Interview with Dr. Michael Winters - Essay Example

Interview with Dr. Michael Winters For this paper, I interviewed Dr. Michael Winters, a licensed psychologist in Texas. Aside from being the associate director of the Rice University Counseling Center, he maintains a private practice focusing on individual and couples counseling, specializing in singles issues and helping couples discover meaning in their relationships. As a licensed practitioner of and a firm believer in the merits of logotherapy, the search for and discovery of meaning plays a significant role in Dr. Winters' professional, clinical, teaching, and research activities. The search for meaning has had a strong basis in Dr. Winters' background, as reflected by his two choices for a college major: Theater or Psychology. Broadway's loss was psychology's gain, as he found the search for meaning more lucrative and challenging than, in a sense, its interpretation. After undergraduate and Masteral studies at Purdue, he went to Tennessee for his doctorate at the University of Memphis in 1991. However, it was not until two years ago (in 2005) that he embraced logotherapy, which is based on Frankl's insights on the beneficial psychological effects of the search for and discovery of meaning in human experience (Frankl, 1984/19871998). Frankl has had a substantial impact on Dr. Winters' life and profession, and logotherapy research has become a huge part of his academic and clinical practice. As a counseling strategy, he uses logotherapy, which fits with the question that he asks every time he faces any of his clients: "how do I help this person to help him/herself move forward" (Winters, 2007) Dr. Winters' extensive experience, however, does not limit his counseling strategy to logotherapy. He also uses behavioral techniques (Yalom, 1980) and other noted theories to incorporate into counseling, depending on what in his best judgment would be most helpful to clients. At other times, he uses Bibliotherapy or Biblical Counseling, or other faith-based counseling, but only if the client wants it. I also noted that in line with the APA Code of Ethics (2002, 2.01 (b) and 3), he does not discriminate on religious grounds and does not impose his values on clients nor present a religious perspective. He admits that some clients speak about God, but when they turn fatalistic, he reminds them of the importance of personal effort. Among college students, though, Dr. Winters addresses more faith-based issues in search of solutions. Dr. Winters is also an expert on clinical depression, and a considerable amount of time was spent during the interview discussing this topic. We started by discussing the symptoms, which are primarily anxiety, pessimism, and lethargy. When asked what the causes of depression are, he paused for several seconds before answering: "anything". Depression is a chemical reaction that affects the mind, and this can be triggered by anxieties over relationships (romantic or otherwise), emotional or physical or psychological trauma. Among young people, common triggers of depression are issues with parents, relationships, or friends, or the search for and development of individual identity. If there is what he could call a master variable that helps one to avoid depression, it is the value of social networking. He noted from his clinical and professional experience that people who know how to get the most out of their social relationships with family, friends, and a special other are farthest away from depression. I guess that an important consideration here is the sense of security that a person feels, allowing him/her to maintain their identity in social relationships, free of false expectations and desires to be what they are not. As Dr. Winters shares with his clients, if they are not happy and truly getting their needs in their relationships, then they should either end it or fix it, working on the issues unless there is violence. He encourages his clients in a depression to move beyond a definition of love that is based on what they could get out of a relationship to one that is based on what they could give to it. This is based on his clinical experience that giving is more beneficial to the relationship than wanting to receive. He admits that a real danger exists when a client is chronically depressed and feeling beat down even with medication, in which case he insists that they be hospitalized because these become a danger to themselves and may become suicidal, after which it would be too late to fix anything. Dr. Winters also admitted that he worries over these clients of his and sees depression as a difficult to tame four-headed beast that is biological, psychological, social, and existential (or spiritual) in nature (Yalom, 1980). The threat from depression's biological nature can be reduced with physical activity. The psychological threat, which makes depressed people focus only on the negative, can be reduced by helping them see the positive side, the blessings of life. The social nature of depression can be addressed by encouraging them to participate on social activities to distract the mind. Logotherapy works best with the fourth aspect of the depression beast - its existential root. By finding meaning in life, a depressed mother can work hard and alleviate her depression to get the best for her baby (Winters, 2002; Lucas, 2000). A good combination, though, would be to use both logotherapy-based counseling and medication. At its basic, depression is a problem in living, so what Dr. Winters does is to encourage his clients to explore life, enjoy it as much as they could, and not to be judgmental even in the face of failure. While the common symptoms of depression can be hellish - sleep disturbance, frustration, loss of appetite and concentration, low motivation and self-esteem, suicidal thoughts and disengaging from others - those who suffer from depression show a heightened level of sensitivity towards others. When I asked him whether financial worries are a major cause of depression, he agreed that while there is a strong correlation between income and happiness, this applies only to those in the lower social classes, but not as much for those in the middle classes. He also notes that his patients are predominantly Caucasians, and that the main reason is the stigma in other cultures (Asian, Hispanics, and African-American) over psychological counseling, which is a pity because he estimated that two out of three people suffering from clinical depression are not getting the treatment they need. For example, he cited that some Chinese students do not believe that what they say during counseling sessions would be truly confidential. Those who recover from a depression have gone through a trial of inner strength and virtue, which is why he finds them better and greater for it. During the interview, I asked him about something I noticed from his website, the use of Journals that he recommends to clients. He admitted that using a Journal has several advantages, one of which is consistent with the logotherapy principle that each person is unique, and that having a venue for self-expression such as a Journal (permanence, uniqueness, and spontaneity) is a good way of establishing each one's unique nature, helping in his client's therapy. Aside from teaching and conducting clinical practice, Dr. Winters offers classes and workshops for couples at the Continuing Education Department of Rice University. These classes focus on marriage, notably pre-marital counseling which Dr. Winters argues is a big part of marriage. "I think couples should set aside half of their wedding expense for counseling", he quipped, "to prepare them for the stresses that come with the relationship" (Winters 2007). Dr. Winters likens relationship counseling to dental care, an oft-neglected but necessary regular check-up that can help couples enjoy a good, lasting, and healthy relationship in the midst of the trials and travails of daily life. After sharing with me some of book titles that have helped his patients, his answer to my parting question was that the biggest challenge for him "is staying balanced and being emphatically in tune with each client as a unique person and human being in need of consistent care" (Winters, 2007). This gives meaning to his life of service. Reference List American Psychological Association. (2002). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. (Adopted August 21, 2002). Washington, DC: Author. Frankl, V. E. (1998). A psychiatrist looks at love. The International Forum for Logotherapy, 21(1), 50-53. Frankl, V. E. (1987). On the meaning of love. The International Forum for Logotherapy, 10(1), 5-8. Frankl, V.E. (1984). Man's search for meaning (Revised and updated). New York: Washington Square. Lucas, E. (2000). Logotherapy textbook (Lehrbuch der logotherapie, Tr. by Theodor Brugger) Toronto: Liberty. Winters, M. R. (2002). A logotherapeutic treatment for relationship therapy: Early explorations. The International Forum for Logotherapy, 25(1), 11-23. Winters, M. R. (2007). Interview with the author. 6 June 2007. Yalom, I. (1980). Existential psychotherapy. New York: Basic. Read More