For those who are interested....
Here's the conclusion to that paper (The paper was on Anxiety, Depression, Nurosis and Implications for Counseling). I've also included the bibiography if anyone is interested in reading some of the professional literature...
There is an image of a man in a cell. He stands at one end of this small, dark, barren room, on his toes, with arms stretched upward, hands grasping for support onto a small, barred window, the room?s only apparent source of light. If he holds on tight, straining toward the window, turning his head just so, he can see a bit of bright sunlight barely visible between the uppermost bars. This light is his only hope. He will not risk losing it. And so he continues to strain toward that bit of light, holding tightly to the bars. So committed is his effort not to lose sight of that glimmer of life-giving light, that it never occurs to him to let go and explore the darkness of the rest of the cell. So it is that he never discovers that the door at the other end of the cell is open, that he is free. He has always been free to walk out into the brightness of the day, if only he would let go (Kopp, 1981).
Conclusion
This image, so profound, is an excellent image of the client who walks into the room seeking answers. Whatever the problem, the issue, they expect the therapist to ?fix? it, to wave their magical wand over them and take away those things that distress them. Like the man in the cell, the client is desperate and afraid. Their pathology is the sliver of light that they hold onto. Unable to control the anxiety and fear that exists within them, they have retreated behind neuroses in hopes of controlling the world around them. Seeking shelter, they have hidden themselves in depression, waiting for safety. So fixated on survival, on simply keeping afloat, the client is unable to see that the very thing they wish to escape, the fear and anxiety, is only furthered by their current behavior. What they are unable and unwilling to see is the fact that those things that evoke anxiety in them cannot be left behind. The darkness of the room has to be explored. Somewhere on the other side of that room, beyond their fears, is a door waiting to be walked through. Tell the client this and they will not believe you, will not trust you to walk with them as they explore the room, searching for that door. Only through trust, encouragement and perseverance can you finally convince the client to let go, to feel safe enough to examine the darkness that haunts them. Never is it the role of the therapist to tell the client ?There, right there is the door. Walk through it, go on!? Not only is it a fruitless endeavor, but also counterproductive to the therapeutic journey. The client must find that door themselves. Giving the client the ?answers? means nothing because without actually experiencing the self-discovery, the client cannot fully understand what is happening.
The client-counselor relationship is paramount to the success of any therapy. Carl Rogers understood the important of this relationship. ?If I [the therapist] can provide a certain type of relationship, the other person will discover within himself the capacity to use that relationship for growth, and change and personal development will occur (Rogers, 1961).?
For Rogers, a positive relationship marked by genuineness and empathy on the part of the therapist was the key to a successful outcome in counseling. If he was able to be with the client, to truly understand what the client was feeling, to create an atmosphere of realness in the relationship, and to sit with the client without judging, only then could self exploration take place. By being genuine with the client, Rogers felt the therapist could create a situation where the client would be willing to be real with themselves. Every individual has the innate drive to move forward, to be growth orientated, to seek self actualization. As Rogers notes, ?This tendency [towards self-actualization] may become deeply buried under layer after layer of encrusted psychological defenses; it may be hidden behind elaborate facades which deny its existence; but it is my belief that it exists in every individual, and awaits only the proper conditions to be released and expressed (Rogers, 1961).?
The view that it is not the role of the therapist to give the answers to the client, to fix their problems, is nothing new. ?We do not change or fix,? writes Diane Shainburg, ?but over time get to know the patient as he actually is and lives. In this way, we facilitate his getting to know himself more clearly, at which time he feels increasingly ready to change (Shainburg, 1983).?
When a client comes to us for help they are scared. They may not appear scared, but they are. The last thing they want to do is look inside at themselves and see themselves for what they really are. They will beg and plead and fight to get the therapist to support their view of the world. Sometimes they will even walk away when the therapist does not succumb to their demands. We must always remember, whether the client suffers from depression, a neurosis, or some other disorder, is that they are suffering inside. They are unable to deal with the challenges that we all face in life. They do not see the world as it actually is, but as they think it is. Their view of both the world around them and their own self is distorted. As therapists it is our role to help them to readjust their view of the world, to see things more clearly, and to help them realize all the things they can accomplish if they would simply let go and experience life.
Bibliography
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http://www.helping.apa.org/therapy/depression.html
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Shainberg, D. (1985). Teaching Therapists How to Be With Their Clients. Chapter in Welwood, J., Ed. (pp. 163-175). Awakening The Heart. Boston: Shambhala Publications, Inc.
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