Key words on the topic: read, translate, train the pronunciation, memorize.
psychotherapist, counseling, adaptation, behavior, observation, response, identification, potential, assumption, failure, preferences, to ignore, to suppress.
2. Read the text:
“The key to finding a good psychotherapist is to look for an individual who is caring, credible and giving”
Michael G . Conner, Psy.D, Clinical & Medical Psychologist
Psychotherapy is an activity that involves the examination of behavior and it requires work to solve problems. A behavior is anything we do. It can be any action, what you are thinking, what you say, a memory, a sensation or an emotion. Work is the redirection of anything we do that requires some degree of effort. This includes changing any behavior or the continuance of a behavior against other tendencies, habits or usual actions.
Psychotherapy and counseling have a great deal in common, but counseling is not psychotherapy. Counseling usually results in a realization, a plan or a decision. A therapist provides or helps you create an "environment filled with activities" that bring about change – almost like physical exercise.
What are the Underlying Principles Used in Psychotherapy?
There are hundreds of methods used to achieve the goals of psychotherapy. These methods are based on observation, research and theories that explain, predict or influence a change in our behavior. There are only a few underlying principles in psychotherapy.
●New awareness and insight changes our experience, response tendencies and choices.
●Practicing new behaviors will change other behaviors.
●New experiences can motivate us to take action, change and grow.
●Adults, and especially children, tend to adopt behaviors of the people they bond with.
●Advice, directions and techniques are not nearly as important as the therapeutic relationship and the resources that the person brings into therapy (See factors that create change)
●Hope, the desire to change and the expectation that change will happen are essential but not that powerful alone.
What are the Types of Psychotherapy?
●Individual Therapy
●Group Therapy
●Family Therapy
●Experiential Therapy
●Couples Therapy
How do Therapists Approach Psychotherapy?
●Examination of the past and early childhood experience.
●Changing present behavior in a strategic manner.
●Identifying and expressing your potential, your strengths and virtues.
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●Creating new experiences that change behavior, response tendencies and choices.
Problems That Respond Well to Psychotherapy
●Escape and Avoidance. Most of the problems faced in psychotherapy are the result of an unpleasant experience that causes people to change their behavior in order to escape or avoid that experience or the memory of that experience. The changes that occur in our behavior over time can be limiting and cause problems. Living to avoid and escape is not the same as living, loving and learning.
●Problem Behavior That Has a "Payoff". While most behavioral problems are unpleasant or ineffective, they may have a payoff (or benefit). The person may not recognize the payoff and they may honestly deny there is a payoff. Payoffs might include attention, extra care, emotional support or avoidance of something unpleasant. The payoff may not be noticeable or easily understood by family, friends and others.
● Lack of Awareness or Insight. Many problems are the result of inability to recognize the patterns, choices and the consequences of our behavior. In order to solve a problem, it must be understood in a way that creates a solution or allows us to change our behavior. We cannot make a choice unless we understand that there is a choice, when there is a choice and what choice to make.
●Misunderstanding Human Differences. Many people do not recognize or fully appreciate the differences that exist between men and women as well as individuals and groups of individuals. These differences can lead to the wrong assumptions and unrealistic expectations. Decisions and actions that are then taken based on these false assumptions and unrealistic expectation can cause problems. Learning to understand, respect and respond appropriately in the case of human differences is a principle solution to human suffering.
●Errors in Thinking. What we experience and the conclusions we make, can affect our choices, our behavior and how we respond in the future. Careful examination and correction of the way in which we think and the conclusion we make can be helpful. There are many actions that we take that are based on beliefs, assumption and thought processes that we have not examined and do not recognize.
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●Failure to Express our Identity or Potential. We are each born with a potential waiting to unfold, be experienced and to be expressed. The inability to recognize and express our potential can cause problems and especially symptoms of depression. We each have an intuitive recognition of when we are or are not using our abilities and potential. This applies to all aspect of our potential behavior. For example, most of us recognize that some children love to run, talk, create or explore the world. They have preferences and gifts. Problems surface when our deepest potentials are ignored, go unrecognized or are suppressed.
3. Answer the following questions:
a) What are the goals of psychotherapy?
b) How does a psychotherapist work?
c) Do children tend to adopt the behavior of the people they bond with?
d) What are the types of psychotherapy?
e) An unpleasant experience causes people to change their behavior, doesn’t it?
f) What is “Payoff” in the context?
g) Are there any differences between individuals and groups of the individuals?
h) What differences can lead to unrealistic expectations?
i) Is careful examination and correction of the way we think helpful?
j) What can cause depression?
4. Mark these statements TRUE (T) or FALSE (F):
1. Counseling radically differs from psychotherapy.
2. The inability to recognize and express our potential causes depression.
3. New experiences can motivate us to change and grow.
4. Living to avoid and escape means peaceful living style.
5. We recognize all actions we take.
6. We can’t make a choice unless we understand that there is a choice.
7.”Payoff” can be easily recognized.
8. False assumptions are caused by misunderstanding human differences.
9. A potential waiting to be unfold is not inborn.
10. Problems are quite vident when our inner potentials are suppressed.
CONTROL TEST (1)
1. I …………. my glasses when I fell.
a) was breaking b) broken c)broke
2. "I am writing an email to my girlfriend."
He told me that he …………….. an email to his girlfriend.
a) is writing b) was writing c) writes
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3. ……………… I borrow your pen for a minute?
a) Should b) Can c) Ought
4. I don't know why you insist on …………….. to Cambodia.
a) going b) to go c) to be going
5. John is …………… best teacher in our school.
a) a b) the c) an
6. I never ………………. you that I loved her; I only said that I liked her.
a) told b) have told c) was telling
7. I ………….. him stealing that woman's purse.
a) caught b) catched c) catch
8. Everyone understands English. English ……………….. by everyone.
a) is understood b) has been understood c) was understood
9. My cousin is …………… police officer.
a) the b) a c) an
10. You wouldn't feel so tired if you …………….. more.
a) will sleep b) slept
11. I saw that pen this morning. It ……………….. be around here somewhere.
a) should b) can c) must
12. When I mentioned ……………… married, she didn't say anything.
a) to get b) getting c) get
13. If he keeps …………… things from work, he's going to get fired.
a) to steal b) stealing c) have stolen
14. I've never been to ……………. mountains.
a) a b) the c) no article
15. They say that women are smarter than men.
Women ……………… to be smarter than men.
a) were being said b) were said c) are said
16. The doctor wants ……………. with you.
a) to speak b) speaking c) having spoken
17. I ………………… to Greece until Sally and I went there last summer.
a) have never been b) had never been c) was never being
18. He ………………… his granddaughter daily.
a) calling b) calls c) is calling
19. She ………………….. lunch when someone rang the doorbell.
a) was preparing b) prepared c) has been preparing
20. I already read the book that you gave me. Could you ……………. me another one?
a) to lend b) will lend c) lend
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21. I ………………….. believe that you failed your test!
a) have to b) can't c) shouldn't
22. If they hadn't been drunk, the doorman ………………..
a) would have let them in b) had let them in
23. The movie that we …………….. last Monday was really awful.
a) have seen b) saw c) were seeing
24. He ……………… her if she hadn't waved to him.
a) didn't see b) would not have seen c) will not have
25. I have been playing ……………….. tennis for three years.
a) no article b) a c) the
26. If my grandfather were younger, he ……………. so many things.
a) wouldn't forget b) didn't forget c) had forgotten
27. If animals could talk, I wonder what they ……………….
a) said b) would say
28. MY SISTER: "Don't lie to me." My sister asked me …………………. to her.
a) lie b) not lie c) not to lie
29. You ………………… yell at your parents. It's not nice.
a) shouldn't b) must c) can't
30. …………….. you always be so mean to everyone?
a) Can b) May c) Must
CONTROL TEST (2)
1. Recently the scientists in the US and Germany have announced they found an “anxiety” gene- which played a part in determining how anxious people ________, according to psychological tests measuring a trait called “harm avoidance”.
a) will be; b) are; c) were; d) is;
2. In modern times the subject of emotion ______ part of the subject-matter of several scientific disciplines-biology, sociology, psychology.
a) has become; b) will become; c) became; d) had to become;
3. Fortune-telling as a process of character analysis ______ take such forms as graphology, palmistry, etc.
а) must; b) are able; c) need d) can;
4. As a rule, as soon as a patient stops taking medicine and gives-up self-suggestion, the unpleasant sensations _____.
a) returned; b) would return; c)has returned; d)return;
5. The subjects ______didn’t see the violent version showed better retention of information.
a) that; b) which; c) these; d) who;
6. The things that were on your mind during the day appear as dreams, which people ______ for years and years.
a) discuss; b) were discussing; c) have been discussing; d) are discussed;
7. In the attempts to solve the problems of reproduction, plastic surgery _______ forward.
a) is moving; b) had moved; c) were moving; d) will have been moved;
8. Since psychology affects so many aspects of our lives it’s important, even for those who _______ to specialize in the field, to know something about its basic facts.
a) is intended; b) don’t intend; c) are; d) intends;
9. _________is to be moderate in behavior, not to “ lose one’s head.”
a) civilized; b) have been civilized; c) to be civilized; d) will civilize;
10. The development of a more accurate anatomy in the 17th century seems ______ some views on mind – body problem.
a) to have dampened; b) to dampen; c) was dampened; d) had dampened;
11 .Psychologists measure intelligence_______ a person’s performance in a set of standard tests.
a) observe; b) by observing; c) having observed; d) having been observed;
12. The typical result in this experimental study _______ that the subjects in the misled conditions incorporate and perform poorly.
a) is; b) were ; c) are; d) have been ;
13. She ________ to the new conditions of life, nothing could knock her down.
a) used to; b) having been used; c) being used; d) having got used;
14 .Bilateral representation of spatial functions _________ overload the linguistic hemisphere and interfere with its functioning.
a) might; b ) was able; c) must; d) have to;
15. If such an attempt could be carried out successfully, it_______ important data on the problem under review.
a) will give; b) gives; c) would give; d) would have given;
16. Paradoxically, the availability of IVF _______ lull women into infertility while they are waiting for a suitable partner and achieving security, comfortable living standards.
a) may; b) must; c) should; d) are;
17. The lecturer stressed that as a matter of fact, visual perception ______ best of all.
a) have studied; b) studies; c) had been studied; d) studied;
18. We are familiar with the experience of_______ .
a) being urged; b) urging; c) to be urging; d) to have urged;
19. Which area of brain _____________ speech?
a) does control; b) controls; c) control; d) do control;
20. Everyone may notice emotions ___________ our behavior.
a) affect; b) to have been affected; c) to affect; d) has affected;
21. Provided you follow my recommendations how to normalize your sleep activity, snoring ____________you.
a) troubles; b) would trouble c) trouble; d) won’t trouble;
22. Information in memory is transformed through_______.
a) thinking; b) thinker; c) think ; d) think-so;
23. They asked _______ or not that approach would be applied.
a) if; b) unless; c) whether; d) when;
24.Crowd behavior is characterized as a spontaneous collective reaction to a publicly observed event.
a) chaotic; b) gratifying; c) instinctive; d) interrupted;
25. An intensification of internal stress and conflict among social, racial groups has had
profound effects on education.
a) disruptive; b)significant; c) unavoidable; d) debilitating;
26. If a person is timid, we can’t call him.________.
a) shy; b) bottled-up; c) uncertain, d) confident;
27. If a person is ill-mannered, we can’t call him ______.
a) courteous; b) impolite; c) rude; d) boastful;
28. For many years people have been trying to discover the mystery of longevity.
a) to obtain; b) to get; c) to unravel; d) to develop;
29. Actually, he ________ with his parents well.
a) gets up to; b) gets on; c) gets down; d) gets over;
30. She _________ have tried to give up smoking-there is great concern about her lungs.
a) dare; b) ought ; c) can; d) should;
PART II.
SUPPLEMENTARY READING
PSYCHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE
Some of the Major Subfields of Psychology
By Kendra Cherry
The study and practice of psychology encompasses a vast range of topics and a large number of subfields and specialty areas have developed as a result. Because human behavior is so varied, the number of subfields in psychology is constantly growing and evolving.
Psychology can be roughly divided into two major sections: research, which seeks to increase our knowledge base, and practice, through which our knowledge is applied to solving problems in the real world.
Because psychology touches on a number of other subjects including biology, philosophy, anthropology, and sociology, new areas of research and practice are continually forming. Some of these subfields have been firmly established as areas of interest, and many colleges and universities offer courses and degree programs in these topics.
Biopsychology
This area of psychology is known by a number of titles including behavioral neuroscience, psychobiology, and neuropsychology.
Biopsychologists study the relationship between the brain and behavior, such as how the brain and nervous system impact our thoughts, feeling, and moods.
This field can be thought of as a combination of basic psychology and neuroscience.
Clinical Psychology
Clinical psychology is the largest specialty area in psychology.
These psychologists apply psychological principles and research to assess, diagnose, and treat patients with mental and emotional illnesses.
Clinicians often work in private practices, but many also work in community centers or at universities and colleges.
Developmental Psychology
Developmental psychologists study the physical and cognitive development that occurs over the course of the lifespan.
These psychologists generally specialize in an area such as infant, child, adolescent, or geriatric development, while others may study the effects of developmental delays.
Forensic Psychology
Forensic psychologists apply psychological principles to legal issues. This may involve studying criminal behavior and treatments, or working directly in the court system.
Forensic psychologists often conduct evaluations, screen witnesses, or provide testimony in court cases.
Industrial-Organizational Psychology
Psychologists in this field apply psychological principles to research on workplace issues such as productivity and behavior.
Some psychologists in this field work in areas such as human factors, ergonomics, and human-computer interaction.
Research in this field is known as applied research because it seeks to solve real world problems.
Personality Psychology
Personality psychologists study the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behavior that make each person unique.
These psychologists often work in academic settings as instructors or researchers.
Social Psychology
Social psychologists study social behaviors, including how individual self-image and behavior is impacted by interactions with others.
These psychologists often conduct research in academic settings, but others work in such areas such as advertising and government.
School Psychology
School psychologists work within the educational system to help children with emotional, social, and academic issues.
These psychologists collaborate with teachers, parents, and students to find solutions to academic, social, and emotional problems.
Most school psychologists work in elementary and secondary schools, but others work in private clinics, hospitals, state agencies, and universities. Some go into private practice and serve as consultants, especially those with a doctoral degree in school psychology.
http://psychology.about.com/od/psychology101/tp/facts-about-psychology.htm
What Are the Four Major Goals of Psychology?
By Kendra Cherry
Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior. While you might understand what psychology is, many people are not quite so certain about what psychology does. What purpose does psychology serve? What are its goals?
The four key goals of psychology are:
To Describe
One of the first goals of psychology is simply to describe behavior. Through describing the behavior of humans and other animals, we are better able to understand it and gain a better perspective on what is considered normal and abnormal. Psychology researchers utilize a range of research methods to help describe behavior including naturalistic observation, case studies, correlational studies, surveys, and self-report inventories.
To Explain
As you might imagine, psychologists are also interested in explaining behavior in addition to merely describing it. Why do people do the things they do? What factors contribute to development, personality, social behavior, and mental health problems? Throughout psychology's history, many different theories have emerged to help explain various aspects of human behavior. A few examples of such theories including classical conditioning and attachment theories. Some theories focus on just a small aspect of human behavior (known as mini-theories), while others serve as all-encompassing theories designed to explain all of human psychology (known as grand theories).
To Predict
Not surprisingly, another major goal of psychology is to make predictions about how we think and act. Once we understand more about what happens and why it happens, we can use that information to make predictions about when, why, and how it might happen again in the future.
Successfully predicting behavior is also one of the best ways to know if we truly understand the underlying causes of our actions. Prediction can also allow psychologists to make guesses about human behavior without necessarily understanding the mechanisms underlying the phenomena. For example, if researchers notice that scores on a specific aptitude test can be used to predict high school dropout rates, that information can then be used to estimate how many students in a particular group might drop out of school each year.
To Change
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, psychology strives to change, influence, or control behavior in order to make positive and lasting changes in people's lives. In our previous example, researchers might take what they know about the link between scores on an aptitude test and dropout rates and use the information to develop programs designed to help students stay in school. From treating mental illness to enhancing human well-being, changing human behavior is a huge focus of psychology.
In Review
So as you have learned, the four primary goals of psychology are to describe, explain, predict, and change behavior. In many ways, these goals are similar to the kinds of things you probably do every day as you interact with others. When dealing with a child, for example, you might ask questions like "What is he doing?" (describing), "Why is he doing that?" (explaining), "What would happen if I responded in this way?" (predicting), and "What can I do to get him to stop doing that?" (changing).
Obviously, psychologists and other social scientists ask many of the same types of questions. The big difference is that psychologists utilize the scientific method to rigorously test and systematically understand both human and animal behavior.
http://psychology.about.com/od/psychology101/f/four-goals-of-psychology.htm
FAMOUS PSYCHOLOGISTS
Jacques Lacan
Jacques Lacan is considered as one of the most controversial psycho-analyst since Freud. He was born on April 13, 1901. He remained one of the most influential figures in Parisian academic circles for most part of the twentieth century. His ideas have had a major influence on critical theory, literary theory, 20th-century French philosophy, sociology, feminist theory, film theory and clinical psychoanalysis. Lacan went to medical school and later studied psychoanalysis. He studied patients suffering from automatism, a psychological ailment in which the patient believes that his movements and speech are being controlled by an external force. For his doctorate in 1932, he wrote a paper drawing a connection between psychiatric medicine and psychoanalysis which became his practice throughout his lifetime.
In the early stages of his career, from 1926-53, Lacan progressed from conventional psychiatric treatment to gradual inclusion of clinical psychoanalysis. Published in 1936, the “Mirror Stage” was Lacan’s first formal contribution to the field of psychoanalysis. The essay concerns infants aged 6 to 18 months and notes that when an infant recognizes its own image in the mirror, it does not see the image as merely a reflection but as a unified being instead of “bits and pieces” that it perceives itself to be, due to motor incapacity. This, Lacan believes, leads to the formation of ego and acts as a stimulant to the child’s development.
Jacques Lacan came up with the “Theory of Three Orders”: the Imaginary, the Symbolic and the Real. The theory formed the backbone of the psychical subjectivity according to Lacan and his whole career revolved around developing this theory. The Imaginary consists of how we perceive others and how we perceive what they mean when they communicate with us and how we perceive from someone else’s perspective. This idea is central to the “ego formation” in the “Mirror Stage”. Symbolic order was the second idea in the theory. Lacan described it as the order of symbols, illustrations and imagery, where the individual is formed as a subject. He argued that the subconscious is governed by the order of the signifier as opposed to suppressed desires which was a common belief at the time. The Real is much more difficult to grasp. Throughout the 1960s until his death, the Real took on ever increasing number of aspects and associations. It is that which is excluded from Imaginary- Symbolic reality, elusive by nature, impossibility.
Although Jacques Lacan claimed: “It is up to you to be Lacanians if you wish. I am a Freudian”, in the years 1964-73, he drifted further from Freud and traditional psychoanalysis. His dissertation became distinctively “Lacanian”, as he became known for his neologisms and complex diagrams. Lacan endeavored to form a more exact mathematically based theory in his last years: A “meta-theory” of psychoanalysis using mathematics, casting the trio he conceived earlier (the Real, Symbolic, and Imaginary) in the language of mathematics rather than linguistics. By the time of his death in 1981, Lacan had become one of the most dominant and controversial intellects in the world. His work has a profound impact not only on philosophy and psychoanalysis but even on literature and film studies.
Jean Piaget
“The principal goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done.” – Jean Piaget, The Origins of Intelligence in Children, 1953.
Jean Piaget was a well-known Swiss psychologist. Born on 9th August, 1896, he was a philosopher as well as a developmental psychologist who laid great emphasis on educating children. He emphasized that education is the savior of the future generations as well as a necessity for healthy upbringing of the entire society. He studied natural history and philosophy. While working withAlfred Binet, developer of Binet intelligence tests, Piaget noticed a pattern in a set of questions that young children consistently answered wrong. This inspired him to delve further into children’s mind. Having realized the limitations of traditional research methods when conducting psychoanalysis on children, Piaget came up with a new method of examination. He conducted interviews where he would ask a series of standard questions and then based on their response, some non-standard questions. He reached the conclusion that the chain of reasoning in children and adults differs significantly. He observed that the knowledge that children acquire is grouped into schemas. Each new piece of information is either merged into the same schema, modifies the existing schema or creates a new schema altogether. He is mostly remembered for his contribution to research in children’s cognitive development.
Piaget observed the cognitive development of his own children and came up with a model to describe the stages that children pass through in the development of intelligence and reasoning. The theory consists of four stages; (1) the sensorimotor stage (2) the preoperational stage, (3) the concrete operational stage, and (4) the formal operation stage. He concluded that children’s reasoning was not faulty but when compared to adults it was erroneous due to the limited experiences of the children about the natural and social world. Jean Piaget believed that knowledge didn’t mean to learn some facts and be able to repeat them but to make connections and to understand how it all fits together. Thus he concluded that efforts to introduce abstract concepts to children at a young age would not result in conceptual learning but would only lead to memorization (rote learning). Although Piaget did not know how to apply his theories to education, he was a proponent of hands-on learning.
Numerous teachers have adopted his philosophy, moving on from traditional teaching methods to more interactive tactics for subjects such as science, math, languages and social studies. Overall, his work in child cognition transformed how children, their mental capabilities and their reasoning are perceived. Piaget died at the age of 84, having given birth to new fields in science including genetic epistemology, cognitive theory, and developmental psychology among others. During his lifetime, Piaget authored numerous books and papers including The Child’s Conception of the World (1926), The Origin of Intelligence in Children (1936), and The Early Growth of Logic in the Child (1958).
Melanie Klein
“One of the many interesting and surprising experiences of the beginner in child analysis is to find in even very young children a capacity for insight which is often far greater than that of adults.”- Melanie Klein
Melanie Klein was a true legend in the field of developmental psychology. Born on 30th March, 1882, in Austria she was a psychoanalyst known for devising therapeutic techniques for children. She studied in depth about the relationship between a mother and child in order to devise play therapy technique in the field of developmental psychology. Melanie Klein was also the pioneer of formulating object relations theory.
She spent her early life in Vienna, Austria. She wanted to attend medical school initially, but later she developed an interest in towards the field of psychoanalysis. Her first subjects were her own children in the field of psychoanalysis. She moved to Berlin in 1921, where she studied psychoanalysis under the supervision of Karl Abraham. Karl Abraham also performed psychoanalysis on her. Her impressive work performance in the field of psychoanalysis led him to Ernest Jones who was a British psychoanalyst. He invited her to London to work for him in 1926. She worked there until her death in 1960.
Besides, Karl Abraham, Sigmund Freud also played a significant role as an influencer on Melanie Klein. During the period of her research association with Sigmund Freud and her psychoanalyst daughter, Anna, Klein developed ideas that conflicted with the views of continental analysts. These controversial views forced the British Psychoanalytical society to split into three schools of thought known as Kleinian, Anna Freudian and independent.
Klein was the first psychologist who performed psychoanalysis on children. She was very innovative in applying her versatile techniques in working with children. This also assisted her in formulating theories related to infant development. Klein is also one of the pioneers of object relations theory. This theory depicts the process of establishing a psyche surrounding the growth of an individual as compared to an individual’s surroundings and environment. The foundation of the psyche consists of Eros and Thanatos. Eros denotes the “life instinct”, whereas, “Thanatos” denotes the “death instinct”. According to the theoretical framework developed by Melanie Klein all the living organisms are continually flowing towards an inorganic state. This inorganic state is known as Thanatos or “death instinct”. This also proved that humans are driven towards death. Melanie Klein and Sigmund Freud regarded the forces of Eros and Thanatos as the biomental forces that form the base of the psyche. She observed that children do their emotional communication while playing. After studying and observing numerous children playing with dolls, plasticine, paper and other toys, Klein developed a sense in interpreting the behavioral pattern of children while playing.
Melanie Klein was a thoroughly accomplished psychologist. It was due to the hard work of Melanie Klein that kleinian psychoanalysis became one of the major schools of thought within the field of psychoanalysis. She breathed her last on 22nd September, 1960, in London, England.
http://www.famouspsychologists.org/
Carl Rogers
Carl Rogers was instrumental in the development of non-directive psychotherapy, which he initially termed Client-centered therapy and he is known as the father of client-centered therapy. Throughout his career he dedicated himself to humanistic psychology and is well known for his theory of personality development.
Carl Ransom Rogers (January 8, 1902 – February 4, 1987) was an influential American psychologist, who, along with Abraham Maslow, was the founder of the humanist approach to clinical psychology.
The following has been adapted from Wikipedia: Carl Rogers and Personality Theories: Carl Rogers.
Rogers was born on January 8, 1902, in Oak Park, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. His father was a civil engineer and his mother was a housewife and devout Christian; Rogers was the fourth of six children.
Following an education in a strict religious and ethical environment, he became a rather isolated, independent and disciplined person, and acquired a knowledge and an appreciation for the scientific method in a practical world.
When Carl Rogers was 12, his family moved to a farm about 30 miles west of Chicago, and it was here that he was to spend his adolescence. He went on to the University of Wisconsin as an agriculture major. Later, he switched to religion to study for the ministry. During this time, he was selected as one of ten students to go to Beijing for the “World Student Christian Federation Conference” for six months. He tells us that his new experiences so broadened his thinking that he began to doubt some of his basic religious views.
After graduation, he married Helen Elliot (against his parents’ wishes), moved to New York City, and began attending the Union Theological Seminary, a famous liberal religious institution. Rogers switched to the clinical psychology program of Columbia University, and received his Ph.D. in 1931. He had already begun his clinical work at the Rochester Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
He was offered a full professorship at Ohio State University in 1940. In 1942, he wrote his first book, Counseling and Psychotherapy. In it, Rogers suggested that the client, by establishing a relationship with an understanding, accepting therapist, can resolve difficulties and gain the insight necessary to restructure their life.
Then, in 1945, he was invited to set up a counseling center at the University of Chicago. It was while working there, in 1951, he published his major work, Client-Centered Therapy, wherein he outlines his basic theory. In 1956 Rogers became the first President of the American Academy of Psychotherapists. In 1957 he arrived at the University of Wisconsin. However, following several internal conflicts at the department of psychology at Wisconsin, Rogers became disillusioned with academia.
In 1964, Rogers was selected 'humanist of the year' by the American Humanist Association, and he received an offer to join the staff of the Western Behavioral Studies Institute (WBSI) for research, which he accepted and then moved to La Jolla, California,. Rogers left the WBSI to help found the Center for Studies of the Person in 1968. He remained a resident of La Jolla for the rest of his life, doing therapy, speeches and writing until his sudden death in 1987. Rogers' last decade was devoted to applying his theories in areas of national social conflict, and he traveled worldwide to accomplish this.
In 1987, Rogers suffered a fall that resulted in a fractured hip. He had a successful operation, but his heart failed the next night and he died a few days later.
Carl Roger's Theory and Therapy
Roger’s theory is a clinical one, based on years of experience dealing with his clients. The theory is considered to be humanistic and phenomenological. His theory is based on nineteen propositions:
All individuals (organisms) exist in a continually changing world of experience (phenomenal field) of which they are the centre.
The organism reacts to the field as it is experienced and perceived. This perceptual field is "reality" for the individual.
The organism reacts as an organized whole to this phenomenal field.
A portion of the total perceptual field gradually becomes differentiated as the self. As a result of interaction with the environment, and particularly as a result of evaluational interaction with others, the structure of the self is formed - an organized, fluid but consistent conceptual pattern of perceptions of characteristics and relationships of the "I" or the "me", together with values attached to these concepts.
The organism has one basic tendency and striving - to actualize, maintain and enhance the experiencing organism.
The best vantage point for understanding behavior is from the internal frame of reference of the individual.
Behavior is basically the goal directed attempt of the organism to satisfy its needs as experienced, in the field as perceived.
Emotion accompanies, and in general facilitates, such goal directed behavior, the kind of emotion being related to the perceived significance of the behavior for the maintenance and enhancement of the organism.
Values experienced directly by the organism, and in some instances are values interjected or taken over from others, but perceived in distorted fashion, as if they had been experienced directly.
As experiences occur in the life of the individual, they are either, a) symbolized, perceived and organized into some relation to the self, b) ignored because there is no perceived relationship to the self structure, c) denied symbolization or given distorted symbolization because the experience is inconsistent with the structure of the self.
Most of the ways of behaving that are adopted by the organism are those that are consistent with the concept of self.
In some instances, behavior may be brought about by organic experiences and needs which have not been symbolized. Such behavior may be inconsistent with the structure of the self but in such instances the behavior is not "owned" by the individual.
Psychological adjustment exists when the concept of the self is such that all the sensory and visceral experiences of the organism are, or may be, assimilated on a symbolic level into a consistent relationship with the concept of self.
Psychological maladjustment exists when the organism denies awareness of significant sensory and visceral experiences, which consequently are not symbolized and organized into the gestalt of the self structure. When this situation exists, there is a basic or potential psychological tension.
Any experience which is inconsistent with the organization of the structure of the self may be perceived as a threat, and the more of these perceptions there are, the more rigidly the self structure is organized to maintain itself.
Under certain conditions, involving primarily complete absence of threat to the self structure, experiences which are inconsistent with it may be perceived and examined, and the structure of self revised to assimilate and include such experiences.
When the individual perceives and accepts into one consistent and integrated system all his sensory and visceral experiences, then he is necessarily more understanding of others and is more accepting of others as separate individuals.
As the individual perceives and accepts into his self structure more of his organic experiences, he finds that he is replacing his present value system - based extensively on introjections which have been distortedly symbolized - with a continuing organismic valuing process.
Carl Rogers is best known for his contributions to therapy. His therapy has gone
through a couple of name changes along the way: He originally called it non-directive, because he felt that the therapist should not lead the client, but rather be there for the client while the client directs the progress of the therapy. As he became more experienced, he realized that, as "non-directive" as he was, he still influenced his client by his very "non-directiveness!" In other words, clients look to therapists for guidance, and will find it even when the therapist is trying not to guide.
So he changed the name to client-centered. He still felt that the client was the one who should say what is wrong, find ways of improving, and determine the conclusion of therapy -- his therapy was still very "client-centered" even while he acknowledged the impact of the therapist.
The terms non-directive and client-centered are still used, most people just call it Rogerian therapy. One of the phrases that Rogers used to describe his therapy is "supportive, not reconstructive," and he uses the analogy of learning to ride a bicycle to explain: When you help a child to learn to ride a bike, you can't just tell them how. They have to try it for themselves. And you can't hold them up the whole time either. There comes a point when you have to let them go. If they fall, they fall, but if you hang on, they never learn.
It's the same in therapy. If independence (autonomy, freedom with responsibility) is what you are helping a client to achieve, then they will not achieve it if they remain dependent on you, the therapist. They need to try their insights on their own, in real life beyond the therapist's office! An authoritarian approach to therapy may seem to work marvelously at first, but ultimately it only creates a dependent person.
There is one technique that Rogerian therapists are particularly known for: reflection. Reflection is the mirroring of emotional communication: If the client says "I feel horrible!" the therapist may reflect this back to the client by saying something like "So, life's getting you down, hey?" By doing this, the therapist is communicating to the client that he is indeed listening and cares enough to understand.
The therapist is also letting the client know what it is the client is communicating. Often, people in distress say things that they don't mean because it feels good to say them. For example, a woman once came to me and said "I hate men!" I reflected by saying "You hate all men?" Well, she said, maybe not all -- she didn't hate her father or her brother or, for that matter, me. Even with those men she "hated," she discovered that the great majority of them she didn't feel as strongly as the word hate implies. In fact, ultimately, she realized that she didn't trust many men, and that she was afraid of being hurt by them the way she had been by one particular man.
Reflection must be used carefully and it must be genuine. Which brings one to Rogers' famous requirements of the therapist. Rogers felt that a therapist, in order to be effective, must have three very special qualities:
1. Congruence -- genuineness, honesty with the client.
2. Empathy -- the ability to feel what the client feels.
3. Respect -- acceptance, unconditional positive regard towards the client.
He says these qualities are "necessary and sufficient:" If the therapist shows these three qualities, the client will improve, even if no other special "techniques" are used. If the therapist does not show these three qualities, the client's improvement will be minimal, no matter how many "techniques" are used.
Mindfulness Improves Reading Ability, Working Memory,
and Task-Focus
Mar. 26, 2013
If you think your inability to concentrate is a hopeless condition, think again -- and breathe, and focus. According to a study by researchers at the UC Santa Barbara, as little as two weeks of mindfulness training can significantly improve one's reading comprehension, working memory capacity, and ability to focus.
Their findings were recently published online in the empirical psychology journal Psychological Science.
"What surprised me the most was actually the clarity of the results," said Michael Mrazek, graduate student researcher in psychology and the lead and corresponding author of the paper, "Mindfulness Training Improves Working Memory Capacity and GRE Performance While Reducing Mind Wandering." "Even with a rigorous design and effective training program, it wouldn't be unusual to find mixed results. But we found reduced mind-wandering in every way we measured it."
Many psychologists define mindfulness as a state of non-distraction characterized by full engagement with our current task or situation. For much of our waking hours, however, we are anything but mindful. We tend to replay past events -- like the fight we just had or the person who just cut us off on the freeway -- or we think ahead to future circumstances, such as our plans for the weekend.
Mind-wandering may not be a serious issue in many circumstances, but in tasks requiring attention, the ability to stay focused is crucial.
To investigate whether mindfulness training can reduce mind-wandering and thereby improve performance, the scientists randomly assigned 48 undergraduate students to either a class that taught the practice of mindfulness or a class that covered fundamental topics in nutrition. Both classes were taught by professionals with extensive teaching experience in their fields. Within a week before the classes, the students were given two tests: a modified verbal reasoning test from the GRE (Graduate Record Examination) and a working memory capacity (WMC) test. Mind-wandering during both tests was also measured.
The mindfulness classes provided a conceptual introduction along with practical instruction on how to practice mindfulness in both targeted exercises and daily life. Meanwhile, the nutrition class taught nutrition science and strategies for healthy eating, and required students to log their daily food intake.
Within a week after the classes ended, the students were tested again. Their scores indicated that the mindfulness group significantly improved on both the verbal GRE test and the working memory capacity test. They also mind-wandered less during testing. None of these changes were true of the nutrition group.
"This is the most complete and rigorous demonstration that mindfulness can reduce mind-wandering, one of the clearest demonstrations that mindfulness can improve working memory and reading, and the first study to tie all this together to show that mind-wandering mediates the improvements in performance," said Mrazek. He added that the research establishes with greater certainty that some cognitive abilities often seen as immutable, such as working memory capacity, can be improved through mindfulness training.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130326133339.htm
Sleep Disorders
by Kendra Cherry
Even though sleep is a necessary element for mental and physical wellbeing, only approximately one-third of Americans get the recommended eight hours of sleep a night. One major national survey of adults in the United States found that more than 50 percent reported experiencing symptoms of insomnia several times a week. While you would probably say that you often feel sleepy at some point during the day (perhaps after a large meal or when facing a project you don't want to start), some people suffer from sleep disorders that inhibit their ability to sleep properly. The American Psychological Association (APA) defines sleep disorders as major disturbances to the regular sleep pattern that result in psychological distress and disrupt normal functioning during the day.
Insomnia
Insomnia is characterized by the inability to fall or stay asleep. It is by far the most common sleep disorder, with nearly 60 percent of American adults suffering from it at least once a week. People who suffer insomnia desire and feel the need for sleep, but for some reason are unable to get the amount of sleep their bodies need. Insomnia can be caused by a variety of things. It can be the result of psychological factors such as anxiety, worry, or depression; biological factors such as the effect of stimulants used before bed, arthritis, or hot flashes during menopause; or environmental factors such as noises emitted from loud neighbors, trains, or traffic.
While insomnia may seem to be just a nuisance, if you are unable to resolve the problem (such as avoiding caffeine or keeping a regular bedtime and rising schedule), see your doctor and discuss the problem. Sleep is vital to your mental and physical health, so take whatever measures you can to ensure proper rest for your body.
Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder in which a person's breathing stops for a moment, causing the person to choke, gasp, and wake up momentarily. Impacting an estimated 20 million Americans, it is the second most common sleep disorder. An individual suffering from sleep apnea will fall back asleep once normal breathing resumes and often doesn't even realize he has woken up. This can happen hundreds of times a night, thus interrupting the stages of sleep and causing exhaustion. Sleep apnea is a serious disorder and is potentially life threatening. It can also cause an irregular heart-beat or high blood pressure.
Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder in which a person suffers unpredictable attacks of daytime sleepiness. Onset of this disorder usually occurs during adolescence, and it affects an estimated 250,000 people in the United States. The urge to sleep is irresistible and can last anywhere from five to thirty minutes for each attack. Though this disorder has been the subject matter for several comedy skits, the condition is a serious neurological disorder and can cause the individual harm depending on what the person is doing when the attacks occur. People can fall asleep in the middle of a conversation, or most dangerously perhaps, a narcoleptic person may suffer an attack while driving and cause a serious accident.
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