The term psychotherapy in contemporary colloquial language, as in culture, has a wide variety of connotations. It is sometimes understood as a social phenomenon, the modern equivalent of magic in primitive cultures, a postmodern art form. It is also a paramedical psychological influence that improves human functioning, an instrumental manipulation for the purposes of social control or, finally, a kind of social engineering aimed at restoring a sense of meaning in life and happiness to individuals or entire groups.