Adlerian Group Therapy Essay Example for Free

Adlerian Group Therapy Essay According to Glanz and Hayes (1967) Group Counseling and group terapy are almost contradictory concepts to he individual not familiar with the detailed practices present and groups, counceling, and therapy. multiple counseling, group guidance, and the lmost interchangeble use of counseling and psychotherapy have added to the uncertainty of the dimensions and true nature of these new concepts. Adlerian in Group Counseling According to Corey (202) Adler was a politically and socially oriented psychiatrist who showed great concern for the common person. Indeed, many of his early clients were working-class people who struggled to make a living, raise and educate their children, and make a difference in society. Part of Adler’s mission was to bring psychological understanding to the general population and to translate psychological concepts into practical methods for helping a varied population meet the challenges of everyday life. Alfred Adler made signifi cant contributions to contemporary therapeutic practice. Adler believed in the social nature of human beings, and he was interested in working with clients in a group context. He established more than 30 child guidance clinics in which he pioneered live demonstrations by interviewing children, adults, teachers, and parents in front of community groups. He was the fi rst psychiatrist to use group methods in a systematic way in child guidance centers in the 1920s in Vienna. To fully appreciate the development of the practice of Adlerian psychology, one must recognize the contributions of Rudolf Dreikurs, who was largely responsible for extending and popularizing Adler’s work and transplanting Adler’s ideas to the United States. He did a great deal to translate Adlerian principles into the practice of group psychotherapy, and he used group psychotherapy in his private practice for more than 40 years (see Dreikurs, 1960, 1967, 1997). Dreikurs developed and refi ned Adler’s concepts into a clear-cut, teachable system with practical applications for family life, education, preventive mental health, and, especially, group psychotherapy (Terne r Pew, 1978). Dreikurs was a key fi gure in developing the Adlerian family education centers in the United States. Work with children and their parents in a group setting paved the way for Dreikurs’s pioneering group psychotherapy.It is believed that Dreikurs was the fi rst person to use group therapy in a private practice. Adlerian interventions have been widely applied to diverse client populations of all ages in many different settings. Adlerian group therapy is an integration of key concepts of Adlerian psychology with socially constructed, systemic, and brief approaches based on the holistic model developed by Dreikurs (Sonstegard Bitter, 2004). Objectives of Adlerian Group Therapy  ·Establishing and maintaining an emphatic relationship between clients and counselor that is based on mutual trust and respect and in which the client feels understood and accepted by the group.  ·Providing a therapeutic climate in which clients can come to understand their basics beliefs and feelings about themselves and discover why those beliefs are faulty.  ·helping clients develop insight into their mistaken goals and self-defeating behaviors through a process of confrontatio and interpretation.  ·assisting clients in discovering alternatives and encouraging them to make choices that is, put insights into action.  ·Group provides a mirror of persons behavior.  ·Group members both recieve and give help. Techniques THE FAMILY CONSTELLATION Adler considered the family of origin as having a central impact on an individual’s personality. Adler suggested that it was through the family constellation that each person forms his or her unique view of self, others, and life. Factors such as cultural and familial values, gender-role expectations, and the nature of interpersonal relationships are all infl uenced by a child’s observation of the interactional patterns within the family. Adlerian assessment relies heavily on an exploration of the client’s family constellation, including the client’s evaluation of conditions that prevailed in the family when the person was a young child (family atmosphere), birth order, parental relationship and family values, and extended family and culture. EARLY RECOLLECTIONS As you will recall, another assessment procedure used by Adlerians is to ask the client to provide his or her earliest memories, including the age of the person at the time of the remembered events and the feelings or reactions associated with the recollections. Early recollections are one-time occurrences pictured by the client in clear detail. Adler reasoned that out of the millions of early memories we might have we select those special memories that project the essential convictions and even the basic mistakes of our lives. Early recollections are a series of small mysteries that can be woven together and provide a tapestry that leads to an understanding of how we view ourselves, how we see the world, what our life goals are, what motivates us, what we value and believe in, and what we anticipate for our future (Clark, 2002; Mosak Di Pietro, 2006). BIRTH OEDER AND SIBLING RELATIONSHIP The Adlerian approach is unique in giving special attention to the relationships between siblings and the psychological birth position in one’s family. Adler identified five psychological positions, or vantage points, from which children tend to view life: oldest, second of only two, middle, youngest, and only. Stages of the Alerian Group Therapy STAGE 1: ESTABLISHING AND MAINTAININGCOHESIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH MEMBERS In the initial stage the emphasis is on establishing a good therapeutic relationship based on cooperation, collaboration, egalitarianism, and mutual respect. By attending to the relationship from the first session, counselors are laying a foundation for cohesive ness and connection. Adlerians hold that the successful outcomes of the other group stages are based on establishing and maintaining a strong therapeutic relationship at the initial stage of counseling (Watts Eckstein, 2009). Group participants are encouraged to be active in the process because they are responsible for their own participation in the group. The group situation provides sample opportunity to work on trust issues and to strengthen the relationship between member and leader. Also, by witnessing positive changes in peers, participants can see how well the group works. STAGE 2: ANALYSIS AND ASSESSMENT (EXPLORING THE INDIVIDUAL’S DYNAMICS) The aim of the second stage is twofold: understanding one’s lifestyle and seeing how it is affecting one’s current functioning in all the tasks of life (Mosak Maniacci, 2011). During this assessment stage, emphasis is on the individual in his or her social and cultural context. Adlerians do not try to fi t clients into a preconceived model; rather, they allow salient cultural identity concepts to emerge and attend to a clients’ personal meaning of culture (Carlson Englar-Carlson, 2008). The leader may begin by exploring how the participants are functioning at work and in social situations and how they feel about themselves and their gender-role identities. STAGE 3: AWARENESS AND INSIGHT Whereas the classical analytic position is that personality cannot change unless there is insight, the Adlerian view is that insight is a special form of awareness that facilitates a meaningful understanding within the counseling relationship and acts as a foundation for change. Yet this awareness is not, in and of itself, enough to bring about signifi cant change. It is a means to an end, not an end in itself. According to Carlson and Englar-Carlson (2008), the Adlerian approach is both insight oriented and action oriented. Although insight into our problems can be useful, it is essential that this awareness leads to constructive movement toward desired goals. It is to be noted that people can make abrupt and signifi cant changes without much insight. STAGE 4: REORIENTATION AND REEDUCATION The end product of the group process is reorientation and reeducation. The reorientation stage consists of both the group leaders and the members working together to challenge erroneous beliefs about self, life, and others. The emphasis is on considering alternative beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes. During this stage, members put insight into action, making new choices that are more consistent with their desired goals (Carlson Englar-Carlson, 2008). There is a change in members’ attitudes toward their current life situation and the problems they need to solve. This reorientation is an educational experience. Adlerian groups are characterized by an attempt to reorient faulty living patterns and teach a better understanding of the principles that result in cooperative interaction (Sonstegard Bitter, 2004). One of the aims is teaching participants how to become more effective in dealing with the tasks of life. Another aim is challenging and encouraging clients to take risks an d make changes. References: Corey, G. (2012), Theories And Practice of Group Couneling Eight edition. United States, 2008 Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning. Corey, G. (2009), Theories And Practice of Counseling and Psychoterapy. United States, 2005 Thomson Brooks/Cole.z

Virtual Communities are an Illusion :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Virtual Communities are an Illusion Discussions of the social effects of computer-mediated communication (CMC) and virtual community often focus on whether they pull people apart or bring them together. John Perry Barlow describes his point of view on this matter in a very enlightening article, Is There a There in Cyberspace?. Barlow first describes his skepticism about virtual communities and finishes the article with a life altering tragedy. Amy Bruckman, who is responsible for the article, Finding Ones Own in Cyberspace explains the importance of discovering a virtual community that best suits your needs. I feel that virtual communities and CMCs bring people together but also pull them apart more then together. In Barlows article, he describes how cyberspace has created its own community, or virtual community if you will, by bringing people together with common interests and experiences. Like the community in contemporary America, virtual communities had a place where peoples hearts remained even if they physically moved around the country. The virtual community also provides a feeling of comfort from this large support group-like place where tragedies one may encounter, are experienced throughout and are solved by all. When Barlow experienced the sudden death of his wife, he had this to say about his virtual community, Those strangers, who had no arms to put around my shoulders, no eyes to weep with mine, nevertheless saw me through. As neighbors do. This is the idea of a coming together, from a virtual community standpoint. One thing that Barlow points out about virtual communities is that they lack prana (the Hindu term for breath and spirit). He says, Prana is, to my mind, the literally vital element in the holy and unseen ecology of relationship...It is at the heart of the fundamental and profound difference between information and experience. This is what brings human relationships together. The body language, sex, tone of voice, smells, facial expressions, etc. are the things that make life, life! These missing ingredients still lack in virtual communities to this day. According to Bruckmans article, she explains how to find a virtual community that best suits ones needs. Some of the things she suggests for a virtual community can be easily correlated to finding a neighborhood where one would like to reside. The main determining factor she points out is self selection. As individuals, we know what we want/dont want, like/dislike, so the decision is up to us to decide where we want to go.

Philosophies of Religion Essay

This Essay portrays the basic philosophies of religion particularly Christianity. This will be helpful for Christians to refresh or enhance their faith or take the challenge in strengthening their beliefs. Among the important and basic Christian philosophies to be discussed include; the true religion, real and false churches, minds and soul, heaven and heal, life after death, love and forgiveness, perfect marriage, miracles, Trinity, the challenging questions about the Da Vinci Code, Christians and Muslims, perfect marriage, etc. The discussions presented in this article are focused on indepth reflections of my previous work entitled, Echoes of Heaven: God’s Love is Better than Life Itself. This further simplify the understanding of mysterious things concerning Christian faith and the challenges that shaken or strengthen the beliefs of a Christian. Introduction Many people (Christians and non-Christians) are in a great religious confusion with tough questions about faith, life, death and many other challenging concerns that will most likely affect the faith or belief of the people. Most are searching for answers through reading literatures, the holy bible or the Koran, discussions with peers, religious institutions, and even through prayers. This essay will attempt to offer explanations of the many questions that challenge the beliefs of Christians and non-Christians. Some inputs of this essay are generated from my article, â€Å"Echoes of Heaven: God’s Love is Better than Life Itself† that aim to enhance man’s relation with God. What is Soul? Soul is the energy that God places within a human body so it would receive life. It is in the form of spirit which is invisible to human eyes. It does not reside in one part of the body but keeps on moving throughout the blood. It can leave the body, go to another place or world, and come back into it as long as it remains connected. It happens so fast because it can move at the speed of light. It has the ability to travel into the future and tell how the future will be, that is a vision. Soul gives light and lives in the body and also prevents the body from decaying, and once the soul is unconscious or leaves the body, the body has no life, and therefore it starts decaying. The soul is the body’s life giving spiritual thing which is separate and distinct from the body. They are inseparable in any way when the body is conscious, but the soul could be away from the body when the latter is unconscious. How do minds and soul communicate? Soul has no language barriers. There is only one language understood by all souls, or perhaps the soul has the ability to understand all languages. It has unlimited power and the ability to perform anything. When God created man, He granted this power and authority where the soul operates in human flesh in which the latter is ruled by a human mind. Human minds are limited in terms of power, their ability to perform, language, and mobility, among other things. Mind’s desire is for material or physical things while the soul desires for the things that are spiritual. The soul has the ability to see beyond what the naked eye cannot see and has the ability to gather information from different places in an instant. It is stated that even the absence of language, the soul still communicate with mind in harmony. Soul is therefore, considered as master over mind. A gap is identified between the human level and the spiritual level where either the spirit of God resides or the spirit of the Devil. The soul provides information to the mind. The spirit of God empowers the soul to act at its fullness, but the evil spirit empowers the mind or the flesh. The mind has the ability to process and store information or idea communicated from the soul which can be destructive or creative, depending on its source. What is a true religion? A true religion is the one that follow God’s guidance by building a good relationship with God. God is interested in having a good relationship with people; this is the true religion, knowing what God wants and knowing that we are doing what pleases Him. Likewise, the ISLAM HERALD (2003) stated that a true religion is teaching true concepts like the existence of God, that He is powerful and loving, He is aware of us and wishes to help us, and that certain things are required of us in return. It is therefore imperative that everyone should think that religion is just a vehicle to let people know that there is God and that He wants all the people to follow what He wants. Hence, the issue on true religion should not be argued. People who argue and claim that their religion is the true religion are those who did not follow what God wants them to do, hence, they are fools influenced by the thoughts of the devil. What is death, and how do people feel when dying? Death is the state when the soul has completely left the body and has no connection, or the soul is still in the body but unconscious. When a person meets an accident, the flesh may completely fail to function but the soul is fully conscious, preoccupied with many things, without expecting in meeting death. In this situation, the death of accident victim is declared but remains fully conscious within the body in which souls are looking for mercy, and they can talk. However, after some days, the soul gives up and became unconscious because they can no longer gain strength. What happens when one dies? When some people die, their souls remain unconscious within their bodies; others get out of their body and begin roaming around while the holy ones go to paradise, led by angels. The death of the holy ones will open the gate to a bright world where the angels are waiting to take them home (paradise), but those who remain in the grave are surrounded by darkness; they are not warm or cold. The latter’s case will be determined during the Day of Judgment. The rebellious ones still go on roaming the world and their souls are fully dedicated to the Devil. Are heaven and hell real? The Holy Bible tells everyone that there is heaven and hell. This contention can be read in some passages of the Bible, and among them are the book of Revelation and the gospel of Mathew which can be read below. Heaven Revelation 21:1-4 reads: â€Å"Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. Hell Jesus used different images to describe hell. He used the images of torment (Matthew 25:46), a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12), a place of outer darkness (Matthew 8:12), and a place of fire (Matthew 3:12). Revelation 21:8 describes it as â€Å"the lake which burns with fire and brimstone†¦ † To demonstrate that hell is a place of continual and eternal torment, Revelation 14:11 states that â€Å"the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worships the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name. This is the biblical teaching on hell. Those who try to dilute it are only hurting people; hell is real, and everyone who does not submit to the gospel of Christ will go there. However, Rev. Douglas Taylor of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Binghamton, argue that Hell, like Heaven, is essentially a state of mind although the very opposite state of mind to heaven. If hell is within us, it will be seen outside of us as a place ( a hideous place), reflecting the hideousness of the evil within†. Is there life after death? Yes, there is life after death. This is supported by the Bible’s passage particularly in John 11:25-26 where God said â€Å"There is only one way – through faith and trust in God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus said, â€Å"I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again. They are given eternal life for believing in me and will never perish. Furthermore, this can also be read in the book of Mathew 25:46 which states that â€Å"Those who have been made righteous will go into eternal life in heaven, but unbelievers will be sent to eternal punishment or hell†. Who is right, Christians or Muslims? Christians and Muslims believe in the same God, and their faith is based on the Old Testament. These believers are both believe in the Day of Judgment and the coming of Jesus Christ for the second time. Many are amazed that the Koran talked more about Mary, the mother of Jesus, in regards to the birth of Christ than the Bible itself. Both groups of believers believe in the living God, the Most High King, and the God of the universe. At that high level, both groups have no difference. Those who called by His name are given the power and authority to rule and judge the world. God was just using different messengers for the Christians and the Muslims; Christ Jesus for the Christians, and Mohammad for the Muslims. But, they the same believed the old testament of the Holy Bible. In the eyes of God, the righteous are those who believe that there is God; obey His commands, and those who recognize that He is the most powerful and merciful God. What is a perfect marriage? A perfect marriage is a marriage that put God in the center. A perfect marriage is bound with open communication, faith and trust with each other. In Ephesians 5:23-33 of the Holy Bible, God describes that perfect marriage is based on love. He commands the husband to love his wife more than he loves himself, and to nourish and cherish her. A man should provide for his wife’s needs and consider her a precious possession. The most important part of a good marriage is LOVE, not just a physical attraction, but true love and concern for each other before God. Marriages that last are built on love (Ecclesiastes 9:9). The wise man Solomon said that enjoying life’s blessings with a loving companion is a great reward. Love’s endurance knows no limits, its trust no end, its hope no fading; it can outlast anything. If, we will but follow God’s pattern for the marriage relationship, we can find the happiness that God intended when He ordained it. The pleasure and happiness are there when the husband and the wife have the proper love for each other and for God. These explanations about perfect marriage are anchored on LOVE. What is the secret behind miracles? The secret behind miracles is faith. Many scriptures in the Holy Bible (in the New Testament) tell how Jesus shown that faith makes miracles. However, in some cases, miracles are used by the devil to mislead the people of God and forget the true miracle from God which is the miracle of forgiveness of sins. Do all miracles come from God? Not all miracles come from God. Dan Corner of Evangelical Outreach reveals that miracles come from two sources that is God and devil. The book of Exodus that â€Å"some of God’s miracles were duplicated by Satan’s power channeled through the Egyptian magicians: a wooden staff became a snake† (7:10, 11); â€Å"water was changed into blood† (7:20-22)† and frogs came out of the water and covered the land† (8:6, 7)! † Demons can and do perform miraculous signs† (Rev. 16:14, p. 142). In the Holy Bible (New Testament) Jesus Christ made many miracles of healing the sick people, giving life again to the declared dead person, calming storms, etc. All the miracles performed by Jesus came from God. Are all churches real? Not all churches are real. Elephant shared in his article that the real churches are those where the worshippers are singing with the same voice, moving in the same direction, without confusion, and seek God for salvation. Real churches are those with true worshippers. True worshippers of God are poor in hearts seeking God and left everything behind just to follow God with one purpose, salvation. Is there any false church or prophet? There are so many false churches and prophets even during the time of Jesus Christ. False church is look like a market place where there are lots of confusions; people are seeking God for material things not salvation. Yes, there were false prophets as supported by Ezekiel 13, even God warn the people against false prophets and said to Ezekiel â€Å"These foolish prophets are doomed! They provide their own inspiration and invent their own visions. Christians of today, your prophets are as useless as foxes living among the ruins of the city. They do not guard the places where the walls have crumbled, nor do they build the walls, and so the churches cannot be defended when war comes on the day of the Lord. Their visions are false, and their predictions are lies. They claim that they are speaking my message, but I have not sent them. Yet they expect their words to come true! I tell them: Those visions you see are false, and the predictions you make are lies. You say that they are my words, but I have not spoken to you†. Jeremiah was told by God to â€Å"Tell my people not to listen to what those false prophets say; they are filling you with false hopes. They tell you what they have imagined and not what I have said. To the people who refuse to listen to what I have said, they keep saying that all will go well with them. And they tell everyone who is stubborn that disaster will never touch him. † Is man a complicated creature? Why and why not? Man is a complicated creature because God has provided them everything, the life, the trees that produces foods they need. In Genesis 2:15-16, God even give man a companion in the presence of Eve. With a condition that he should not eat the fruit of the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and bad because the punishment of death will be accorded to him by God. Man’s complication started when he disobey God. The complication continue when God give different languages to human beings and scattered them all over the world. It is hard to understand man because something else that God had no intention to create was created after eating the fruit of the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad. Man became a complicated creature and that is why we suffer, because we need to prove to God that we can be faithful and trusted once more. Our first parent chose to follow or listen to a stranger, the devil. He ignored the instruction of God, despite or everything provided to him by God.

MBA Salary Guide for Business Majors

Applicants rarely mention money when they tell admissions boards why they want an MBA, but salary expectations are often a huge draw when it comes to getting a business degree.  Business school tuition is notoriously expensive, and most applicants want to see a return on their investment. Factors That Influence MBA Salaries There are a lot of different factors that can influence the amount of money MBA grads earn. For example, the industry that students work in after graduation has a significant impact on salaries. MBA grads tend to earn the most in consulting, marketing, operations, general management, and finance industries. However, salaries can vary wildly within a single industry. On the low end, marketing professionals can earn about $50,000, and on the high end, they can earn $200,000. The company that you choose to work for has an impact on salary as well. For example, the salary offer you get from a modest start-up on a shoestring budget is going to be much smaller than a salary offer that you get from Goldman Sachs or another company known for offering high starting salaries to MBA grads. If you want a big salary, you may have to consider applying to a big company. Taking a job overseas can also be lucrative. Job level can have just as much of an impact as the industry and company you choose to work for. For example, an entry-level position is going to pay less than a C-level position. Entry-level positions fall on the lowest level in the workplace hierarchy. C-level, also known as C-suite, positions fall on the upper level in the workplace hierarchy and include chief executive positions like chief executive officer (CEO), chief financial officer (CFO), chief operating officer (COO), and chief information officer (CIO). Median MBA Salary The Graduate Management Admission Council conducts an annual survey of corporate recruiters, who share information about starting salary offers for new MBA grads. According to the most recent survey, the median starting salary for MBA grads is $100,000. This is a nice round number that reflects base salary. In other words, it does not take other perks like sign-on bonuses, year-end bonuses, and stock options into account. These perks can add up to big money for MBAs. One MBA who graduated recently from Stanford, reported to Poets Quants that he expected to see a year-end bonus worth more than $500,000. If you are wondering whether or not an MBA will really help you to improve your salary, you may be interested to know that the $100,000 figure reported by corporate recruiters to the Graduate Management Admission Council is almost double the $55,000 median annual starting salary that corporate recruiters report for grads with a bachelors degree. MBA Cost vs. Projected Salary The school that you graduate from can also have an impact on your salary. For example, students who graduate with an MBA degree from Harvard Business School are able to command a much higher salary that students who graduate with an MBA degree from the University of Phoenix. The reputation of the school matters; recruiters take notice of schools that are known for providing a quality education and turn their nose up at schools that do not share that reputation. In general, the higher ranked a school is, the higher the salary expectations are for grads. Of course, that rule doesn’t always hold among business schools with the most stellar rankings. For example, it is possible for a grad from a #20 school to receive a better offer that a grad from a #5 school. It is important to keep in mind that higher-ranked business schools often come with higher tuition tags. Cost is a factor for most MBA applicants. You will have to determine what you can afford and consider the return on investment to determine if it is worth it to get an MBA from a high-priced school. To kick start your research, lets compare the average student debt at some of the countrys top-ranked business schools with the average starting salary for MBAs who graduate from those schools (as reported to U.S. News). U.S. News Ranking School Name Average Student Debt Average Starting Salary #1 Harvard Business School $86,375 $134,701 #4 Stanford Graduate School of Business $80,091 $140,553 #7 University of California - Berkeley (Haas) $87,546 $122,488 #12 New York University (Stern) $120,924 $120,924 #17 University of Texas - Austin (McCombs) $59,860 $113,481 #20 Emory University (Goizueta) $73,178 $116,658 Source: U.S. News