counseling and psychotherapy theory · pdf filecan look into one’s inner experiences or...

Week 7. Humanistic Approach

Counseling and

Psychotherapy Theory

Major Concepts and Propositions Overview

Person-centered Approach Existentialist Approach Gestalt Approach

Change Mechanisms & Intervention Methods Moving from the Problem State to the Changed State

Strategies and Techniques

Theory’s Current State and Prospect Current State and Prospect Implications

Contents

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Overview

Overview

Main Assumptions

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Ⅰ. Major Concepts and Propositions

Humanism is the ‘third force’ of counseling

Overview

• Studies the very characteristics and functioning styles of humans. Presented humanistic assumptions for the purpose of counseling and psychotherapy

• Resisted against the perspective of viewing humans as objects or animals.

• Subtype approaches

Existentialist approach Person-centered

approach Gestalt approach

• Kierkegaard • Nietzsche • Sartre • Buber

• Tillich • Binswange • Frankl

Rogers Perls

Uniqueness of human consciousness

Main Assumptions

Humans have the abilities for awareness and reflection.

Can look into one’s inner experiences or reality

Metacognition is possible.

Tendency for self-actualization and growth

Main Assumptions

Tendency for self-actualization and growth

Anti-homeostatic

Instead of staying put or maintaining stability, we tend to struggle toward growth and development (Maslow, 1970).

Anti-determinism Choices are made from an awareness about the future and the present instead of the past.

Beyond-biology Self transformation is not a biological concept; it is based on intent

Main Assumptions

Self-determination ability

Choices and decisions are seen as the core of human functioning

-Exploring the facilitating methods or interfering factors to making free choices or decisions is the main topic. -Humans proactively build and construct our future.

- To overcome biological fears (Anti-homeostatic, Anti-determinism, Beyond-biology)

- To make decisions toward self-actualization or growth based on their current reality. (Awareness/Self-realization)

- To pursue meaning or creation of meaning (Construct stories)

- "What does not destroy me, makes me stronger.“ -Nietzsche

Main Assumptions

Person-centered Approach

Overview

Major Concepts

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Person-centeredness

Overview

Sincere respect for every person (research participant, client)

Each person's subjective experience important.

Empathy: catching and sharing subjective experiences of others

- To transcend dichotomous thinking about empathy (i.e. “right” vs. “wrong” empathy) capture (experience )+ tune = empathy

- Client’s subjective reality and objective reality are both respected

- The two realities meet, and adjustments are made

- Tuning is a continuous process which does not have a final conclusion.

Organismic Wisdom

Major Concepts

The ability to trust one's reactions to the environment

Needs

Considered valuable/worthwhile Positive regard

Care and love

Emotional, physical contact

Major Concepts

Conditions of worth

External conditions people try to meet in order to meet the need for love and respect, and be accepted as a valuable person

Example: a client who tries to meet the expectations of others

Major Concepts

Fully functioning person

Conditions

• Detect inner needs through one’s experience

• Positively trust, accept, respect one’s inner state

• Pursue it properly moment by moment

Major Concepts

Unconditional positive regard (respect)

Respect and care for the client that is not contaminated by evaluations about client's emotions, thoughts, or behaviors.

Major Concepts

Accurate empathic understanding

Sharing client’s subjective world

• sensitively catch and reflect client's experiences and emotions in moment-to-moment interaction

• Feeling client’s emotions as if they are one’s own, without getting immersed in client’s emotions

• a continuous process of tuning

• Cognitive imagination emotional resonance

expressed empathy check and adjust

Major Concepts

Congruence/genuineness

A pure, integrated, and honest position

Internal experience is congruent with external expression

Enables genuine communication

• can feel every emotion and experience, without shutting any of them off, in the relationship with clients, and can open them up to clients

• Accept and express all of one’s negative emotions must consider them as one’s own

• Accept and listen to all of client’s negative experiences must not consider them as criticism

Major Concepts

Existentialist Approach

Overview

Major Concepts

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Overview

Counselor attitude/position is more important than techniques

Accepting main existentialist propositions is important

A counseling approach based on existentialist philosophy

Existential propositions

Major Concepts

Existence come before essence.

Essence Existence

• Object, human norms, usage, moral law, etc.

• a being that exists before essence (norms, usage, moral laws)

• becomes liberated from many norms, labels, and concepts.


[Ex] ‘Apple’ and ‘Distorted apple’

VS.

Major Concepts


‘Every human dies.’

• Humans have many limitations.

• The time left become really important.

• Here-now is important

Past Present Future Death

Major Concepts


‘Choice is essential.’

• Because we are free, we have no choice but to make choices.

• Choosing entails giving up.

• Making choices triggers anxiety. So we sometimes try to avoid it.

• However, we cannot avoid it due to existentialist conditions.

Present Present(choice) Future Death

Major Concepts


‘Life does not have (given) meaning.’

• So meaning must be created.

• Deciding what to fill our lives with is a process of creating life's meaning.

Major Concepts

Present Present(choice) Future Death


‘Humans are originally alone.’

• We cannot be dependent on anyone.

• If we have moments when we are not alone, it’s a moment that should not be taken for granted; it’s a beautiful and grateful moment.

Major Concepts


• Story of ‘Life’s witness’

Major Concepts

‘Humans are originally alone.’


Awareness & acceptance of the above propositions are important • We will then be able to bear the existential anxiety

• As a result, we will be free, responsible for our choices, and be internally abundant.

“I do my thing and you do your thing. I do my thing and you do your thing. You are you, and I am I, and if by chance we find each other, it’s beautiful. If not, it can’t be helped.”

Fritz Perls

Major Concepts

Gestalt Approach

Overview

Major Concepts

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Assumptions

Overview

"People seek to mature."

• We discover our own ways in day-to-day lives

• We accept personal responsibilities

Focused on ‘client’s reality perception’

Based on the "here and now".

phenomenological existential

Goal

Overview

to help clients to accurately perceive their needs, experiences, decisions, and behaviors.

Major Concepts

not a sum of parts; a meaningful whole.

Gestalt

Figure and ground

Major Concepts

Figure: the part of the image which our attention goes first

Ground: the surrounding area where our attention does not quite reach and moves to the back.

Contact

Major Concepts

Coming to face to face with internal and external experiences.

It is important for us to contact while maintaining separation.

• Contact with the existence

• Contact with the external world

• Contact with self

6 stages

Major Concepts

‘Gestalt psychotherapy’

4. Mobilization of energy

5. Action

6. Contact

1. Withdrawal (ground)

2. Sensation

3. Awareness

1. Withdrawal (ground)

2. Sensation

3. Awareness

Awareness

Aware of existential existence

Aware of external stimuli and experience

Aware of internal stimuli and experience

• It's not about remembering. It's knowing that it is happening now.

• Types: Sensation & action / emotion / need / value & evaluation

Major Concepts

Interruption of contact and awareness

Inner state is categorized by the degree of contact (gestalt)

Phony level • Responds to others without sincerity in a patterned way

• [Ex] conventional greetings

Phobic level • Avoids psychological pain

Impasse level

• A point of no change or movement; feeling trapped

• [Ex] Marriage without love

Implosive level

• In contact with internal experience

Explosive level

• In contact with external experience as well

• [Ex] No outward show

Major Concepts


Contact boundaries (gestalt)

body-boundaries • defined by our bodies and skin

value-boundaries • confronted with a value system or other person resistant to change

familiarity-boundaries • not challenging because something is repeated frequently

expressive-boundaries • experienced internally but not expressed externally

• Types of boundaries that define ‘me’

Major Concepts


Unfinished business

• an event or an emotion of the past that is affecting you currently even when you are not aware of it now.

• Interferes with contact and awareness in the present

Major Concepts

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ⅠI. Change Mechanisms & Intervention Methods

Moving from the Problem State

to the Changed State

Problem State vs. Changed State

Change Facilitating Factor

Problem state : unawareness Changed state : awareness

• Not aware of freedom, responsibility, right to choose

- Everyone says that - Language that denies strength - You must be like that, too. - Asking to hide in a safe state

• Aware of freedom, responsibility, and right to choose

• Not aware of internal experiences - Not aware of anxiety, fear, emotions, need, physical sensations

• Aware of internal experiences

• Not aware of the boundary between the environment and self - Deny boundaries - Going over boundaries - Allowing violation of boundaries

• Aware of the boundaries

Problem State vs. Changed State

Facilitating awareness

Everything that can facilitate existential awareness

Everything that can facilitate awareness of internal experience

Everything that can facilitate awareness of external environment

• Explaining about freedom/responsibility, experiencing, contemplating, confronting reality

• Becoming aware of fear, empathizing, reflecting, confronting, experiencing, examining, staying

• Staying here-now

• Becoming aware of unfinished business and dealing with it


Providing a relationship that can be utilized by the client

Presence

Congruence, genuineness

Unconditional positive regard

Accurate empathy


Eliminating barriers to awareness

Confronting anxiety

Resolving unfinished business

Going to an unknown domain past the boundaries

(Example : OBQ: Out-of-Box Question)


Strategies and Techniques



Gestalt Approach

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ⅠI. Change Mechanisms & Intervention Methods


Acceptance, empathy, respect, genuineness

Carl Rogers

‘How can I treat, heal, and change a person?’ But as I gained more and more experience, I

realized that I cannot treat or heal someone. I was then asking myself, ‘How can I provide the relationship or environment that this person can utilize for his own growth?’

“When I was a novice counselor I asked myself.


Existential propositions are

Explained

Shown through counselor’s attitude

Shown through counselor’s life

Gestalt Approach

Increase awareness

Recognizing emotions

- Ex) staying with emotions

Awareness through self-talk

- Ex) Recognizing things said habitually

Awareness through reenactment

- Ex) Actually trying new behaviors, role playing

Gestalt Approach

Increase awareness

Awareness through dreams

- Ex) dream analysis

Awareness outside of counseling room

- Ex) behaviors, language habits in real life

Awareness through avoidance

- Ex) exploring what is being avoided

Current State and Prospect


Implications

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ⅠII. Theory’s Current State and Prospect


Questions asked to counselors

- Is it effective to just use the person-centered approach? No

- Do you utilize the person-centered approach? Yes

the basis for almost every counseling approaches

Identifying the common factor (Wampold)

Common factors Specific factors

Counselor’s attitude, values, interests etc.

Special factors that are specific to each approach

‘Identified highly effective common factors in counseling’


Developed into experientialism and emotion-focused approaches

Combined with imagery & exposure therapy of behavioral approach

Combined with the mindfulness approach


Implications

Awareness is stressed in most theories

Awareness of internal experiences

Awareness of inner anxiety/fear experiences

Importance of awareness

Psychoanalysis Awareness of anxiety

Attachment theory Containing, holding uncomfortable emotions

Behaviorism Confronting anxiety, exposure therapy, systematic desensitization

Cognitive ‘What-if’ technique

Experiential Becoming aware of what is physically and emotionally experienced Emotion-focused

Implications

Most theories stress choices and decisions.

Most directly mentions choice, decision, freedom, responsibility

Importance of existential choices and decisions

Importance of meaning and stories

Creating meaning

Finding and giving meaning to one’s experience

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