Michael: You ask what would Carl Rogers do, a bit as if that's the ideal of therapy. As I'm sure you're aware there are many models of therapy, and Rogers introduced some essential components to any good therapist's arsenal. But most forms of therapy eschew "unconditional positive regard" for a slightly lesser "unconditional acceptance," meaning that we accept our clients as they are, as (to quote Albert Ellis) "fallible human beings." In other words, everyone has flaws and issues, and it's up to us to take personal responsibility to overcome them. Now, to be fair, I believe therapy is a place to "whine" at times. To borrow from another CBT therapist (Marsha Linehan), therapy involves a seeming paradox of acceptance of the client while also prodding them to make changes that will improve their functioning and overall life satisfaction.
Many therapists espouse Rogers' approach, and for many clients, that may be the optimal approach. Rogers believed in a "self-directed growth process," meaning that clients would be self motivated for change as long as they felt acceptance. Others (like most CBT therapists) believe the therapist must also create the impetus (or at least help it along) for change. To relate this to teaching, many teachers may believe all students are self motivated. They will come to class, and do what is in their best interest as long as they feel a sense of acceptance and value in the learning process. Others of us feel the need to foster motivation using reinforcement and cognitive restructuring. I think this distinction applies to many endeavors beyond psychology, but without going there, let me just say I think that works in our fields of teaching and therapy. Sits down and shuts up. David Wasieleski ________________________________________ From: Michael Palij [[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2012 5:48 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Cc: Michael Palij Subject: [tips] What Would Carl Rogers Do? I guess I need some feedback from the clinicians around here. There is an article on the Wall Street Journal website that describes what might be a new trend among certain "psychotherapists", namely, trying to cut down on the whining their clients/patients do. See: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304192704577404083592261456.html Is this "Just Stop Whining" movement new? I seem to remember that there were "tough love" approaches before in psychotherapy but people seem to like the whole "unconditional acceptance" approach, especially if they can afford weekly session themselves and their insurance doesn't limit them to manualized treatments. I would agree that there seems to be much more popular support for whining in the culture -- you can get your reality TV show if you're a good whiner -- but therapists declaring "no whining zones" seems a little extreme. WWCRD? -Mike Palij New York University [email protected] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13191.978362ce7b096266e2cefb878aa3250b&n=T&l=tips&o=17808 or send a blank email to leave-17808-13191.978362ce7b096266e2cefb878aa32...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=17810 or send a blank email to leave-17810-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
