6. Humanistic direction in individual and family counseling

Plan

1. Basic theoretical principles 2. C. Rogers client-centered approach

3. The existential approach of I. Yalom, R. May.

4. Logotherapy V. Frankl

1. Basic theoretical principles

1. Personality is not something uniquely defined by nature or the educational environment, but always an open opportunity for free development based on inner choice.

2. Each person is unique; therefore, an individual should not be customized to the results of statistical studies. Analysis of individual cases, however, is justified.

3. A person has a certain degree of freedom from external determination due to meanings and values.

4. The analogy between the behavior of an animal and human behavior is unjustified.

5. Man is whole by nature.

6. Man is endowed with the potencies for continuous development and self-realization, which are part of his nature.

The most famous approaches in this area

1. Customer-centered approach of K. Rogers

2. The existential approach of I. Yalom, R. May

3. Logotherapy V. Frankl

1. Client-centered approach of K. Rogers

From the point of view of the followers of this approach, all people are endowed with an innate tendency to actualize themselves, which is manifested in the aspirations: to increasingly adapt to the environment, to develop and complicate their internal organization.

All people are also endowed with innate and unique potential, which each person is called to realize in the process of actualizing himself.

At a certain stage of their development, all people are faced with the opinions and assessments of those around them. Opinions and assessments of others are very important for people. On their basis, an internal working body of self-control is formed - self-assessment.

There is a likelihood of internal conflicts between the tendency to actualize oneself and the actual or expected assessments of those around you, which limit the field of possible personal growth. Often, the opinions and assessments of others direct a person away from the realization of his innate and unique potential, away from actualizing himself.

If a person is too focused on the opinions and assessments of a meaningful social environment to the detriment of the trends associated with self-actualization, then he can get a neurosis.

The goal of working with a client within a client-centered approach. In their everyday life, the client should be less oriented towards the opinions and assessments of the nearest social environment, and should be more oriented towards their innate tendencies associated with the increasing complexity of personal organization and the desire for deeper adaptation in the environment.

K. Rogers singled out and described the three necessary conditions that the dialogue of the consultant and the client must meet in order for the client to grow in the direction of the purpose described above:

1. The consultant is congruent in relation to his own experience with the client.

2. The consultant is experiencing an unconditional positive assessment in relation to the client. 3. The consultant empatically perceives the client.

Techniques most often used in the client centric approach

1. Verbalization.

2. The silence of the consultant, in which the client feels acceptance.

3. Emphasizing emotions.

In order to help people learn to accept more first themselves and then others around them, the following procedure was developed as part of the client-centered approach. It is proposed to fill in a table containing certain personal characteristics. The client should note which of them relate to the real self, the social self, the ideal self.

After filling the table, the client is asked to circle those adjectives where possible differences between the columns occur. These are possible moments of incongruence in his life. The following issues are discussed with the client:

1. Do you think that some of your wishes are unrealistic?

2. Is there any reason to believe that you could change some of the goals that are assumed by your ideal self-description?

3. Is there a reason for this?

You can work in small groups, discussing their inconsistencies, or make a diary, noting in it what is connected with them. In a group, you can play the roles represented in one of the columns to help a person see how he will feel in one of the revealed structures of his self-image.

Family K. Rogers considered as an analogue of a group of meetings.

The main factor uniting people in a family is the need for client-centered communication with a loved one. In modern society, the success of a marriage should largely depend on how well the spouses are able to play the role of a client-centered therapist in relation to each other in their family life. The role of the family therapist becomes extremely significant, leading to the modern family. The ability of the spouses to perform this role in the family also determines the extent to which such an important function as the creation of conditions for the development of the personality of all family members is realized in their family.

With reference to the task of parenting, C. Rogers described models of a well-functioning parent and a poorly functioning parent.

A well-functioning parent has a high level of self-acceptance. This allows him to take and their children, organically evaluate them. Organizational assessment assumes that the parent, making demands in relation to his child, proceeds from the needs of his unique internal organization. At the opposite pole will be the promotion of the conditions of value in relation to the child.

A poorly functioning parent has a low level of acceptance of himself. This means that this person does not accept much in himself, therefore, he cannot accept much in his child, orient his education to the needs of his internal organization. Such a parent sets forth many conditions of value in relation to his child. Starting work with such a parent should be with actions aimed at increasing the level of acceptance of oneself.

3. The existential approach of I. Yalom, R. May

The word "existence" ("existence") comes from Lat. - stand out, appear. This emphasizes that existence is not a static process, but a dynamic one, i.e. growth - associated with the emergence and formation. Normally, a person is always in a state of transformation into something, and people, thanks to self-consciousness, can choose their own being.

In the course of its existence, a person is faced with the data of existence: death, freedom, isolation, meaninglessness. They perform a dynamic function in relation to man - they encourage the development of his personality, his formation. But the encounter with them is painful, therefore people tend to defend themselves against them, which often leads only to an illusory solution to the problem.

Faced with such experiences, people can go both constructive and destructive ways of development.

The destructive way is the numerous forms of psychological defenses against these given.

Constructive way - despite the fear, people allow themselves to immerse themselves in this kind of experience, which contributes to their rebirth, a different understanding of the situation, greater peace of mind, productive functioning.

Constant collisions with a problem in the event of inability to survive it constructively for the development of one’s personality make a person a neurotic.

The main goal of working with the client within the framework of this approach is to help the client switch from the destructive path of psychological defenses to the constructive path of clear understanding and experiencing the realities of his existence. Consultants are trying to help clients identify inadequate psychological defense mechanisms, to realize the negative consequences of their actions. They help the client find ways to cope with the psychological anxiety caused by the situation other than psychological protection.

The existential approach is applicable in cases when clients find themselves in an extreme situation associated with some existential problem: death, transitional periods in personal life and work, making important decisions, isolation.

Existence of existence, causing a person to existential crisis and anxiety

1. Death.

2. Freedom.

3. Isolation.

4. Senselessness as the lack of a sense of meaning in people.

There are two types of mechanisms of destructive psychological defense against anxiety associated with the main existential anxieties:

1) normal, which work regardless of the source of the alarm; for example, projection, negation;

2) specific from each of the four existential concerns that are supported by whole cultures.

Specific mechanisms of psychological defense against major existential concerns

From anxiety associated with death, people are protected by faith in their peculiarity, their own immortality and inviolability; By faith in the earthly savior, who will come to the aid at the last moment. Such rescuers can be a folk healer, medicine man, a famous doctor.

From anxiety associated with freedom, people are protected through the following forms of activity that help a person avoid a sense of responsibility for their own lives: compulsiveness (serial behavior); transfer of responsibility to other people; portraying oneself as an innocent victim; avoiding autonomous behavior.

From the anxiety associated with isolation , people are protected by the fact that they no longer treat others as themselves; begin to manipulate them, use them to meet

their needs; begin to use others to assert themselves in the eyes

others and in their own eyes; subordinate themselves to others, go to merge with another individual or

by group; compulsive sexuality when dealing with others like, with

objects, not like people.

From anxiety associated with meaninglessness , people are protected through the following types of compulsive activity:

with manic persistence, they seek money, pleasure, power,

recognition status; they just do something - they participate in different

campaigns that absorb time.

People also protect themselves from anxiety associated with the meaninglessness of existence through nihilism. At the same time, a person also rejects the existence of any criteria of truth, generally accepted values, ideals, moral norms, culture, forms of public life, religiosity.

This position is largely public: a person rejects not simply, but on display, as if asking him to be stopped, to be shown what and why not to be rejected.

Principles and methods of working with clients

I. In a situation of urgency for the client of the ultimate existential anxieties associated with death, they are trying to lead him to such an in-depth awareness of death that would lead to a higher appreciation of life, would open up the possibility for personal growth. They try to help the client to realize that existence cannot be delayed. He is encouraged to carry out the wise counting of happy gifts received from life. The following methodical techniques are used for this:

1. Self-disclosure counselor. It can take the following forms:

Telling the client about their own attempts to come to terms with the ultimate existential concerns.

Reporting to the client the thoughts and feelings that the consultant is experiencing "here and now" about the client's problems.

“Permission to endure” is communicated to the client that the theme of death is a typical and rewarding, necessary theme in the relations of the psychologist with the client. It is important that the consultant himself was not afraid of this topic.

2. Identification of psychological defense mechanisms. For the client make explicit information about the mechanisms of psychological protection, which he uses. At the same time they assist him in the realization of their naivety.

3. Work with reminders of the fragility (frailty) of existence. The client is tuned to signs of mortality, which are part of normal life.

4. Use aids to increase mortality awareness:

The client is encouraged to write his obituary (an article dedicated to the deceased, describing his life and work).

The client is offered to dream up on the topic of death: where and when the client will meet death, how will the funeral take place.

Clients are encouraged to communicate with terminally ill people, to observe their behavior.

5. Customers are encouraged to regain stricter control over those aspects of life that they can influence.

Ii. In a situation of urgency for the client, the ultimate existential concerns related to freedom, the client is helped to take responsibility for his life with the help of the following methods:

1. Identification of psychological defense mechanisms. The client is explained the essence of psychological defenses, put face to face with responsibility for his own misfortunes through the following actions:

When a client complains about his own misfortunes, he is asked how he created these situations.

If a customer is demeaning other people, they point out his own similar traits.

The consultant fixes the client's attention to the fact that he uses the language of evasion of responsibility - says “I can’t” instead of “I don’t want”.

2. Identification of evasion "here and now." The client’s attention is paid to his “here and now” behavior, which determines the problems he faces in real life.

3. Encounter with realistic limitations. The client is helped to determine which areas he can influence and which he cannot.

4. Confronting existential fault. The client is oriented to live according to his conscience when he acts against her.

5. Exemption of the ability to desire in a client with blocked affects. This is done with the help of the questions: “What do you feel?”, “What do you want?”.

6. Facilitation of decision making. The client sometimes paralyzes his ability to make decisions through phrases beginning with the words “What if ...”. For example: “What if I lose my job and cannot find another?” »The consultant helps the client explore the ramifications of each“ What if ... ”question and analyze the feelings that are triggered by these questions.

Iii. In a situation of urgency for the client of the ultimate existential anxieties associated with isolation, he is helped to counter these anxieties with the help of the following techniques:

1. Clash of the client with insulation. The client is helped to understand that ultimately every person is alone. He is offered a real look at the question of what he can and what he cannot get from the relationship. Sometimes it is recommended to be isolated in order to realize the scale of their hidden resources, the horror of loneliness, their courage.

2. Identification of psychological defense mechanisms.

3. Identification of interpersonal pathology. Ways of evading a client from real relationships with others are determined. The following issues are discussed:

As far as the client treats people as objects that serve to satisfy their desires?

How well does he know how to love other people?

How well does he know how to listen to interlocutors and reveal himself?

How does he keep people at a distance?

4. Using consultant-client relationships to identify pathology.

5. The consultant teaches the client the alphabet of the language of intimacy.

6. Healing relationships in high level of intimacy.

Iv. In a situation of relevance to the client of the ultimate existential anxieties associated with a lack of meaning in life , the following methods of work are used:

1. Override the problem. It is alleged that when people complain that there is no point, they essentially cannot find it. It is argued that people would rather make sense of something than get it in finished form. Thus, people are responsible for creating their own meaning.

2. Identification of the types of psychological protection from anxiety associated with meaninglessness.

3. The client is assisted in his more active participation in life. Obstacles in various areas are identified that interfere with the sense of meaning, they are removed.

4. Logotherapy V. Frankl

Fundamental motivational power in people is the pursuit of meaning. People need not a state without tension, but a tense pursuit of a certain meaning that is worthy of them. When frustrated desire for meaning, there is apathy, boredom.

Within the framework of logotherapy, one of the central theses is the thesis that a person has the freedom to choose from realistic opportunities (how to live the next hour). Each situation opens up the possibility for a person to find the best functioning, and this is a meaning for a person.

The state of a person when he has a frustrated desire for meaning is called an existential vacuum. Existential vacuum can lead to noogenic neurosis (neurosis, which arises as a result of frustration of desire for meaning), clinical symptoms.

The consequence of an existential vacuum is a massive neurotic triad: depression (the next step is suicide), drug addiction, aggression.

Existential vacuum maintained:

1) the suppression of their own spirituality, religiosity;

2) avoiding responsibility for the search for meaning in conformism, totalitarianism, the neurotic triad;

3) the destruction of traditions and values;

4) reductionism in the field of psychology and education;

5) insufficient emphasis on self-transcendence;

6) the neurotization of humanity;

The goal of logotherapy is to help clients find meaning in life. Stages and methods of work

I. Diagnosing the state of existential vacuum and reformulating the problem. The client is led to the fact that to understand questions about meaning and to look for meaning is a healthier state than not to raise questions about meaning and not look for it. Existential despair is an achievement rather than a sign of neurosis. This is a sign of intellectual depth, not superficiality.

Ii. Deepening the existential state. The following methods are used:

1. Explanation. For example, clients are told that fragility rather imparts meaning to human existence rather than deprives it of meaning.

2. Предложение максим (изложенных в краткой форме правил, принципов поведения).

3. Использование сравнений:

Клиентам предлагают представить свою жизнь в виде движущихся картин, которые снимаются на кинопленку. При этом ничего нельзя изменить задним числом.

Клиентам предлагают представить себя скульпторами, которые имеют ограниченное время для создания своих произведений искусства (жизней), но не знают, когда наступит крайний срок.

Iii. Фокусирование на поисках смысла:

1. Подведение клиентов к осознанию своей ответственности за нахождение смысла:

До клиентов доводят, что они ответственны за достижение высочайшей из возможных «активаций» их жизни.

Клиентам помогают понять, что жизнь никогда не теряет смысл, ее следует рассматривать как некое предопределение, помогающее человеку обрести смысл.

Если клиенты религиозны, их подводят к тому, что они ответственны перед Богом за нахождение смысла.

2. Клиентам помогают выслушивать голос своего психического. Клиент должен выслушивать 10 тыс. требований, скрытых в 10 тыс. ситуаций, с которыми сталкивает его жизнь, повиноваться этим требованиям. При этом психологи-консультанты могут приводить примеры своих неустанных поисков смысла.

3. Постановка перед клиентами вопросов о смысле. Каких творческих успехов они могли бы добиться в своей жизни? Психолог помогает клиентам искать ответы на подобного рода вопросы.

4. Увеличение числа источников смысла. Если прежний источник смысла в данный момент не доступен, что еще могло бы его заменить?

5. Выявление смысла через логодрамму. Обострение конфликтности ситуации через введение в поле зрения клиентов новых людей, новых источников информации, помогающее клиентам обрести смысл.

6. Предложение клиентам некоторых готовых вариантов смысла в кажущейся им бессмысленной ситуации.

7. Использование анализа сновидений для выявления подавленной духовности и религиозности.

Большой известностью пользуются два метода, разработанных в рамках логотерапии:

1. Парадоксальная интенция. Клиентам с обсессивно-компульсивными и фобическими расстройствами предлагают делать то, чего они больше всего боятся, сопровождая это шутками.

2. Dereflexia - a technique to combat the compulsive tendency to self-observation. Clients are ordered to switch attention from observing any act of their own (for example, swallowing) to something else.