This learner is currently feeling very over-whelmed with her duties as a mother, wife, counselor, and student, and as such has found things are “piling up.” Therefore the majority of her dysfunction thinking is based on the stresses of her life. She was not able to pinpoint examples of such thinking based on a specific incident, but rather her life as a whole. This learner has a running list of all of her “to do” items, in any given day, she has a list of 10 or more tasks which need to be completed, but sadly finds that she is only able to complete a few by the end of the night. As result, she has felt great self-pity, anger towards her husband and children for not helping her, sadness, and anxiety. She has doubted her abilities to maintain the all of her roles, guilt for not being able to fulfill her duties, and is overall “tired.”
In utilizing cognitive behavioral therapies, the goal would be “to change the way clients think by using their automatic thoughts to reach the core schemata and begin to introduce the idea of schema restructuring,” (Corey & Corey, p. 119). Beck would employ the use of active therapy, thereby exploring the client’s thoughts, self-talk and interpretations, exploring the validating of such perceptions, and assigning homework to investigate such perceptions, (Okun & Kantrowitz, 2008). Beck would have suggested that the learner explore the root causes of her irrational thinking and asked her to search for alternative self-messages that she could have considered. He probably would have asked her to prioritize her duties, assess the contributions that her family already makes and then to discuss her need for further assistance with them, and finally to practice thinking positive, more constructive self messages when she feels over-whelmed, thereby assisting the client to acknowledge his or her irrational thinking and setting a course to change this dysfunctional self-talk.
Ellis, employing the directive, cognitive approach of Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy to “exhort, frustrate, and command…..” clients in order “to get them to analyze their thoughts and learn to rationally restructure their belief systems,” (Okun & Kantrowitz, p. 137). Ellis would have directly explained to the learner that her self-talk was irrational, self-defeating, rooted in feelings of self-pity, and needed to be changed. Ellis would also assign homework to the learner in an effort to recondition her dysfunctional thought processes.
Both approaches, Beck and Ellis, maintain similar goals in that they desire to assist the client in maintaining more appropriate self-talk and automatic thinking. Both assert that the client must have knowledge of their dysfunctional thinking, accept it’s negative affects, and practice positive thinking through the use of repetition and homework, in an effort to recondition their automatic self-talk. However, the path that each theorist takes to assist in the client’s acknowledgement of his or her dysfunctional thinking is quite different. Ellis, utilizing a directive approach, would assume the role of an “expert” thereby assigning a diagnosis of negative self-talk, regardless of the client’s ability to recognize such behaviors. In contrast, Beck would use a passive, non-directive approach, thereby guiding the client to the realization that he or she has been using destructive thinking.
This learner believes that it is the client and their needs that direct the course of therapy. It is difficult for one to speculate how they may approach each situation when the individual variables are not presented. However, she feels that she would be able to utilize both approaches with her clientele. Currently, she is working with children and feels that a “therapist-guided” version of Beck’s approach would be most useful. However, in the future, she intends to work with inmates and parolees who struggle with substance abuse issues, and she feels that Ellis’s approach may be most useful in this arena.
Stephanie Lowrance-Henckel
References
Corey, M. S. & Corey, G. (2007). Becoming a helper (5th ed.). Thomson Brooks/Cole. Belmont, CA.Okun, B. F. & Kantrowitz, R. E. (2008). Effective helping: Interviewing and counseling techniques (7th ed.) Thomson Brooks/Cole. Belmont, CA.
In utilizing cognitive behavioral therapies, the goal would be “to change the way clients think by using their automatic thoughts to reach the core schemata and begin to introduce the idea of schema restructuring,” (Corey & Corey, p. 119). Beck would employ the use of active therapy, thereby exploring the client’s thoughts, self-talk and interpretations, exploring the validating of such perceptions, and assigning homework to investigate such perceptions, (Okun & Kantrowitz, 2008). Beck would have suggested that the learner explore the root causes of her irrational thinking and asked her to search for alternative self-messages that she could have considered. He probably would have asked her to prioritize her duties, assess the contributions that her family already makes and then to discuss her need for further assistance with them, and finally to practice thinking positive, more constructive self messages when she feels over-whelmed, thereby assisting the client to acknowledge his or her irrational thinking and setting a course to change this dysfunctional self-talk.
Ellis, employing the directive, cognitive approach of Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy to “exhort, frustrate, and command…..” clients in order “to get them to analyze their thoughts and learn to rationally restructure their belief systems,” (Okun & Kantrowitz, p. 137). Ellis would have directly explained to the learner that her self-talk was irrational, self-defeating, rooted in feelings of self-pity, and needed to be changed. Ellis would also assign homework to the learner in an effort to recondition her dysfunctional thought processes.
Both approaches, Beck and Ellis, maintain similar goals in that they desire to assist the client in maintaining more appropriate self-talk and automatic thinking. Both assert that the client must have knowledge of their dysfunctional thinking, accept it’s negative affects, and practice positive thinking through the use of repetition and homework, in an effort to recondition their automatic self-talk. However, the path that each theorist takes to assist in the client’s acknowledgement of his or her dysfunctional thinking is quite different. Ellis, utilizing a directive approach, would assume the role of an “expert” thereby assigning a diagnosis of negative self-talk, regardless of the client’s ability to recognize such behaviors. In contrast, Beck would use a passive, non-directive approach, thereby guiding the client to the realization that he or she has been using destructive thinking.
This learner believes that it is the client and their needs that direct the course of therapy. It is difficult for one to speculate how they may approach each situation when the individual variables are not presented. However, she feels that she would be able to utilize both approaches with her clientele. Currently, she is working with children and feels that a “therapist-guided” version of Beck’s approach would be most useful. However, in the future, she intends to work with inmates and parolees who struggle with substance abuse issues, and she feels that Ellis’s approach may be most useful in this arena.
Stephanie Lowrance-Henckel
References
Corey, M. S. & Corey, G. (2007). Becoming a helper (5th ed.). Thomson Brooks/Cole. Belmont, CA.Okun, B. F. & Kantrowitz, R. E. (2008). Effective helping: Interviewing and counseling techniques (7th ed.) Thomson Brooks/Cole. Belmont, CA.
1 comment:
Hello Stephanie, you described my feeling and thoughts better than myself! How I feel right now is identical to yours; overwhelmed, angry at my family, so many things to do, and unfinished tasks.
I just wanted to say you are not alone, and it is not easy what you are doing. In fact many people could not even think about taking these many responsibilites at once. Please take a good care of yourself, and as my mother used to say: this shall pass.
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