Silence In Psychology: What Benefits?

Silence is an element that belongs to the sphere of communication. Although many people believe that silences are just empty spaces in communication, they actually have meaning. In light of this, let’s explore the function of silence in psychology.

It may be curious to find in different situations such as religious rites, mourning demonstrations, requests of all kinds and private conversations. However, one area in which it has particular importance is that of psychology. In fact, silence can be a very useful tool in the service of therapists.

Silence in the culture of noise

Silence has different meanings and a different degree of importance depending on the culture. Western culture is not particularly rich in moments of silence, perhaps because we do not have habits or customs that invite reflection and self-knowledge.

In the television series Merlí we find an excellent example of the meaning of silence. This series tells the adventures and misadventures of a philosophy teacher and his particular teaching method.

In the first episode, entitled Els peripatètics , a student asks him if we all have the preparation to be able to philosophize. Merlí replies with a silence of twenty-five seconds, keeping his hand on his chin and staring into space.

After that, explain that he has been silent all that time to show them how one has a tendency to glare at someone when they think.

The power of silence

Being devoid of lexical content, silences may seem harmless or even useless, but there are many situations in which silence can help us in our daily life. Furthermore, human beings need silence on all levels.

It is normal that when a person is upset and starts arguing with another, the tension increases. If we feed negative feelings through a response to the discussion, that tension will tend to grow with greater intensity and duration.

But if in such a situation we choose to remain silent and politely listen to the arguments of the other person, even if we do not share them and are not expressed in the most correct way, we will help to ease the phase of tension much more quickly, since this last is not reinforced.

Expanding the discourse, silences are necessary because there are situations in life that do not predispose to the use of the word. When we are faced with a very recent loss, for example. Words take on a ludicrous dimension compared to the emotional intensity of this type of situation.

Silence, therefore, is a way of communicating which, contrary to what one might think, does not mean being absent. In fact, in this type of situation it means the opposite; be present, supportive and show respect.

Silence in psychology

In clinical psychology, silences are fundamental. Because? They try to evoke changes that benefit people’s mental health. These changes usually occur through the reflections of patients or clients about their situation, their options, what they can or cannot do about it, etc.

And these changes are usually evoked through the practitioner’s words, arguments and questions. However, they can also be evoked by silences.

Silences in a clinical setting encourage reflection, thought and pause. Our daily life is usually hectic, full of stimuli, pressures and usually we do not have the spaces available to allow us to remain silent. Also, during a psychology session, silence can serve as a mirror technique.

For example, when a person asks the therapist a question, if he responds with duly executed silence, he can cause the question formulated with the intention of knowing an answer from the practitioner to finally receive an answer from the patient.

This encourages the patients or clients themselves to reach their own conclusions, which would avoid any kind of imposition on the part of the therapist. As we can see, silence in psychology is necessary. As mentioned at the beginning, it is a tool and as such you need to know how to use it.

Novice psychologists may find it difficult to create silences during therapy. This is very common, given the insecurity with which therapeutic processes begin with patients, due to the lack of experience acquired during the course of studies in Psychology.

However. exposing oneself to these silences will greatly improve communication in the context of psychological therapy and, therefore, will contribute to the improvement of the patient’s or client’s health.