The purpose of therapy is to help people live positively to fulfill their desires. In the current world, trauma is highly prevalent among the population. Stress and depression have become common due to occupation challenges which come alongside nature and demands from jobs and the general life. Statistics from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) claim that nearly 18 percent of the individuals in the United States of America are traumatized while almost 24% of the same population is suffering from varieties of mental health illness. The National Survey reports the same matter on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). According to this body, about 8% of the United States populations are battling addiction. The statistics point out that there is a need for counseling to elevate the population from the nightmare of stress, depression, and addiction ( Bickel et al., 2017). It is the same reason that places therapies at the forefront of national development and psychological advancement. In this article, the aim is to present my counseling approach, which, in my view, is the best for depression, stress, and addiction. In this article, I will present the key concept of my therapy approach, my role as a counselor, and some of the goals which will be at the center of the approach. Further, I will finalize by presenting the techniques which are useful to this approach in addition to addressing how I will handle the matter of cultural diversity, which has become common in the current world.
Key concepts and tenets
My therapy approach is based on different principles and concepts that make it unique and different from others. First, the theory relies on the fact that people are the author of their lives. In this sense, the theory postulates that people understand their lives better than others. In a case where someone is affected to appoint where he or she cannot imagine quite an addiction, he or she can help to rewrite his or her life on a bright light which can help define whom he or she is in the society. Secondly, the theory is based on the fact that it is a problem that needs a solution and not the person. Take the example of a person who is addicted to alcohol. In this case, the alcohol is the problem and not the person who is addicted. In this essence, the theory postulates that the best way to tackle addiction or traumatic issues, in this case, is to separate the person from the problem by introducing a bridge between the person and alcohol. In this sense, it would be easy to tackle the problem when it is isolated from the person than addressing the issue when that problem and the person are one commodity.
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The third tenet is that a negative feeling is one of the best paths that can direct people to a positive experience. In this essence, the theory postulate that through telling the story of a wrong side of a person, an external person can trace that bad story and pinpoint some positives actions within the bad story that can help in changing the person. Lastly, the theory believes in extricating the person from the “label” or the “tag” given by society before solving the problem. People have different experiences which can come to define who they are in society ( Mellis, Snider & Bickel, 2018). For instance, if a person is a trouble maker and the community sees him or her as such, the person may behave in that manner to take the role the community has provided for him or her. The best way, as put forward from this theory, is to disengage the person from such a tag so that physicians concentrate on treating the person and the problem differently.
The role of the counselor
As mentioned earlier, the foundation of this theory is based on the fact that a person is the author of his or her life. The counselor, in this case, acts as an editor to the book written by the victim. It is an implication that rather than dictating the whole therapy process by giving out dozens of advice, the counselor will be the listener. The theory is more of an interaction between the counselor and victim where each is equal. The following will be the roles of the counselor during the therapy process. First, the counselor will listen to the story from the victim. The story will be based on the experience, especially the worst experience during the time of the traumatic, stress, or addiction. People call the story “one of the dark days” in addiction or trauma or whatever the problem the victim has that calls for therapy. During the listening process, the counselor will try to edit the story by pinpointing and noting down some of the positive action that took place during the dark days of the victim’s life. For instance, the counselor will note how the Victimsolved a specific crisis during his or her dark days that made some impact in his or her life. After the story, the counselor will help the victim positively rewrite the terrible story by majoring on the best side of the story or the best action the victim took that changed the situation. The author then will encourage the victim to think along the positive line and see if that path can be the best for him or her.
The therapy goal
The goal in this theory redefines the person status in the society by trying isolating the person from the tag the community has given him or her. The path towards redesigning the goal is simple. Every person has, for once, experienced a challenge in life. In this case, such a problem can define a person in society. Take the example of a person who is a drug addict. In this case, the community may label that person as an addict. In doing so, the person tends to assume that tag and embrace it in a manner that makes him or her behave like an addict. In this manner, the person may start overuse the drug or overdrinking alcohol because that is the best way the society expect him or her to behave. The best thing during the therapy process is to identify the goal from the worst experience. In the case given, for instance, the goal should be to extricate the person from the “addiction” tag. After that, the therapists will work on how they can identify a positive label to replace the bad label. The positive tag should thus create a new identity for the person by introducing a new behavior on the person. Both the counselor and the victim do the goal setting.
Relationship issues
During this theory, relationship matters most. Most importantly, there is a need for a good relationship between the person and the counselor. The approach focuses mostly on a person’s worst experience in life. In many cases, the worst experiences are bitter, and people do not like sharing them with others. However, the goal, in this case, is to create an environment which will allow the person to feel free to share the experience openly without hiding anything from the counselor. Individuals understand that it is one of the worst time because emotions are always high during this particular time. A relationship is thus the best environment that such a person needs to share that specific experience without leaving any bit out. Besides, a family relationship can be useful for this therapy ( Mellis, Snider & Bickel, 2018).
In some cases, it would be better to carry out the therapy process in a family structure where there are family members to help in counseling the victim. In such cases, the victims need the best family relationship is needed so that they are open to sharing their story. However, if the victim is less comfortable with the family, the best way to approach this therapy is to carry out an individual based therapy where there is face to face interaction between the victim and the counselor only for the entire process. The goal of considering the relationship is to allow the victims to share their side with the therapists.
The techniques for the therapy
There are different techniques which the proposed therapy will take into consideration and use during the therapy process. Note that, all these therapy techniques are victim-based, and thus, the focus is mostly on the victim to provide the answer to their problem. The first technique is storytelling. As already mentioned, the therapy process bases on storytelling about one of the worst experiences in life. The counselor will request the victim to tell one of the stories which he or she ever experience in his life during the period when he or she was suffering from the problem that called for a therapy. The counselors will use the edit the story to try and understand some of the positive sides of the story which can be re-written to produce a positive side of the story ( Kougiali et al., 2017).
The second technique is the externalization technique. Externalization is the process whereby the counselor helps the client or the victim towards viewing the problem as an external factor which tries to shape his or her life, rather than seeing the issue as part of his or her life. People found this approach on the fact that it is much easier for a person to change a behavior that he or she engages in that it is to change a characteristic that is a part of him or her. The aim, in this case, is to enhance self- identity that is positive by replacing the negative tag with a positive trait that is desired by the person as he or she strives to stamp page of his life anew. As simple as people observe, this is one of the most challenging issues during this type of therapy. As a therapist, this technique is easy to describe, but it may be challenging for the client to fully buy into this strange idea ( Bickel et al., 2017). In this manner, the best direction to take as a therapist is to encourage the client not to place too much importance on their diagnosis or self-assigned labels. The therapists, in this case, should Let the victim know how empowering it can be to separate him or herself from their problems, allowing them a higher chance of survival.
The last technique is the deconstruction technique. To deconstruct in this context is to breakdown the problem so that the client can understand the problem. During the process, the main challenge is to understand the client’s story and try to reconstruct the story in a manner that yields some positive result for the client. It would be impossible for the client to understand any positive things from his or her negative story. The counselor needs to understand the client's problem and try to break it down in a manner that it would be easy to understand by the client. Deconstructing the problem helps the clients to learn what the problem is (he is feeling lonely and isolated) and what this means to him (it makes him feel like his partner doesn’t trust him, or perhaps is not willing to commit to the relationship like he is).
Solving the problem of Diversity
Diversity is one of the most important aspects of counseling in the therapy process. In this case, diversity will be considered to create an environment that is equal and fair for the entire client. First, the focus will be to work with the client based on their culture. For instance, while giving out an example and solution which matters more during the therapy process, the therapist will be giving examples that are within the client’s culture. Further, in case the client is challenged with the official language that the therapists understand, he or she will have to get a translator in case the victim will be comfortable.
In conclusion, the main goal of this therapy is to deal with the problem alone by isolating the problem from the victim. It involves understanding the dark side of the victim and the identification of any positive aspect of the story to rewrite the story more positively.
References
Bickel, W. K., Stein, J. S., Moody, L. N., Snider, S. E., Mellis, A. M., &Quisenberry, A. J. (2017). Toward narrative theory: Interventions for reinforcer pathology in health behavior. In Impulsivity (pp. 227-267).Springer, Cham.
Mellis, A. M., Snider, S. E., & Bickel, W. K. (2018). Narrative theory: II. Self-generated and experimenter-provided negative income shock narratives increase delay discounting.
Kougiali, Z. G., Fasulo, A., Needs, A., & Van Laar, D. (2017).Planting the seeds of change: Directionality in the narrative construction of recovery from addiction. Psychology & health , 32 (6), 639-664.
