Psychological Issue Summary - Assignment Example

Running Head: Altruism and Cognitive Behavioral Therapies. Department Having violent experiences in the families or the society may shake the child’s development in terms of belief create the sense of being in a violent environment. The feeling of vulnerability and vie of other persons in the family as dangerous may lead to hostility and aggression in children culminating in functional difficulties and behavioral disorders. But some of the people who suffer violence recover and turn to their families, showing more help and care for others.

This phenomenon is referred to as Altruism Born of Suffering in behavioral psychology (Staub, 2005). In this paper I will be focusing on the use of altruism theory and cognitive behavioral therapies to assist clients cope with family relationships, interactions with peers, aggression and academic difficulties. Just by the fact that an individual feels victimization or being the target of violence trauma can be triggered which leading the affected individual to a defensive, anxious attitude towards the environment he/she lives.

There are cases where resilience has been shown by individuals after encountering traumatizing experiences; they adapt positively and come back to mental stability. Altruism is identified as a significant factor promoting this resilience and using the altruism theory as therapists we focusing on encouraging individuals overcome maladaptive behavior by staying positive. By helping the children develop high esteem of self, social awareness, strong internal controls, being optimistic, humorous and good intellectual function we mitigate the risks of antisocial behavior.

The family is very important; good parenting, strong family bonds, constant induction of discipline and empathy are emphasized. Focus is also directed at the wider society by encouraging the children to participate in social activities such as soccer tournaments, connecting the children with pro-social groups, good peer groups, cohesion in the neighborhoods and bonding with adults who offer support. Such actions assist in turning negative psychological experiences into positive learning opportunities.

Altruism calls on individuals to think beyond the self and therefore fosters resilience which is necessary in overcoming maladaptive behavior (Staub, 2005). Cognitive behavior therapy on the other hand is action based and presumes that antisocial behaviors and emotions are caused directly by maladaptive behavior. The focus here is to change the patterns of thinking and ultimately the emotional state and behavior. In application, cognitive-behavioral therapy is applied to any person showing antisocial behavior that is accompanied with suffering and harm.

The treatment option is recommended for a range of disorders which include mood disorders, OCD, panic disorder, social phobia, personality problems, PSTD, ADHD and many others. We also frequently resort to it in managing patients with chronic pains in hospitals, e.g. cancer. This therapy has also proved very useful for persons having insomnia. When utilizing cognitive-behavioral therapy we combine the goals of both cognitive and behavioral therapies. The assumption is that maladaptive behaviors result directly from dysfunctional patterns of thinking.

The goal therefore is training the person to replace the individual antisocial patterns of behavior with healthy ones. We care not to uncover the causes the antisocial behaviors in patients but instead remain focused on the rehabilitation process. a collaboration is created with the client that leads to the identification of the specific thoughts and behaviors responsible for distress for adjustment. Modeling, cognitive rehearsals, conditioning, systematic desensitization and validity tests are some of the techniques put to work in modifying behavior and helping the patient cope (Kenneth, Kathryn and Richard, 2008).

References.1. Kenneth Lau, Kathryn Krase, and Richard H. Morse. (2008). Mandated Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect: A Practical Guide for Social Workers. Springer Publishing Company. available at: http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=FHiBniv8-GEC&dq=helping+children+suffering+from+emotional+disturbances+overcome+maladaptive+behaviours&source=gbs_navlinks_s 2. Staub, E. (2005). The Roots of Goodness: The Fulfillment of Basic Human Needs and the Development of Caring, Helping and Nonaggression, Inclusive Caring, Moral Courage, Active Bystandership, and Altruism Born of Suffering. In G. Carlo & C.

Edwards (Eds.)., Nebraska Symposium on Motivation: Vol. 51. Moral Motivation through the Life span: Theory, Research, Applications. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press