On Tue, 15 May 2012 15:24:53 -0700, Christopher Green wrote: >Well, this doesn't sound much like therapy at all, but just the kind of >unhelpful advice one gets from a bad boss. That said, it also sounds a fair bit >like Albert Ellis, which isn't new at all. (Indeed, Ellis said he was just >reworking Stoicism for the 20th century.)
I don't think this is an accurate view of Ellis though I think that many would like to think it is. Ellis, like Rogers, got his Ph.D. from Teacher's College and was psychodynamicly oriented (again like Rogers) until he rejected them. Ellis claims a number of different influences after this point including the stoic philosophers but Ellis was also heavily influenced by Alfred Korzybski and the "General Semantics" movement which was popular circa 1940-1960. For some background on Korzybski, there is a Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korzybski Martin Gardner of Scientific American fame and his books on science pegged the General Semantics movement as being a pseudoscience cult even though a number of scientists were involved and published in the Journal "ETC"; see: http://www.generalsemantics.org/store/etc-a-review-of-general-semantics/142-etc-a-review-of-general-semantics-1-1-august-1943.html I'm not sure what the present day status of the General Semantics movement but I would not be surprised if it isn't more than a guilty pleasure. I think that it was Ellis' connection to the General Semantics movement that made him seem somewhat "kooky" along with the unorthodox way he operated. For example, he was unaffiliated with a college but opened an Institute in a townhouse on 65th street between Lexington Ave and Madison Avenue, and gave lectures there; trained therapists, and wrote. Ellis had done some teaching at NYU and elsewhere early in his career but decided to go into business for himself. Hunter College was just three blocks away if he wanted a university connection. If I read the history of the development of the cognitive-behavioral therapy correctly, Ellis is recognized as influence only later on. The Korzybski influence was life-long, as reflected by his "Korzybski Memorial Lecture" in 1991; see: http://www.generalsemantics.org/our-offerings/programming-classes/alfred-korzybski-memorial-lecture-series/ So, Ellis, definitely a get in your face kind of guy. But I think the influence of the Stoic philosophers made for a good catchphrase (“People are disturbed not by things but by their view of things”) and a certain philosophical legitimacy for his theories but were an after fact justification. Beside, Stoic is easier to spell than Korzybski. -Mike Palij New York University [email protected] On 2012-05-15, at 5:48 PM, Michael Palij <[email protected]> wrote: > 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? --- 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=17816 or send a blank email to leave-17816-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
