The journey within: mental navigation as a novel framework for understanding psychotherapeutic transformation

Background Despite the demonstrated efficacy of psychotherapy, the precise mechanisms that drive therapeutic transformations have posed a challenge and still remain unresolved. Here, we suggest a potential solution to this problem by introducing a framework based on the concept of mental navigation. It refers to our ability to navigate our cognitive space of thoughts, ideas, concepts, and memories, similar to how we navigate physical space. We start by analyzing the neural, cognitive, and experiential constituents intrinsic to mental navigation. Subsequently, we posit that the metaphoric spatial language we employ to articulate introspective experiences (e.g., “unexplored territory” or “going in circles”) serves as a robust marker of mental navigation. Methods Using large text corpora, we compared the utilization of spatial language between transcripts of psychotherapy sessions (≈ 12 M. words), casual everyday conversations (≈ 12 M. words), and fictional dialogues in movies (≈ 14 M. words). We also examined 110 psychotherapy transcripts qualitatively to discern patterns and dynamics associated with mental navigation. Results We found a notable increase in the utilization of spatial metaphors during psychotherapy compared to casual everyday dialogues ( U = 192.0, p = .001, d = 0.549) and fictional conversations ( U = 211, p < .001, d = 0.792). In turn, analyzing the usage of non-spatial metaphors, we did not find significant differences between the three datasets ( H = 0.682, p = 0.710). The qualitative analysis highlighted specific examples of mental navigation at play. Conclusion Mental navigation might underlie the psychotherapy process and serve as a robust framework for understanding the transformative changes it brings about.