Modern psychotherapy as a multidimensional multilevel evolutionary process

•Evolution is not merely a matter of genetics.•Epigenetics, behavior, and cognition play a key role in evolution.•Evolution depends on variation, selection, retention, dimensions, levels, and context.•Human behavior problems result from deficits in one or more of these six areas.•Psychotherapy represents the inverse and is best viewed as an applied evolution science.

Modern evidence-based psychotherapy can be understood by consideration of six key concepts from evolution science that have an impact on behavioral science: variation, selection, retention, dimensions, levels, and context. Human behavior problems are most likely to emerge when repertoires are narrow or rigid, are under inappropriate selection criteria targeted at the wrong level or dimension, and without retention of successful variants that are fitted to context. Modern effective psychotherapies represent the inverse process of creating broad and flexible repertoires, selected by personal values, and fitted to particular contexts at the appropriate level and in the right dimension. Psychotherapy can thus be considered an applied evolution science.