We are increasingly beginning to acknowledge that there is a need to address our mental health as much as our physical health. The two are clearly linked. Who knows how many of us have come to an earlier end than we should have done because our mental state had a profound effect on our physical condition. Who was it that began to question why we are the way we are in terms of what we think? This branch of science is called Psychology and it begins in Vienna in Austria in 1886. The first person to do this was Sigmund Freud, or at least he was the first to actively talk, write and offer treatments for it.
The mind, and what it is capable of, has tried to be explained normally through the religious orders. The Soul and its purpose was supposed to be the property of God and the person should be devoted to keeping it pure. There was no question as to what the effects of the world and people on it might have. There were attempts to explain the nature of people’s personality via the 4 humours approach. The Phlegmatic person and the Sanginune for example.
In our more enlightened times we have such treatments, thanks to Freud and Jung to name but two. We have also changed the focus of the therapist onto the patient. For example Solution Focused Therapy such as https://www.brief.org.uk/therapy-and-coaching/what-happens-in-solution-focused-counselling can illustrate that.