Menu

Unbound Posts

Carl Rogers’ legacy of human dignity

1 December 2010
T12 Titans
No comments

Recently, Time Magazine compiled a list of the twenty-five most powerful and influenential women of the century. And, to no surprise, Mother Teresa ranks in at the top.

A Roman Catholic nun, known for her symbolic simple white garb with blue stripes, Mother Teresa brought the values of human dignity and intrinsic worth to one of the most impoverished places on earth, working with the sick and the dying.  Teresa, named at birth Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, undoubtedly revolutionized a world by her humble example and unselfish love to the dying, the sick, and abandoned in Calcutta, India.

As I read about Mother Teresa, I was reminded of another Nobel Peace Prize nominee, one who brought the values of human dignity and intrinsic worth to the psyche, bringing the idea of self-determination and presence into the both the therapists office and everyday life. 

We are nearing what would have been the 108th birthday of Carl Rogers, and he deserves to be celebrated as much as Mother Teresa – and for many of the same reasons. 

Rogers, a true revolutionary and pioneer, looked at human nature through the lens of hope, promise, and positivism. Rogers was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize (an award Mother Teresa won) in 1987 for his work in South Africa and Ireland in conflict resolution. His scholarly work, nearly as influential as that of Sigmund Freud, introduced the concept of research to the world of psychotherapy and brought the revolutionary person-centered approach to psychology, education, organizations and communities.

Roger’s believed in affirming a person’s basic worth; without judgment, doing so in the form of unconditional positive regard. Perhaps nothing describes Roger’s and his theoretical work more than his renowned book, Client-centered Therapy: Its Current Practice, Implications and Theory. In this piece, Rogers describes the nineteen core tenets of his theory regarding the human person, their worth and the therapeutic environment.

Some of the nineteen tenets include:

1) The understanding that behavior is basically the goal directed attempt of the organism or person attempting to satisfy its needs as experienced, in the field of its perceptions.

2)  The organism or person reacts to the field as it is experienced and perceived. This perceptual field is, for the individual, “reality.”

3) The organism reacts as an organized whole to this phenomenal field.

4) The organism has one basic tendency and striving – to actualize, maintain and enhance the experiencing organism. Rather than viewing the individual (organism) as controlled by ‘a mass of drives’ like his predecessors, Rogers considered all strivings to be different facets of the one tendency

5) The best vantage point for understanding behavior is from the internal frame of reference of the individual himself.

6) As a result of interaction with the environment, the structure of the self is formed – an organized and consistent conceptual pattern of perceptions and relationships of the “I” or the “me,” inclusive of the attached values.

Rogers is credited with writing sixteen books and many articles, all with a humanistic and phenomenological orientation. His work was and continues to be revolutionary long after his death.

Rogers, much like Mother Teresa, valued the human being in a non-judgmental way. Rogers’ work went beyond the surface, to a place where the individual, or organism as he often wrote, was much greater than a psychological pathology or personality deficit. Both Mother Teresa and Carl Rogers were true leaders and pioneers of humanistic service to people of all races, creeds, and socioeconomic statuses.  

Carl Rogers and Mother Teresa saw the innate human potential and worth in each person. Through Rogers’ writings his legacy lives on encouraging clinicians and educators to look beyond the surface to a place where freedom and positive regard can unleash the human potential and actualizing tendency in a student or client. And, through the shelters, hospitals, and homes for the dying, Mother Teresa’s humanistic example of love continues to thrive.  

Both humanists – both revolutionaries.

– Liz Schreiber

The psychological impact of suburban poverty could be big

29 November 2010
T12 Titans
No comments

When we think of suburban areas of the United States, we think of white picket fences, generous green lawns and kids playing hopscotch. The suburbs aren’t always the richest areas of the country, but they’re the most elite:  inhabited by the people who rose above traditional neighborhoods and landed in communities of choice.

It’s an outdated notion, if it was ever true.  During the Great Recession things are quite different for many suburban families. “Suburban Poverty” is now a phenomenon commented upon in newspapers and magazines.  Food and clothing shelters have come to suburbs that never had them before, and existing ones serving suburban areas have seen exponential growth in places like the suburbs of Cleveland, Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, and Atlanta.

In some ways, Suburban poverty is very different from what we still think of as “regular” poverty:  most suburbs aren’t walkable and don’t have effective public transportation, meaning the suburban poor must still have cars.  The schools are often more genteel.  But in other ways “suburban poverty” is just “poverty” with an adjective.

The question no one has the answer to:  will suburban poverty have the same psychological impact on children and adults that urban poverty does?

Erik Erikson, well known for his developmental stage theorem, spoke to the eight stages of life. In his renowned book, Childhood and Society, Erikson emphasized the encounter a person has with the social world cross culturally in the context of development.  Either we go mature from one stage to the next, or we get stuck along the way – unable to resolve the stage we’re in and access the stage that comes after it.

Erickson’s Stage Theorem

1)    Basic Trust versus Mistrust: represents the encounter between a child’s developing ego and their external environment.
2)    Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt: represents the biological maturation of the internal autonomy in a child by fostering the child’s ability to do things without their parent. Conversely, shame and doubt come about by way of the social expectations, pressures and realities of the external world.
3)    Initiative versus Guilt: represents the forward movement of development, especially as it applies to planning and goal making; thus the development of the superego.
4)    Industry versus Inferiority: the most decisive stage of ego development where a child is said to develop cognitive and social skills.
5)    Identity versus Role Confusion: involves the confusing development of new social conflicts and demands; including innate instinctual drives.
6)    Intimacy versus Isolation: involves the development of intimacy, self-knowledge, and mutuality in the context of a romantic relationship. Failure of these things results in the feeling of isolation.
7)    Generativity versus Isolation: descriptive of the developmental milestones that occur in a intimate relationship inclusive of child-bearing and the production of things and ideals through work. Failure in these realms results in isolation.
8)     Integrity versus Despair: representative of an elder’s inner difficulties regarding utility and existential meaning in one’s past life experiences.”

Erickson emphasizes that identity is mostly an unconscious process. Because of this, it’s easy to get “stuck” without knowing it, which makes it difficult to make lasting commitments; many times this results in a “psychological moratorium”—where decisions regarding careers, intimate relationships, and school are often delayed.

That’s a common phenomenon among both the urban and suburban poor – poverty creates uncertainty, which causes major decisions to be postponed, which in turn creates more uncertainty.  A recent Time Magazine cover story showed that statistically, the poor are least likely to get married for just this reason:  they lack financial certainty.  That’s as much a psychological affect as it is an economic one.

Possibly, instead of looking at poverty through the lens of economics, we need to look at it through the lens of lifespan development. Likely, if we did this, we would see that children and adults who experience poverty go through many “psychological moratoriums” as a result of unfinished developmental business. This would mean their ability actualize as persons is greatly hindered.

We just don’t know what kind of impact that will have, but it’s something we can take steps to minimize.  To do that, however, the traditional suburban self-image will have to change.


— Liz Schreiber

The benefits of adversity are very, very real

27 October 2010
T12 Titans
No comments

Score one for Nietzsche:  studies show that what does not kill you actually does make you stronger.  At least in moderation.

A recent report, “Whatever Does Not Kill Us: Cumulative Lifetime Adversity, Vulnerability, and Resilience” in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, found that yes, when bad experiences happen we do suffer from mental, physical, and spiritual pain – but in that suffering many of us develop a greater understanding of hardship and are more prepared for it when (not if) it comes again. In other words, adverse experiences offer opportunities to gain strength to tackle our future challenges.

While the concept has been around ever since Nietzsche first put it into words (if not longer), this is a relatively new area for serious psychological research. Past research tended to focus on how we reacted when things fall apart – but not how we recovered. There are a number of studies, stories, and blogs that tell us that when hit by adversity we just crumble. Our health collapses, we eat terrible food, don’t exercise, fall into despair and hang on to the pain for far too long. End of story. But although people sometimes crumble in extreme situations, we often come out the other end stronger. We collect new skills, ideas, and perspectives that can guide us in the future.

Humanistic thinkers and spiritual practitioners have long known there is another chapter.
In addition to Nietzsche, I’m reminded of a wonderful book written by Pema Chödrön called When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice For Difficult Times that deals with how to overcome adversity. She stated in her book that she had a sign on her wall that read

 “Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over to annihilation can that which is indestructible be found in us”

Now researchers have caught up, showing that there are benefits to experiencing adversity in life. After a difficult challenge or moment, we are less likely to feel pained or challenged next time around.

This is often referred to as resiliency. Resiliency involves having the mental and physical resources that help us deal with challenges in life. What is adversity and how is it relevant? Adversity forces us to reach out for help, to create social networks, and to realize that we cannot and should not overcome our struggles on our own. Resiliency can make us feel we have a little more mastery in life. When we face adversity with resilience, we become stronger than we were before the challenge.

This is not to say that we can’t reach a breaking point in life. There are times when life is just too hard. Too much hardship can deplete our toolbox of coping skills and put immense pressure on our families, friends and communities. It may get so bleak that we fall into a sense of hopelessness and losing control. The researchers don’t go into what can be done in these times but others have emphasized a number of “ways through” that include accessing all three of our vital resources: mind, body and spirit. Some ways could include seeking guidance from a therapist, or spiritual advisors; recognizing our physical limitations; mediation; resting; support groups and most importantly honoring one’s own self worth.

This research also shows that all of our attempts at avoiding pain and suffering may be to our detriment. Avoiding difficult times is not often possible, but many people try their best to escape by not taking risks or doing something to numb the pain. Avoiding difficult situations can mean missing out on opportunities to grow from adversity. Pema Chödrön speaks to this rather well,

“Most of us do not take these situations as teachings. We automatically hate them. We run like crazy. We use all kinds of ways to escape — all addictions stem from this moment when we meet our edge and we just can’t stand it. We feel we have to soften it, pad it with something, and we become addicted to whatever it is that seems to ease the pain.”

Trying to avoid acknowledging or being present with adversity causes us to miss out on some of the greatest lessons in our life. In these times, we often learn about true friendship, and that we are strong, empowered, smart and resourceful. The researchers Seery, Holman and Silver are not endorsing that we set ourselves up for suffering in life. What they have established through research is as much as hardships hurt, they can also bring out the best in us.

I wonder what else Nietzsche was moderately right about.

– Makenna Berry