Theories 600
Post and include the following elements about developing a theoretical orientation:
What are your initial reactions and thoughts about your Instructor’s theoretical orientation?
What did you learn about theoretical orientations from Drs. Marszalek and Buckley?
Explain where you are now in the process of beginning to develop your own theoretical orientation. Include a description of the factors that are currently influencing your development process.
- Describe how you see that two theories may integrate into an effective strategy for you as a future counselor. You may also decide that a single theory feels like it will be the best fit for your future career at this point in your training. Whether you choose to integrate two theories or remain a purist, thoughtfully and thoroughly back up your current position.
- Finally, consider what you have learned during this course that will enable you to be an agent of positive social change. In what ways may your specific choice of strategy or strategies affect your role of a social change agent?
- Instructors post:
Here is what makes the most sense and fits me:
Gestalt: From its philosophical foundations to the role of the counselor GT has always resonated within me. GT is an exciting, dynamic, and creative process that allows me to use my personhood to assist clients in their change process. The focus on the client-counselor relationship, honesty, awareness, congruence, contact and working collaboratively with clients are all essential elements for long lasting change.
If you are to be an ethical and competent counselor (at your developmental stage), you will need to choose one or two theories that most closely fits your worldview and then really delve into the literature and read the primary works (written the creators of the theory), articles, and efficacy of the theories you are interested in exploring. While you’ll want to find a theory that you intuitively understand, you’ll also want what you use to have research supporting its use as a theory and/or its techniques.
Finally, after you have the book knowledge, you’ll want to put all that book work into action and practice! As you do so, you’ll continue to explore, question, and assess whether what you have chosen is a good fit for you. It really does take a while to really know a theory and it’s not uncommon to try on a theory for a period of a year or longer. Typically, experts (developmentally in a different spot) in the field (10+ years), will use 4 different theories and I believe it takes that long to be able to assess what is the most appropriate theory to use with whom and when.
Here are some key points to Gestalt Therapy:
– Gestalt theory is humanistic, holistic, integrative, creative, experiential, phenomenological, and process focused in the here and now.
– Laura and Fritz Perls are the most well-known contributors to Gestalt theory.
– Gestalt Therapy emerged onto the counseling scene in 1942.
– Gestalt is a word deviated from the Germany language and means whole or complete.
– Cycle of Experience model assists in understanding the process of having a Gestalt.
– A gestalt occurs when the person has a complete experience that connects the body/mind and spirit-meaning making (an Aha moment).
– A lack of Gestalt leaves unfinished business and therefore jeopardizes a person’s overall wellness.
– Ground emerges from the Field (i.e., our experiences) and influencing us without our direct awareness.
– Figure is the one element which emerges from the ground that has our immediate attention.
– Counselor and client relationship is based on mutuality with the counselor as expert of the theory and client expert of his/her experience.
– A basic premise of Gestalt theory is that humans strive for organizations and patterns.
– Humans are organisms that function to self-actualizing and finding homeostasis. Behaviors, thoughts and emotions are wired and aim to satisfy our needs (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual worlds).
– Gestalt Therapy assumes mentally healthy people have self-awareness, acceptance, are authentic and present to self and others.
– Acceptance is the ability to see others and ourselves fully, positive side and the shadow.
– Shadow side aspect, we struggle with accepting about ourselves.
– Authentic is being true to ourselves with others.
– Here and Now, is keeping the focus on the present and not living in the past or future.
– Being present requires a deep and intense sense of self-awareness and the ability to shift the focus from self to others without self-center or navel gazing.
– Resistances are normal and a natural part of human experiences, they protect us. Resistance interrupts the Cycle of Experience preventing a Gestalt and moves the event/feeling/situation to the ground: Introjection, Retroflection, Projection, Confluence, and Deflection.
– Techniques are used to stimulate awareness which leads to excitement, then action, then contact and then a natural withdraw completing the Gestalt.
– Gestalt counseling is used with most populations when appropriate modifications are made. Such as someone struggling with psychotic disorders may need Gestalt counseling to be slower and the counselor will need to avoid language such as “give the symptom a voice.”
– Therapeutic Goals are for clients to become aware of what they are doing, how they are doing it, and how they can change themselves while learning to accept and value themselves (Perls, 1973).
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