After reading and meditating on the reading and classroom work, I have a few comments and questions pertaining to the material. First, I was surprised to find that in post-Freudian counseling there are three sects; I use to believe that practitioners of this theory stuck with Freud's original model, id, ego, superego and early experiences only. In the text, there is ego psychology, object-relations, and self-psychology. All three have slight differences from one another, yet the three theories all have one thing in common--relationships! I found this concept interesting that modern counseling acknowledges relationships as primary factors in one's development. In chapter five of the text, one thing stood out: the logic of the theory of behaviorism and the illogical stance from its origin--naturalism. Apart from the origin and the view of humans, behaviorism is a good theory because one can observe behavior. From this stand point one only has to interpret the behavior, and how/why the individual learned to behave in such ways. The client is not asses, but their behavior is assessed in this theory; this can be a good attitude considering people are not defined by their actions, alone. Lastly, the cognitive theory has pluses and minuses as well. Studying the thought process can, and is helpful for the counselor trying to understand their client; however, figuring out the client's thoughts can lead to rabbit trails and misdiagnoses (Jones& Butman, 2011). Think about it, one counselor's interpretation of thoughts can and does differ from another counselor's thoughts on thinking processes. I am enjoying working with my triad in this class and have learned much from them! The reading is not difficult, but putting the techniques into practice, seeing myself on camera, and learning not to be too quick to give advice is definitely helping me grow to help others more effectively. Learning to work together with other people has helped me tremendously over the years!
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Butman, Richard E., Jones, Stanton L. (2011).
Modern Psychotherapy.
Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic.
James reading your blog was very interesting. You of course came from a totally different perspective than I would which is why we are not all clones. Rabbit trails is always a danger and learning to draw the line as a counselor is not only good but absolutely necessary. We must be the foundation of the relationship and allow the counselee to enjoy the freedom to discover their truth.
ReplyDeleteHello Keith,
DeleteI agree with you that rabbit trails can be dangerous in a counseling setting. Rabbit trails are not always bad; look at the movie the Matrix, and Alice in Wonderland (smiles). Yes, we must draw lines when in a professional role, good thought! Did you mean discover absolute truth, or the client discover their truth as in truth is relative, or subjective truth? Thanks for your thoughts and what you "bring to the table."
Dear James,
ReplyDeleteGreat job looking into ego-psychology, object relations, and self-psychology. I appreciate how you found a common aspect within the three. Relationships are a vital part of counseling. In my post I talked about how there is a lot of responsibility on the counselor to control the environment, which in turn will influence the relationship between the client and counselor. Additionally, I too am learning a lot from my triad and the way that they operate. Being able to see their different strengths has helped me improve in my weaknesses. I enjoy this book as well! The authors describe techniques or concepts in a way that are easy to understand and are applicable to our triad sessions.
Keep up the good work,
Camille
Thanks for your encouragement, Camille! I am happy to hear you are growing through others, the text, and in the triads. I'll check out your blog as always and look forward to reading your blog.
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