Gestalt Therapy Essays (Examples)

Gestalt therapy emerged from a multitude of philosophical, theoretical, scientific, and cultural roots. As a product of the early twentieth century, it would be impossible to divorce the evolution of Gestalt therapy from Marxism or existentialism, and indeed the theories of Gestalt therapy in part derive from those philosophies. Moreover, Gestalt therapy at least in part originated through a therapeutic application of the perception principles of Gestalt psychology. The relationship between Gestalt therapy and Gestalt psychology is both tenuous and controversial: "Gestalt therapists frequently claim descent from Gestalt psychology by quoting some of the classical Gestalt experiments in figure/ground information and figure/ground reversal ... Yet Gestalt psychologists have consistently denied any close kinship between their system of theory and research," (Sherill 1986). Still Gestalt therapy owes part of its theoretical framework to the work of Max ertheimer, Ernst Mach, Christian von Ehrenfels, Oswald Kulpe, olfgang Kohler, and Kurt Koffka. hile…

Gestalt therapy is a form of psychotherapy that can be of immense benefit to certain types of people with certain types of issues. It is largely considered distinct from other varieties of psychotherapy because it is greatly concerned with perception -- both how it relates to the individual as well as to the observer. Although one might argue the case that virtually all forms of therapy are preoccupied with the thoughts and feelings of their subjects, Gestalt therapy's appeal (in certain instances) is that it is almost wholly concerned with such a subjective approach to the exclusion of most other factors. As such, one of the immense benefits of this form of therapy is that it helps to raise awareness, both of the individual as well as of awareness itself.
Essentially, Gestalt therapy forces a patient to get out of his or her normal thought patterns and modes of behavior.…

Abstract Gestalt is a German word signifying a pattern or shape. The roots of Gestalt therapy can be traced to Max Wertheimer, who studied human perceptual illusions. Wertheimer’s research led to a holistic view of the human psyche that provided a necessary counterpoint to the fragmented, reductionist, and structuralist views that prevailed in research psychology. Gestalt therapy emerged after blending the principles of Gestalt with the goals of psychotherapy. In particular, Gestalt therapists like Frederick “Fritz” Perls used the concept of a Gestalt to emphasize the importance of holism in psychotherapy. Humanism also became a cornerstone of Gestalt therapy, which promotes an “I/Thou” therapeutic relationship based on points of contact between individuals who are connected in an integrated social network. Group therapy and art therapy are also methods used in Gestalt psychology.
Although the phrase may seem out of vogue, Gestalt psychology underwrites a lot of contemporary psychotherapies and therapeutic…

Gestalt Therapy
Thoughts / Feelings / Reactions

The first impression upon reading the Chapter 9 (Gestalt Therapy) is that is has a human feel rather than the harsher, less-friendly Freudian psychoanalysis. Not that all of Freud's work is harsh or standoffish, at all. But when the easy-to-digest narrative in this chapter (lacking some of the esoteric passages of Freud) refers to the "awareness of awareness" I relate immediately (Yontef, et al., 316). .

hen the authors present a picture of therapy that asks the patient to dip into "self-knowledge ... self-acceptance," and knowledge of the environment around a person, this seems far more down-to-earth and patient-centered that other therapies (Yontef, 316). I also am comfortable with this theory because it doesn't "focus on curing disease" nor is it "restricted to talking about problems," but it asks the patient to get in touch with the world surrounding the patient and dip…

Person-centered therapeutic advocates would say that the therapist can work swiftly, if that is the client's desire. But if the client is less than 100% committed to working through his or her issues the needed duration of the therapy can vastly exceed the time and money of the client. Still, person-centered therapists would point out that unlike psychoanalysis, the focus of the therapy is about 'being in the moment' and present-day concerns, rather than upon long-ago excavation of the past.
Gestalt therapy is a form of holistic therapy that focuses self-empowerment and self-actualization, which could be called the 'parent' of person-centered therapy. It requires an even more intensive relationship between therapist and client, and is far more structured and directed in its approach. "The goal of Gestalt therapy is to raise clients' awareness regarding how they function in their environment" (Gestalt therapy, 2008, Encyclopedia of mental disorders). But like person-centered…

Gestalt Analysis on how client behaviors and student developmental levels effect the group stages and counseling process; particularly high school students. There should be some discussions points on group techniques and how it best works with the high school level students.
Also, am a career coach at a local high school and will also need some discussion points on how group techniques tie into background as a career coach for high school seniors.

The high school student, typical of the adolescent period, is going through a transition of finding his identity. Now, if ever, is it particularly important that he be shown how to nurture himself, how to choose, a healthy identity, and how to feel comfortable in the identity he has chosen. *, longtime counselor of adolescents and children, has written a scientific research article of his success in using Gestalt techniques for helping adolescents create and maintain a…

Abstract Gestalt is a German word signifying a pattern or shape. The roots of Gestalt therapy can be traced to Max Wertheimer, who studied human perceptual illusions. Wertheimer’s research led to a holistic view of the human psyche that provided a necessary counterpoint to the fragmented, reductionist, and structuralist views that prevailed in research psychology. Gestalt therapy emerged after blending the principles of Gestalt with the goals of psychotherapy. In particular, Gestalt therapists like Frederick “Fritz” Perls used the concept of a Gestalt to emphasize the importance of holism in psychotherapy. Humanism also became a cornerstone of Gestalt therapy, which promotes an “I/Thou” therapeutic relationship based on points of contact between individuals who are connected in an integrated social network. Group therapy and art therapy are also methods used in Gestalt psychology.
Although the phrase may seem out of vogue, Gestalt psychology underwrites a lot of contemporary psychotherapies and therapeutic…

Compare and Contrast Cognitive Behavior, Gestalt, and Person-Centered Therapy The cognitive behavioral therapy mainly focuses on how a person's thoughts and perceptions will affect how they feel and behave. People are reactive beings that respond to a variety of external stimuli and people's behavior is normally a result of learning and conditioning. Many research studies have demonstrated that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most effective approach for numerous psychological problems including anxiety. CBT is based on the notion that learning and thinking will play roles when an individual's emotional and behavioral problems emerge (Ung, Selles, Small, & Storch, 2015). The main goal of CBT is to reduce the distress that the individual might suffer or suffers by unlearning the maladaptive habits, providing new information processing skills, and changing the maladaptive beliefs. CBT works on the premise that behavior is learned, which means that the same way an individual learned…

The primary difference between the two however, is gestalt therapy concentrates more on the ability of the individual to make proper choices regarding their care. This theory or approach to therapy reminds the client of the connection between mind, body and spirit. The behavior approach is less concerned with the paradigm of holistic health, and more concerned with a therapist-driven approach to identifying problems and selecting appropriate solutions.
In this sense, gestalt therapy seems like it is a more effective approach, because it encourages the individual to make judgments about their health and understand the connections existing between their behaviors and emotions. Because gestalt therapy is patient-driven more so than psychotherapist drive as behavior therapy, many believe patients are able to realize relief and successful outcomes more quickly, as well as retain greater self-esteem (James & Jongeward, 1996; Palmer, 1996). If a patient wants patient-centered care that provides effective relief,…

"The song was there before me, before I came along" Dylan answered. "I just sorta came down and just sorta took it down with a pencil, but it was all there before I came around…" (www.edlis.org)].
Meanwhile Ginger explains the practical application of Gestalt theory from the perspective of Fritz Perls: a) "we all know that each of us perceives the world from our own personal perspective…" and yet people look in vain for the objectivity that comes from science; b) we also know that the "how" is more important than the "why" and that the "spirit in which something is done is important… but we are still mostly interested in the 'bottom line'" (Ginger).

Conclusion

As alluded to earlier in this paper Gestalt has indeed been controversial and clearly it is misunderstood after years of its myriad applications. However, this paper supports the value that is Gestalt, in its…

Gestalt Approach
There are more similarities than differences between Gestalt and Existential theories and both are based on the self. The client knows himself better than anybody else in the world. Therefore, one should start to understand the client's needs and personality along with the careful definitions of these two approaches. Gestalt Therapy takes a holistic approach to human experience by stressing individual responsibility and awareness of present psychological and physical needs (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/232116/Gestalt-therapy). The term of holistic approach should be the center of the therapy. In this approach the client needs to be evaluated analyzing his physical image, his mind, his emotions, and his environment. Although, existential approach is also concentrated on clients' needs, it can be summarized in the components of the life; death, freedom, and meaningless (http://www.existential-therapy.com/General_Overview.htm). Death would be explained by human's limits against the nature or life whereas freedom refers the responsibilities and boundaries. Meaningless is…

Collaborative language systems focuses on the collaborative dialogue between therapist and client, where the two analyze and change the client's use of language about his or her problems to formulate a workable solution (Postmodern therapy, 2009, Depression Guide).
Another type of postmodern therapies is narrative therapy, which tries to help clients see how cultural narratives have shaped the subject's way of being in the world. By seeing their life narratives as constructed, clients are free to rewrite those narratives in a more positive fashion. Similarly, solution-focused therapy focuses on "the construction of solutions to problems" and building new connections: the focusing past is not meaningful, because the past is always interpreted through the lens of the present, so what is more important is creating a fruitful approach to living today (Postmodern therapy, 2009, Depression Guide). The therapist acts as a facilitator, and since there are no universal truths, the goal…

Gestalt theory according to Koffka (Kurt Koffka, Excerpt from "Perception: An introduction to Gestalt-theories" 1922), an act psychology in the tradition of Brentano?
The basic principle behind Gestalt theory is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Gestalt theory focuses on the structures of the mind As an alternative to Gestalt theory Franz Brentano stressed that it is the activities of the mind that are worthy of scientific study, not mental structures: "When one sees a color, the color itself is not mental. It is the seeing, the act that is mental....every act always refers to (or intends) something outside of itself (intentionality); thus, acts are inseparable from the objects to which they intend" (Act psychology, 2012, Psychology History Timeline). However, Gestalt psychologists like Koffka stressed how it was the mind itself, not the object or the activity that should be the target of study. "I…

Adlerian TheoryName and brief description of key figure (s) (Drout, Harback, & Rule, n.d.)The 20th century Austrian psychologist, educator, and physician Alfred Adler was an early disciple of Freudian psychology, but gradually broke with his mentor in several distinct ways. In stark contrast to Sigmund Freud, Adler emphasized the social rather than sexual aspects of human personality development. Freudian hard determinism of the human character is starkly contrasted with Adlers soft determinism, as Adler believed in the possibility of the individual avoiding some of the influences of heredity and the environment, with proper counseling and self-awareness. Adler has been called the founder of individual psychology and has…

Experiential Family Therapy (EFT) is the central place of humanistic therapies and psychology. This therapy includes the works of Fritz Perls, Carl Rogers, and Abraham Maslow, along with the communication theories and family systems of Paul Watzlavick, Don Jackson, and Gregory ateson. It is called a meeting place for all the theorists because clearly the experiential family therapy includes multiple systems used for therapy. The authors ecvar & evcar (2006) like to call these 'experimental approaches to family therapy' instead of 'experimental models'. Virginia Satir, one of the main predecessors of the experiential approach, is also considered to be part of communication approaches as well as experiential (Lester, 2009).
The family tree of the family system has three main parts: (1) the Communications approach of Virginia Satir; (2) the Gestalt experiential approach of Walter Kempler; and (3) the Symbolic experiential approach of Carl Whitaker (ecvar & ecvar, 2006). However, the…

Counseling Theory
Existential therapy, person-centered therapy, and gestalt therapy all fall under the rubric of humanistic psychology. They share a considerable amount of theory, philosophy, and practice. Yet each of these practices is stemmed in its own theoretical framework; therefore, existential, person-centered, and gestalt therapies differ in key ways. ecent scholarship on existential, person-centered, and gestalt therapies builds on the rich canon of literature in these three core humanistic traditions, but is more than just summative. The following review of literature shows how existential therapy, person-centered therapy, and gestalt therapy are practiced in the 21st century, and in so doing, reveals the similarities and differences between these three humanistic psychological frameworks.

Existential Therapy

Existential therapy has been called "a way of thinking rather than…a particular style of practicing," (Corey, 2008, p. 216). Corey (2008) claims that existential therapy is "not a separate school or a neatly defined, systematic model with…

Krentzman and Townsend (2008) indicates that multicultural competence means "having the beliefs, knowledge, and skills necessary to work effectively with individuals different from one's self; that cultural competence includes all forms of difference; and that issues of social justice cannot be overlooked" (p. 7). Although improved cultural competency is widely regarded as being an important element of high quality health care services, it is not a "magic bullet" for mitigating existing inequities in the provision of such care (Larson & Ott, 2010). Nevertheless, developing cross-cultural competencies is viewed by many health care providers as an essential first step in improving access and the quality of health care services in Australia today (Sharma & Phillion, 2011). Therefore, in this context, the term "multicultural competence" is used to describe the relationship between a counselor and a patient in cross-cultural settings (An introduction to cultural competency, 2012). The focus of cultural competence is…

Pics
Gestalt Therapy

Gestalt therapy focuses on experiences in the present moment and relationships between individuals as a means of determining and healing psychological issues. This picture shows both an engaged experience and also implies a specific familial arrangement between the people in the foreground -- it is assumed that they are mother, father and child. The assessment of the individuals in the picture and the "story" that the picture tells would change significantly is we learned that the red-shirted figure is a complete stranger to the woman in the foreground, and this change is one of the fundamental features of Gestalt theory/therapy.

Thought Suppression

Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney is clearly having difficulty with his operating process here, as he appears to be focusing on the extreme financial turmoil the world is experiencing for the second time in three years rather than consciously trying to distract himself. In…

Q4. Depressed patients, when they note their mood is worsening, should record in an automatic thought log the date and time of the thought, the situation, the automatic thoughts, their emotions, the adaptive responses they use and the outcome. This helps the client understand the frequency by which they are plagued with depressive thoughts, what situations provoke such moods, the type of (usually irrational) thinking processes that lead to the depressed mood, and how well they coped with the mood. The therapist can gain a sense of the degree to which the client is depressed, the client's coping mechanisms, and the degree to which the depressive stimulus is irrational (such as feeling rejected by a friend when the friend does not call) or real (a chronically ill parent at home).

Q5. Behavioral therapy can be problematic, given that different cultures reinforce different behavioral norms, and a child from a bicultural…

Self-management is the goal of the client and the therapist works with the client to aid him or her in recognizing self-defeating thoughts or actions that will give negative results, and developing positive thoughts that will have positive results (Lazarus, 1997).
The first tenet that is examined is the one Lazarus calls "Positive Thinking."

Positive cognition is focusing on personal skills and strengths, on what is good in the world, believing in one's self and belief in one's ability to succeed. When this is the dominating thought, the client then acts in ways that bring him or her closer to success. Positive thoughts and images about one's abilities dramatically increase one's chances of succeeding. Believing that success is possible is a prerequisite for most achievements.

Thinking positively does not mean being unrealistically optimistic. Nor does it mean one is without limits, that others will only help and never hinder, or…

relationship and development of child's personality -- developmental theories in Integrative psychotherapy and their use by working with clients
The foundation of our daily lives is created on the relationships that we have with other people. This contact with others, a feeling of reverence it produces and the relational needs it satisfies are all the requirements for us. Our capability to make complete contact with others is frequently disturbed as we confront the unavoidable sufferings of life, either large or small. Psychological dysfunction will result if contact decreases and relational needs get curtailed. Through a method called Integrative Psychotherapy, people can revive their capability to uphold real relationships and improved psychological health. The integrative psychotherapy is based on oger's client-centered therapy, Berne's transactional analysis, Perls Gestalt therapy, Kohut's self-psychology, and also the contributions of British object-relations theorists. (Erskine; Moursund; Trautmann, 1999)

Integrative Psychotherapy:

Integrative psychotherapy involves a practice of psychotherapy…

Human behavior can be a very fickle and complex thing. Just as human behavior is a rather complex and variable thing, solution-focused therapy variations are much the same way. Indeed, there different viewpoints and methods like postmodernism, general systems, biopsychological, spiritual/ecological and the very important contributions of people like Bronfenbrenner. egardless of the influence or the method, the overall focus of any solution-focused therapy is to find solutions and better outcomes. The major thing that varies is the precise pathway and method that is used to get to that end. Indeed, the patterns and facets of a given method will vary based on the ideology and logic that underpins it. While there are multiple ways and methods that can all accomplish good things for a therapy patient, it is important to know the desired endgame and find a way to move towards the same.
Analysis

When it comes to postmodernism,…

Psychology
In the year 2005, United States experience one of the biggest, deadliest and costly hurricanes of that period. The hurricane was named Hurricane Katrina; it cost loss of lives, property and flooding across different states. The emergency situation had to be dealt with immediately and strategies to do so had to be all rounded. This is because those affected were either directly involved or witnessed the occurrence. This discussion is aimed and analyzing the victims of the emergency following two approaches that is humanistic and behavioral while comparing and contrasting their effectiveness.

How do therapists using each of these perspectives view the client and client's problem?

Behavioral approach is concerned with theoretical and measurable aspects of human behavior. Human behavior can either be learnt or unlearnt depending on whether they are acceptable on a social and cultural basis. Humanistic approach in the other hand is concerned with individual responses…

Integrative Approach to Counseling
The theories that the author will compare and contrast within this document include gestalt theory, choice theory and its practical application, reality therapy, and psychoanalytic therapy. There are definite points of similarity and variance between these theories. The natural starting point for comparison and contrasting lies with an analysis of gestalt theory and choice theory/reality therapy. Gestalt theory was largely founded by Frederick Perls (Wagner-Moore, 2004, p. 180) and Miriam and Erwing Polster (Jacobs, 2010, p. 25), whereas Glasser is widely credited with launching the notion of reality theory (Bradley, 2014, p. 6). A critical point of similarity between these theories is that they are unequivocally focused on the present, or the proverbial 'here and now' of the patient and his or her cognitive, emotional, and physical states. Interestingly enough, these theories take different perspectives for addressing those present needs of the individuals counseled. The primary…

Kurt Lewin is widely acknowledged as a seminal theorist (Smith, 2001) who made an indelible impact on the field of psychology through his work on the cognitive and motivational processes of individuals, the dynamics of intra- and intergroup relationships, and the relevance of psychology for social programs (Lewin, 1998, p. 105). Lewin is also credited for his pioneering work in the area of experiential learning and action research (Smith, 2001). It is the objective of this paper to trace Lewin's contribution to the field of psychology from both a historical as well as present day perspective.
The influence of Kurt Lewin's life on his work

It would be useful to begin a historical perspective of Kurt Lewin's work with an analysis of his biography in order to examine the influences, if any, of his personal life on the theories that he later went on to develop. As it happens, in…

memory, classical conditioning and instrumental conditioning. The paper also describes the effect of diversity issues on the learning process. In addition to that, the paper also summarizes the psychiatric disorders and their effect on learning and memorizing process. Lastly, the paper gives a comparison between various behavioral counseling approaches.
THEOIES OF LEANING AND MEMOY

Learning is an important topic in the field of psychology. Learning refers to a permanent change in the behavior and attitude of a person. The reason behind this change is experience and thus maturation or illness has nothing to do with it. This definition of learning as a permanent change and therefore it eliminates the temporary mood swings and illnesses from it. In this paper, we will be focusing on two types of learning: (Wood, 2010)

Classical Conditioning

Instrumental Conditioning (Wood, 2010)

Classical Conditioning

There are a lot of visuals and sounds that trigger certain emotions…

Psychoanalytic Model (Object elations)
In this paper, the object relations psychoanalytic model will be employed for solving a family issue; the family in question is taken from movie. The paper will further delineate key object relations concepts, the theory's assumptions, and its application to the aforementioned movie.

The chosen model

The object relations concept is a variant of the psychoanalytic theory, which deviates from the idea held by Sigmund Freud that mankind is driven by acts of aggression and that of sexual drives. Instead, psychoanalytic theory proposes the notion that man is primarily driven by a need to forge relationships with others (i.e. contact). Object relations therapists aim to aid clients in uncovering early mental pictures that can further any current problems in their associations with other people, and adapt them to improve interpersonal performance.

Basic Concepts in Object elations

The word 'object' in the object relations concept does not…

Stress is delineated as demand that is made on a being for adaptation, coping, or adjusting. There is stress that is healthy and is referred to as eustress. Prolonged stress impacts moods, ruins capacity to have pleasure and is also harmful to the body. Some of the aspects that generate a great deal of stress include everyday hassles, changes in life and also health problems. According to a survey undertaken by the American Psychological Association, the two biggest sources of stress are money and work and this causes people to become irritable, angry and fatigued. There are four kinds of conflict. Approach-approach conflict is the least stressful, having two objectives that can be attained whereas avoidance-avoidance conflict has more stress as one is enthused to evade two adverse objectives. Approach-avoidance encompasses objectives that generate mixed intentions and lastly multiple approach-avoidance conflict include numerous alternative actions that have upsides and downsides.…

Chemical Addiction Progress More apidly in Young People than Adults?
Chemical dependency is the obsessive use of chemicals like drugs, alcohol, and tobacco and the incapacity to stop using them, in spite of all the troubles caused by their use. People with a chemical dependency can stop using for a while but find it hard to start all together. This is where professional help is needed to stop it for life. Those who quit without professional help, typically overcome with an agonizing desire to resume alcohol, tobacco or drug use. Alcohol and drug addiction are progressive diseases. In most, addictions begin gradually and grow until one's life becomes increasingly uncontrollable. As recurring efforts to gain control over the addiction are unsuccessful, life for the person who has developed a chemical dependency begins to fall apart (Chemical dependency, n.d.).

Drug addictions in young people have been found to progresses more quickly…

S. were "proficient in reading and math," Pytel explains. These statistics "loudly states that students entering high school" are simply not prepared, Pytel goes on. Moreover, U.S. students do not fare well on the international educational stage. At a time when globalization has brought much closer linkage between cultures, economies, and countries, American school children are lagging behind. The justification for focusing on strategies to keep children interested in school -- and to help them succeed in school -- is to be found in the fact that U.S. students' average scores are very poor in comparison to other students internationally.
To wit, according to the 2003 data from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) (in cooperation with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD), 15-year-old American students rank 24th out of 38 countries in science. U.S. students rank 12th of 38 countries in reading, and 26th of 38…

The DSM explicitly "strives to be atheoretical, using merely observationally referent terms. The hope with this is to make the manual as acceptable as possible to professionals with different theoretical orientations (Gilles-Thomas 1989, Lecture 2). Specific criteria and systematic descriptions are offered as guidance for making diagnoses. "Essential features, associated features, prevalence rates, sex ratios, family patterns, and differential diagnoses are listed" and it is noted when "alternative or additional diagnoses…should be considered," such as the possibility that a manic episode could mask itself as schizophrenia (Gilles-Thomas 1989, Lecture 2). This might occur if the clinician was unacquainted with the patient and the patient's past history of depression, for example, and/or mood disorders in the patient's family.
Also key to the efficacy of the DSM in approaching the ideologically and theoretically charged world of abnormal psychology is its multiaxial system. The multiaxial system "allows for a more holistic and comprehensive…

counselors practice and learn how to properly handle each client's situation. Clients have a variety of issues that they are dealing with at any given time and sometimes need help. Clients may seek help from a counselor, allowing the counselor to help that person manage their particular areas of concern. Case studies are valuable to any counselor and require much thought and careful consideration.
In the case of Tony Cepin, who is a 45-year-old Hispanic male, we are able to evaluate a unique case study, in which Tony, a nontraditional student, has various issues going on in his life in which he needs help. His presenting problems are that he feels as if he is too old, he has little of a support system, has difficulties finishing tasks, suspects ADD diagnosis, has conflicts with his spouse and immediate family, and often overspends money. We can look at Tony's case in…

Behaviorism focuses almost exclusively on the outward manifestations of mental illnesses. Underlying emotions, childhood memories, and dreams are trivialized in order to focus on bad habits or dysfunctional behaviors. Behavioral therapy employs methods based on classical and operant conditioning including systematic desensitization and aversive conditioning. Talking therapy is not an integral part of behavioral interventions.
Cognitive therapies may, however, combine both talking therapy with behavioral techniques. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a specific subset of cognitive psychology and includes interventions like rational-emotive therapy. The methods used by cognitive-behavioral therapists encourage the client to address and change faulty thoughts, irrational beliefs, and other underlying cognitions. The ultimate goal is to change behavior as well. Cognitive psychologists may focus more exclusively on altering negative thought patterns such as guilt and self-hatred. The therapeutic intervention acknowledges the role that childhood upbringing and repressed anxiety plays in the creation of mental illness. However, cognitive psychologists are…

Diversity and Psychology

There were two major developments that influenced the field of psychology and the professions' views regarding multicultural competence, emphasized in 2003. The American Psychological Associations' 2002 Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct and the Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice and Organizational Change for Psychologists published in 2003 both stressed the importance of moving from a mono-cultural school of thought to a multicultural perspective and that these 'new rules' acknowledge an appreciation of differences as well as an "understanding of the inherent ambiguity and complexity in psychological practice (Pack-rown & Williams, 2003; Manesse, Saito, & Rodolfa, 2004). Knapp and VandeCreek (2003) said of these new guidelines that they articulate a need for greater sensitivity regarding linguistic and cultural minorities. The development of the new Code of Ethics and the APA's positioning were purported to be in response to a long awaited recognition of the need for…

"The work of civilization has become increasingly the business of men, it confronts them with ever more difficult tasks and compels them to carry out instinctual sublimations of which women are little capable" (Rosenfels 21).
When considering leaders and their followers, Freud believed that some people were meant to be controlled as a result of their laziness and of their instinctual abandonment. These individuals influence each-other in adopting an indifferent attitude with regard to their own fate. They are saved by people who are capable to set an example through their strength of will and who take on managerial positions in order to control the masses (Rosenfels 21).

One of the reasons for which Freud expressed dissatisfaction with his experience in the U.S. was the fact that he did not appreciate the attitude that American husbands had in regard to their wives. He believed that one had to control his…

Evolutionary psychologists therefore explain current human behaviors, especially instinctive ones, in terms of adaptive successes. A baby would feel safer in the secure space of a crib rather than an expansive lawn. A small fluffy mouse initially presents no threat, as our human ancestors likely preyed on smaller animals. Loud noises, however, can mean danger, so a child instinctively cries in alarm.

Cognitive psychology

Cognitive psychologists look at the internal mental processes that enable humans to learn skills such as languages, memory and problem solving. Notive cognitive psychologist Jean Piaget believed that humans go through different stages of cognitive development, and each stage should be marked by the acquisition of certain skills. In the Sensorimotor stage, which last from birth through two years old, babies learn to move and master their different senses. At the preoperational stage, from ages two to seven, a child should master motor skills such as…

When children are given the option between a reward they would like and the internal desire to learn something, most children would rather have the reward. That is also true of many adults, whether they are in an educational setting or a business setting. Still, that does not mean that intrinsic interest cannot come along with extrinsic reward, or that operant theory is completely wrong. Many educators mix operant theory with cognitive theory in an effort to provide those with different learning styles more of an opportunity to learn and develop. This helps to reach the largest number of students per educator, improving the overall educational goal.
ognitive Theory of Learning

Introduction

The cognitive theory of learning has been part of education since the late 1920's, when a Gestalt psychologist focused on the issue of Gestalt teaching and learning, and what that could offer to students who were not learning…

An early influence on Gestalt psychology was the philosopher Immanuel Kant, who stressed that humans do not perceive the world as it is. Rather, they impose cause and effect relationships on it and therefore our perceptions are influenced by their experiences. Max Wertheimer was the strongest proponent of this approach. Gestalt psychology greatly declined when Nazis came to power in Germany and many scholars were forced to flee. In the United States, behaviorism was too strong to overcome, and many of its ideas were in opposition to Gestalt beliefs.
Humanistic therapy overlaps with CBT and both are very common in today's society. It emphasizes the growth and fulfillment of the self or self-actualization through self-mastery, self-examination and creative expression. Although the influences of the unconscious and society are taken into account, freedom of choice in creating one's experience is essential and is often referred to as self-determination. A humanistic therapist…

In certain countries, an effective supervisor possesses basic teaching skills, facilitation skills, negotiation and assertiveness skills, counseling and appraisal skills, mentoring skills, and knowledge of learning resources and certification requirements (Kilminster).
The most important aspect of the role of an effective supervisor is giving supervisee responsibility and the opportunity to practice it (Kilminster, 2000). Supervisees come to view the supervisor as a colleague and this leads them to become self-directed. Some supervisees consider teaching skills and techniques, interpersonal style and professional competence the most important characteristics of an effective supervisor. An effective supervisor shows empathy, is supportive, and exhibits flexibility, instruction, knowledge, interest in supervision and good tracking of supervisees. He is interpretative, respectful, focused ad practical. In contrast, an ineffective supervisor is rigid, shows little empathy and provides low support. He fails to consistently track supervisee concerns, teach or instruct. He is indirect and intolerant. He is close-minded. He…

Nonetheless, this does not make philosophy any less important in the field.
Philosophy today can be seen as a manifestation of the workings of the human mind, while psychology studies the mind itself. Philosophy is therefore a very important aspect in helping the psychologist understand the human mind. Philosophy is indeed responsible for the birth of psychology as a discipline in itself, as mentioned.

While the early philosophers, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, are responsible for many of the ideas in both philosophy and psychology today, the 17th century philosopher ene Descartes is known as the "father of modern philosophy" (Consciousness 9). All these philosophers made a specific point of studying what it means to be human and conscious.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung built upon the work of all the above philosophers in order to develop his theories of the conscious and the…

humans have been intrigued by the workings of the human mind. Philosophers and physiologists pondered the questions that psychology, as an independent science, now addresses. Psychology is the study of mind and behavior, both in humans and animals. There exist many subfields within this discipline and as such, supporters of each may alter the aforementioned definition to emphasize their area of concentration.
Developmental psychology examines changes and growth over the lifespan. Child and adolescent psychology along with gerontology are subdisciplines of developmental psychology. The influence and effect others have on our feelings, behaviors, and thoughts describes social psychology. Personality psychology is the study of stable characteristics that influence behavior. Traits include aggressiveness, anxiety, and sociability to name a few. Experimental psychology, as the name implies, relies on the experimental method in its proceedings. Fields of research include cognition, sense perception, and memory. iological processes are the central concerns in physiological…

Supervisee should have a clear view on what to expect during the supervision process.
Supervisor: Are there any courses or resources that would develop your standards in relation to services delivery?

Supervisee: Learning provides room for improvement, and that would be no different to my scenario. I would attend to relevant courses to boost my confidence and expertise level in dealing with clients on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Structural coaching on relevant issues would enhance my development to tackling therapeutic problems in the clinical field of study. The structural coaching would supplement the pertinent information from this and the previous supervision programs. Much exposure such as working in large organizations would improve the level of standards in dealing with cultural problems among different clients.

Supervisor: What are the six dimensions of multicultural competencies supervision?

Supervisee: The first dimension is the Supervisor-Focused Personal Development that reflects examination of the…

Personal Model of Helping
Therapists do whatever they can to help their clients overcome a wide range of problems ranging fromdeath of a pet to major life changing crisis, such as sudden loss of vision. However genuine a therapists' desire to help is, they will be limited by the tools he or she uses. It makes sense, then, as a therapist to design and integrate webs of models that have shown to yield efficacy. This new, personally designed model should work to assist and meet the requirement of every client. To embark upon this task of designing a personal model of helping, it is important to be aware of existing theories and models.

The first is the humanistic approach based on Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Maslow's triangle consists of basics needs at the base followed by needs of safety, love and belonging, achievements and lastly self-actualization at the top.…

" (1) Fearing its potential competition with Biblical modalities of understanding, some Christian patients may initially fear, even consciously avoid the modern practice of psychotherapy, seeing it as a mere scientific reductionism of the uniqueness of the human animal. Or, conversely, some may uncritically embrace counseling it as a better way of understanding the mind than the biology of the natural sciences, especially approaches as person-centered theory and transactional analysis.
However, the authors advocate a more critical, theologically informed appropriation of psychotherapy in relation to faith, suggesting therapy's compatibility with orthodox Christianity through the conscious and flexible integration of psychology and theology, and present the author's justification of what they call responsible eclecticism, endeavoring as they do to understand psychology on its original terms, and then to examine how such precepts relate to Biblical narratives and moral behavior.

One of the most important challenges or concepts offered by this book's…

Starting from 19th century psychology, school of thought of behaviorist shared commonalities and as well ran concurrently with the 20th century psychology of psychoanalytic and Gestalt movements, however it was different from Gestalt psychologists' mental philosophy in significant ways. Psychologists who had major influences in it were Edward Lee Thorndike, John B. atson, they opposed method of introspective and advocated to use of experimental methods: Ivan Pavlov, investigated classical conditioning, but he was not to the idea of behaviorists or behaviorism: B.F. Skinner, he did his research on operant conditioning.
During second half of the 20th century, it was widely eclipsed that behaviorism was due to cognitive revolution. Even though behaviorism as well as cognitive schools of psychological thought tends to disagree in terms of theory, they have gone a head to compliment one another within applications of practical therapeutic, for example, cognitive-behavioral therapy has shown utility in treating some…

Counseling Alternatives in Modern Times
There are certainly several benefits to counseling theories that consist of contemporary, multicultural, and Biopsychosocial counseling and its integration. However, since each of these respective types of counseling theories focus on a particular aspect of psychology and counseling, there are also drawbacks to them as well. Perhaps the true strength in each of these theories lies in their integration -- both with one another and with other theories in general.

The most salient positive associated with multicultural counseling theories and integration is the emphasis they place on one's cultural identity. As such, clinicians are supposed to help cultivate a client's cultural identity -- which greatly pertains to his or her ethnicity, socio-economic status, religion, and other eminent cultural factors. Another boon associated with this approach is that it considers the client as a unique individual, one whose identity "is embedded in multiple levels of experience…

, 2006). Soliciting client's self-report may be another helpful practice (Landry et al., 2009).
To deal with both attrition and ethnicity factors in conjunction with an adolescent or school-aged client, the counselor may be well advised to consider the fact that the client may better benefit from a school counselor's intervention rather than from her own. Studies (for instance Cummings, 2009) have shown that "schools may be the best setting in which to provide mental health services if the objective is to reduce the unmet need for mental health care among adolescents living in disadvantaged and/or ethnically diverse communities." (Cummings, 2009, 1).

At times, the counselor may have to deal with trauma-related matters. Since trauma may traverse several generations and is comprised of complex issues, Goodman and West-Olatuni (2008) recommend a transgenerational trauma recognition and assessment approach as well as historical and contextual knowledge of the trauma.

Of particular interest…

This is when there will be a focused approach that is seeking out the best tools for addressing a host of issues.
Conclusion

Clearly, the field of mental health is continually changing. Part of the reason for this, is because there is emphasis on identifying new techniques for effectively treating patients. This has created a transformation in what kind of tools that are being used to address these issues. At the same time, there has been a focus on implementing supervisory procedures that will have an impact on kinds of treatment options that are being provided. This is important, because these kinds of transformations mean that they are providing effective support to mental health professionals in dealing with these issues. Once this occurs, is when there will be an emphasis on how psychologists are interacting with: patients, colleagues and supervisors. As this approach, is based upon respect, understanding, compassion and…

Behaviorist and Cognitive Theory
Psychology took a center stage and significant change in the early 20th Century when the behaviorism school of thought became dominant. This was a major change from other theoretical perspectives that existed before hence rejecting emphasis on unconscious and conscious mind. Behaviorism strove to see that psychology becomes a more scientific discipline in that focus will be mainly on observable behavior. This approach to psychology whereby the elements of philosophy, methodology and theory are combined. The primary tenet of behaviorism as it was expressed by JohnB.Watson, B.F Skinner in writing is that the primary concern in psychology should be the behaviors that can be observed both in humans and animals and not the unobserved events which take place within the minds of individuals. This school of thought maintains that behaviors can easily be described scientifically without recourse either to any psychological events that occur internally or…

Generally, it works by either giving a reward for an encouraged behavior, or taking something away for an undesirable behavior. y doing this, the patient often increases the good behaviors and uses the bad behaviors less often, although this conditioning may take awhile if the rewards and removals are not sufficient to entice the patient into doing better.
Existentialism is important to discuss here as well, and is often seen to be a very drastic way to examine human behavior. There are two types of existentialism. One is Atheistic Existentialism, and the other is Theistic Existentialism.

Atheistic existentialism has its basis in the statement that the entire cosmos is composed only of matter, and human beings see reality in two forms. Those forms are subjective and objective. People who believe in Atheistic Existentialism do not believe that anyone or anything specific made the world. They do not know whether it…

Mindful Practice
This is a case Black male 21 years of age, conceived with HIV and offered up to child care since he was five years old. He was constantly moved from one care center to another, and vulnerable to mishandling. He is experiencing issues of uneasiness/wretchedness around a considerable number of issues. These issues particularly manifest when searching for vocation. He is discouraged and would not like to connect with individuals, only in isolation, if at all, such as behind buildings or warehouses and the like. He is especially jittery, nervous in circumstances when queries need to answered or assessments about him arise, dread of dismissal, stress over breaking down and fear about appraisal. The nervousness gets under his skin and overshadows his thinking to an extent where he is scattered, that he stops thinking justifiably and rationally and can't make it in time for interviews, job or any…

Delayed Speech: Identification and Treatment
One common question parents ask is if and when they should be concerned when a child manifests delayed speech. For an infant, delayed speech is of concern when the baby "isn't using gestures, such as pointing or waving bye-bye by 12 months; prefers gestures over vocalizations to communicate by 18 months; has trouble imitating sounds by 18 months; [and] has difficulty understanding simple verbal requests" (Delayed speech or language development, 2012, Kid's Health: 1). In an older child, a lack of developmentally-appropriate speech becomes worrisome when the child does not engage in spontaneous speech; repeats words or phrases without apparent understanding; cannot follow simply instructions; and has difficulty being understood by members outside of the family (Delayed speech or language development, 2012, Kid's Health: 1).

Early intervention for children who exhibit language delays has a significantly higher success rate than later interventions. "First, there is…

Motivation in Behavior
a) What does Tolman's theory of animal learning tell us about the motivation for human learning?

Unlike John Watson, B.F. Skinner and the other strict behaviorists, or the ussian physiologists like Ivan Pavlov, Edward C. Tolman argued that the behaviorist theory that learning was a matter of stimulus-response (S-) and positive and negative reinforcement was highly simplistic. Although he rejected introspective methods and metaphysics, he increasingly moved away from strict behaviorism into the areas of cognitive psychology. In short, he became a mentalist without actually using that term to describe himself and concluded that all behavior was "purposive" (Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 428). All of his experiments with rats moving through mazes at the University of Berkeley proved to his satisfaction that behavior was actually the dependent variable, with the environment as the independent variable, with mental processes as intervening variables. Tolman summarized this basic theory, which he…