Matching Therapies Analysis - Research Paper Example

? Matching Therapies Grade (4th, March. Matching Therapies Therapies are meant to help overcomethe psychological problems they could be experiencing, and thus come into terms with themselves. This helps such clients to start appreciating the circumstances, and make a step towards overcoming the negative influences of such situation and circumstances, by developing personal positivity, amidst the depressing situations (Brownell, 2012). However, it is essential that the counselor or therapist who is administering therapy to a client is very conversant with the type of therapy he/she applies, while also being comfortable and identifying with it, so that the therapy offered to a client emanates from the full understanding and empathizing of the therapist with the client (Bruno, 1977). It is therefore necessary that a therapist applies a therapy form that matches with his/her personality and values, since it makes it possible to understand the client, and thus enhances the capacity to help them. Therefore, this discussion seek to compare or contrast personality and personal values with both the Person-Centered Therapy and Gestalt Therapy, with a view to assess the level of comfort with such forms of therapy, as a future counselor. Person-centered therapy (PCT) is a form of psychotherapy that was developed between 1940s and 1950s by a psychologist; Carl Rogers, which emphasizes the need to provide a client with self awareness opportunity, where the clients can reflect on their attitudes, feelings and behaviors, and realize how they affect them negatively (Poyrazli, 2003). With a full understanding of the negative influences that has contributed to the distressing situation of the client, it becomes possible to help them find out their positive potential, which will overcome the negative influences and help them regain their self worth. On the other hand, Gestalt therapy is a form of psychotherapy, which emphasizes on the personal responsibility of an individual (Truscott, 2010). Gestalt therapy takes keen interest on the present situation of an individual, in reference to his/her social life, environment, relationship with the counselor and the possible self-regulating mechanisms, which the individual can apply to overcome the depression. A great deal of comparison exists between personality and personal values, and Person-centered therapy form of psychotherapy. Under the Person-centered therapy, the role of the therapist is to create a comfortable and non-judgmental environment for the client, so that the client can delve into the behaviors, feelings and attitudes that have contributed to negative influences, without the fear of being judged wrongly by the therapist (Rogers, 1959). In line with the therapist’s role, there is a comparison with personality, considering that I am open and non-judgmental, thus I do not offer any judgment on issues unless I have heard the best opportunity to listen and understand the whole situation. This personality trait matches well with the requirements of the role of the therapist, since this form of therapy requires the use of non-direct approach to creating a positive environment for the client (Bruno, 1977). Whenever a therapist is not in a hurry to judge or reach a conclusion regarding the client’s situation, the client is given an ample opportunity to delve deeply into the attitudes, feelings and behaviors that have brought about the negativity in his/her life. This enhances the self-realization of the client, since all the factors that have influenced their situation or contributed to their present situation are generated by the clients themselves, with minimal interruption from the therapist. This allows the client to rediscover themselves, while also emanating with the possible solution to their situation, an aspect that hastens the client’s recovery process, since the solutions generated are not imposed on them by the therapist, but rather generated by the clients through self-awareness and rediscovery (Poyrazli, 2003). Person-centered therapy (PCT) provides for Therapist Unconditional Positive Regard (UPR), as one of its core concept. Under this concept, the client and the therapists interact in an open manner, without any preconceived determinations or premature conclusions (Rogers, 1959). The role of the therapist is to accept the client unconditionally, without any prior judgment, approval or disapproval, an approach that is meant to stimulate the self-regard of the client, which in turn prompts the development of a sense of self-worth. When a client develops a sense of self-worth, he/she is in a position to focus on the positive potentials that he/she has, while understanding how others have influenced his negative perceptions, contributing to the distressing situation. All this requires an open and non-judgmental personality, which will hold the client with a neutral regard, as characterized by my personality. Another core concept of Person-centered therapy (PCT) is Therapist Empathic understanding (Bruno, 1977). This calls for the therapist to be empathetic of the client, so that he/she can manage to put himself into the shoes of the client, and understand what the client feels. Empathy is one of my personal values, which requires that I should first empathize with others and put myself in their situation, before issuing any opinion or judgment. It is through empathizing with the clients that the clients are made to feel the love and warmth that the therapist has towards them, and thus feel wanted and valued. This is essential since it helps the client to feel comfortable when opening up and confiding in the therapist, since the client identifies with the therapist fully and feel that they are understood (Rogers, 1959). This is a major milestone towards preparing a path for the client recovery and their gaining a sense of self-worth and positive attitude. The other core concept of Person-centered therapy (PCT) is Therapist Congruence, or Genuineness, where the therapist is fully engaged in the client relationship as opposed to mere listening and acting as if they are concerned (Poyrazli, 2003). I value genuineness as one of the guiding core values for me, and thus this requirement matches very well with the genuine personality value that I uphold. Genuineness is essential since it allows the therapist to apply self experiences to facilitate their relationship with the client, since the client is always in need of an individual who will receive his problems and concerns genuinely, as opposed to those who pretend to care, yet they do not. It is through genuineness that a therapist-Client Psychological Contact is created, since the client can fully feel that his/her concerns, fears and vulnerabilities are fully understood by the therapist, making the client more comfortable to speak out, and thus prepare for self-realization and rediscovery (Bruno, 1977). Considering that most of the core concepts of Person-centered therapy (PCT) match with my personality characteristics and values, I am capable of applying this form of therapy in future counseling. The personality and personal values also compares to a large extent with the Gestalt Therapy form of psychotherapy, since it emphasizes on focusing on the individual experience and creating a sense of personal responsibility, so that the client can be the source of the actual issues that influence him/her negatively, and reflect upon the possible solutions to addressing such issues (Brownell, 2012). My personality values match with this form of therapy requirements, since open-mindedness is a key aspect that I possess, which is essential in enhancing self responsibility for the clients. One of the core concepts of Gestalt Therapy is The Phenomenological Perspective, which requires that an individual steps aside from the conventional way of perceiving things, and accommodates a different view that is possessed by the others (Truscott, 2010). This requires an individual of open mind, so that the individual can set aside the usual way of thinking, and thus tell the difference between what is being perceived and felt right currently, from what is a residual of the past (Brownell, 2008). This enables the therapist to understand whether the clients’ situation is contributed by a current occurrence or by issues that the client had faced before, which were not completely resolved. Empathy and genuineness are the other personality characteristics that I possess. These characteristics match very well with another core concept of the Gestalt Therapy, which is The Existential Perspective. The Existential Perspective requires that an individual is able to share in the feelings and sufferings of the others, since it focuses on people’s existence, where the life of a person is not any different from that of the other person, when it comes to feelings and suffering (Truscott, 2010). While most people operate in the world of conventional thought; which prevents them from fully understanding the feelings and sufferings of an individual, empathy and genuineness are necessary, to ensure that an individual does not only understand the situation of others, but is also able to step aside from the conventional thinking and delve completely into the situations of others, where he can understand them better. Dialogue is yet another core concept of Gestalt Therapy, which holds that the therapist-client relationship is paramount to enhance the rediscovery of the client and facilitate positive perspectives and recovery of the client from the depressing situation (Brownell, 2012). Dialogue requires that the individuals involved have an open-minded approach, which allows them to focus on issues based on the reality, as opposed to applying pre-mature judgments and conclusions. With an open mind, it is possible to understand the other person, since an individual has not already formed an opinion or perception of the other. It is through dialogue and contact that people grow in perspectives, opinions and attitudes, and thus form identities (Brownell, 2008). Therefore, dialogue allows an individual to identify with the other, based on the mutual relationship that is created. Considering that I value open-mindedness, the core concept of dialogue in this form of therapy is matched by this personal value, making me capable of applying Gestalt Therapy for future counseling. References Brownell, P. (2012) Gestalt Therapy for Addictive and Self-Medicating Behaviors. New York, NY: Springer Publishing. Brownell, P. (2008) Handbook for Theory, Research, and Practice in Gestalt Therapy. Newcastle, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing Bruno, Frank J. (1977). Client-Centered Counseling: Becoming a Person. Human Adjustment and Personal Growth: Seven Pathways, pp. 362–370. Poyrazli, S. (2003). Validity of Rogerian Therapy in Turkish Culture: A Cross-Cultural Perspective. Journal of Humanistic Counseling, Education & Development, 42(1), 107-115. Rogers, C. (1959). A Theory of Therapy, Personality and Interpersonal Relationships as Developed in the Client-centered Framework. A Study of a Science: Formulations of the Person and the Social Context. New York: McGraw Hill. Truscott, D. (2010). Gestalt therapy. American Psychological Association. Read More