Uncategorized 9:52 am
I will be removing many of my posts that I have written for school over the last year. I will be gathering everything togoether over the next few weeks and will be looking for a publisher for my book.
I am working on trying to get new posts up to rel=place what I take down.
Please be patient with my site as I will be taking a three week vacation to Washington in November, and will be doing all I can to get a job upon my return.
I hope all is well your worlds. Hugs and Handshakes.
Black Market Drugs and Medicine and Physicians 12:57 am
So I am currently working on research and writing a paper for an Independent study course and one of the topics that came up was “black market medications.”
I have seriously been thinking about this for the past few days and it has me disturbed to think that our society has to find pills to take for just about everything, and no less can get them from companies that do not require you to have a prescription.
Say for instance, you think you have depression because you are feeling a little blue or melancholy. All you have to do now days is jusmp online, find an online pharmacy that does not require a prescription and have a method of payment, and vuala. Your pills are in the mail. But what if, you choose a pill, such as Pamelor, what if you have a serious medical condition that you do not know about? This could possibly have a harmful side effect and make you very sick or even possibly kill you. As a student of psychology, knowing that we as psychologists are not able to prescribe medications, it is my recommendation that you speak with your medical doctor first before you try and just order your pills online.
I understand that we are all trying to skrimp and save as much as we can in these hard economic times, but, be realistic. This is your health and life we are talking about. No pill is worth taking if it can cause more harm and damage than what it is intended for.
So my advice to you, if you are reading this, please, do not order pills from online unless you know the source, such as CVS Pharmacy or any other major pharmacy. Black market medications can be harmful if not vital to your health. For your sake, please take to your medical doctor about any medications you are currently taking, any medications that you feel might benefit you and any medical problems that you are experiencing. Your doctor is their for your health. Let them help you out.
Uncategorized 11:29 am
No information from any article presented on this blog should be presented without the sole written consent from the author.
From:
http://gongwai.xaufe.edu.cn/englishonline/zhxl/xzmj/owl_purdue/r_plagiar.html
Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers and Client-Centered Therapy and Ernest Holmes and Gordon Allport and Humanism and Locus of Control and Psychology and Self-Theory 11:14 am
Abstract
In the book Science of Mind, Ernest Holmes describes psycho-analysis as “a systematic analysis of the subjective thought. It (psycho-analysis) is based upon theory that nature is perfect and when let alone will flow through man in a perfect state of health” (Holmes, 1926/1938). With psychology being developed during the time of Holmes, his ideas were in line with self-theory instead of Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of the time.
In this research, the author will examine the theoretical process of self-theory and its therapeutic techniques and principles. The theory will also cover a brief history of its development and other theories and thoughts that have stemmed from its roots.
Introduction
With the emergence of numerous psychological theories over the years, one could say that choosing a theory is worse than choosing a pair of shoes to wear for a special occasion. In order to avoid such an inner turmoil, I decided to choose the theory that was closer to where my ideas and thoughts find themselves currently as a student.
After reading through the few theories that were written in the book, Counseling: Theory and Process, written by James C. Hansen, Robert Rossberg and Stanley H. Cramer (1972/1994), I found myself following more and more after the ideas and concepts of humanism, or self-theory. Although there are many branches off of this theory, I decided not to delve into an area that could take far more time to understand than the time given for this research.
To try and comprehend every theory and theorist under the self-theory guise would nearly be impossible to do. Although it is able to be done over a matter of time, with the amount of time given to complete this task, I found it impossible to find many additional theories under this self-theory umbrella. However, with various ideas that presented themselves throughout the course of this research, I chose to include a few thoughts and their thinkers into this concentrated area of humanism/ self-theory. With the evolution of humanity and science, “…theory is being continually formulated and revised…” (Rogers, 1951), making current thought on self-theory more advanced than it was in the early, middle, and even latter years of Carl Rogers’ career.
Gordon Allport once said that “the goal of psychology is to reduce discord among our philosophies of man and to establish a scale of probable truth” (1955). In a previous text he relays that “general psychology…selects a single attribute or function that can be conveniently isolated for study” (Allport, 1937). William Wundt believed that psychology examines the complete content of experience in its associations to the subject while William James added that psychology is the science of limited minds, and while Edward B. Titchener said that psychology is the study of familiarity measured as reliant on any person (1937). All of this, though more than 70 years old, still holds true to today’s thoughts and ideas of psychology as being a science that deals with the mind and emotions (Agnes, 2007). The belief of what it does or what it is could take a number of pages if one were to look at all the various thoughts and ideas on the subject matter and would also become increasingly uninteresting, therefore, these ideas will be the basis of psychology for this research.
Method
In order to conduct the research for this project, there were two methods used. By using the Chapman University Leatherby Libraries, I was able to obtain numerous books and articles on self-theory, humanism, or any other number of thoughts under these guises. I also sought out the services of Google.com to find various web sites to assist in additional thought or theory that could be of use for this research.
Results
By conducting research through numerous means and in order to determine the factors that need to be included in self-theory, I was able to use ideas from Gordon Allport and his personality and trait theories, Carl Rogers and his psychotherapeutic techniques, concepts on theories of personality, thoughts on personality testing, ideas that have been previously presented by Heinz Kohut, and various other humanistic approaches. (Kohut himself, although he predominantly followed Freudian or psychoanalytic theory, he eventually makes two very conceptual shift’s; first from psychoanalysis to drive or discharge theory and second to the primacy of self experience (Gottesfeld, 1984). This later shift began the development of Kohutian theory. Although some of his thoughts were specifically found in the primacy of self experience, they follow very much in the guise of self-theory.)
The ideas and thoughts of which abnormal psychological issues that are able to be supported with this theory will be examined in minor detail at the present time and will be further studied at a later date. While looking at self-theory, we find that the locus of control appears to be a vital aspect in itself. Through many previous research projects that involve the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities, as well as self-esteem concerns, the locus of control appears to be a highly important factor in psychological research. This vital part of self-theory originated from Julian B. Rotter and his social learning theory (Mearns, 2000/2009) and “refers to people’s very general, cross-situational beliefs about what determines whether or not they get reinforced in life” (2000/2009). Mearns also said that people can be categorized along a gamut from incredibly internal to extremely external. Christiansen, Baum and Bass-Haugen said that “Rotter introduced locus of control to suggest that individuals may limit their choices…based on their beliefs about the control they have over the outcomes of events” (2005). Although locus of control is not highly discussed in self-theory, it is a vital part of the theory and its relative components.
Discussion
The history of psychology dates back to Alkindus in the ninth century (Yaqub Ibn Ishaq Al-Kindi, 2002) eventually evolving into ideas set forth by Descartes in the 16th and 17th centuries (Fancher, 1979/1996) and has an in depth history that defines its principles and ideas through modern day. In modern day psychology, the history has evolved from great minds such as Immanuel Kant, William James, John Watson and many others. This history has caused an evolution effect in psychology that has allowed new theories to be born from thoughts of how older theories work. Self-theory is one of these theories which have evolved from both classic psychoanalytical theory and neo-Freudian thought as well. Some of the many supporters of self-theory have included Allport, J.F.T. Bugental, Charlotte Buhler, Maslow, Rollo May, Gardner Murphy, Henry Murray, and Rogers along with humanists from other disciplines as well (Humanistic, 2001). Much of (self-theories) construction has revolved about the construct of self (Rogers, 1951).
It was Carl Rogers’ view of human nature that brought forth his humanistic/ person-centered therapy/ self-theory to the light of day. This theory would off a fuller concept of what it means to be human and would become known also as the “Third Force” according to Abraham Maslow (Humanistic, 2001; Glassman & Hada, 2006). Rogers started studying the humanistic approach in the 1930’s and since then it has grown to be one of the foundational theories used n psychology today. Duane and Sydney Shultz describe humanism as a system of thought in which human interests and values are of primary importance and the humanistic psychologist argues against psychoanalysis and behaviorism, arguing that these systems present too limited and demanding an image on human nature (Schultz & Schultz, 2001). It was acceptance and respect that Carl Rogers chose the core concepts of his approach to therapy as he understood such a powerful impact to be on the individual (Branden, 1994).
To understand self-theory, one needs to look at the fundamental principles and theoretical perspectives that allow it to help in psychology. With the examination of the several components of humanism, we find six main components of humanism or self-theory. Each of these six components were explored and consist of; core principles, the explanation of maladaptive or abnormal behavior, the therapist’s role in relationship to the client, the goals of counseling, the treatment plan, and the therapeutic techniques. It was this therapy, also known as Rogerian therapy, that was one of the first major alternatives to psychodynamic therapy that helped open the field to new approaches and the paving of the way for psychologists to practice psychotherapy, which had previously been considered the exclusive territory of psychiatrists (Comer, 2007).
Core Principles
When looking at the core principles of self-theory, one of the main ideas presented by Carl Rogers was that everyone is basically good or healthy, not bad or ill (Hansen, Rossberg, & Cramer, 1972/1994; Boeree, 1998/2006). Rogers did not believe in the ideas that Freud had presented of everyone has a mental illness or is inherently bad. This led him to his main thoughts on the individual.
Every part on the organism’s existence, specifically its experiences, or the phenomenal field, and the self (Hansen, Rossberg, & Cramer, 1972/1994), which includes self-esteem, self-concept, self-image, self-affirmation, and self-actualization (Allport, 1955), produces change which aids the person in endeavoring toward self-actualization. It is through this process that we are able to view the organism’s personality development. This then helps to draw a distinction between what are matters of importance to the individual and what are merely matters of fact. This is the first thing an adequate psychology of growth should do (1955).
The theories principles are entirely built on a single “force of life” that Rogers calls the actualizing tendency, or the basic human motivation to actualize, maintain, and enhance the self (Boeree, 1998/2006; Schultz & Schultz, 2001). These principles are based on the valuing process of the organism that includes; positive regard or another way of stating this according to Kohut is selfobject (yes, this is a correct spelling, according to the text) which refers to an aspect of the person’s experience of another person (Ornstein, 2002), positive self-regard, conditions of worth, and proper conditions of normal development (Boeree, 1998/2006; Ewen, 1998; Hansen, 1972/1994; Schultz & Schultz, 2001). This assists in the development of the “fully-functioning” person and their characteristics. This is also brought about by several important factors awareness to all experience, existential living, appreciation of all experiences, organismic trusting, experiential freedom, creativity, and a continual need to grow (1972/1994; 1998; 1998/2006; 2001).
Maladaptive or Abnormal Behavior
It is more than likely that the individual has experiences during early childhood that leads to maladjustment or maladaptive behavior. This is relative in theories across the board. Because of the necessity for positive regard, the organism eventually renounces its feelings, at least to some extent (as in Karen Horney’s theory) and ultimately incorporates the parental (or leadership) feelings into the self-concept. This is a process for which Rogers borrowed the Freudian term introjection (Ewen, 1998). It is through this process that the conflict develops between actualizing and self-actualizing concepts and ultimately brings about the abnormal behavior.
The failure in the process of the proper interaction of the organism, the phenomenal field and self can bring about noticeable characteristics of those who fail in this area (Hansen, Rossberg, & Cramer, 1972/1994). Estrangement seems to be the beginning of the maladaptive behavior taking place in the self in which the organism may need to seek out therapeutic assistance. This estrangement begins when the person, or organism, strives hard, or finds that they have a need and desire for the positive regard of others. This ultimately leads to the incongruity of self, a state of anxiousness and confusion, and ultimately the idea that the individual organism needs to develop defense mechanisms in order to keep the person’s perceptions of experiences consistent with the self-structure (1972/1994). To understand this in a better sense, let us take a look at an individual who has had an obstructed view of themselves and the world around them.
David grew up in a home that he felt had no love for him. His mother was married more than once, had a temporary bought with drugs and alcohol, and eventually was left to raise her three children on her own. David felt that his mother never believed him and that she would always stick up for the man that she was dating or married to. When David was in his teens, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Eventually however, he decided that he did not like what the drugs did to him, as is the case with many individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Over the years, David has not been true to himself and has found that the only was to try and obtain positive regard from others is if he elaborates every story to make himself look better. This has led him into severe incongruent behavior; constantly lying to others, making threats on others lives when he feels that he is being threatened by others’ words, and stealing anything that he desires from even his closest of friends and his own family. To make the matters worse, David has found that even his anxiety level has changed for the worse and that he constantly has to defend himself and deny what others say about him in order to try and continue the cycle of looking better to others in order to gain their positive regard.
Therapist’s Role
The therapist’s role is not to try and fix the client, but to help them discover what they need to do by just listening and concerning themselves with the client’s perception of the self and the world (Carl Rogers:, n. d.), as well as through reflection (Boeree, 1998/2006). Reflection, however, must be used carefully and must come from the heart. It is “in the field of therapy that the first requisite is a skill which produces results” (Rogers, 1951).
The primary importance of the therapist’s role is stated in three conditions, genuineness or congruence, empathic understanding, and unconditional positive regard (Boeree, 1998/2006; Carl Rogers:, n. d.; Schultz & Schultz, 2001). Schultz and Schultz describe genuineness the best, “the counselor, in a sense, is transparent, allowing feelings and behaviors to occur within the relationship and with the client” (2001). Avril Thorne wrote “that it is…necessary to understand the motivations or goals of the individual” (Thorne, 2007). Gordon Allport said that “Rogers, in effect, asks counselors to sit back and, with little more than an occasionally well-placed m-hm, to encourage the patient himself to restructure and re-plan his life” (Allport, 1960).
Goals of Counseling
The goals for therapy do not lie on the therapist, but on the client. It is the client’s primary responsibility for the direction of therapy to flow where they desire (Carl Rogers:, n. d.). Rogers believed that people can regulate their behavior and develop their goals under the proper circumstances and that if the conditions are properly provided, the behavior will be positive and socially acceptable (Hansen, Rossberg, & Cramer, 1972/1994). They also believe that the counselor’s presence or behavior does not directly influence the client’s behavior in a counseling relationship.
In his 1942 book, Counseling and Psychotherapy: Newer Concepts in Practice, Rogers lists twelve therapeutic techniques used in counseling the client:
I) The individual comes for help.
II) The helping situation is usually defined.
III) The counselor encourages free expression of feelings in regard to the problem.
IV) The counselor accepts, recognizes, and clarifies these negative feelings.
V) When the individual’s negative feelings have been quite fully expressed, they are followed by the faint and tentative expressions of the positive impulses which make for growth.
VI) The counselor accepts and recognizes the positive feelings which are expressed, in the same manner in which he has accepted and recognized the negative feeling.
VII) This insight, this understanding of self, is the next important aspect of the whole process. It provides the basis on which the individual can go ahead to new levels of integration.
VIII) Intermingled with this process of insight is a process of clarification of possible decisions, possible courses of action. (This should be emphasized that the steps outlined are not mutually exclusive, nor do they proceed in a rigid order.)
IX) The initiation of minute, but highly significant, positive actions.
X) Once the individual has achieved considerable insight and has fearfully and tentatively attempted some positive actions, the remaining aspects are elements for further growth.
XI) There is increasingly integrated positive action on the part of the client.
XII) There is a feeling of decreasing need for help, and a recognition on the part of the client that the relationship must end (1942).
It is at this point that the termination process of the counselor and client needs to begin and it should involve 1) assessing the client’s readiness to end the counseling process, 2) resolving any remaining affective issues, and 3) maximize the client’s transfer of learning and increase their self-reliance and confidence to maintain the changes (Hansen, Rossberg, & Cramer, 1972/1994). Rogers believed that the counseling process also included releasing expression, the achievement of insight and the closing phases.
Treatment Planning
It is clear that there are five main areas of the treatment plan. These include the worth of the individual, the nature of the counseling relationship, time limits, focusing on the individual and the here and now (Hansen, Rossberg, & Cramer, 1972/1994).
The worth of the individual is one of the primary reasons that the client most likely chose to originally seek therapy. By becoming an alter ego for the client, the counselor is able to help the client see themselves outside of themselves. This is done in part by being perceptive and sensitive to the client and their experiences. The counselor also assists the client by having a nonthreatening and nonjudgmental atmosphere that will welcome the client’s feelings into the structure of the self.
The next part allows the client-centered therapy to help the client understand that it is the client’s responsibility to find their own solutions and not the counselors. The counselor is only there to help the client find the solutions.
Time constraints also are an important factor. One reason is due to insurance companies that choose to only allow a certain number of treatments. The second is to help the client understand that there needs to be a time limit for not only each session, but also to try and help the client accomplish their goal that they originally came in for.
Focus is a two part plan in that the client needs to focus on themselves and not on other things that they cannot change and secondly to focus on the here and now. The client cannot change how another person reacts to them or treats them nor can they change anything from the past. The only thing that they can truly change is themselves and the here and now that they are facing.
Therapeutic Techniques
The final step in self-theory is therapeutic techniques. This is not to say that there are no other steps to be taken in the process, however, the current research only allowed for such steps to be completed.
It is insight that becomes a necessary prerequisite for behavior change and in order to accomplish this, the client must understand that the total self and all the underlying dynamics of their own behavior. Before the client can get along with, if he currently does not, he must know the reasons why before the behavior can improve. The counselor’s ability to establish proper conditions for therapeutic change must be the emphasis of the counselor (Hansen, Rossberg, & Cramer, 1972/1994).. By providing the sufficient and necessary conditions, the counselor acts to facilitate the client’s exploration of self, which leads to self-understanding and ultimately to changes in behavior. In techniques for therapy, there are basically no other techniques required for therapy. On the other hand, the more eclectic approaches that have derived from Rogers’ work use more specific techniques to accomplish certain goals.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I believe that with the ideas that I have been following in self-esteem for the past year, the thoughts and theory beliefs of Gordon Allport, and the work that I am interested in doing in counseling the LGBT community, self-theory will be highly helpful, if not the most beneficial theory that I could use. The ideas that Rogers and Maslow had in the beginnings of this theory, although have changed in a mild manner; have ultimately evolved to a better state for the therapeutic process. Although there are hundreds of theories out there, and many that are probably not even known, I believe that even with the basis of self-theory, having an overlapping concept with trait theory and behaviorism, I find that my ideal counseling techniques will be as James Hansen put it, “eclectic.”
The ideas that Rogers had for the client to actually find their own answers with the assistance and guidance of the therapist has been the foundations of what I have been doing since before I chose psychology as my major. Using this theory helps place my thoughts and ideas in a more concrete position that I can actually know who needs to be done when counseling a client.
The References have been removed to prevent plagerism of this paper. If you would like to quote anything from this paper please let me know and I will get you the information.
Uncategorized 11:10 am
The current decision that I am facing has to deal with our family finances. I have been working for our church for the last three years as the janitor and receive a stipend of $100 a week. With bills and groceries, we have not been able to hold it on our own for the last year.
This brings me to the decision of what kind of job do I want to work at during my Master’s program.
Through preparation, I have determined that a job at a fast food restaurant definitely is not something that I can handle during that time frame, so I have been preparing myself for the possibility that we may have to move out of our current living situation into one that may be better suited for the financial issue at hand.
Through production, I have been able to define what the good ideas and bad ideas are when it comes to our living situation.
This then brings me to my judgment. The possible solutions are taking a job that works around my school schedule and gives me plenty of time to do my school work, have time with my husband and the occasional time needed to work with the non-profit organizations that we help out with. The other possible solution is to go ahead and return back to fast-food services and be overly stressed out, (in which this solution is not the best at hand). The final solution available is to find a job that I am able to work during the daytime, Monday through Friday, so that I can have a set schedule to work out all the important things in my life.
During this last few weeks, and over the next few months, while I am finishing up my Bachelor’s degree, I have been slowly entering the incubation period. I haven’t had the time to focus on this decision as much as I was three months ago and with us taking time out to visit my husbands family in November, I have chosen to go into a time out mode instead of heavily focussing on an issue that is possible to take care of when we return from Washington.
Recently, the AHA moment has been hitting me and my insight has been more focused. I have been able to concentrate on my school work, put in an application for work here and there without the overwhelming feeling that I need to have it completed “today,” and it has been refreshing to realize that the right employment position is out there at the right time specifically for me.
Uncategorized 11:08 am
Recently with the Proposition 8 battle, I had been asked by our local newspaper for an interview for the USA Today. The interview took place in December and then officially was published in March during the court huring on Prop 8 here at California’s Supreme Court.
Well when the ruling came downfrom the state supreme court, I was called that day ans asked what my opinion was. I clearly stated, “I guess that we will be moving to Iowa now.”
Low and be hold, I never thought that my name would be on national radio for that. The week that the state supreme court made their decision my quote was published in the USA Today and eventually quoted on the radio program “Wait. Wait. Don’t tell me.”
So my partner and I looked it up and either of the two articles has not only been published or quoted nationally, but also in the Green Bay Gazette, All Green to Me (in Delaware), and in the European Media Monitor.
Here are the links. Just to let you know, I go by my husbands last name in the paper, I am listed as Michael Riddle-Crilly.
http://press.jrc.it/NewsExplorer/clusteredition/en/20090305,cnn-9fd24b5d18b91f4aabb06947e7889935.html
http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=greenbaypressgazette&sParam=34331228.story
http://allgreentometopics.delawareonline.com/quote/04qG8V4ayv5zU
http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=35&prgDate=05-30-2009&view=storyview
(Click on the listen to the show and my name is mentioned around the 7 minute marker.)
Uncategorized 2:13 am
Issue Summary
a. Issue Number 16
b. Title of issue Is Treating Homosexuality Ethical?
c. Author and major thesis of the Pro Side Christopher H. Rosik
“Motivational, Ethical, and Epistemological Foundations in the Treatment of Unwanted Homoerotic Attraction,” Journal of Marital and Family Therapy (January 2003)
d. Author and major thesis of the Con Side Robert-Jay Green
“When Therapists Do Not Want Their Clients to Be Homosexual: A Response to Rosik’s Article,” Journal of Marital and Family Therapy (January 2003)
Critical Issue Analysis Questions
1. Briefly state, in your own words, two facts presented by each side.
Rosik states that there appears to be a considerable mass of unwanted homosexual desirability that comes from a traditionalist religious environment. Later he says that statistics imply that nonmonogamy is at an elevated intensity in homosexual and bisexual male couples in relationship to lesbian and heterosexual couples.
Green states that research shows that external prejudice (homophobia) and internalized homophobia are strong predictors of depression, suicidality, and HIV-risk behaviors among gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons. He goes on later to state that there is significant documentation of the disparaging effects that particular conversion treatments have in which they can intensify internalized homophobia and all of its correlates; such as self-hatred, depression, suicidality, drug abuse, and HIV-risk behaviors.
2. Briefly state, in your own words, two opinions presented by each side.
Rosik explains that it is religious beliefs that help a person return to the heterosexual functioning for one and that traditional marriage and family are another reason for people to seek out conversion therapy (or reparative therapy as it is some times called).
Green describes that there are several minority human traits that are unwanted in our society, such as homosexuality, ethnic appearance and body shapes that do not obey the rules of the media. He gives his view that with the numbers included in several of the sources cited by Rosik, that there is merely an extremely minute fraction of exclusively gay or lesbian individuals that could undertake a noteworthy measure of heterosexual involvement and feel realistically comfortable in doing so.
3. Briefly identify as many “problems” on the Pro Side as you can.
Dr. Rosik starts out on the first page stating that the gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) clients need to be examined in a more conservative value schema. On the second page at the main opening of his thesis, he says that there are a limited number of studies of clients that have sought out conversion therapy and that the first motivational theme in doing so is religious conflict.
He goes on soon after to quote a client that had nothing to do with the religious factor in the beginning of his statement but has everything to do more with sado-masochistic behaviors. This immediately suggested that the client needs therapy in regards to this sexual disorder as related to the DSM IV-TR.
He also talks about nonmonogamy in sexual partners but gives no real statistical data as to any set type of sexual couples; rather heterosexual couples, bisexual couples, lesbian couples, or gay couples. He just says that nonmonogamy is much higher in the gay and bisexual male couples.
Next he discusses AIDS. Now although this could be and most likely is a legitimate reason to not want to be gay, he delves heavily into this with statistical data in regards only to gay men. He also discusses issues that cause the transference of HIV and AIDS; such issues as unprotected sex and condom failure (in which he does not discuss in any further detail, but can commonly be attributed to the ignorance of not reading lubricant and condom labels.) {It is later that Dr. Green states (p. 334), “the fact is that homosexuality does not cause AIDS. Unsafe sex with HIV-positive partners (heterosexual and homosexual) cause AIDS.}
He later on clearly states that “much of the criticism has focused on the issue of sample bias, as most of the participants are religiously conservative,” (p. 320).
Finally he writes that Dworkin affirmed that “sexual identity is defined by the client, and is important for therapists to respect that,” (p. 322), however he seems to contradict this quote through his beliefs and thesis.
4. Briefly identify as many “problems” on the Con Side as you can.
First problem that I see is his statement on page 332 that the clients should set the goals for their treatment, although I believe this to be true to a vast majority of the extent, I also believe that if it is harmful for them, the therapist should intervene and help them choose a more appropriate goal for treatment.
Secondly, Dr. Green seems to believe that Rosik and other conversion therapists advocate “discrimination and abandonment” who wish to remain gay-identified. This was not necessarily stated in Rosik’s thesis. He also fears that when the client is given the “choice” to adopt Rosik’s views or not, and should they choose to not accept his views, the clear implicating to “leave treatment” is brought about thus causing the therapy to be terminated in which the termination stage has three primary functions (Hansen, 1972/1994).
5. Identify, in your own words, the propaganda techniques used, if any, by each side.
The propaganda techniques that Dr. Rosik used were all based on Biblical beliefs. His research was prominently from religious groups that conducted conversion therapy. On the other hand, I did not see any propaganda techniques used by Dr. Green, although it is could be seen as propaganda since Dr. Green works with the LGBT community and has written numerous pro-gay articles in the field of psychology for more than fifteen years.
6. Identify the evidence for any logical fallacies in the arguments.
Dr. Rosik seemed to have different fallacies that he presented his thesis with. 1) ad ignorantium: He tried arguing that homosexuality can be changed, but only used chosen research to prove his point. 2) He then tries to appeal to the homosexual that they need to go through conversion therapy because of the emotional problems that they have, specifically the hatred that they feel as a gay person; appeal to emotion. 3) It appears that he is begging the question by arguing that the Bible says homosexuality is a sin. 4) He tries to argue that some of these individuals choose to go through the therapy in order to keep their marriage together. When this fails, it appears that he is denying the antecedent. 5) He is slanting his thesis by giving a misrepresentation of all the research that has been compiled. 6) The unfortunate part is that he is also card stacking by suppressing the true statistical numbers given in Shidlo and Schroeder’s study in 2001.
Dr. Green’s thesis easy could have some fallacies, but after reading it and reviewing the fallacies, if there are any fallacies he may have been guilty of, it would have most likely been hasty generalization, which Dr. Rosik would have been guilty of as well, and ad hominem, however I really did not read anything to suggests that Dr. Green was attacking Dr. Rosik.
7. How credible were the authors. What were the author’s credentials for writing this presentation?
After researching both authors online as well as in the back of the text, both authors have distinguished backgrounds in psychology. Christopher Rosik is a Christian counselor and has written extensively on the subject of homosexuality and therapy, has been a past president of the Christian Association for Psychological Studies, former chair of the Psychological Standards Committee of the University of Minnesota Hospital, has clinical and research interests including AIDS, anxiety disorders, sexuality and psychotherapy. Dr. Rosik is based in Fresno, California and is licensed as MD PHD PSYC PSYD. For more information on Dr. Rosik, you can go to the following link, https://www.healthline.com/doctors/psychologists/christopher-rosik/3750165.
Robert-Jay Green is a distinguished professor in the Clinical Psychology Program at the California School of Professional Psychology. He is also a distinguished professional contributor from the Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies- Division 44 of the American Psychological Association (APA). Currently he is serving as the Executive Director of the Rockway Institute in San Francisco, California. Mr. Green is licensed with his PhD and his LMFT. He received his Post Doctoral Fellow in Family Psychology at University of Rochester Medical School and his PhD in Clinical Psychology at Michigan State University. More information on Dr. Green can be found at http://www.therapistlocator.net/MembersDetailUS.asp?TCode=44974.
8. Which author impressed you as being the most empirical in presenting their argument thesis?
I believe that Dr. Green was more empirical in his counter point against Dr. Rosik for a couple various reasons: (a) Dr. Green informs the reader of a vital an impertinent reference that was conveniently omitted by Dr. Rosik, (b) he also provides Kinsey’s bipolar continuum where Dr. Rosik also failed to use for his research, and (c) Dr. Green offered the idea that the theorist Klein had a framework that could have been beneficial in Dr. Rosik’s research as well.
Another pertinent factor is that Dr. Rosik discussed the subject of homophobia, biphobia and related terms with the acronyms, EOA, EOC, and EOD. Nowhere in his thesis did he define what the terms meant. This was very confusing during the initial reading of his thesis. It was not until Dr. Green defined the terms (p. 341) that he defined for the reader what Dr. Rosik was actually referring to. These three terms that were included were: the ethics of autonomy (EOA), the ethics of community (EOC), and the ethics of divinity (EOD). This should have been addressed for the student psychologist or lay person that would read his thesis.
9. Are there any reasons to believe that the author’s represented any bias or prejudice in their thesis?
After reading both arguments, I believe that Christopher Rosik was more biased as he appears to come across from a religious stand point using beliefs that he feels from the Bible.
10. Which side do you personally agree with and why?
I feel that both sides are right in their thoughts and ideas. To pick one over another would say that I am swaying to either side for reasons that would be more than likely are biased. I feel that both sides are equally right in this issue.
I personally do not believe in trying to change someone tenaciously because of religious practices, however, I do not believe in not trying to help someone change what they believe is wrong and against their religious beliefs, if it is their decision to do so.
This is more than just an ethical matter. It goes beyond the boundaries of ethics and ultimately comes into the ball field of morals. Should a therapist choose to help an individual in conversion therapy, I believe that they should be willing to know exactly what they need to do for the client and that they should be willing to be completely assistive through the entire process. However, if the therapist does not agree with conversion therapy, they should first seek out a colleague that they are familiar with, who would be unbiased, to help the client with their treatment.
As far as ethics and my beliefs, I personally would have to find a clinician who was willing to unbiasedly assist the client in conversion therapy as I do not personally agree with it. (As a youth, I had two counselors who tried to get me into conversion therapy to no avail. I also tried to contact Exodus International for help without anyone seeming to care about contacting me back.) However, besides the fact that I was asked to go into conversion therapy as an adolescent, I have seen too many gay individuals try conversion therapy and it cause more harm to them than the good it was intended to do.
11. What needs to be done next to clarify the issues for you?
Both issues appear clear in their theses, however, I believe that each one could be clearer by using empirical use of theoretical types, such as Rogerian thought or Behaviorism; whatever theory that they believe that would back up their ideas about this topic. Although Dr. Green’s presentation is more to counter what Dr. Rosik wrote, I believe that he is trying to come at it from the stand point of an eclectic theoretical position than from a prominent one.
{References were removed to prevent plagerism.}
Uncategorized 12:09 am
Recently with the Proposition 8 battle, I had been asked by our local newspaper for an interview for the USA Today. The interview took place in December and then officially was published in March during the court huring on Prop 8 here at California’s Supreme Court.
Well when the ruling came downfrom the state supreme court, I was called that day ans asked what my opinion was. I clearly stated, “I guess that we will be moving to Iowa now.”
Low and be hold, I never thought that my name would be on national radio for that. The week that the state supreme court made their decision my quote was published in the USA Today and eventually quoted on the radio program “Wait. Wait. Don’t tell me.”
So my partner and I looked it up and either of the two articles has not only been published or quoted nationally, but also in the Green Bay Gazette, All Green to Me (in Delaware), and in the European Media Monitor.
Here are the links. Just to let you know, I go by my husbands last name in the paper, I am listed as Michael Riddle-Crilly.
http://press.jrc.it/NewsExplorer/clusteredition/en/20090305,cnn-9fd24b5d18b91f4aabb06947e7889935.html
http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=greenbaypressgazette&sParam=34331228.story
http://allgreentometopics.delawareonline.com/quote/04qG8V4ayv5zU
http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=35&prgDate=05-30-2009&view=storyview
(Click on the listen to the show and my name is mentioned around the 7 minute marker.)
Uncategorized 12:12 am
Over the last two terms, Spring I and II, I worked diligently on my senior project and do retrospective research. My project tested many variables in the LGBT community to see what might cause low self-esteem.
When I originally went into the research, my hypothesis was that religion was the cause of low self-esteem in the LGBT individual. After interviewing and surveying more than 71 individuals (the ones beyond 71 were outliers), my illusionary correlation’s were thrown out the window.
My validity had to change midway through my research since I had discovered that my hypothesis was wrong. The reliability of the individuals stating that most of them that had been raised in church or a religious organization was very similar in the majority of individuals that were interviewed and surveyed.
Uncategorized 12:06 am
Well, what can one say in a case such as this?
In light of all that I read, Andrea Yates definately was ill. With the various doctors that she had and the long list of drugs, it is only obvius that she was either borderline schizophrenic or was completely schizophrenic. Recently I did a paper on schizophrenia, so it makes sense that she was either near or full blown schizophrenic.
In regards to the testimonies, I would have to say that the defense teams premise was on adequate grounds when saying that she was unfit to stand trial since she was insane at the time of the murders. A sanity plea would definately be in order if an individual is schizophrenic and were to commit a crime.
However, with the various evidence given from the prosecution, if you were to take into account the fact the Andrea Yates adimately admitted to murdering her children as well as saying herslef that she deserves to be put to death for it, along with the “with the 911 call, the testimony of police officers who responded to the scene, Andrea’s prison confession, and with autopsy reports from medical examiners. Jurors heard about how one child had strands of his mother’s hair clamped in his little fist” (Andrea Yates: Ill or Evil?, 2009), the defense had a perfect arguement that she was not insane at the time of the murder.
The one loop that through it back into court in an appeals case, after the trial had ended, was the propoganda used when the defense called Dr. Park Dietz to the stand. Without the knowledge of the defense team (from what I read) Dr. Dietz did not state the fact of the matter that he was a consultant for the NBC drama Law & Order. This caused the biggest issue of all, the right to appeal on basis of this new information.
It is my opinion that Andrea Yates does need to be punished for her acts, however, I believe that the defense was right in saying that she was insane at the time of the murder. Part of this is in light of what at least one psychiatrist said, that they could tell that Andrea Yates was ill, and quite possibly schizophrenic, and this was easily seen within the first week after her arrest, and that this would have been a case that would not necissarily been easy to see coming since it could have taken her weeks to get better if she remained on the medication.
Therefore, I conclude that Andrea Yates was guilty, by reason of insanity and should have been placed in a mental health institution.
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/women/andrea_yates/index.html
Michael Riddle-Crilly