Person-Centered and Psychodynamic Counseling - Essay Example

Theory and Personal Development - Person centered and Psychodynamic Counseling Person centered and psychodynamic counseling are contrasting but related methods of psychological counseling. Essentially, person-centered counseling involves an exploration of how a person perceives themselves consciously, whereas psychodynamic counseling relies upon a more traditional approach of discovering maladaptive functions that have developed early in life and which are, to one extent or another, unconscious in their effect upon the person (Jacobs, 1989). In my own life I have discovered that both types of counseling might be appropriate for the "average person" (represented by myself) who is influenced both by past experiences and present perceptions. The psychodynamic theory originated with von Brucke's publication of Lectures on Physiology in 1874. Freud was a student of von Brucke's and took on many of his ideas regarding psychology. The psychodynamic approach is epitomized by classic psychoanalysis, in which the patient seeks to experience the "truth" about themselves through breaking down the defenses that have built up to prevent them from reliving the events and processes in their past that have created the problems they are experiencing in the present day. This approach states that present conditions have identifiable causes in the past. Cause and effect is at work. Within my own life psychodynamic counseling might be suitable for uncovering my feelings and experienced in growing up with a brother who had learning disabilities and who received attention and financial support from my parents that at the time I felt was being withheld from me. Psychodynamic counseling might enable me to answer the question of whether this now distant feeling of being rejected influences me today. Are there stresses within my present personal relationships that reflect this past feeling of abandonment Sibling rivalry is of course a generally accepted fact of most psychological models, but in my case is it exasperated and thus lengthened because of the unique circumstances of my relationship with my brother The psychodynamic approach might also be used to explore the fact that I had a "caretaker" role within my family at a comparatively young age, due to my mother's multiple pregnancies and what I now identify as post-partum depression. Did I become self-reliant to an unhealthy extent, thus distancing myself from people Again, this type of approach would seek to uncover the true nature (and thus influence) of these past experiences and seek to apply them to my present psychological state. In the psychodynamic state, the past is indeed prologue to present. Further, it is almost determinative in nature (Parkes, 1971). In contrast, the person-centered, or humanistic counseling, would concentrate upon the manner in which I perceive myself consciously in the present and would only consider my childhood as it directly affects my present situation. Thus the fact that I desire to have children, but have so far been unable to get pregnant might be explored vis--vis my mother's bad pregnancy experiences. This past would be a direct effect upon my conscious mind however, rather than the sub/unconscious influence that might prevail within the psychodynamic model and which would thus need to be revealed to me through my psychotherapist. As Jacobs (1986) suggests, the psychotherapist needs to be sure that he/she does not dominate the process to the degree that the actual subject is lost within a morass of interpretation. I am also presently considering whether if my husband and I do have children they will experience the same poor childhood that I did. Essentially, will I be as bad a mother as my mother was The person-centered approach would take this question at face value - and essentially assume that my mother was indeed a bad mother - and explore how this belief influences me in the present day. Psychodynamic counseling would explore how I had come to the conclusion that my parents were bad parents, and what effect it had on me at the time, and how that had been subsumed over the years. The present feelings of doubt regarding what type of parent I will be would be merely precursors to discovering their origins within my children. The person-centered approach would appear to offer a more "personal" approach to psychology, and might thus be more client-friendly. The approach was developed by the humanist Carl Rogers in the 1940's and 1950's and is called "counseling" rather than "psychotherapy" for a reason. There is an apparent looseness and freedom to the person-centered approach that does not exist within the more scientific, structured and rigid approach of psychotherapy. Rogers sought to have a more personal relationship with his client than previous psychotherapists had experienced. Thus the association and transference that Freud identified as a weakness within the therapist-client relationship was metamorphosed into a virtue within the Rogers paradigm. Essentially within person centered counseling the patient is encouraged to express their feelings and the therapist does not (as he most positively would) suggest how the patient might change their feelings and behavior. Rather, the therapist listens and mirrors back what the patient says to them, helping the patient explore and understand their feelings for themselves. The very lack of structure and set method within the person centered approach that is criticized by proponents of psychodynamics is regarded as a route towards personal growth. A set structure, in which a patient is essentially fitted into a scientific paradigm and technique, is seen as simplifying the actual experience of the patient according to person centered therapists. The idea of individuals being unique, discrete bundles of feeling, mood, experience and emotion leads directly towards the more laissez-faire attitude of the person-centered approach. One aspect of my present life that might lend itself to both approaches, and which suggests that they are not as mutually exclusive as their more vehement supporters suggest, is the situation regarding the apparent inability of my husband and I to get pregnant. I had previously wondered whether there was "something wrong" with me, or whether my bad childhood experiences, and resulting doubts as to my own potential worth as a parent, were influencing my ability to get pregnant. Essentially I wondered whether there was some kind of unidentifiable biofeedback occurring in which my body was stopping itself from getting pregnant because of psychological doubts. All of these feelings would seem to lend themselves to the psychodynamic approach. However, within the last few months we have discovered that it is in fact my husband who has infertility problems, and we are going to undergo IVF within the next two months. Person centered counseling might enable me to explore my feelings towards my husband regarding this situation. It is unlikely that a psychodynamic approach would be effective because there is little or nothing in my past that would have a natural effect upon my attitude towards this situation. My husband's infertility is a physical fact, one that could only have been discovered in the last few years. However, my poor childhood experiences of parenting might have an effect upon my subconscious or unconscious view of my husband as a father and husband. Might Freudian or Jungian analysis reveal latent feelings of mistrust towards my father that have been transferred to my husband Do I, however far from my conscious desires it might be, regard him as a "less of a man" because he cannot make me pregnant through the ordinary method Psychodynamic therapy might reveal truths about my attitude that I do not want to consciously know about, let alone explore in detail. Again, my experience of such therapy would be less comfortable that the person centered counseling that would not seek to reveal some objective 'Truth' but rather explore the general circumstances of my current situation. One aspect of my development as a counselor is my experiences as a volunteer telephone counselor for those in a crisis situation. Many of the callers to the charity that I volunteer for are suicidal and are thus experiencing extremes of emotion, and perhaps even mental illness, that hardly relate to my own experiences of psychological tension which are essentially within the parameters of a normal, functioning adult. It seems as though the person centered approach is by far the most appropriate to the suicide crisis intervention hotline that occurs in this form of counseling. The counselor does not have the time to indulge in psychoanalysis within the suicide intervention situation. Indeed, the attempt to uncover uncomfortable truths about a person's past, often dealing with unpleasant experiences and emotions from childhood, might actually catalyze the suicidal intentions rather than staunching them. Psychoanalysis can bring out potentially dangerous emotions in even healthy subjects, let alone a person who is desperate enough to be considering suicide. The fact that a person is suicidal and yet also realizes the seriousness of the situation enough to actually call the suicide line shows that he/she is in a paradoxical situation which they both want to end their troubles and yet also want to solve them. The person who calls my line is considering suicide and yet wants to be persuaded not to commit suicide. Essentially, they wish to understand their situation. The gentle, calm approach of person-centered counseling is an ideal way to at least enable the suicidal subject to weather the current, immediate crisis. The reflection of whatever positive, reinforcing facts/emotions that the caller tells about themselves from the counselor to the subject may enable the person to avoid taking the tragic, final step. The realization that there is a future, however bleak it might currently seem, is accentuated by the person centered approach. To conclude, the two approaches to mental health there are revealed within the psychodynamic and person centered approaches in many ways mirror far wider questions regarding the true nature of human psychology. The psychodynamic view, rooted within the Freudian and Jungian techniques, suggests that adult human behavior is dictated by childhood experiences. In the same way that a scientist can say with a reasonable degree of certainly how a particular rock was formed by knowing its constituent elements and minerals, so a psychotherapist can uncover the reasons for a patient's current condition in her past. Psychodynamic counseling has at least a claim towards the scientific method, with all the rigidity and empirical power that go along with that paradigm. The human being is explicable because he./she can be placed within an explicable system that has measurable criteria. The person centered approach has more of a humanistic feel to it than this, and thus possesses all the uncertainty that such disciplines are characterized by. Each human being is unique, and their current situation and past experience is unique. Any attempt to fit these several sets of unique criteria within a set paradigm is doomed to failure for two reasons. First, because they will not fit and second, if they are 'forced' to fit by a kind of tortured simplification, then they will be remote from their actual characteristics. Paradoxically, the person centered approach suggests that the psychodynamic method is in fact less accurate in its portrayal and examination of an psychology than its own approach. It brings the very scientific principles of the psychodynamic approach against it. Yet the reality may be that both approaches are in fact efficacious. One may suit one patient, the other another patient, and, as my own history has shown, circumstances within a single person's life may lend themselves to one or other technique. Rather than seeing them within an essentially adversarial or confrontational position vis--vis one another, the best approach is a both/and method rather than either/or. Understanding of even the most basic elements of human psychology is still essentially embryonic in form as the processes at work within the human brain that influence such basic elements of psychology as emotion and memory are still not understood. Those that claim otherwise are simplifying the situation. ______________________________________________ Works Cited Jacobs, M. Presenting Past: An Introduction to Practical Psychodynamic Counseling. Taylor & Francis, New York: 1986. Jacobs, M. Psychodynamic Counseling in Action. Sage, London: 1989. Parkes, C. "Psycho-Social Transitions: Fields for Study In". Soc. Sci & Med, p. 101-115, 1971. Von Brucke, Ernest. Lectures on Physiology. Vienna, 1874. Read More