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SOCP121

Session 3

Dimensions of Wellness

Department of Social Sciences


Session Aim:

This session introduces students to the holistic approach to

gathering information from the clients. Various dimensions

of wellness, including spiritual dimension, will be explored;

as well as specific questions that can be utilized during the

session with the client (Six Dimensions of Wellness model).




Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, you should:

• Be able to identify various dimensions of wellness

• Be aware of the impact of spiritual dimension and unconsciousness on client’s wellbeing

• Understand Jungian concept of collective unconsciousness

• Understand the concept of holistic approach to treatment

• Be able to apply the Six Dimensions of Wellness model


Gathering Information

Holistic Approach

o Holistic approach to interview incorporates gathering

information about client’s mind, body, emotional

state, spirituality, social connections, etc.

o Allows to formulate a case with much deeper

understanding of all the factors that are affecting

client’s wellbeing

o Highlights the interrelatedness of all phenomena

and dimensions in client’s life


Carl Jung

• A Swiss psychiatrist, worked closely with Freud for years.

• Jung moved away from traditional psychoanalytical

approaches which emphasized logical reasoning to more

creative and symbolic ways of understanding personality.

• Interested in the study of mythological and religious

symbolism and the analogies between the contents of the

conscious in Western man and the myths, cults, and

rituals of primitive individuals.

• Recognized existence of the hidden dimensions, such as

collective unconsciousness and spirituality


Collective Unconsciousness

• The reservoir of our experiences as a species, a kind of knowledge we are all born with – yet we are not directly conscious of it.

• It influences our experiences, behaviors, emotions.

• Some experiences show the effects of the CuC more clearly than others: e.g. Love at first sight, déjà vu, immediate recognition of certain symbols – these can be understood as the sudden conjunction of our outer reality and the inner reality of the CuC.


Archetypes

• Contents of the “collective unconscious” are called

archetypes (or universal concepts) which all humans have

throughout time and across tribes & cultures. Some

examples include:

• Mother archetype – all our ancestors had mothers, we

relied on mother for survival & nurturing. We come into

this world ready to want mother, to seek her, to recognize

her. The mother archetype is our built-in ability to

recognize a certain relationship, that of mothering.


Archetype Examples

• Persona – mask or public face that we wear to protect ourself.

• Animus & Anima – represent both the biological & psychological aspects of masculinity & femininity which are thought to co-exist in both sexes.

• Shadow – Our dark side which include socially reprehensible thoughts, feelings and actions. We tend to disown “the shadow side”.

• The hero, wise old man, trickster


Four ways of interacting with the world

1. Sensory: getting info by means of the senses. Looking, listening – perceiving rather than judging.

2. Thinking: Evaluating info or ideas rationally, logically. Using reason rather than simple intake of information.

3. Intuitive: not a conscious process; e.g. knowing about a complex integration of large amounts of info

4. Feeling: uses evaluation by weighing one’s overall emotional response.

According to Jung, there are four ways of interacting with the world, including the unconscious processes:


Jungian Theory

• Whereas Freud viewed dreams as “the royal road to the unconscious” Jung extends on this through creative analysis and interpretation including using archetypes. He proposed that dreams reflect both an individual’s personal unconscious & the collective unconscious.

• Jung rejected Freud’s emphasis on libido or sexual drives and subsequently developed a spiritual approach that places great emphasis on being impelled to find meaning in life in contrast to being driven by the psychological and biological forces described by Freud.

Jung’s theory is based on the assumption that humans tend to move toward the fulfillment or

realisation of all of their capabilities (self-actualisation)


Abraham Maslow

Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow identified a hierarchy of needs and distinguished between deficiency and growth needs

The deficiency needs are:• Physiological: basic physical needs such as food and clothing

• Safety: feeling secure and free of tension, cruelty, injustice and uncertainty

• Love and belonging: accepted as part of a group, loved, wanted, respected

• Self-esteem: feeling good about ourselves from within our own self-worth

For deficiency needs lower level needs must be met before moving to the next level


Hierarchy of Needs

The following growth needs can only be acted upon once the deficiency needs are met:

o Cognitive: the need for knowledge and understanding Aesthetic: the need for order, beauty and symmetry

o Self-actualisation: self-development, integration, autonomy, becoming our best self

o Self-transcendence: looking for meaning and identity beyond the ego or assisting others with self-fulfilment


Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Source: http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/conation/maslow.html

BIOLOGICAL

EMOTIONAL

INTELLECTUAL

SPIRITUAL

EXISTENTIAL

SOCIAL

DIMENSIONS:

http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/conation/maslow.html


Roberto Assagioli

• An Italian psychiatrist. A pioneer in the fields of humanistic

and transpersonal psychology

• Funded “Psychosynthesis”: a transpersonal or spiritual

psychotherapy. A theory and practice of individual

development & growth.

• Each human being is not only a personality but also a soul.

• There is an inner, psychic realm below the threshold of

consciousness. The personality has a natural tendency toward synthesis

and ‘syntropy’ & the spontaneous organization of meaningful and coherent

fields within the psyche.

• Psychotherapy: Wide range of active techniques for individuals to use to

further their personal and spiritual development (symbols, myths,

imagery, etc).


Spirituality

• Ineffable

• Transcendent reality

• Central Focus :God, Gods, Goddess, Higher Being,

universal consciousness

• Comprises : souls, after-life

• Universal Spiritual Force: energy force, all pervasive,

omnipresent, harmonious

• Source of energy and purpose, often not recognized

dimension of human life


Class Activity

Brainstorming session

Describing Spirituality

Draw on a piece of paper how do you imagine that your

spirituality looks like.

Present your drawing to a partner

Why is it important to consider spirituality in your own life?

Why and how would you integrate spirituality when working

with a client?

Followed by a whole group discussion


Six Dimensions of Wellness

• Developed in 1979, National Wellness Institute in the

United State

• Identifies six equally important dimensions of wellness:

1. Physical

2. Emotional

3. Social

4. Occupational

5. Intellectual

6. Spiritual

• Emphasizes the importance of maintaining balance

between all dimensions of life



Source: National Wellness Institute. (n.d.). Six dimensional model of wellness. Retrieved from

http://www.nationalwellness.org/?page=Six_Dimensions


Class Activity


On a scale 1-10, how would you rate your current

wellbeing level in each dimension?

Work with a partner.

Ask them to draw their own Wheel.

Ask them to use a scale from 1 to 10

to rate their wellbeing in each dimension.


Class Activity

Questions: Holistic Initial Interview

• Brainstorm in class questions that you might ask your

clients during the initial interview to gather information

about their functioning in all dimensions of life.

• Make a list of questions

that you might utilise during

the initial interview role play

(Assessment 1).


Holistic

Interventions & Techniques

• Holistic interventions can include:

Meditation, contemplation, intuition, yoga,

biofeedback, breath training, inward focusing,

visualisation, dreamwork, guided imagery

• Attention is also given to sleep, exercise, diet, nutrition,

rest, leisure activities, body/posture movement and work


Revision Questions

• How can you define the collective

unconsciousness?

• What are the archetypes?

• What are the levels of Maslow’s hierarchy and how

do they relate to physical and mental wellbeing?

• How would you define spirituality?

• What are the six dimensions of wellness?


References

Assagioli, R. (1969). Symbols of transpersonal experiences. Journal of Transpersonal

Psychology, 1, 1133-45.

Assagioli, R. (2000). Psychosynthesis. Amherst, MA: Synthesis Center Press.

Battista, J. (1996). Abraham Maslow and Roberto Assagioli: Pioneers of transpersonal

psychology. In B. Scotten, A. Chinnen & J. Battista (Eds.), Textbook of transpersonal

psychiatry and psychology (pp. 52-61). New York, NY: Basic Books.

Corey, G. (2015). Theory and practice of counselling and psychotherapy (10th ed.).

Australia: Cengage Learning.

Huitt, W. (2007). Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta,

GA: Valdosta State University.

Jung, C.G., von Franz, M. L., Henderson, J.L., Jacobi, J., and Jaffe, A. (1964). Man and

his symbols. New York, NY: Anchor Press.\

National Wellness Institute. (n.d.). Defining wellness. Retrieved April 1, 2010, from

http://www.nationalwellness.org/?page=Six_Dimensions

department of social sciences · hierarchy of needs maslow identified a hierarchy of needs and...

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