The Search for 'Self'
& Emotional Intelligence's Contribution
GLOBAL TREATMENTS
Besides specific emotional or psychological problems, there are also problems that are global and that
resist specification. Among these are problems of meaning, where people
ask about the purpose of their lives, and problems in loving. The latter,
while specific enough, is an affective problem for which, unless it is promoted
by fear, no specific treatment remedies exist. For global problems,
global treatments may be the only remedy.
Global treatments include the psycho dynamically oriented therapies,
as well as the variety of humanistic and existential ones. These therapies seek
to explore, strengthen, and change the self-not merely the individual's
image of self, but the host of traits, abilities, beliefs, attitudes, and broad
dispositions that give rise to self. They may even try to help people develop a
sense of self, to know who they are, and what they believe. The goals of self
exploration and changing the self in accord with that knowledge are the
goals of these global therapies.
The Search for Self
The problems of self-of the meaning of life and work, of loving, and of
commitment-are fundamental problems that everyone faces, or avoids,
throughout life. In no sense, need these problems be considered abnormal,
for we are not put in this world with a script that tells us "what it's all about."
Each of us discovers that for himself or herself. This process is often as complicated
and painful as it is fascinating, and one simply may want a professional
guide to lead one through the forests and around the dead ends.
Traditional vehicles for self-exploration have been Freudian or Jungian
psychoanalysis and their many psychodynamic off shoots. These psychodynamic
therapies are more than 'treatments for distress'. They are methods of
self-examination. In "Psychoanalysis: Terminable or Interminable," Freud
(1905/1976) concluded that the process of self-exploration is an interminable
one for which psychoanalysis can serve as a useful adjunct throughout
life. In fact, the ideal psychoanalytic client is still captured by the acronym
YAVIS-young, attractive, verbal, intelligent, and successful-someone
who may have some problems but, on the spectrum of these matters, is
surely experiencing no real desperation. The YAVIS client benefits from
psychoanalysis to the extent that he or she develops deep understandings of self
that, in turn, lead to greater change and self-fulfillment.
The goal of ‘SeIf’ understanding of getting to really know the person you
are-is also claimed for a variety of humanistic therapies. For Carl Rogers, it is a fundamental goal of client-centered therapy. The various humanistic and existential group therapies, such as Gestalt, encounter, and psychodrama, can also be described as ways of heightening experience in order to enable clients to better understand themselves...
But do they work?
The answer to this Question is complex. When global
treatments are applied to specific problems, they seem to work less well than
specific treatments (Kazdin and Wilson, 1978). Even so, however, they are
more effective than no treatment at all. But when global treatments are used
to facilitate the search for self, Questions about effectiveness lose much of
their meaning, for here, notions of "cure" and of "symptoms remission" are
entirely inappropriate. To the extent that the Question has any meaning at
all, the answer must be a private one, entirely dependent upon whether the
client believes it has been meaningful. When asked, close to 90 percent of
such clients reported themselves satisfied with the outcomes of such treatment
(Strupp, Fox, and Lessler, 1969).
The treatments that have been discussed in this section apply to problems
that are full-grown. Such problems already will have taken their toll in
human misery, long before they come to the attention of professional therapists.
Once they do, moreover, treatment will be expensive and time-consuming, and outcomes will not always be optimistic. Can anything be done to prevent problems from arising in the first place? And if they do arise, can their effects be minimized and contained? Finally, are there alternatives to the kinds of treatment that have been discussed in this section, alternatives that utilize community rather than professional resources? Because, as an old adage tells us, it is the squeaky wheel that gets the oil, clinical psychology and psychiatry have attended mainly to those who are in need of treatment, often desperately in need of it.
But plain common sense makes clear that the squeaky wheel principle is wrong. If problems were prevented in the first place, or minimized before they flowered, both human misery and the need for expensive professional treatment would be greatly reduced. In the next section, we turn to moving beyond the efforts to prevent and contain human distress, as well as alternative mode of treatment in the community that develops THE TRUE SELF.
It is my belief that the process of Emotional Development Therapy can develop the True Self.
Besides specific emotional or psychological problems, there are also problems that are global and that
resist specification. Among these are problems of meaning, where people
ask about the purpose of their lives, and problems in loving. The latter,
while specific enough, is an affective problem for which, unless it is promoted
by fear, no specific treatment remedies exist. For global problems,
global treatments may be the only remedy.
Global treatments include the psycho dynamically oriented therapies,
as well as the variety of humanistic and existential ones. These therapies seek
to explore, strengthen, and change the self-not merely the individual's
image of self, but the host of traits, abilities, beliefs, attitudes, and broad
dispositions that give rise to self. They may even try to help people develop a
sense of self, to know who they are, and what they believe. The goals of self
exploration and changing the self in accord with that knowledge are the
goals of these global therapies.
The Search for Self
The problems of self-of the meaning of life and work, of loving, and of
commitment-are fundamental problems that everyone faces, or avoids,
throughout life. In no sense, need these problems be considered abnormal,
for we are not put in this world with a script that tells us "what it's all about."
Each of us discovers that for himself or herself. This process is often as complicated
and painful as it is fascinating, and one simply may want a professional
guide to lead one through the forests and around the dead ends.
Traditional vehicles for self-exploration have been Freudian or Jungian
psychoanalysis and their many psychodynamic off shoots. These psychodynamic
therapies are more than 'treatments for distress'. They are methods of
self-examination. In "Psychoanalysis: Terminable or Interminable," Freud
(1905/1976) concluded that the process of self-exploration is an interminable
one for which psychoanalysis can serve as a useful adjunct throughout
life. In fact, the ideal psychoanalytic client is still captured by the acronym
YAVIS-young, attractive, verbal, intelligent, and successful-someone
who may have some problems but, on the spectrum of these matters, is
surely experiencing no real desperation. The YAVIS client benefits from
psychoanalysis to the extent that he or she develops deep understandings of self
that, in turn, lead to greater change and self-fulfillment.
The goal of ‘SeIf’ understanding of getting to really know the person you
are-is also claimed for a variety of humanistic therapies. For Carl Rogers, it is a fundamental goal of client-centered therapy. The various humanistic and existential group therapies, such as Gestalt, encounter, and psychodrama, can also be described as ways of heightening experience in order to enable clients to better understand themselves...
But do they work?
The answer to this Question is complex. When global
treatments are applied to specific problems, they seem to work less well than
specific treatments (Kazdin and Wilson, 1978). Even so, however, they are
more effective than no treatment at all. But when global treatments are used
to facilitate the search for self, Questions about effectiveness lose much of
their meaning, for here, notions of "cure" and of "symptoms remission" are
entirely inappropriate. To the extent that the Question has any meaning at
all, the answer must be a private one, entirely dependent upon whether the
client believes it has been meaningful. When asked, close to 90 percent of
such clients reported themselves satisfied with the outcomes of such treatment
(Strupp, Fox, and Lessler, 1969).
The treatments that have been discussed in this section apply to problems
that are full-grown. Such problems already will have taken their toll in
human misery, long before they come to the attention of professional therapists.
Once they do, moreover, treatment will be expensive and time-consuming, and outcomes will not always be optimistic. Can anything be done to prevent problems from arising in the first place? And if they do arise, can their effects be minimized and contained? Finally, are there alternatives to the kinds of treatment that have been discussed in this section, alternatives that utilize community rather than professional resources? Because, as an old adage tells us, it is the squeaky wheel that gets the oil, clinical psychology and psychiatry have attended mainly to those who are in need of treatment, often desperately in need of it.
But plain common sense makes clear that the squeaky wheel principle is wrong. If problems were prevented in the first place, or minimized before they flowered, both human misery and the need for expensive professional treatment would be greatly reduced. In the next section, we turn to moving beyond the efforts to prevent and contain human distress, as well as alternative mode of treatment in the community that develops THE TRUE SELF.
It is my belief that the process of Emotional Development Therapy can develop the True Self.
More at:
http://emotional-intelligence-training.weebly.com/
Of course you know the training method I recommend!
http://theliberatormethod.com/Welcome.html
http://emotional-intelligence-training.weebly.com/
Of course you know the training method I recommend!
http://theliberatormethod.com/Welcome.html