid, and this process is described in the theory of social psychoanalysis of emotions, one of the most important in the presentation of the synton approach. At the same time, the synton approach orients a person to live in the future. The past is gone, and the present is just an excuse to build the future.