Psychological Theoretical Approaches.

 

Human nature is a concept that is derived from the fundamental characteristics of how human beings naturally act. This included the ways of thinking, behaving, feeling, and acting. This is basically the essence of humankind. Human nature has four beginnings of morality according to Mercian theory (Brown, 2003). These beginnings include a sense of compassion that enables one to show acts of kindness and goodness to other people. Another concept of human nature is having a sense of shame and contempt, which develops into respect and righteousness. Without a sense of righteousness, one cannot feel scorned about something wrong that they have done. It is important for an individual to feel shameful because of the negative acts that are normally not condoned by society so that they can be able to improve to be better people. The sense of respect and courtesy is another concept that enables one to develop appropriateness and decency. This sense is important for individuals to be decent when dealing with other people to avoid conflicts. In addition, it is in human nature for people to differentiate between the right and wrong things in life. This sense develops into wisdom to be able to do the right thing and avoid doing it. In order for psychology sessions to be productive, counselors need to inquire from their patients about these four beginnings to enable them to get the appropriate approaches to use on them.

There are several theoretical approaches used by psychological counselors to walk an individual through counseling. One of these integrative theoretical approaches is the humanistic approach that explains that humans have within themselves all the resources necessary for them to lead healthy and functional lives and that issues occur due to the restrictions of not using the resources provided to us (Harmon-Jones, 2003). This approach focuses mostly on the present lives and enables clients to achieve their highest potential. Most times people focus more on the negative things that happened in their past lives, which then affects their present and future thinking. It is in human nature for people to get tempted to dwell on their past mistakes and feel like they cannot get past them. When these negative issues happen, people tend to live in that bubble because they are either afraid of making another mistake or they are in doubt that they can make the same wrong decision if they try again. Self-doubt is the enemy of progress and provokes an individual to dwell on their wrongdoings rather than what they can do better in the present. It is not surprising that professional motivational speakers remind their audiences that it is important to fight self-doubt in order to achieve progress in their current lives. In fact, the hardest part of the carrier of psychological counselors is convincing their patients to come from the place of self-doubt to self-confidence. The question mostly asked during counseling sessions is, what makes an individual feel like they cannot progress? By doing so, the counselor wants to identify the issue in one past that influence their patients’ present decisions.

The humanistic approach also believes in the goodness of all individuals. This means that every individual has a sense of compassion and kindness in them (Brown, 2004). Therefore, when people make wrong decisions, they can always make better decisions. It is in human nature to assume that since they have made wrong decisions, they cannot be better again. While this is not true, some people are too shameful of their choices that they cannot do better. This approach enables a patient to realize that they can always do better and that their decision should not affect their present and future choices. Humanistic therapists also emphasize an individual’s growth and self-actualization (Brown, 2004). This means that this approach encourages patients to feel worth and considerable. They are encouraged to focus on improving their present lives and plan for their future. After all, the past will always be the past so why should we focus on our past mistakes. We should learn from them to avoid repeating them. Consequently, humans also have a constitution, which is emotional tendencies that causes them to be kind and compassionate towards others. This is why if people do not behave according to the moral compass set by society, they will feel guilt and shameful. Human nature helps us to be better people. Humanist therapists show genuine care and interest towards their patients, which aids in the recovery process of a patient.

Another integrative theoretical approach is the behavioral theory. These theories help individuals in problematic thinking and habits when their surroundings support them (Harmon-Jones, 2003). When an individual’s environment is the same as that in which a traumatic or wrong decision was made, then the issue will keep recurring. It is important for individuals to avoid places that remind them of the mistakes they made or issues they struggled with, for instance, drug addicts cannot stay in the same area as their dealers if they want to get better. This is because they will be motivated to keep doing them; for instance, in the case of a recovering drug addict living in the same block, it will be easy to meet since they share most social circles and this will cause them to relapse. It is in the human nature to stay in a comfort zone (Brown, 2003). Human nature does want to leave something it was accustomed to. It is no wonder that getting used to something is easy but trying to do something is hard. I recommend this approach because its reminds the patient that when all is said and done, they have to be willing to let of the past if they want to get better. It also warns them to keep off this can remind us of our past and probably force them to relapse.

The behavioral theory is also based on the ways of behaving that are learnt. This is the classic conditioning is used in behavioral therapy that focuses on the effects of a learnt response (Cooper et al, 2010). This can be well explained by the use of an animal like a trained dog. Some dogs are taught that the sound of a bell means that it is the meantime. This is achieved by using a repetitive stimulus like ringing the bell twice. Operant conditioning is another method used in behavioral therapy (Cooper et al, 2010). This entails the use of rewards to motivate the learner to learn quicker. It increases the chances of behavioral changes and punishments to lower the chances of another behavior. Behavioral therapists work with the patients to change their negative and destructive habits by the use of behavioral modification strategies. This could be both positive and negative influences. It is human nature to want to win and get rewards. Human nature is competitive and that is why this approach works well (Brown, 2003). If you motivate a patient, they will want to get better so that they achieve. It could a small token but because they achieved a goal and won a set prize, this motivates the patient to do better. For instance, when parents promise gifts to their children if they perform well in school, those children are likely to do very well in school. Learning this technique can be very in counseling session. I would also use it in my counseling sessions.

Motivating patients is an important aspect of counseling sessions because the patients feels safe in confiding to the doctor. Humanistic and behavior approaches encourage counselors to be genuine and motivate their patients for better results. I will combine these approaches in my practice to enable me to offer the best care to my patients. I believe that people are willing to change; they just need some care and help getting back to the right position in life. I also believe that while others may want directions to the right path, others would just want to be shown genuinely compassion and love, then they will change. It is crucial for therapist to understand their patient to be able to offer the best care. If I was writing a counseling theory I could say that; human being are compassionate beings who only need to be shown some acts of kindness and love and they will open up and rich their full potential. It is amazing that it only takes one professionally trained individual or just compassion to save another from going down the wrong path. My theory focuses on the sense of compassion and respect.

 

 

 

References

Brown, D. E. (2004). Human universals, human nature & human culture. Daedalus, 133(4), 47-54.

Cooper, M., Rowland, N., McArthur, K., Pattison, S., Cromarty, K., & Richards, K. (2010). Randomised controlled trial of school-based humanistic counseling for emotional distress in young people: Feasibility study and preliminary indications of efficacy. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 4(1), 1-12.

Harmon-Jones, E. (2003). Anger and the behavioral approach system. Personality and Individual differences, 35(5), 995-1005.