Theories in Counseling and Therapy - Dissertation Example

Theories in Counseling and Therapy Abstract The purpose of the report is to describe, compare and contrast three counseling theories. For this purpose, the three selected theories are: psychoanalytical approach, Adlerian approach and the Gestalt approach. Psychoanalytic approach emphasizes the need to resolve suppressed childhood experiences in order to have a normal personality in the future. It lays further emphasis on the need to understand the unconscious mental functioning in order to enhance the social functioning of individuals. The Adlerian approach, on the other hand, stresses on social context and lifestyle of human beings that can help them cope with their problems. It also deals with the significance of early experiences and family constellations in the life of an individual. The Gestalt approach emphasizes on the improvement of the whole rather than enhancing separate parts of the individual to help people cope with their problems. Similarly, it aims at incorporating feelings, cognitions, beliefs, and perceptions and past, present and future occurrences to facilitate in developing self-awareness and desired life needs. Counseling Theories Counseling is a commonly used expression, but it usually means different things to different people. Generally, counseling is explained as encompassing a counseling relationship in which an expert interacts with a person or group of people who are looking for help in dealing with problems and making changes in their lives (Corey, 2000). A number of theories usually direct the process of counseling, assisting in the understanding of behavior and designing of intervention programs that hold promise for achieving the desired outcomes. Theories vary based on numerous aspects. A few need an active participation of the therapist, while others place more responsibility on the client. A few emphasize on transforming cognitive activity, while others emphasize on observable behavior or inner feelings. Theories also differ in where they think most of the action occurs: the present, the past or the future (Sharf, 1999). Within counseling, psychoanalytically and psychodynamically based interventions are illustrious due to focus on the significance of early experience and the role of unconscious mental functioning. In the psychoanalytical approach, individuals are mainly determined by early experiences and unconscious forces and conflicts are fundamental in the existing behavior. According to the psychoanalytic perspective, illogical forces are powerful and the individual is motivated by sexual and aggressive impulses. Psychoanalysts postulate that early development is of great significance because later personality issues are embedded in repressed childhood conflicts. The main idea of this perspective is that regular personality development is founded on successful working out and combination of psychosexual stages of development. On the other hand, damaged personality development is due to poor resolution of certain stage (Ricu, 2003). Psychoanalysis and psychodynamic interventions are formulated to bring about transformation in an individual’s personality and character. In this process, individuals struggle to resolve unconscious clashes themselves and develop more acceptable ways of coping with their problems. Self-understanding is accomplished through analysis of childhood experiences that are restructured, understood, and explored. The understanding helps bring about changes in feelings and actions. By discovering unconscious material through dream interpretation or other means, people can deal with different issues and problems in their lives in an improved manner (Chan, et al., 2004). As a result of psychoanalytic therapy, individuals become aware of themselves and feel more real. Furthermore, due to an improved understanding their own reactions to other people, individuals have better relationships with family, friends, and colleagues (Chan, et al., 2004). In recent years, the contributions of Alfred Adler have gained great attention. The approach indicates that the way in which people manage themselves as whole affects their perceptions of themselves and others and also has a huge influence on their goals and behavioral interactions with others. Adler believed that people are social beings and that behavior can only be entirely comprehended in a social context. The Adlerian approach considered personal problems mainly as social or interpersonal problems. He further suggested that all behavior, including emotions, is goal-directed, that is, all things that individuals do has reasons and are functions of their thoughts, both conscious and faintly conscious, about outcomes to be gained in the future (Aslinia et al., 2011). Thus the individual appears to behave from a subjective mental framework and is not always entirely conscious of his or her goals. In order to understand someone, substantial consideration should be given to the individual’s subjective or inner point of reference. This focus is essential because the person’s perceptions, including internal biases affecting his or her perceptions, determine his or her actions. Furthermore, the individual organizes his or her perceptions in a way that affects personal goals. Thus the strong emphasis in Adler’s approach is on a cognitive understanding of the person (Watts, 2003). Adler suggested that the pattern of goals is structured around the personally determined idea of the ideal self, much of which the person developed during childhood years and keeps on believing it as long as it is valuable. People learn at an early age through trial and error what goals will be most suitable to facilitate them move toward an important position, and they start to try out behaviors that are most handy in implementing the goals (Hartman & Zimberoff, 2003). The foundation stone of Adler’s most important concepts and theory of personality is the concept of lifestyle. Lifestyle means “the unity in each individual, in his thinking, feeling, acting, in his so-called conscious and unconscious, in every expression of his personality”. Expressed another way, lifestyle is viewed as the person’s holistic pattern of beliefs and goals that he or she utilizes for interacting with others and for determining self-worth. The dominant mental pattern is considered by Adlerians as the unity that shows main cognitive dimensions. Because of the consistency of the cognitive nature of the lifestyle, it is generally useful to the individual to have an awareness of this unique lifestyle pattern when dealing with decisions or problems (Capuzzi & Gross, 2006). In the Adlerian approach, therapy is a source of providing encouragement and helping individuals transform their cognitive perception and behavior. It challenges the individual’s fundamental premises and life goals and provides encouragement so individuals establish socially valuable goals and a sense of belonging (Montgomery & Kottler, 2010). The Gestalt therapeutic approach offers a theoretical paradigm that entails a holistic view of self, an understanding of the individual and the environment, a temporal stress on here and now, a direct relationship between client and counselor and a recognition of the awareness of the here and now that results in change (Zimberoff & Hartman, 2003). Gestalt therapy differs from other types of therapy by how its practitioners understand human personality. Gestalt theory proposes that people are products of the dynamic interrelation of their mind, soul, feelings, opinions, emotions, and perceptions and not through separate parts of the individual. Gestalt theories do not subscribe to separate notions such as ‘mind’ and ‘body’, ‘real’ and ‘emotional’ and ‘unconscious’ and ‘conscious’. The focus on wholes is indicated in the term Gestalt, which is a German word denoting the organization of a “meaningful whole”. The chief concept of this view of human nature is that the “whole is more than the sum of the parts”. The idea of the whole is also relevant to interactions within the individual, including the relationship between the physiological and psychological dimensions of an individual (Chan, 2004). Gestalt therapists emphasize that individuals have the capability to define their own truth and make their own choices. When an individual makes decisions in life that fulfill personal needs, homeostasis is achieved. The innate tendency to move in the direction of this sense of equilibrium is known as organismic self-regulation. Humans are viewed as persistently striving for balance in their lives, and this balance is endangered by occurrences outside as well as by inner conflicts. Needs are perceived by the individual as an instant need, along with strategies needed to meet the need. Ground symbolizes the physical and psychological environments having relation to the need and its satisfaction. When the figure is successfully accomplished, it moves in the background, allowing another figure to come out to the forefront (Capuzzi & Gross, 2006). People frequently find difficulty in achieving homeostasis because they do not know how to find and connect with the figures in their environments that will help them in satisfying their needs. To satisfy needs, individuals interact with their environment which is accomplished by using all of the senses. In addition, interaction requires the support that comes from inner characteristics and collective experiences (Sharf, 1999). The aim of counseling in the Gestalt system is to support personal growth. Simply put, Gestalt is an integrative approach to counseling, embedded in an existential paradigm. Since client feelings are emphasized and the client is viewed as responsible for his or her own coping behavior, Gestalt counseling is positioned in the affective and client-centered end of the range of counseling theories. Gestalt therapy is best used with people who look for self-growth and understanding (Zimberoff & Hartman, 2003). In the Gestalt approach, people reach out because they are feeling that their lives are incomplete and their needs unfulfilled. Individuals frequently develop a sense of despair over the course of their lives and do not know how to help themselves. The focus of intervention entails incorporation of feelings, cognitions, beliefs, and perceptions and past, present and future occurrences to facilitate in developing self-awareness and desired life needs. In the process of incorporating experience, dealing with incomplete business, learning how to satisfy needs, and working toward becoming whole, the individual works towards closure, otherwise known as ‘completing the unfinished Gestalt’(Sharf, 1999). As previously mentioned, the basic philosophy of the psychoanalytic approach suggests that people are basically determined by their early experiences which play a pivotal role in future personality problems (Ricu, 2003). This is because; according to the psychoanalytic approach personality problems have their roots in suppressed childhood conflicts (Ricu, 2003). The perspective further indicates that unconscious motives and conflicts are fundamental in existing behavior and the individual is motivated by sexual and aggressive impulses (Ricu, 2003). While, the Adlerian approach postulates that humans are motivated by social interest, by striving toward goals, and by dealing with the problems of life (Capuzzi & Gross, 2006). The emphasis of the approach is on the individual's positive abilities to live in society helpfully (Montgomery & Kottler, 2010). It further suggests that individuals have the capacity to interpret, influence, and make events (Capuzzi & Gross, 2006). Each individual at an early age develops a distinctive style of life, which tends to stay fairly stable throughout life (Capuzzi & Gross, 2006). On the other hand, the Gestalt view suggests that the individual struggles for totality and assimilation of thoughts, emotion, and actions (Zimberoff & Hartman, 2003). The view further indicates that the individual is seen as having the ability to identify how earlier influences are linked to present difficulties (Zimberoff & Hartman, 2003). Like classical psychoanalytical approach, the Adlerian perspective also stresses on the foundational significance of early life experiences, especially family-related experiences (Corey, 2000). Similarly, both approaches suggest that early experiences set the tone for later psychological manifestations (Corey, 2000). However, Adlerian psychology departs from the classic psychoanalytical approach that considers personal psychological development as direct reason of certain psychological conflicts occurring mostly from the repression and alternate expression of sexual impulses and the reaction to certain frustrations widespread in all individuals (Corey, 2000). Instead, Adlerian psychology focuses on the effect of the distinctive experiences of the individual's family relationships (Corey, 2000). On the other hand, Gestalt approach emphasizes on the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of experiencing in the here-and-now to facilitate individuals to acknowledge all aspects of themselves (Chan, 2004). Furthermore, the gestalt approach helps the individual gain awareness of the moment-to-moment experiences and to expand the capacity to make choices (Chan, 2004). Similarly, its aim is not to analyze the individual, rather help them in integration of different aspects of their personality for an improved functioning in their lives (Chan, 2004). In conclusion, all the three theories provide practitioners with diverse perspectives to improve their clients’ functioning in their daily lives. Psychoanalytic approach emphasizes the need to resolve suppressed childhood experiences in order to have a normal personality in the future, whereas, the Adlerian approach stresses on social context and lifestyle of human beings that can help them cope with their problems. On the other hand, the Gestalt approach emphasizes on the improvement of the whole rather than enhancing separate parts of the individual. Thus, no one theory can be considered superior, therefore, practitioners must combine these theories along with others to understand human behavior and help them with their social functioning. References Aslinia, S. D., Rasheed, M., & Simpso, C. (2011). Individual psychology (Adlerian) applied to international collectivist cultures: compatibility, effectiveness, and impact. Journal for International Counselor Education, 3, 1-12. Capuzzi, D., & Gross, D. R. (2006). Counseling and psychotherapy: theories and interventions. (4th ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Chan, F., Berven, N. L., & Kenneth, R. T. (2004). Counseling theories and techniques for rehabilitation health professionals. (1st ed.). New York: Springer Publishing Company. Corey, G. (2000). The art of integrative counseling. (1st ed.). United States of America: Brooks Cole. Hartman, D., & Zimberoff, D. (2003). The existential approach in heart-centered therapies. Journal of Heart-Centered Therapies, 6(1), 3-46. Montgomery, M. J., & Kottler, J. A. (2010).Theories in counseling and therapy: an experiential approach. (2nd ed.). United Kingdom: Sage Publications, Inc. Ricu, V. (2003). The cure in psychoanalysis and gestalt therapy: a comparison study. Retrieved from http://www.cgjungpage.org/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=255 Sharf, R. S. (1999). Theories of psychotherapy & counseling: concepts and cases. (2nd ed.). United States of America: Wadsworth Publishing Company. Watts, R. E. (2003). Adlerian therapy as a relational constructivist approach. The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, 11(2), 139-147. Zimberoff, D., & Hartman, D. (2003). Gestalt therapy and heart-centered therapies. Journal of Heart-Centered Therapies, 6(1), 93-104. . Read More