Humanism Exam 2

Carl Roger's person-centered therapy overview

-People have the capacity to understand themselves, to resolve their own problems, and to grow.

-Therapists' personal qualities are more important than therapists' theoretical paradigm or techniques.

-Therapy is a non-directive approach.

-The therapist's role is that of a facilitator and to provide a comfortable environment.

-This warm and accepting atmosphere can facilitate the conditions necessary for change

Carl Roger's person-centered therapy general tenets

General Tenets

-Human nature is basically good.

-People (i.e., organisms) subjectively experience and live in constantly changing worlds.

-Interactions in the world change the person (i.e., the self).

-Goal-directed behavior - Behavior is an attempt by individuals to satisfy their needs.

-Emotions facilitate goal-directed behavior.

-Values often result from direct experience, but values may also be adapted from others.

-People strive to actualize (i.e., actualizing tendency).

Congruence

-Genuineness

-Therapists demonstrate congruence when they:

1. relate authentically to clients (i.e., one human being to another, not expert therapist talking down to problem-ridden client)

2. are not playing the part of a therapist

3. engage in self-disclosure to show they can relate/understand.

Example:

Client: "I feel like no one understands how lost I am."

Therapist: "I've felt that way too, at times. It's a hard place to be but you’re not alone here."

Unconditional Positive Regard

-accepting of their client's characteristics, emotions, and behaviors

-demonstrated by listening without interrupting and by not being judgmental

Example: "Thank you for sharing that story. I can see your experience was infuriating to you."

Empathy

-Therapists demonstrate 'accurate' empathy by showing they understand the client's feelings and comments, and by validating (i.e., accepting) the client's feelings and comments.

-Therapists' empathy was a moderately strong predictor of clients' therapy outcomes

Transactional Analysis Overview

-People are fundamentally okay (i.e., each person has value and worth).

-TA focuses on interaction patterns between individuals.

-People are responsible for and in control of their own feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.

-People can change, grow, and engage in healthy interactions.

-The desire for recognition is the basic motivating force in people.

-Human personality is divided into three ego states (i.e., Parent, Adult, Child) that influence each set of transactions.

-Personal problems arise from within the personality

Transaction

-The basic unit of social intercourse (i.e., anything that happens between two people).

-Transactions can be like a conversation, they can be high-risk or low-risk. It is an exchange between two people.

Rituals

-Rituals are structured transactions and are the safest form of transactions (e.g., "How are you?" "Tam fine.")

- Rituals = simple conversations like the example above. They are safe and low-risk conversations.

Strokes

• Strokes are responsive social actions that provide recognition and attention to another person

• verbal, nonverbal and/or electronic

• Individuals need strokes to survive and thrive (both psychologically and physically)

Positive Stroke

• Positive strokes ("warm fuzzies") refer to any recognition that is direct, appropriate, and relevant and leaves the recipient feeling significant.

Examples: compliments and signs of affection.

• Positive = yay happy!!!

Negative Stroke

• Negative strokes (*cold pricklies") - Any recognition that is negative.

Examples: insults, criticism, physical abuse, and laughing at someone.

• Negative = nayy not happy!!!

Non-Stroke

• Perceiving no noticeable recognition (i.e., no response) after a transaction stimulus

• Any stroke is better than no stroke.

• When people do not get positive strokes, they seek any kind they can, even if it is negative.

Recognition Hunger

• People desire and seek out strokes

• During childhood, youth test and learn strategies and behaviors that result in strokes.

• Example that was mentioned in the video was about how children can tug on parent's shirts for attention. They might get yelled at, but they are testing out behaviors.

Stroke Reservior

• Individuals store up strokes (i.e., they remember strokes).

• People have different sized reservoirs (i.e., they need different numbers of strokes to feel good)

Stroke Value

Each stroke carries value based on the content and the individual who delivers the stroke

Filtered Stroke

Individuals interpret strokes to maintain their subjective life position

Unconditional Stroke

• Unconditional strokes have no strings attached

Example: "Your photograph is beautiful"

Conditional Stroke

• Conditional strokes have strings attached and are designed to change someone's behavior

Example: "If you finish your homework, I'll take you to the park."

• Conditional stroke = do behavior, then get rewarded.

Life Positions

I'm not OK - You're OK

• Most common life position

• The person sees others as capable where they are not.

• A person records all negative strokes and engages in self-fulfilling prophesy

I'm not OK - You're not OK

• The person sees oneself, as well as others, as not worthwhile

• Individuals who attempt suicide were often in this life position.

I'm OK - You're not OK

• This person sees oneself as worthwhile and capable but sees others as not okay or worthwhile.

• This position often occurs after surviving an extremely traumatic life experience involving significant others.

I'm OK - You're OK

• This person sees oneself and others as worthwhile and capable.

Natural Child

• Represents the natural and spontaneous impulses/emotions of a very young child

  Examples:

  1. "I saw a spider and felt so scared!"

  2. “The clown was really funny!”

  3. “I love you soooo much!”

Little Professor

• Represents a thoughtful, wise, creative, inquisitive, or imaginative child who knows how to manipulate others to get what s/he wants

• Examples:

• 1. "If you will buy me the toy, then you will be the best big brother ever."

• 2. "If you take out the trash for me, you will be the best husband."

Critical Parent

Finds fault, criticizes others, passes judgments, and/or blames others.

Examples:

1. "Can't you do anything right?"

2. "You are so disrespectful."

3. "Because of you, we're losing our house."

4. The child says, "You're not allowed to smoke here."

Nurturing Parent

Provides support, nurturance, comfort, sympathy, and protection.

Ex:

1. "You are a very special person."

2. "It will be okay; it could happen to anyone."

3.  "Here, let me help you with that."

4. "Don't worry. I will protect you."

5. Mother smashes finger, and the child nurtures the mother while she is driving to the hospital.

Prejudicial Parent

• Reflects the attitudes/opinions/standards set by authority figures; often without objective reasoning (i.e., they just follow what they have always heard or seen).

• The person is often just stating cliches they heard without even thinking.

Examples:

1. "Don't talk to strangers."

2. "Kids should be seen and not heard."

3. "Always chew with your mouth closed."

4. "What goes around comes around."

5. "It is what it is."

Adult

• Computer metaphor

• Objectively deals with reality and the outside world, accumulates and organizes information, tests ideas, estimates probabilities, makes decisions

Example:

Prejudicial Parent: "You should always look both ways before crossing a street."
Adult: "You are so right. I could get hit by a car if I don't look both ways."

Reciprocal/complementary

Reciprocal or complementary transactions occur

• when a transactional response comes from the ego state in which it was directed. If a Parent addresses a Child, and the Child addresses the Parent back, a reciprocal transaction has occurred.

Example #1

Adult to Adult: "We will start the auction at 2 p.m. so we can finish by 5 p.m."

Adult to Adult: "Yes, you are right. I will start setting up the microphone now."

Example #2:

Adult to Adult: "Do you know where my car keys are?"

Adult to Adult: "They might be on the kitchen counter."

Example #3:

Critical Parent to Child: "Your room is like a pigsty. You need to clean it now."

Natural Child to Parent: "But I want to keep playing. You are sooo mean!"

Example #4:

Adapted Child to Parent: "I am sorry I could not finish all of my homework on time. I really feel bad about it."

Nurturing Parent to Child: "That is okay. Don't worry. It was a lot of homework, and most of the other students did not finish on time. I won't penalize you for it.

• Reciprocal / complementary: parent to child, child to parent, or parent to parent. The conversations get reciprocated and there is no other people interacting.

Crossed Transactions

• occur when an ego state different than the ego state that received the stimuli is the one that responds. In other words, if a Parent addresses a Child, then the Adult responds back, a crossed transaction has occurred.

Example #1:

Adult to Adult: "The dinner party with the Bakers is tonight. It starts at 7 p.m." Natural Child to Parent: "But, I don't want to go. I worked hard all day, and now I just want to get into my sweats, relax, and watch TV. You are always planning these things so I cannot even relax."

Example #2:

Little Professor Child to Parent: "I want to stay out later with my friends. If you let me stay out with them after curfew, I will love you for the rest of my life."

Adult to Adult: "Thank you for letting me know your desire. But, because it is a school night, you will need to come home at regular time."

Example #3

Adult to Adult: "Do you know where my car keys are?"

Critical Parent to Child: "You are always losing your keys. You would lose your head if it weren't attached."

• Cross transactions: A cross transaction that happens when the parent talks to child, and then an adult responds back, which shows that the adult crossed between the parent and child conversation.

Scripts

• Scripts - Ways of interacting that are leared from decisions made during childhood.

• Scripts can be healthy or destructive

• Scripts are maintained by the 'games' people play.

Games

Games refer to a classification of repetitive counterproductive transactions (i.e., social interactions) designed to get strokes, often in devious and sometimes deadly ways

Transactional Analyses and Therapy

• Cognitive (i.e., Adult centered) behavioral-oriented (i.e., transactions) therapy

• Help clients change life scripts.

Psychoeducational approach:

• Increase clients' awareness of their transactional behavior (e.g., games and underlying scripts) and how they give and receive positive and negative strokes

• Emphasized group therapy (around 8 people), once-a-week

• Group therapy allows a greater number of transactions.

• Increase clients' awareness of their transactional behavior (e.g., games and underlying scripts) and how they give and receive positive and negative strokes Help the clients understand and recognize ego states.

• Therapists must be aware of games the clients' play.

• The therapist generally responds to clients from the Adult ego state.

• Therapists will help clients access the Adult ego state to analyze actions.

Specification

• Identifying the ego state that is the source of a particular transaction

• Help clients modify unhealthy patterns of stroking.

• Give clients permission to change their behaviors

Examples:

1. "Don't trust men."

2. "Don't enjoy sex."

3. "Don't leave food on your plate."

4. "Don't show anger."

Illustration

• The therapist uses a story or example to make a point.

Example:

Client: "I'm afraid to make mistakes."

Therapist: "Think of a baby learning to walk. They fall lot, but that's how they learn

Interrogation

• Therapists ask a succession of confrontive questions and force clients to answer from the Adult ego state.

• Example:
  Client: "I can't do anything right."
  Therapist: "Is that really true? Have you ever done something well? Would your friends say you never do anything right?"

Crystallization

• Transpires when clients realize that game playing can be given up and they can enjoy the freedom of choice. Example:

Client: "I keep playing the same role in every relationship."
Therapist: "What if you didn't have to? What if you could choose differently now?"
Client: "I never thought of that, but I can."