THIS IS GHE MAIN POST
Read the syllabus (it’s long but has a great course description and intro to the course). Post any thoughts or questions you may have about the course overview and description. Does it surprise you to hear that some Humanistic therapists and theorists dislike the idea of therapeutic “interventions?”
General expectations for discussion posts~
The first post is generally a bit more scholarly and should include references, quotes, discussion of the readings. Responses may also include some of the above but are less formal. Ask questions or add to the topic. The idea is to deepen the conversation by commenting on your peers’ posts. Please be respectful of and learn from differences.
Please always give at least two responses to your peers. Ideally this will be done at several time points over the course of the discussion. The idea is that the discussion should resemble an in class discussion with lots of back and forth. It is helpful if you address your responses to the person or people you are responding to (e.g. “Marcia… I like what you said..”, so that they can quickly see that the response is meant for them. 🙂
In general, initial discussion post will be due by Sunday evening, and at least two responses by the following Wednesday evening. Please have fun with it! 🙂
These is the student respond to the main post
ADRs post
Hi class,
I am very excited to be diving into the Clinical Interventions series, finally. The syllabus is more pleasant to read than some due to its eloquent description of all the different topics in the class, why they are important, and how they will be useful going forward into our careers. The course description mainly helps understand the modalities that we will be exploring this semester and the reasoning behind why they are essential to know. I am not surprised that there is some push-back on the term ‘intervention.’ This concept aligns with other psychotherapy types. The therapist is the expert that uses specific therapeutic interventions to heal the patient. This language may also bring psychology closer to the medical field, which also uses interventions or procedures to heal their patients. This language may also be related to the pursuit of psychology to align more with quantitative sciences. However, Humanistic-Existential Psychology, or the third force, asserts that ones subjective experience (qualitative) is equally science worthy and that the individual should be seen as an equal healer in the room (Yalom, n.d.). Raskin and Rogers (2014) also discuss the importance of seeing the client as having the healing capacity within when they are in a safe and judgment-free space to explore their goals (Raskin et al., 2014). The syllabus also goes into this concept when describing the therapeutic process as a dance (Settlage, n.d., p. 2). I appreciate this metaphor, and I think most healing modalities are only as effective as the relationship between the caregiver and the patient/client is strong. I am currently in Physical Therapy as a PTA, and I know that my interventions are only helpful if my patient is engaging equally with me to pursue their goals.
Conversely, I also see the importance of having a common language throughout the field due to communication among therapists, clinics, schools, and so forth.
Farther along in the syllabus, case presentations are scheduled, and I notice a cohort rubric grading guide. I am a little intimidated by this upcoming assignment and looking forward to practicing the process of conveying the qualities of a good therapist and eager to grow in this way.
References
Raskin, N. J., Rogers, C. R., & Witty, M. C. (2014). Client-centered therapy. In D. Wedding, & R. J. Corsini (Eds.), Current psychotherapies (pp. 95-145). Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning.
Settlage, B. Clinical interventions I. Saybrook University.
