Personal Counseling Theory Paper As a future counselor, I have enjoyed learning about the different techniques and theories of counseling. Understanding each approach is important but I believe that the counselors self knowledge of her or his own values, worldviews and life philosophy is just as important for the counselor to do the job effectively. Each theory that we learned about, I could see being helpful to different people, their circumstance and individual problem. I can see myself using different parts of each in my future career. Currently, I more drawn to the Adlerian theory. I understand and agree when Adler believed that people do have the ability to monitor and control the direction of their lives.The unconscious shapes personality, …show more content…
For me, I think it is difficult to understand the person without knowing their background and difficult to see only their environment without paying attention to a person 's behavior. It is important to take a look at a person 's values, relationships, and belief systems because this will affect how one acts in society. Adler’s theory states that the development of self and society are interconnected. They each influence one another. When one person develops positively, then he can connect positively with others and the more he connects with others , the more one can develop oneself ( Marcus and Rosenberg, 1998). Along with Adler, I also believe that a person can connect in different levels and in many different spheres. One can feel connected with another person, with family, friends, community and so on. This can also include being connected to animals, and plants until in the larger sense, a person is connected with the whole cosmos. I feel that if people truly become connected and understood, then many of today 's problems, such as war, discrimination, prejudice, etc., might not …show more content…
That people attempt to make up for their weaknesses in one area by overcompensating in another area, such as a person that is bad in sports might try to excel in music inorder to hide their weakness. I agree that people to tend to strive to excel in an area that they feel stronger in, for myself, it was being able to excel in sports as a way to fit into a new environment and culture since coming from a family that immigrated from Europe to the United States. Being involved in different sports, I was able to learn about my new culture and learn to speak English better. I realized that I was able to adapt to my surroundings and I was more accepted when I excelled in a sport that was popular with a school. Also, as outlined in the Adlerian theory, when an individual tends to overcompensate, they develop an inferiority complex. They believe they are incapable of excelling to the same level of others. Some people use a real or imagined inferiority complex as a means to avoid taking risks that might lead to great rewards. Others take the exact opposite route. Instead of developing an inferiority complex they develop a superiority complex whereby they believe they are better than everyone else (Marcus and Rosenberg, 1998). This type of individual tends to exaggerate his or her self-importance. My experience of compensation has led me to strive to excel in many areas and to
With a nod to a psychodynamic approach that recognizes the influence of past events—and more importantly, how those events are interpreted—Adlerian theory postulates that most problems are social in nature, with the dynamic among the family being one of the
Miguel resides with his mother, father and grandmother. He is a 16 year-old male Latina of Mexican ethnicity. His parents are legal immigrants from Mexico but met and eventually, got married after they arrived in the United States. His mother is pregnant, which means that Miguel will soon have a sister. Miguel has been struggling academically even though he loves literature and writing. At home Miguel’s family speak Spanish but Miguel is fluent in both English and Spanish. He has been having challenges with his identity, which is the reason he identifies himself as “Chicano-American and not Latina.
Alder is the founder of the Individual Psychology Therapy. This theory is developed from Freud’s psychodynamic theory and is considered one of the three major contributors to psychodynamic therapies. The beginning of the 20th century, the Adlerian therapy is a type of psychoanalysis known as the Individual Psychology therapy (IP), broke free from the Freudian school as a result rejecting Freud’s driven view of human nature. Adlerians have a calculated view of human nature. The terms Individual Psychology and Adlerian Psychology are interchangeable throughout this paper. Many other individuals have contributed to the Individual Psychology Theory. Alfred Adler’s development of the Individual Psychology therapy is a theory composed of personality and maladjustments (Watts, 2015). The medical model orientation to
In regards to the questions and answers, I feel as though my personal approach to counseling is based off of my own priorities I set forth in myself that follow more closely to the aspects of Reality Therapy, and Adlerian Therapy. Though Reality Therapy primarily focuses on the present, it still has some grounding in the past but not as much as Adlerian does. Even knowing this I still feel these two therapies are more closely related to my own belief system. I am in agreement with Reality Therapy, in that we are responsible for the choices we make. I trust that we can exercise great control over our lives, over how we can change to better ourselves, and to better our relationships with those around us. I feel that we all as a society are influenced by basic needs: belonging, survival, freedom, and power, and that these needs can be used as motivational tool when working with clients.
Freud, Jung, and Adler each contributed essential concepts in accordance to one’s personality and environment. Focusing on one’s personality, each theorist assisted in the understanding of personality and each theory is still being used today throughout many therapy sessions. Throughout one’s education, one will go through personal development, seeking to find who he/she is and along the way react to life’s events accordingly. Academic success and developmental are hand in hand, allowing persons to set goals and develop plans to reach each goal. Each theory provides a different aspect in one’s personality which leads to the behaviors of that individual. According to Richard E. Watts, “Adlerian counseling theory affirms that humans are characterized by unity across the broad spectrum of personality-cognitions, affect, and behavior. Style of life, the Adlerian term for personality, is a cognitive blueprint
Coined by theorist Sigmund Freud, the psychodymanic approach to therapy revolves around the interaction between the conscious and the unconscious. It is believed that the mind is made up for three entities; the Id, Ego,& Superego. The id is known for its pleasure seeking drive and impulsiveness. Often referred to as the “devil on your shoulder” the id exhibits very little self control and is often linked with the unconscious mind. Driven by sex, violence, and impulsivity, the id has been known to encourage risky behavior that normally would not occur. If the id were dominant, a person would behave in a devious, and socially unacceptable manner. Contrary to the id, the superego acts as the “angel on ones shoulder”. As stated in Day,2008, “when the superego is in charge, we are perfectionistic and uptight and demand too much of ourselves.” The superego acts as the conscience by reflecting social standards learned through observation. When the superego is allowed to take control, it sets such high expectations and demands, that is is too difficult to reach such high standards. The only way to stop the pendulum of the psyche from swinging to either extreme is the presence of the ego. The ego is the mediator between the superego and the id, providing moral reasoning and the principal of reality. The reality principle acknowledge that one must not act out id impulses, but also realizes that one cannot live up to the demands of the superego (Day, 2008). The ego helps moderate between these two extremes with the use of defense mechanisms.
Values, Morals, and Beliefs are components that play a role in an individual’s self-identity. The establishment of these components shape human nature, behavior, and the development of an individual’s purpose. The basis of these fundamentals has contributed to my desire to become a counselor. This paper will discuss my views of human nature, factors of behavior changes, goals of therapy, the roles of a therapist, and the counseling approaches that I chose to incorporate in a practice.
The 18-year-old student from Illinois State High School, Kevin was referred to the student counselling service by his football coach. The concerns were that Kevin was having difficulties focusing and playing well, with generalised issues about low mood. Additionally, Kevin has a diagnosis of major depressive disorder where feelings of inadequacy and a perception of worthlessness are the presenting themes.
Understanding the counseling session from the client’s perspective is a very important aspect in the development of a therapeutic relationship. A clinician must be an excellent listener, while being to pay attention to the client’s body language, affect and tone. The dynamics in the counseling session that is beneficial to the client include the recognition of the pain that the client is feeling. The detrimental part of this includes a misunderstanding of the real issues, a lack of consideration of the cultural aspects of the client, and a lack of clinical experience or listening skills. In this presentation, we will discuss the positive and negative aspects of the counseling session from the client’s perspective which includes the client’s attitudes, feelings, and emotions of the counseling session. We will next examine the propensity of the client to reveal or not reveal information to the counselor, and how transference, and counter-transference can have an effect on the counselor-client relationship.
The old saying says “A problem shared is a problem solved” tells us the truth. That is when things get tough and difficult or we have to make decisions in our life that sometimes we need someone to listen and hear our story so we may get a better idea of our options in life. Most people who receive and or counseling show significant improvement.
Adler believed “it is the feeling of inferiority, inadequacy, insecurity, which determines the goal of an individual’s existence.” His theory applies to every individual because in childhood everyone has felt sense of inferiority in them. The only difference is that some are able to overcome it some do not. To Adler, healthy individual drive toward superiority as a way to compensate for the inferiorities felt during childhood. However, superiority according to Adler does not specify to be superior to others but signifies moving from a perceived lower position to perceived higher position. Not only this, Adler also took into account individual life style and birth order. His approach to give emphasis to the relationship between siblings and psychological birth position is exclusive. It is obvious for people to think why children from the same family are different even though they come from same environment. Even though sharing some aspects of the family pattern, each child becomes different due to birth order. If we look in our own family, we can easily understand what Adler mean by this behavioral distinction by birth order. I am eldest child in my family, thus more pampered and looked upon until my brother was born. When my parents were more into taking care of my brother, I automatically became their helping hand to help raise my brother. Now, he is totally dependent on me for every decision he makes and looks upon me as his mentor or role-model. As we pass from one stage to the next, often with some difficult periods of transition, we learn and mature in the process. Throughout the life span, the importance of roles may change, varying with the stages. Every individual pass through these stages of life thus should prepare them...
Alfred Adler directed his attention to searching for immediate results to the issues of the patient. The assumption of Adler’s individual psychology is that social factors and goals for the future are the motivating factors in human behavior. It was Adler’s position that people needed to have a sense or a feeling of belonging and that belonging was tied to their social ties (Ferguson, 2010). Individual psychology also makes the assumption that individuals are conscious of their thoughts and feelings and are personally responsible for how they respond or behave in a given situation (Overholser, 2013). Alfred Adler contributions to the theory of personality centered on the importance of society. Adler felt that as humans, individuals are all connected together and through that
His theory was that all behavior is teleological, purposive, or goal oriented. The goal of all human behavior is to “socially belong” but keeping a separate identity or “sense of self”. As individuals we seek out social equality. We all have an inferiority complex and that it is completely normal. Adler’s “birth order” is a major factor in social influence in childhood. Siblings have the same parents and live in the same house they have different social environments. He broke his "birth order” into four sections: the first born, the second born, the youngest child, and the only child. Adler believed that dreams are our feeling about current
Alfred Adler was the innovative creator of Individual Psychology. During his childhood, Adler experienced a lot of sicknesses and illnesses that prevented him from experiencing life the way he wanted. Individual Psychology was inspired by Adler’s childhood, life experiences and his own accounts of feeling inferior. Adler was the second child out of seven. Adler felt like he was overshadowed by his oldest brother, Sigmund. Adler mainly viewed people holistically. He mentioned that individuals are unique, creative; goals oriented, and are responsible for their own destiny. “Individual Psychology is a growth model that emphasizes the holistic, phenomenological, and theological aspects of human functioning” (Leak & Leak, 2006). Adler knew that an individual’s genetics or what a person is born into doesn’t create personality; instead, it is the decisions and choices they make that matters and that the individual is not driven by its instincts. He also emphasized the importance of individual social interactions. Society plays an important role in an individual’s life because people like our family, help us stay alive (survive) due to our inferiority. Since we are born inferior the individuals strive to become superior or in other words become perfect.
It is imperative to study counseling theories when beginning field based work. Counseling theories provide a foundation to be able to learn and develop my own techniques. Some ideas that exemplify the significance of counseling theories are; research, application of theories, and case studies.