our research
The Advanced Psychology Institute was established with the primary goal of delving into and broadening the innovative therapy framework known as Message-Centered Psychology (MCP). This paradigm, developed by a visionary therapist, represents the cornerstone of our research and therapeutic practices.
our purpose
The potential of MCP-inspired treatments is vast, warranting more extensive research than a private practice setting could provide. This is why our research department is vital to our mission and existence.
Advancing knowledge through research
MCP generates testable insights into complex psychological phenomena, driving meaningful scientific inquiry and practical applications.
Integrating science and practice
Our Clinical and Non-Clinical Research Divisions work alongside education and treatment programs, developing new MCP-based therapies and deepening understanding of normal psychological functions.
Sharing discoveries widely
We extend impact beyond our practice by publishing, presenting at conferences, and leading seminars and public talks, ensuring new knowledge benefits both professionals and society.
research programs
The Advanced Psychology Institute’s research department is divided into two areas: Clinical Research and Non-Clinical Research.
The Clinical Research Division conducts trials and develops new MCP-based treatments for conditions such as addiction, autism spectrum disorders, dyslexia, dyscalculia, and complex cluster B personality disorders. Closely integrated with our clinical and educational programs, this division ensures a practical, collaborative approach, with researchers also serving as clinicians and supervisors.
The Non-Clinical Research Division focuses on understanding normal brain functions—including communication, decision-making, problem-solving, and social interaction. Unlike artificial intelligence research, our goal is not to replicate these processes but to deepen knowledge of how the brain accomplishes them, though our findings may indirectly inform AI.
clinical research
Understanding Depression and Treatment Approaches Through Message-Centered Psychology
MCP offers a unique perspective on depression by viewing it as a disruption in the brain’s internal model of reality. Normally, this model runs mental simulations to help us choose favorable outcomes. When the system predicts only negative results, classic symptoms of depression emerge—sadness, indecisiveness, helplessness, and guilt—leading to the question: “Why get out of bed if nothing good will happen?”
These symptoms can arise from imbalances in different mental evaluation tools: weighing pleasure vs. discomfort, judging likelihood, or assessing social consequences. Understanding which tool is disrupted allows MCP to guide more precise, individualized treatments.
Understanding Dissociation
Dissociation is often linked to severe conditions like Dissociative Identity Disorder, but MCP views it as a normal process that can occur whenever conscious intentions conflict with unconscious needs. Our conscious mind focuses on self-presentation, while the unconscious may harbor motives seen as inappropriate. To resolve the clash, the mind may create an alternate conscious state with altered memories, values, or priorities—effectively switching off willpower.
While this mechanism is universal, it can lead to serious disorders such as impulsivity, addiction, eating disorders, and cluster B personality disorders. Those who see the world in rigid black-and-white terms are especially vulnerable when their perceptions collide with complex, non-binary reality.
Psycho-Somatic Disorders and Phobias
In Message-Centered Psychology, both psychosomatic disorders and phobias are viewed through a similar lens: they manifest as symptoms (such as pain or fear) that lack an apparent cause (like trauma or danger). Rather than focusing on what causes these conditions, the critical inquiry revolves around their unconscious purpose. It’s essential to recognize that behaviors can simultaneously be unconscious and purposeful. Within this framework, these unconscious purposes are often social in nature, serving as a form of communication.
This understanding paves the way for innovative and enhanced treatment strategies that are effective for both phobias, typically categorized as anxiety disorders and psychosomatic disorders. Our treatments concentrate on identifying and addressing the need for these underlying messages, either by eliminating the need to send them or by finding less harmful ways to communicate them.
Autistic-Dyslexic Spectrum Concept
In collaboration with Rutgers University, MCP offers a redefined view of the autistic spectrum, extending from autism to dyslexia. Human cognition relies on two abilities: noticing differences among similar objects and recognizing similarities among different ones. Those who struggle with similarities lean toward autism, while those who struggle with differences lean toward dyslexia.
This spectrum affects how individuals perceive detail versus the bigger picture, learn from experience, and process information. Recognizing where someone falls allows treatments to build on strengths and address challenges, including support for individuals on the often-overlooked dyslexic end of the spectrum.
non-clinical research
Exploring Emotions Through Message-Centered Psychology
MCP views emotions as central to both internal feelings and external nonverbal communication, with each emotion carrying a meaningful message. These messages help individuals, groups, and society navigate complex situations recognized by our brain’s pattern recognition.
As societies grow more complex, humans develop unique emotions—like those tied to social justice—beyond those shared with other social animals. Understanding these messages allows more precise expression, enhancing both verbal and nonverbal communication and deepening insight into human interaction.
Understanding Intuition and Decision-Making via MCP
MCP offers a unique perspective on intuition, viewing it as the brain’s internal trial-and-error simulations within a virtual model of reality. These ‘virtual experiments’ allow the brain to solve problems quickly and efficiently without the cost or risk of real-life trial and error. By filtering out irrelevant details and applying insights from past experiences, intuition helps guide decision-making in new situations.
For intuition to be most effective, it works alongside unconscious analytical processes that organize and structure available information. MCP research aims to map and model these processes, deepening our understanding of human intuition and exploring ways to enhance its role in effective problem-solving and decision-making.
Advancements in Natural Language Processing Research
Contemporary research often focuses on sentence syntax and word semantics, but real-world language processing is more dynamic, resembling a guess-and-check system. This approach becomes especially effective when context narrows the range of potential messages. The brain compares its hypothetical phrasing to the speaker’s actual words, and when there’s strong similarity, interpretation is more likely to be correct.
Our MCP research aims to understand and model this sophisticated ability. By examining how humans intuitively process and interpret language in real time, we seek to improve the accuracy and efficiency of communication and provide insights that may inform advancements in natural language processing systems.
Bridging Theory and Practice in Teaching and Learning
There is a clear gap between our theoretical understanding of learning, much of it based on animal studies, and the practical knowledge teachers use in classrooms. Message-Centered Psychology (MCP) explains this divide by showing that humans live in two realities: the physical world of atoms and energy, and the cultural world of words and symbols. From just a few months after birth, children enter the verbal realm, where language begins to shape their reality more than direct experience.
MCP identifies learning mechanisms unique to social and cultural contexts, offering fresh approaches to education. Our research group is dedicated to developing and testing these methods, aiming to close the gap between theory and practice and to enhance teaching strategies that nurture human cognitive development.
Exploring Memory Management
Pattern recognition is one of the brain’s most complex and least understood functions, often mirrored in artificial intelligence through neural networks. At the Advanced Psychology Institute, our focus is on what happens after recognition takes place—specifically, how the brain determines when and how to act. This involves building and manipulating a virtual model of reality, a constantly updated internal simulation that allows us to respond effectively to the world.
Central to this process is the brain’s memory management system, which surpasses existing technologies like Oracle or Google Search. Rather than scanning data broadly, it appears to rely on sophisticated “indexes” that provide direct access to the exact information needed. Our research seeks to identify these indexes for different cognitive tasks and model their structure. By uncovering how the brain organizes memory so efficiently, we aim to advance both our understanding of human cognition and the future of artificial intelligence.
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