Running Head: THEORIES AND TECHNIQUES IN PSYCHOTHERAPY

WORKSHOP III: HOMEWORK

Jennifer Castro

PSYC 322
THEORIES AND TECHNIQUES IN PSYCHOTHERAPY

Homework before Workshop Three:

1. Read about the Person Centered Therapy and identify its main helping strategies:
Client-Centered Therapy (CCT) was developed by Carl Rogers in the 40's and 50's. It is

a non-directive approach to therapy, "directive" meaning any therapist behavior that deliberately

steers the client in some way. Directive behaviors include asking questions, offering treatments,

and making interpretations and diagnoses. Virtually all forms of therapy practiced in the US are

directive. (University Of Chicago, 1999)

A non-directive approach is very appealing on the face of it too many clients, because they

get to keep control over the content and pace of the therapy. It is intended to serve them, after all.

The therapist isn't evaluating them in any way or trying to "figure them out".

But what is in CCT, one may ask, if the therapist isn't interjecting their own stuff?

The answer is, whatever the client brings to it. And that is, honestly, a very good answer. The

foundational belief of CCT is that people tend to move toward growth and healing, and have the

capacity to find their own answers. This tendency is helped along by an accepting and

understanding climate, which the CC therapist seeks to provide above all else. (University Of

Chicago, 1999)

So, this is what CC therapists do:

 Listen and try to understand how things are from the client's point of view.

 Check that understanding with the client if unsure.

 Treat the client with the utmost respect and regard.

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 There is also a mandate for the therapist to be "congruent", or "transparent" - which

means being self-aware, self-accepting, and having no mask between oneself and the

client. The therapist knows themselves and is willing to be known.

CCT may sound simple or limited, because there is no particular structure that the therapist is

trying to apply. But when I watch CCT in action I see a very rich and complicated process.

People unravel their own stuff. They discover new things, take brave steps, and don't have to

cope with a therapist who is doing things to them in the meantime. The therapist strives to

understand and accept the client's stuff, which is no simple feat. Over time, the client

increasingly seeks to understand and accept their stuff too. (University Of Chicago, 1999)

That CCT is effective has been amply demonstrated by decades of research. Furthermore,

recent research has shown that the most significant variables in the effectiveness of therapy are

aspects of the relationship and the therapist's personal development - not the particular discipline

they practice or techniques they employ. C-C therapists focus more attention on these variables

than therapists in any other discipline. (University Of Chicago, 1999)

 Remarkable as it may seem, research has never shown that it is more effective to address

specific problems with specific therapy techniques. Amazing, yes? Without this result, there is

no justification for a therapist to make diagnoses in the first place. (University Of Chicago, 1999)

2. The definitions of the following concepts:

• Actualizing tendency
Actualizing tendency refers to an innate growth drive or impulse that is said to exist within all

human beings. Proponents of the concept make the optimistic assumption that people have an

inherent tendency to become more elaborated, integrated, and internally coordinated over time –

that is, to grow and develop as personalities. Although not everyone grows throughout the
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lifespan, the potential remains throughout. The challenge for teachers, therapists, and service

providers, then, is to help people “unlock” these sometimes-hidden capacities.

The idea that humans have inherent growth potentials can be traced back at least to Aristotle,

and his proposal that all people are born with certain virtues whose recognition and cultivation

leads to happiness. The idea reappears in the enlightenment era proposal that people naturally

seek greater self-determination and happiness, and also in the romantic era proposal that people

are naturally good and will develop into virtuous citizens unless the socialization process goes

awry.

• Congruence
This term refers to a condition where two elements match, fit with, or are in harmony with

one another. In organizational behavior, congruence has been applied to at least two different

phenomena: interpersonal communication and organizational design. Congruence in

interpersonal communication means that a person's message (i.e., the words spoken) matches

exactly the person's thoughts and feelings. Rogers (1961) claimed that the “fundamental law of

interpersonal relationships” is centered on congruence: the more congruence in an interpersonal

relationship, the stronger and more satisfying it is.

Congruence in organization design refers to consistency among various elements in an

organization. Authors have focused on different organizational attributes, but the basic

assumption is that when these elements are congruent, the organization is more effective (see

Nadler and Tushman, 1997). The well‐known 7–S framework, for example, proposes that

organizational effectiveness is enhanced when congruence exists among seven elements:

strategy, structure, systems, staffing, skills, style, and shared values. This means that each

element fits with, reinforces, or is consistent with all other elements.

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• Emphatic understanding
Empathy is the art of seeing the world as someone else sees it. When you have empathy, it

means you can understand what a person is feeling in a given moment, and understand why other

people’s actions made sense to them.

Empathy contains three lessons.

Understanding Yourself

If you want to understand the emotions of others, you have to learn to empathize with

yourself. Understanding yourself was written to help you understand and accept your emotions.

Understanding and accepting your own feelings is essential for a healthy life, and it’s the

foundation of empathizing with others.

Understanding Others

Through practice and a commitment to thoughtfulness, anyone can learn to understand how

others are thinking and feeling. Understanding others is the blueprint that shows you how.

Nonverbal Empathy

  When you understand what someone else is thinking or feeling, it becomes easier to

interact with them. But there’s a nonverbal aspect to interaction that deserves special attention.

The knowledge you gain from empathy can help you to use appropriate nonverbal

communication. Nonverbal Empathy explains how.

• Genuineness
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  (Also known as congruence) is the most important concept in therapeutic counseling

according to Rogers. Genuineness refers to the therapist's ability is be authentic. When a

therapist is genuine, she might share her emotional reactions to clients' problems and

experiences. Genuineness does not mean therapists disclose their problems to clients; it just

means the therapist shares his or her feelings regarding the client's experiences.

• Positive regard

(UPR) is a term credited to humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers and is used in client-centered

therapy. Practicing unconditional positive regard means accepting and respecting others as they

are without judgment or evaluation. This is different from unconditional love; unconditional

positive regard does not require love or affection - it simply refers to acceptance of others

whether you like them or not. Unconditional positive regard can be misunderstood as being nice,

pleasant, or agreeable with others; however, unconditional positive regard is not an action

towards others. Rather, it's more like a feeling or mindset.

• Self-actualization tendency
Represents a concept derived from Humanistic psychological theory and, specifically, from

the theory created by Abraham Maslow. Self-actualization, according to Maslow, represents

growth of an individual toward fulfillment of the highest needs; those for meaning in life, in

particular. Carl Rogers also created a theory implicating a “growth potential” whose aim was to

integrate congruently the “real self” and the “ideal self” thereby cultivating the emergence of the

“fully functioning person”. It was Maslow, however, who created a psychological hierarchy of

needs, the fulfillment of which theoretically leads to a culmination of fulfillment of “being

values”, or the needs that are on the highest level of this hierarchy, representing meaning.
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• Unconditional self-regard
Unconditional positive regard is a term used by humanist psychologist Carl Rogers to

describe a technique used in his non-directive, client-centered therapy. According to Rogers,

unconditional positive regard involves showing complete support and acceptance of a person no

matter what that person says or does.

Rogers believed that it was essential for therapists to show unconditional positive regard to

their clients. He also suggested that individuals who don't have this type of acceptance from

people in their life can eventually come to hold negative beliefs about themselves.

3. Read about the Gestalt model of psychotherapy and write a 1 page summary of how this

model understands maladaptive behavior and the goals of the helping process.

Fritz Perls, Laura Perls- both of which were originally traditional psychoanalysts, Ralph

Hefferline a professor of psychology and political and anarchist Paul Goodman writer in late

1940 to early 1950. The seminal work was Gestalt, Excitement and Growth in the Human

Personality, published in 1951 Therapy. Approaches taken from a wide variety of psychological

and philosophical disciplines, integrating them into a system based on the idea of a whole

organism (mind and body as an integrated whole) therapeutic approach. The goal of this therapy

is to help the person to gain greater independence (seen as freedom and responsibility) of their

actions, and the ability to deal with the blockages that prevent the natural development.

Initially based on the ideas of Gestalt psychology and traditional psychoanalysis, Gestalt

therapy has been developed as a humanistic psycho-therapeutic model, with well-developed

theory that combines phenomenological, existential, dialogical, and field approaches to the

transformation and growth of human beings. In the center of Gestalt therapy is the promotion of
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"conscience." The individual to become aware of their own feelings and behaviors, and their

effect on the environment in the here and now are encouraged.

The way in which an interrupted or he or she seeks to avoid contact with the current

environment is considered to be a significant factor when recovering from psychological

disorders. By focusing on individuals as self-awareness as part of the current reality, new ideas

can be made in their behavior, and can engage in self-healing.

4. Identify and describe the helping techniques of the Gestalt and Behavior therapy

Psychotherapeutic bases

The goal of Gestalt therapy is to facilitate the removal of obstacles that lie between a person

and the utilization of their full potential. Gestalt therapy's techniques and attitude create a space

in which the patient can recover his or her capacity for living. In this way a person can learn to

be aware of the self and aware of his or her interactions with others, living in the moment and

assuming responsibility for their actions. For Perls, the appropriate experience, further on from

the whole explanation or possible interpretation, is therapeutic or corrective in this sense.

It is in this way that Claudio Naranjo systematizes Gestalt therapy along three basic

principles: attitude, attention and responsibility, and constantly brings the patient back to these

principles throughout their therapy.

Actuality (Here and now)

Excessive concentration on the past (memories) or on the future (plans) is a form of escapism

with respect to the present. These fantasies with both often occur as a form of escape from the
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present moment when we cannot resolve something or we cannot totally experiment.

Nevertheless, nothing exists outside the present moment.

By this, Gestalt therapy focuses on the here and now in two ways: on the one hand, it insists

on expressing everything that is within the field of the awareness of the client, and working with

that; and on the other hand, by means of personification of the past or future—or of fantasy in

general—dramatizing past scenes—even those from dreams—or fantasies of the future. This is

made real through gestural, postural, and verbal forms.

Attention (Self-realization)

Assuming the figure-ground game as a basis for perception, Gestalt therapy attempts to

achieve permeability between the two. This permits softening of rigid methods of relating with

society (character) with which unknown capacities are recovered to form the grounds of

attention.

In this manner, the client is encouraged to be aware of his or her feelings, thoughts, body

posture, breathing rhythm, physical sensations, etc., enhancing day-to-day experience. In the

next stage, the client is directed to experiment across the dramatization of feelings, thoughts,

body posture, etc., of other people (fathers, friends, intimate partners, those who appear in

dreams) who are brought as significant material to the session.

Responsibility

The principal idea is to replace the concept of blame (related to shoulds and musts) with

responsibility (related to organismic self-regulation). This creates a flexibility with the

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relationship with the medium, allowing natural equilibrium between needs and the environment,

permitting the natural equilibrium between one's own needs and those of the environment.

Gestalt therapy emphasizes the independence of the client, leaving him or her in charge of his

or her own development. This contributes to a great measure the role of Gestalt therapy,

understood more as a facilitator or guide to the therapeutic process rather than making the

Gestalt responsible for the client's well-being or pretend to create confidence in the client and his

capacity. In this manner it avoids generating a relation of dependency with both and creates a

model for a positive relationship for personal growth.

In this light, the therapist does not have the truth about the client, and neither interprets nor

offers solutions. The therapist's role is to generate a space for the client to experiment by

himself/herself in a sufficiently protected atmosphere.

Wider influence of Gestalt therapy on other schools

Gestalt therapy, along with transactional analysis (TA)—most specifically, Michigan

Transactional Analysis—strongly influenced Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP)

Moral injunctions of Gestalt therapy

 Live now, stay in the present.

 Live here, be with the present.

 Stop imagining, experience reality.

 Stop unnecessary thinking.

 Express, rather than manipulating, explaining, justifying, or judging.

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 Give in to unpleasantness do not restrict your awareness.

 Accept no "should" or "ought", other than your own.

 Take full responsibility for your own actions, feelings and thoughts.

 Surrender to being who you are right now.

References
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Actualizing Tendency: The Encyclopedia of Positive Psychology: Blackwell Reference Online.

(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/tocnode?

id=g9781405161251_chunk_g97814051612513_ss1-3

Cameron, K. (2013, February 12). Congruence: The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Management:

Blackwell Reference Online. Retrieved from

http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/tocnode?

query=Congruence+&widen=1&result_number=1&from=search&id=g9780631233176_ch

unk_g97806312353617_ss3-26&type=std&fuzzy=0&slop=1

Cherry, K. (2014, February). Unconditional Positive Regard - Psychology - About.com.

Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/uindex/g/unconditional-positive-regard.htm

Empathy and Understanding Others - Improve Your Social Skills. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.improveyoursocialskills.com/empathy

Mental Help. (1995). Gestalt Therapy - Psychotherapy Treatment and Psychotherapist

Information. Retrieved from http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?

type=doc&id=8139

Psychology Today. (2013, March). The Theory of Self-Actualization | Psychology Today [Web

log post]. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/theory-and-

psychopathology/201308/the-theory-self-actualization

Unconditional Positive Regard: Definition, Examples & Quiz | Education Portal. (n.d.).

Retrieved from http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/unconditional-positive-regard-

definition-examples-quiz.html

University Of Chicago. (1999, April 2). Carl Rogers: Oak Park, Illinois native. Retrieved from

http://www.oprf.com/Rogers/