Three Psychology Questions - Assignment Example

Psychology Order No. 379952 No. of pages; 6 Persona" in Jungian psychology and its relationship to the concepts of "ego", "shadow", and "anima and animus"? ’Persona’ is described as a system of complicated relationships between an individual and his environment comprising of a mask that is worn to create an impact or impression one of the individuals, while concealing the individual’s own true nature. The concept of ‘Persona’ as portrayed by Carl Jung plays a major role in helping to protect the ego of person while giving him the freedom to understand and give expression to his own true personal identity. Primarily understanding the concept of who one truly is and the manner in which one represents himself is a great step towards realization. Acquiring knowledge about oneself is a major task which would be quite useful for developing a healthy persona. Following certain codes of behaviour on various occasions, especially in public and acting in a suitable and compromising manner is highly necessary in life because it helps us to create a healthy persona which is quite in contrast to the true self. “Persona” is but a mask that we use to face the world. According to Jung, the persona is a complex system which serves as an interface that we make use of to relate to our “outer world” protecting us from unpleasant circumstances in addition to navigating through our inner world, primarily the world of ego. How well individuals handle the inner world and the outer world is what makes up the persona of a person. The persona of a person is directly related to the experiences he has in his environment. Some experiences are pleasant which contributes to the persona in a positive way, while poor or harmful experiences such as ego problems, rejection and non- acceptance contribute in a negative manner. It is these experiences that help the person react to the outer and inner world of his persona. Carl Jung describes the ‘shadow’ as being a very complex unconsciousness within the individual that is made up of qualities that the suppressed and not owned by the individual. In Jung’s opinion, the human being is always in close contact with the shadow in the following four ways – 1) Denial, 2) Projection, 3) Integration and 4) Transmutation. An individual’s shadow may either be constructive or destructive. According to Jung, the feminine aspect or component in men is ‘anima’ while the masculine component in females is called ‘animus.’ In Jung’s opinion every individual is endowed with the anima and animus and creating a strong connection between the two is very essential for good psychological growth. 2. REBT and various cognitive-behavioral approaches and analyze their similarities/differences with REBT. Identify the variables that contribute to both the unique aspects of these theories and their commonalities. ‘REBT’ is Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy which is used in cognitive behavioral approaches to bring stability to suffering individuals. Cognitive-behavioral therapies (CBT) are used in the reactive programs related to badly traumatized individuals and help them to become proactive once again. According to Ellis and MacLaren (1998), "rational emotive behavior therapy is based on the assumption that cognition, emotion, and behavior are not disparate human functions but are, holistic in nature and carefully, integrated together (p. 3)." In the area of mental health there are many cognitive behavioral therapy models that are being used and REBT is one of them which is currently in vogue. Though the basic tenet or commonality between the different therapies is that they are well integrated with each other, yet there are differences between using CBT and REBT. REBT has a more philosophical foundation, while CBT models are problem driven. In the case of CBT, it does not make an attempt to change or modify an individual’s cognitive world by using disputation methods and bringing about a change in an individual’s overall philosophy. The REBT model has it that a person’s behavior and emotions are the consequences of his core belief structure. Both these models are very useful in dealing with suicidal patients and traumatized adolescents. Another major difference between the CBT model and the REBT is that of beliefs. According to the CBT, all beliefs are not irrational and therefore are evaluative in nature. What is unique about REBT is the fact of ‘disputation.’ While other models of therapy helps the patient to feel better, ultimate goal of REBT is to make the individual get better. Among the different cognitive-behavioral therapies, REBT is considered to most effective and much simpler in its application and therefore a more popular approach and one of the most widely used therapies in mental disorders and illnesses. 3. Types of cognitive distortions and examples. REBT though very effective in suicidal adolescents has its own limitations. The REBT model has come in for a lot of criticism and is said to have less empathy to successfully work with traumatic patients. It is said to be More for the tough minded individuals because does not address the emotional disturbances (Garcia, 1977) of the individual. Nonetheless, in studies conducted on the application of REBT, results showed that it was more effective in preventing psychopathology and restoring rationality in suicidal patients. Some of the most common variables in patients suffering from are emotional disturbances due to a breakup with one’s partner, a death in the family of a loved one, poor self image or low self esteem, failure to perform at school, home of the workplace, unfair treatment leading to disturbing problems which could lead to suicidal attempts. For example, students who are backward in class tend to have poor self esteem because they are constantly picked upon by their peers and become a butt of all their taunts and jokes. The child becomes trapped and tries to find an outlet for these pent up painful emotions and contemplates suicide because he is unable to have a grip on his emotions. In this case, if help or guidance is not given in time, the student tries to terminate himself. On the other hand if timely counseling or therapy such as CBT or REBT is rendered, it would help him to restore faith and confidence in himself which would lead to better self esteem and better performance thereafter. People who are disturbed mentally have a twisted way of thinking for analyzing things for themselves. Given below are three examples of such type of thinking. a) 3 Examples of all or nothing This category of individuals thinks of things in terms of black or white. It either perfectly suits them or it is an utter failure. A good example of all or nothing kind of thinking could be a young woman who is dieting. When she ate a small quantity of her favorite ice cream, she felt that she had blown her diet and getting upset, ate the whole quart of ice- cream. Another example would be a person who puts off going to the gym for a day, feels upset and exercises the next day much more strenuously than is required. The third example is of a person trying to give up alcohol but gets tempted to take a small drink. This results in upsetting the person so much that he gets himself totally drunk. b) 3 Examples of disqualifying the positive This kind of thinking reflects the person’s state of mind that even if he excels in a particular job in a very positive manner, yet he tends to reject these positive outcomes by disqualifying or discounting them. Such behavior makes the individual feel very inadequate about themselves and they never feel rewarded for doing a good job of something. For example, if the person does well at his office and receives positive feedback about his work, he dismisses the positive remarks of his colleagues saying that anyone could have done just as well. Another good example is when the person helps around the house and is therefore praised for his helpfulness, he replies that it was not good enough. In another case where such an individual wins in a competition and receives good approval for his efforts, he says that he could have done better and it is not good enough. c) 3 Examples of catastrophizing Catastrophizing which also means over generalizing is a negative disorder which blows things out of proportion. In other words it is ‘making a mountain out of a molehill.’ A good example of this would be a person who is not liked by one of his colleagues at work and he feels that everyone in the office dislikes him. Or if the person makes a small mistake in his project, he immediately feels that if his boss finds out he would get fired. In a third example where a person does not fare well in a hobby he takes up, just gives up and says that he is not good at anything. It is imperative that for such type of twisted thinking interventions such as thought-stopping and positive self-statements could be used to correct the individual’s way of thinking. Psychologists make use of such interventions to help the individual identify his thought processes and make changes from the negative way of thinking to the positive way of thinking. Thinking negatively only leads the individual into depression and more problems, so changing towards the positive would help to make the individual more happy and healthy both in mind as well as body. References 1. Cognitive Therapy for Depression www.psychologyinfo.com/depression/cognitive.htm 2. David D. Burns, M.D. (1989) The Feeling Good Handbook. 3. What is the Persona in Jungian Psychology? www.psychology.suite101.com/article.cfm/what_is_the_persona 4. Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) and its application www.aaets.org/article101.htm 5. The center for Professional Psychology www.summitnjpsychotherapy.com/index.tpl?page Read More