Question

For this week’s discussion, respond to both questions and all sub-questions below. Be sure to consult and list an outside resource, refer to the textbook readings, and reply to at least two peers. See the Grading Rubric below.

Question # 1: Person-Centered Chapter 7 (answer all parts of the question)

Think about Roger's view of human nature and how it influences the practice of counseling.

Questions:

1. In your own words, explain the concept, "actualization tendency."
2. How does the actualization tendency influences the practice of Person-Centered Therapy?

Make sure to make reference to the text to support your points.

Question # 2: Behavioral Therapy Chapter 9 (answer all parts of the question)

Put yourself in the place of a client and think of a particular problem you might have that involves some form of fear or avoidance.

As the client, would you want your therapist to use in vivo (gradual) exposure OR flooding to treat the fear?

1. Identify the fear
2. Select a treatment (exposure or flooding)
3. Explain the specific steps to applying the treatment
4. Explain why you selected the particular method of treatment over the other option.

Answer 1

Question # 1: Person-Centered Chapter 7 (answer all parts of the question)

1. In your own words, explain the concept, "actualization tendency."

According to me, Carl Roger’s theory of an individuals “actualization tendency” refers to every individual’s innate tendency to strive for the best, to strive to achieve their highest potential, and to strive for the most fulfilling life possible. Every person on this planet wants to improve their life to its best possible version, and wants to achieve all the success and fulfillment possible (as per their own definitions of success and fulfillment). This intrinsic drive in each of us to become the best version of ourselves, i.e., our “ideal” self, is our “actualization tendency”.

However, for us to achieve this level of self-actualization, we must have a conducive environment and circumstances in life that foster our development.

2. How does the actualization tendency influence the practice of Person-Centered Therapy?

Person-Centered Therapy, or Client-Centered Therapy, proposes that individuals who have sought psychotherapeutic support have a great capacity for personal growth and for healing themselves. In this way, Person-Centered Therapy is more optimistic than other forms of therapy, since it believes that individuals can help themselves and work on their own growth, and the role of the psychotherapist is to provide a warm, compassionate, conducive environment for them to do so.

Further on, Person-Centered Therapy believes that individuals enter therapy in a state of “incongruence”, which refers to an incongruence between their actual self and their ideal self. The aim or Person-Centered Therapy is to bring about “congruence”, i.e., help the individual work on themselves and their own growth and towards “self-actualization”, so that they can become their ideal selves.

For this, the therapist needs to focus on the client’s own subjective understanding of his/her life and the events in it, and be warm, genuine and understanding during the entire therapeutic process.

Question # 2: Behavioral Therapy Chapter 9 (answer all parts of the question)

1. Identify the fear

I have a fear of unclean washrooms, and of germs.

2. Select a treatment (exposure or flooding)

In vivo gradual exposure.

3. Explain the specific steps to applying the treatment

In gradual in vivo exposure therapy, the following steps would be followed:

1. First, I would have to create a fear-hierarchy, wherein I would rank situations from “least frightening” to “most frightening” in ascending order.

2. The therapist would then gradually expose me in vivo (in real life) to these difficult and frightening situations, starting from the easiest or least frightening activity.

3. After successful completion of a level in the fear hierarchy, i.e., when I can successfully reduce my fear and avoidance of a particular situation, the therapist would move on to the next level. This process would continue until I can successfully reduce my fear and avoidance even at the last level, i.e., the most fear-inducing level of the fear-hierarchy.

4. Explain why you selected the particular method of treatment over the other option.

I would vastly prefer gradual exposure to flooding since I have a tendency to feel anxious and panicked when faced with my fear of germs, and I could potentially have a panic attack if I had to face my most-feared situation in my fear-hierarchy in the beginning itself (which is what happens in flooding). I would prefer getting used to the least frightening situation, and successfully reducing my avoidance of it, before moving on to a “scarier” level.