1 Paper down, 2 to go

I might not have the best perspective on it, but I'm pretty proud of the paper I turned in yesterday. I think it was really well organized and concise. I am already aware of one thing wrong I did on the citations though. WHY ARE CITATIONS SO IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME?

So now I can concentrate on my theory paper, which is supposed to be about what I think my theoretical orientation as a therapist will be. WHAT WHAT. I still like Adler, but watching a video of Fritz Perls doing gestalt really did a number on me. Just constant confrontation. This is a half hour video but it's pretty engrossing.



How did he not have EVERY client ditch him? I guess underneath it all lots of people like being yelled at.

And then there's cognitive behavioral, which I think you sort of have to incorporate into therapy when you have clients struggling with their moods and emotion regulation. It's just CBT therapists are not supposed to interested in their client's childhoods and pasts, and I think it's really helpful to find the source events of unhelpful thought patterns. I just really like stories.

There's a style called "Liberation" psychology, coming out of, whodathunkit, latin america that I think really wraps up my approach. But we haven't learned about it in class, and it comes out of models we have learned about, so I'll just stick to ones we've covered. People use it with queer peoples in America a lot. It's basically about figuring out how you can self-actualize despite the many oppressions coming atcha. So a lot of work goes into identifying those oppressions. Oh, and hooking you up with groups of people dealing with the same shit. It's like organizing, but for people who are too much of a mess for being actually organized. The people an organizer would visit and be like, "Alright....not gonna be on the steering committee."

I just think a lot of negative thinking is helpful in therapy, since we're always getting messages that we are solely responsible for our own situations, and if we're not rich and happy and hot it's because we're not sufficiently emotionally advanced. And that kind of thinking can kill someone pretty quick. So I think it's important to orient yourself to the realities of what systems are effecting you, who is profiting from them, what their historical context is, the ways you have been primed for low self esteem, anxiety, depression, emotion dysregulation, fits of rage, etc. Cause yes, of course it is your parent's fault, but your parents did what they could in a context of being overworked and underhugged, you know?

I will not be writing like that in the paper, I swear.

So that's what today will be about, reading my theory book, brainstorming for an outline.

I am really lucky to be in school for such interesting stuff. My end of term assignments, while stressful, are also very engrossing.