Person-Centred Therapy Essay Example for Free

Person-Centred Therapy Essay The Person Centred approach is based upon the theory and philosophy of Carl Rogers. This approach in its set-up is familiar to the general public as it is depicted in the media and is often expected therefore that a counselling session would take place in this format. At first glance the counselling process which has derived from the theory of Rogers, in a real therapy situation appears simplistic. To fully answer the question whether this blueprint offers a therapist all they need to treat their clients it is important to have a sound knowledge of the theory, and identify the successes and drawbacks connected with this. In the 1950s Carl Rogers gained praise for publishing ‘Client Centred Therapy’ and for his work on the Person Centred approach. Roger’s work is still praised and forms the basis for many theoretical and practical approaches to counselling. Rogers work was classified as a Humanistic Therapy and fits within the three main forms of psychological therapies today, which are listed below; * Behavioural Therapies * Psychoanalytical and Psychodynamic Therapies * Humanistic Therapies Person Centred counselling was based around three core conditions, devised by Rogers; 1. Unconditional Positive Regard 2. Genuineness/Congruence 3. Empathy It is considered essential for all counsellors to display these attributes and to consistently provide these to each client irrespective of circumstance. The Person Centred approach views the client as their own best authority on their own experience, and it views the client as being fully capable of fulfilling their own potential for growth. It recognizes, however, that achieving potential requires favourable conditions and that under adverse conditions, individuals may well not grow and develop in the ways that they otherwise could. In particular, when individuals are denied acceptance and positive regard from others, or when that positive regard is made conditional upon the individual behaving in particular ways they may begin to lose touch with what their own experience means for them, and their innate tendency to grow in a direction consistent with that meaning may be stifled. This does offer a unique perspective for both client and therapist to allow an unlocking of the clientà ¢â‚¬â„¢s genuine self. The premise of this theory is that human beings are innately good and given free opportunity they will strive for goodness, further reaffirming the core conditions. If we believe that humans are good, we should always be able to supply unconditional positive regard, congruence and empathy. The role that theory plays in the process and outcome of counselling has been a subject of discussion, for almost as long as counselling has been a profession. While schools of therapy have argued that different theories produce differing and nonequivalent outcomes, this position has been challenged on numerous occasions. Fiedler (1951) first observed that therapists of differing orientations were very similar in their views of the ideal therapy. Then Sundland and Barker (1962) reported that more experienced therapists tended to be more similar, regardless of their theoretical orientation. In their extensive review of the subject, Gelso and Carter (1985) stated that most clients will profit about e qually (but in different ways) from the different therapies. They go on to suggest that the effect of process and relationship do differ among therapies and that some clients may do better with one approach than with another, based upon these two factors. Finally, Stiles, Shapiro and Elliott (1986) concluded that (a) common features shared by all psychotherapies underlie or override differences in therapists verbal techniques and (b) these common features are responsible for the general equivalence in effectiveness (of therapies)†. Process and relationship maybe considered as relevant as theoretical conceptualisation of a given problem. One can assume that a counselling process must be structured for each client irrespective of what theory you adhere to. The work of Rogers does do this by using the core conditions, however; arguably less so than other theories due to a lack of distinct ‘techniques’. Hough et al contribute the following for a successful counselling relationship to occur; 1.Establish a safe, trusting environme nt – as outlined by Carl Rogers creating a relationship with the client which is in line with the core conditions. 2. Clarify: Help the person put their concern into words. As the person centred approach maintains this is how a client would be assisted by being predominantly talking and the counsellor mostly listening. 3. Use Active listening: find out the clients agenda, what do they hope to achieve by coming for counselling. a) Paraphrase, summarise, reflect and interpret – To ensure that there is a greater understanding of what the client is trying to say. b) Focus on feelings, not events – counselling is dealing with emotional and mental health, so it is important to unpick the feelings rather than to skim over them, like a layperson would do. 4. Transform problem statements into goal statements – allow the client to depict a plan towards attaining their goal. 5. Explore possible approaches to goal, to narrow and deliberate their choices. 6. Help person choose one way towards their goal which is feasible. 7. Make a contract to fulfil the plan (or to take the next step). 8. Summarise what has occurred, clarify, and get verification from the client that this is still their goal. 9. Get feedback and confirmation that the goal remains as before. Ultimately as with all the Couns elling paradigms it is key to enable the client to gain control of their own life and reach their own conclusions. The main paradigms underpin the processes of counselling usually, however; the lesser known models are also used. If this can be agreed upon, this might suggest that the Person centred approach does fulfil the needs of a therapist when diagnosing a problem and creating a plan where they are guided but the content is filled by the client. The Person Centred approach also gave rise to the concept of ‘The Organismic Self’; a state which is considered to truly be intact for a short space of time, in basic terms this is a descriptor of our pure selves, being exactly as we are without external influence. This theory tracks our human experience and maintains that this soon becomes corrupted by what is called the ‘Self Concept’. Self Concept is the term given to explain outside influences on the Organismic Self. It could be said that the battle between who we authentically are as people and what the world and significant people around us feel we should be is what causes us to feel lost. If we think of the Organismic Self as being at one with ourselves and feeling that who we ar e, what we do and our general feeling of inner harmony as being comfortable, the opposite is true of the Self Concept, this is generally a feeling of awkwardness, feeling lost, unreal and can result in later life as a crisis. Humanistic approaches in general are concerned with topics which are meaningful to human beings which makes it especially good as a theory for counselling. Humanistic approaches are also considerate of subjective experience and unpredictable events which occur in human lives. Does this then suggest that the Person centred approach is flexible and allows the therapist to address all matters which may arise rather than, comparatively using a CBT(Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) approach which focusses solely on the present. As a composite of the Person centred approach and general Humanistic theories, it is important to acknowledge the concept of ‘Self Actualisation’. The phrase was first coined by Kurt Goldstein, but is perhaps better known as associated with Abraham Maslow and his Hierarchy Of Needs and is defined as below; â€Å"†¦.the desire for self-fulfillment, namely the tendency for him [the individual] to become actualised in what he is potentially. This tendency might be phrased as the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming. In reference to his Hierarchy of Needs theory, Maslow advised that only 1% of all people are self-actualised which would infer the need for counselling assistance to be great. As mentioned above the flexibility of this approach may be deemed to allow therapists to treat a vast number of clients, as the growing need for counselling emerges. The non-intrusive nature of the therapy a the relatively comfortable set-up of the counselling sessions within the Person Centred approach highlights how easy it is to apply this approach practically. We certainly know of the efficacy of the Person Centred approach, in its comtinued use in modern day therapy, however; we must consider the strengths of other currently used approaches to illustrate where the Person Centred approach could improve. I have chosen to use the Psychodynamic approach to explore this. One of the strengths of the Psychodynamic Approach is that it provided a valuable insight into how early experiences or relationships can affect our adult personality. One of the examples of this is that fixations can be caused at the Oral Stage of psychosexual development such as being separated from the primary caregiver too early. These fixations can then lead to psychological problems. Supporting evidence for this strength was carried out by Jacobs at al (1966) using Rorschach inkblots to compare the orality of smokers and non-smokers. It was found that smokers emerged as being significantly more oral. Another strength of the Psychodynamic Approach is that it is the first approach to try and attempt to explain mental illness in psychological terms and has had an enormous influence on the understanding and treatment of mental disorders. An example of this is Psychoanalysis and Dream Therapy which aims to make the unconscious material conscious so it is easier to deal with as Freud believed that dreams showed our hidden desires. Evidence to support this was carried out by Sandell (1999) who studied the symptoms of more than 700 patients before and after three years of psychoanalysis and found that patients had significantly fewer symptoms after the therapy. The Psychodynamic Approach also displays weaknesses, in that most of Freud’s is based on findings of case studies, and anecdotal references where cases are often unique and there are problems with generalisation. Like the Psychodynamic Approach, the Person Centred approach does not dismiss the importance of historical and childhood events. This is highlignhted in their subtheory ‘Conditions of worth’ which are defined as ‘restrictions imposed on self-expression in order to earn positive regard’, which are not in and of themselves a bad thing, however; it is possible for these conditions to be overused that they can begin to be a problem. For example a child will seek to satisfy the condition of worth imposed by their parents; without realising, parents may create more complex conditions for gaining their attention. As children grow they learn a new set of rules for gaining attention, the best predictor of consequence for behavior is past experience. As such a child may learn that to receive praise from their Father is to get good results at school or join the football team. From another perspective, a child may learn that they get more attention when they fail at som ething or are feeling sad, as opposed to when they are successful and happy. They may also find that they are surrounded by more friends, more often when they behave in a particular way or indulge in particular activities that are ‘acceptable’. By the time an individual reaches their teenage years, most people have a complex system of rules to abide by if we want to receive love, praise and positive regard from others. Slowly this system of conditions of worth works its way into a person’s overall way of viewing the world they live in. They adopt these conditions as their own values, blocking out the true organismic values that comprise who they really are. As their real self is blocked out by this adopted system of values, incongruence results. The rules for love and positive regard lead them to live a different life, a life incongruent with who they really are, a life that does not satisfy all their other needs and tragically, often doesn’t even truly satisfy their need for positive regard. Due to this, people can become unhappy, anxious and depressed, but often they only try to revise and change the conditions they are using for positive regard. They may change their veneer, but not the root of the problem. They only shift the contents of their complex system of worth rather than trimming it back and exposing their real, true values. It’s this latter state that Person Centred therapy seeks to create, allowing the counsellor to simply try to remove any conditions of worth from their relationship with the client. They offer only unconditional positive regard. This creates an environment in which a small crack is placed in the person’s overarching system of conditional worth. In such an environment the person can begin to acknowledge and understand what it is they truly want and need. These values are always trying to be heard, but are blocked out by our complex set of constructs we use to try to gain conditional positive regard. Person centred therapy simply creates a place where this system is pushed back, and one’s true values can emerge. A person is then free to consider who he is and what he wants, without the threat of a loss of positive regard. No matter what is said, he can expect unconditional regard. Overall this subtheory shows a consistency throughout the Person Centred approach, tying the main premise of the core conditions to the way in which each client is treated. To conclude my assessment of the usefulness and effectiveness of the Person Centred Therapy, I hope to have demonstrated my current level of understanding regarding this subject and illustrated how it can be used practically. It is clear that the current and continuous widespread use of the Person-Centred approach attests for its effectiveness in practice. It is good and justified to always focus on the client and their journey through whatever problems they are facing and this particular approach maintains the therapist in doing so. I believe that the most effective method of treating patients is that adopted by Chrysalis, a multidiscipline approach, whereby one can amend the tool used based upon the presented problem. References Websites; http://www.bapca.org.uk/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Person-centered_therapy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-actualization http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_organismic_self http://www.person-centered-therapy.com/conditions-of-worth/ Texts; Edward L. Deci, Richard M. Ryan (1985) Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behaviour; Springer Publishing.

Euclidean Geometry :: essays research papers

Euclidean Geometry   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Geometry was thoroughly organized in about 300 BC, when the Greek mathematician Euclid gathered what was known at the time, added original work of his own, and arranged 465 propositions into 13 books, called 'Elements'. The books covered not only plane and solid geometry but also much of what is now known as algebra, trigonometry, and advanced arithmetic.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Through the ages, the propositions have been rearranged, and many of the proofs are different, but the basic idea presented in the 'Elements' has not changed. In the work facts are not just cataloged but are developed in a fashionable way.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Even in 300 BC, geometry was recognized to be not just for mathematicians. Anyone can benefit from the basic learning of geometry, which are how to follow lines of reasoning, how to say precisely what is intended, and especially how to prove basic concepts by following these lines of reasoning. Taking a course in geometry is beneficial for all students, who will find that learning to reason and prove convincingly is necessary for every profession. It is true that not everyone must prove things, but everyone is exposed to proof. Politicians, advertisers, and many other people try to offer convincing arguments. Anyone who cannot tell a good proof from a bad one may easily be persuaded in the wrong direction. Geometry provides a simplified universe, where points and lines obey believable rules and where conclusions are easily verified. By first studying how to reason in this simplified universe, people can eventually, through practice and experience, learn how to reason in a complicated world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Geometry in ancient times was recognized as part of everyone's education. Early Greek philosophers asked that no one come to their schools who had not learned the 'Elements' of Euclid. There were, and still are, many who resisted this kind of education. It is said that Ptolemy I asked Euclid for an easier way

Exploration Proposal Pop Art

Exploration ProposalI hope to explore the images of comic strips consumerism and symbolism in pop art that have been influenced in our everyday lives and how the mass media, advertising and popular culture are portrayed through pop art. One of the greatest iconic pop culture artists Andy Warhol suggests â€Å"I like boring things† this is a broad indication of a part of how pop culture is based on. It exposes how objects in everyday life can be right in front of us and we as people don’t think twice about what we are using. For example, Andy Warhol creates a wooden sculpture and painting based on the simplicity of ‘Campbell’s tomato soup’ an item he had been consuming for over 20 years frequently. I began to see interest in the field of pop art when I was at a younger age I was surrounded by it due to the mass media, constant advertisement imagery and basically elements of consumerism which created connection between the people.I was inspired to con tinue this art form as it drives my passion; it stems my love for consumerism. People can appreciate everyday objects and bright colours the same way as it derives me. I aim to experiment with a range of materials and techniques throughout my exploration in pop art. Digital photography was by far the most loved personally in my pervious Unit 1 carried in Studio Arts. It is an art media that I can place my skills to use and excel at. A digital single-lens reflex camera was the tool used to photograph objects and the photographs were further transferred into an editorial suite (Adobe Photoshop) and were manipulated to create a completely new picture. This technique can further be perused in creating pop art as there are a vast amount of filters found in editorial suites alongside blending pictures, masking, colour and picture correcting and abstracting of photos.Silver gelatin photography is another photographic process, however required more manual work. Strategies are used to create the desired pictures required such as amount of light exposure and how long chemicals should be run through. Pop art collages could be perfectly executed with this medium. Acrylic paint and water colour were two materials I continued to suffer with. However, I am looking to immensely improve and adapt them so I can incorporate the two materials into my pop art collaborative pieces. One thing I picked up from in Unit 1 was that it’s best to think creatively outside the box, extending ideas that come to mind to create a whole new level.Andy Warhol 100 CANS, 1962 Oil on canvas 72 x 52 inches (182.9 x 132.1 cm)The Campbell’s Soup Cans painting carries historical significance and represents what was happening in America during the 1960s. America had become an industrial culture in which products, machinery, and food were being mass-produced, and it seemed that everything was a commodity. Andy Warhol wanted to acknowledge this phenomenon in his art. He wanted us not to focu s on the composition of his work, but rather the idea behind it. The idea here is that the mundane, like a can of soup, matters. In addition, the use of repetitive imagery and mechanical processes creates an illusion that art can be mass produced and consumed by everyone. Warhol used the same shapes, dull colours and lines to create his image. The pattern that was created has a rhythm, but also repetition because each of the elements is repeated over and over in a recognisable organisation. I can potentially transfer these art elements and principles into making my own artwork that serves consumerism with my own product.Roy Lichtenstein Hopeless, 1963 Oil on Canvas Dimensions 118cm by 111.8cmRoy Lichtenstein’s comic images of girls with speech balloons was a major trend in the 1960s It contains vibrant colours with bold and wavy lines to add emotion to the scene. I would like to potentially use vibrant colours in collaboration with acrylic paint to express emotions in my own art pieces or create subliminal messages that entail emotion to the viewers. Colours and emotions can be used in different parts of the background to present mixed feelings or different views in the image.Richard Hamilton 1956, Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing Collage Dimensions: 26cm by 24.8cmJust what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing? Literally elevates kitsch to high art, as symbolized by the framed comic book cover against the wall. The body builder on the left and naked woman on the right symbolise the commodification of the human form into just another business transaction—something to be marketed to relentlessly, idealised in the name of selling deodorant and toothpaste. All of these things in the collage are placed in the artwork composition for a reason ‘nothing was an accident’. Each object was thoughtfully placed to symbolise and have a meaning. I can use this same methodology in my own work by adding many digital/silver gelatin photos and other mixed media in creating collages to build me own theme and representations in advertising or symbolism.

Esophageal Cancer A Lethal Variation Of Cancer - 1449 Words

Esophageal cancer, or oesophageal cancer, is a lethal variation of cancer globally ranking sixth as the leading cause of cancer-associated deaths and eighth as the most common type of cancer (Pennathur et al. 2013). In contrast to other parts of the world, the United States has experienced a decrease in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma incidence rates and a distinct increase in esophageal adenocarcinoma, which corresponds to increased obesity and gastroesophageal reflux rates over the years (Simard et al. 2012). Along with increasing incidence rates, esophageal cancer is associated with a 15-25% survival rate of five years regardless of treatment, poor prognosis due to diagnosis during the cancer’s later stages, and predisposition to metastases regardless of tumor type (Pennathur et al. 2013, Chen et al. 2013). In addition, patients who have been treated are at risk for high incidences of recurrence and approximately 90% of patients are faced with mortality from esophageal c ancer (Lou et al. 2013), all of which contributes to the poor prognosis associated with the disease. With increasing incidence rates and poor prognosis, esophageal cancer poses challenges to healthcare providers in finding effective and standardized guidelines with respect to screening, treatment, and surveillance. Lifestyle, medical history, socioeconomic factors, and premalignant conditions influence the development of esophageal cancer. Three primary risk factors include consumption of tobacco,Show MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Hepatocellular Carcinoma ( Hcc )1136 Words   |  5 PagesHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a lethal liver cancer, has a very poor prognosis and is in dire need of novel targets to develop more effective treatments. The conventional treatment options of surgery and chemotherapy were limited to pre-metastatic HCC; however, a multi-kinase inhibitor, in addition to targeting other factors involved in development and progression of the disease showed promising results in advanced HCC [42]. LncRNAs such as HOTAIR, MALAT1, and H10 are dysregulated and have been