Based on the book by Hellem R. Counseling on anxiety problems. - M.: PER SE; 2009.
In everyday usage, anxiety refers to a complex dynamic interaction between a person and a situation:
*1 - behavioral and physiological reactions caused directly by the situation;
*2 - assessment of reactions and their consequences;
*3 - a person’s intentions in a specific situation;
*4 - assessment of the resources available in a given situation;
Anxiety does not arise automatically, but depending on how prone a person is to anticipating troubles.
The inability to recognize one's own anxiety makes a person unprepared for the development of the situation. Knowing that a person is “anxious” forces us to consider the possibility of an unproductive interaction. It is no coincidence that we trust the calmest people the most. "...verbal information can act as a powerful stimulus for anxiety. Information that something might happen can fill us with fear. family subculture and real life experience: “Never talk to strangers,” “You are upset about something - so excited, excited.” Parental instructions and real life experience determine the child’s sensitivity to those threats that are considered significant in our culture Therefore, a lot depends on the “emotional education” received in childhood.
The inability to think logically or act in a coordinated manner, especially in non-standard, conflict or threatening situations, does not always cause anxiety itself, since some aspects of human psychology are ignored, such as awareness, habits, mood, physical and personal factors. It is known that the conscious desire not to think or remember about one’s anxiety leads to the use and gradual expansion of anxious memory.
In difficult situations, negative thinking seriously interferes with attempts to change the client's negative perception of the situation.
Most forms of human activity unfold between the poles of the opposition “security - danger”. People constantly strive for safety and security in order to avoid the threats of real or perceived disease, poverty, environmental disasters, old age, etc.
From a biological point of view, the range of behavioral patterns spanning the safety-danger continuum can be divided into three zones: safety, alertness, and reaction to existing danger.
Safety. When working with the problem of anxiety, therapy uses eating, aggressive actions or intentional relaxation. "Hand on the shoulder" is a common way to calm an anxious person, but is rarely used by counselors because it can be misinterpreted or cause discomfort. The consultant, at the first stage, needs to try to discover the client’s main sources of feeling of safety and security, and use them as much as possible until the client’s self-confidence increases and he learns to move along this route on his own. .
Alertness - heightened alertness looks like a continuous search for danger. In a state of activation, a person can move fussily, jump up, walk aimlessly, and stamp his feet. The mental work of describing threats, naming them, and evaluating alternatives can significantly reduce the severity of both anxiety and tension.
Reaction to a dangerous situation.
There are two main types of fear reactions:
* become numb and numb;
* recoil, scream, run away.
In the latter case, the person cannot move (for a short time), speak, scream, the body trembles, freezes, becomes numb and becomes insensitive to pain. Reactions can replace each other, so fear and aggression alternate.
Intense fear - the avoidance response is a feeling of terror, the desire to run and hide, screaming, rapid heartbeat, increased blood pressure, muscle tension, rapid breathing, pale sweaty skin, standing hair, dry mouth, the urge to urinate or defecate, dilated pupils , weakness in arms and legs, feeling of lightheadedness, fainting.
Biological predisposition to threat: Physical threats - extreme cold or heat, very loud noises, sudden loss of support, pain, heights, lit open spaces, darkness, confinement in small confined spaces, new unknown objects, places or sensations, unexpected movements, small animals (eg snakes, spiders). Social threats: strangers (especially in infants 8-24 months), contact/closeness (from strangers), being watched (especially staring), loneliness.
The realization of danger in itself cannot lead to a strong defensive reaction. We learn from an early age how to avoid harm, resist hostility, and deflect criticism. Anxiety implies that there is hope for a successful development of the situation, because if the threat is definitely uncontrollable, then we are more likely to observe resignation and despair. In this case, expressing fear is dangerous.
School is one of the first to open up the world of social life to a child. In parallel with the family, he takes on one of the main roles in raising the child.
Thus, school becomes one of the determining factors in the development of a child’s personality. Many of his basic properties and personal qualities are formed during this period of life; all his subsequent development largely depends on how they are laid. It is known that changing social relationships pose significant difficulties for a child. Anxiety and emotional tension are associated mainly with the absence of people close to the child, with changes in the environment, usual conditions and rhythm of life. This mental state of anxiety is usually defined as a generalized feeling of a non-specific, vague threat. The expectation of impending danger is combined with a feeling of uncertainty: the child, as a rule, is not able to explain what, in essence, he is afraid of. Unlike the similar emotion of fear, anxiety does not have a specific source. It is diffuse and can manifest itself behaviorally in a general disorganization of activity, disrupting its direction and productivity.
Two large groups of signs of anxiety can be distinguished: the first is physiological signs that occur at the level of somatic symptoms and sensations; the second is reactions occurring in the mental sphere. Both somatic and mental signs of anxiety are known to everyone from personal experience. Most often, somatic signs manifest themselves in an increase in the frequency of breathing and heartbeat, an increase in general agitation, and a decrease in sensitivity thresholds. Such familiar sensations as a sudden rush of warmth to the head, cold and wet palms are also accompanying signs of anxiety. The psychological and behavioral reactions of anxiety are even more varied, bizarre and unexpected. Anxiety, as a rule, entails difficulty making decisions and impaired coordination of movements. Sometimes the tension of anxious anticipation is so great that a person unwittingly causes himself pain.
Anxiety, as a stable state, interferes with clarity of thought, effective communication, enterprise, and creates difficulties when meeting new people. In general, anxiety is a subjective indicator of personal distress. But for it to form, a person must accumulate a baggage of unsuccessful, inadequate ways to overcome the state of anxiety. That is why, in order to prevent an anxious-neurotic type of personality development, it is necessary to help children find effective ways in which they could learn to cope with anxiety, uncertainty and other manifestations of emotional instability. Each period of development is characterized by its own prevailing sources of anxiety. Thus, for a two-year-old child, the source of anxiety is separation from the mother; for six-year-old children, it is the lack of adequate patterns of identification with their parents. In adolescence, there is a fear of being rejected by peers. Anxiety pushes a child into behavior that can save him from trouble and fear. In order to free a child from worry, anxiety and fears, it is necessary, first of all, to fix attention not on the specific symptoms of anxiety, but on the underlying causes - circumstances and conditions, since this condition in a child often arises from a feeling of uncertainty, from demands that are beyond his strength, from threats, cruel punishments, unstable discipline. However, for fruitful work, for a harmonious, fulfilling life, a certain level of anxiety is simply necessary. That level that does not exhaust a person, but creates the tone of his activity. Such anxiety does not paralyze a person, but, on the contrary, mobilizes him to overcome obstacles and solve problems. That's why it's called constructive. It is she who performs the adaptive function of the body’s life. The most important quality that defines anxiety as constructive is the ability to realize an alarming situation, to calmly, without panic, sort it out. Closely related to this is the ability to analyze and plan one’s own actions. As for the pedagogical process, a feeling of anxiety inevitably accompanies a child’s educational activities in any, even the most ideal school. Moreover, in general, no active cognitive activity of a person can be accompanied by anxiety. According to the Yerkes-Dodson law, an optimal level of anxiety increases productivity. The very situation of learning something new, unknown, the situation of solving a problem, when you need to make an effort so that the incomprehensible becomes understandable, is always fraught with uncertainty, inconsistency, and, consequently, a reason for anxiety.
The state of anxiety can be completely relieved only by eliminating all difficulties of cognition, which is unrealistic and unnecessary. However, in a significant proportion of cases we are dealing with a destructive manifestation of anxiety. It is quite difficult to differentiate constructive anxiety from destructive anxiety, and one cannot focus only on the formal results of educational activities. If anxiety makes a child study better, this does not at all guarantee the constructiveness of his emotional experiences. It is quite possible that, dependent on “significant” adults and very attached to them, a child is able to give up independent actions in order to maintain closeness with these people. The fear of loneliness gives rise to anxiety, which simply spurs the student on, forcing him to strain all his strength to meet the expectations of adults and maintain his prestige in their eyes. However, working in a state of significant overstrain of mental strength can bring only a short-term effect, which, in the future, will result in an emotional breakdown, the development of school neurosis and other undesirable consequences.
Emotional instability in the lower grades and middle 6-8 grades is replaced by lethargy and indifference. An attentive teacher can easily understand how constructive a child’s anxiety is by observing him in a situation that requires the maximum activity of all his available capabilities. It is important that the task is non-standard, but, in principle, acceptable for the child. If he falls into panic, despondency, and begins to refuse without even understanding the task, it means that the level of anxiety is high, the anxiety is destructive. If at first he tries to solve the problem using the usual methods for him, and then refuses with an indifferent look, most likely his level of anxiety is insufficient. If he carefully understands the situation, begins to go through possible solutions, including unexpected ones, gets carried away by the task, thinks about it, even if he cannot solve it, then he detects exactly the level of anxiety that is necessary.
So, constructive anxiety gives originality to the decision, uniqueness to the plan, it contributes to the mobilization of the emotional, volitional and intellectual resources of the individual.
Destructive anxiety causes a state of panic and despondency. The child begins to doubt his abilities and strengths. But anxiety disorganizes not only educational activities, it begins to destroy personal structures. Of course, it is not only anxiety that causes behavioral disorders. There are other mechanisms of deviations in the development of a child’s personality. However, psychologists-consultants argue that most of the problems for which parents turn to them, most of the obvious violations that impede the normal course of education and upbringing are fundamentally associated with the child’s anxiety.
B. Kochubey, E. Novikova consider anxiety in connection with gender and age characteristics. It is believed that in preschool and primary school age boys are more anxious than girls. They are more likely to have tics, stuttering, and enuresis. At this age, they are more sensitive to the effects of unfavorable psychological factors, which facilitates the formation of various types of neuroses.
At the age of 9-11 years, the intensity of experiences in both sexes levels out, and after 12 years, the general level of anxiety in girls generally increases, and in boys it decreases slightly. It turned out that the content of girls' anxiety differs from boys' anxiety, and the older the children, the more significant this difference is. Girls' anxiety is more often associated with other people; they are worried about the attitude of others, the possibility of a quarrel or separation from them. The main cause of anxiety in girls aged 15-16 years is fear for their family and friends, fear of causing them trouble, worries about their health and state of mind.
At the age of 11-12, girls are often afraid of all sorts of fantastic monsters, the dead, and also experience anxiety in situations that are traditionally alarming for people. These situations were called archaic because they frightened our distant ancestors, ancient people: darkness, thunderstorm, fire, heights.
At the age of 15-16, the severity of such experiences decreases significantly. What worries boys the most can be described in one word: violence. Boys are afraid of physical injuries, accidents, as well as punishment, the source of which is parents or authorities outside the family: teachers, school principal.
A person’s age reflects not only the level of his physiological maturity, but also the nature of his connection with the surrounding reality, features of the internal level, and the specifics of experience. School time is the most important stage in a person’s life, during which his psychological appearance fundamentally changes. The nature of anxious experiences changes. The intensity of anxiety more than doubles from the first to the tenth grade. According to many psychologists, the level of anxiety begins to rise sharply after the age of 11, reaching its peak by the age of 20, and gradually decreases by the age of 30.
The older the child gets, the more specific and realistic his worries become. If young children are worried about supernatural monsters breaking through the threshold of their subconscious, then teenagers are worried about a situation associated with violence, expectation, and ridicule. The cause of anxiety is always the child’s internal conflict, his inconsistency with himself, the inconsistency of his aspirations, when one of his strong desires contradicts another, one need interferes with another.
Conflicting internal states of a child’s soul can be caused by:
1. conflicting demands on him, coming from different sources (or even from the same source: it happens that parents contradict themselves, sometimes allowing, sometimes rudely prohibiting the same thing);
3. negative demands that put the child in a humiliated, dependent position.
In all three cases, feelings of “loss of support” arise, loss of strong guidelines in life, uncertainty in the world around us. Anxiety does not always appear in obvious form, since it is a rather painful condition. And as soon as it arises, a whole set of mechanisms is activated in the child’s soul that “process” this state into something else, albeit also unpleasant, but not so unbearable. This can change the entire external and internal picture of anxiety beyond recognition.
The simplest of psychological mechanisms works almost instantly: it is better to be afraid of something than to be afraid of something unknown. So, children's fears arise. Fear is the “first derivative” of anxiety. Its advantage is in its certainty, in the fact that it always leaves some free space. If, for example, I am afraid of dogs, I can walk where there are no dogs and feel safe. In cases of pronounced fear, its object may have nothing to do with the true cause of the anxiety that gave rise to this fear.
A child may be terrified of school, but this is based on a family conflict that he feels deeply. Although fear, compared to anxiety, gives a slightly greater sense of security, it is still a condition in which it is very difficult to live. Therefore, as a rule, the processing of anxious experiences does not end at the stage of fear. The older the children, the less often the manifestation of fear, and the more often - other, hidden forms of anxiety.
For some children, this is achieved through certain ritual actions that “protect” them from possible danger. An example would be a child trying not to step on the joints of concrete slabs and cracks in the asphalt. In this way, he gets rid of the fear of getting a bad mark and considers himself safe if he succeeded. The negative side of such “rituals” is a certain probability of such actions developing into neuroses and obsessions (obsessive neuroses). However, it must be taken into account that an anxious child simply has not found another way to deal with anxiety. Despite the inadequacy and absurdity of such methods, they must be respected, not ridiculed, but the child must be helped to “respond” to his problems with other methods; one must not destroy the “island of safety” without giving anything in return.
The refuge of many children, their salvation from anxiety, is the world of fantasy. In fantasies, the child resolves his insoluble conflicts; in dreams, his unsatisfied needs are satisfied. In itself, fantasy is a wonderful quality inherent in children. Allowing a person to go beyond reality in his thoughts, to build his own inner world, unfettered by conventional boundaries, and to creatively approach solving various issues. However, fantasies should not be completely divorced from reality; there should be a constant mutual connection between them.
The fantasies of anxious children, as a rule, lack this property. A dream does not continue life, but rather opposes itself to it. In life I can’t run; in my dreams I win a prize at regional competitions; I am not sociable, I have few friends - in my dreams I am the leader of a huge company and perform heroic deeds that evoke admiration from everyone. The fact that such children and adolescents could actually achieve the object of their dreams is, not surprisingly, of no interest to them, even if it costs little effort. Their real advantages and victories will meet the same fate.
In general, they try not to think about what actually exists, since everything that is real for them is filled with anxiety. As a matter of fact, the real and the factual change places for them: they live precisely in the sphere of their dreams, and everything outside this sphere is perceived as a bad dream.
However, such withdrawal into one’s illusory world is not reliable enough - sooner or later the demands of the big world will burst into the child’s world and more effective effective methods of protection against anxiety will be needed. Anxious children often come to a simple conclusion: in order not to be afraid of anything, you need to make them afraid of me. As Eric Berne puts it, they try to convey their anxiety to others. Therefore, aggressive behavior is often a form of hiding personal anxiety.
Anxiety can be very difficult to discern behind aggressiveness. Self-confident, aggressive, humiliating others at every opportunity, do not look alarming at all. His speech and manners are careless, his clothes have a connotation of shamelessness and excessive “uncomplexedness.” And yet, such children often hide anxiety deep down in their souls. And behavior and appearance are only ways to get rid of feelings of self-doubt, from the consciousness of one’s inability to live as one would like.
Another common outcome of anxious experiences is passive behavior, lethargy, apathy, and lack of initiative. The conflict between conflicting aspirations was resolved through the renunciation of all aspirations. The “mask” of apathy is even more deceptive than the “mask” of aggression. Inertia and the absence of any emotional reactions make it difficult to recognize the disturbing background, the internal contradiction that led to the development of this condition. Passive behavior - “apathy” - often occurs when children are overprotected by their parents, during their “symbiotic” coexistence, when the elders fully fulfill all the wishes of the younger ones, receiving in return a completely obedient child, but devoid of will, infantile, and lacking sufficient experience and social skills .
Another reason for passivity is authoritarian upbringing in the family, the requirement of unquestioning obedience to parents, edifying instructions: “Don’t do this and that” contribute to the emergence of a source of anxiety in the child due to the fear of violating the instructions. Apathy is often a consequence of the failure of other adaptation methods.
When neither fantasies, nor rituals, nor even aggression help cope with anxiety. But apathy and indifference are most often a consequence of inflated demands and excessive restrictions. If a child does not want to do anything on his own, then parents need to carefully reconsider their claims. A way out of apathy is possible only through overcoming conflict experiences. The child should be given complete freedom to show any initiative and encourage any activity. There is no need to be afraid of “negative” consequences.
Anxious children are characterized by frequent manifestations of restlessness and anxiety, as well as a large number of fears, and fears and anxiety arise in situations in which the child would seem to be in no danger. Anxious children are particularly sensitive, suspicious and impressionable.
Also, children are often characterized by low self-esteem, which causes them to expect trouble from others. This is typical for those children whose parents set impossible tasks for them, demanding things that the children are not able to do. Moreover, in case of failure, their rule is to punish them by “humiliating” (“You can’t do anything!”).
Anxious children are very sensitive to their failures, react sharply to them, and tend to give up activities in which they experience difficulties. In such children, you can notice a noticeable difference in behavior in and outside of class. Outside of class, these are lively, sociable and spontaneous children; in class they are tense and tense. Teachers answer questions in a low and muffled voice, and may even begin to stutter. Their speech can be either very fast and hasty, or slow and labored. As a rule, motor excitement occurs: the child fiddles with clothes with his hands, manipulates something.
Anxious children tend to develop bad habits of a neurotic nature: they bite their nails, suck their fingers, and pull out their hair. Manipulating their own body reduces their emotional stress and calms them down.
One of the reasons that causes childhood anxiety is improper upbringing and unfavorable relationships between the child and his parents, especially with his mother. Thus, rejection and non-acceptance of the child by the mother causes him anxiety due to the impossibility of satisfying the need for love, affection and protection. In this case, fear arises: the child feels the conditionality of maternal love (“If I do something bad, they won’t love me”). Failure to satisfy the need for love will encourage him to seek its satisfaction by any means (Savina, 1996). Childhood anxiety can also be a consequence of the symbiotic relationship between the child and the mother, when the mother feels like one with the child and tries to protect him from the difficulties and troubles of life. She “ties” the child to herself, protecting her from imaginary, non-existent dangers. As a result, the child experiences anxiety when left without a mother, is easily lost, worried and afraid. Instead of activity and independence, passivity and dependence develop.
In cases where upbringing is based on excessive demands that the child is unable to cope with or copes with difficulty, anxiety can be caused by the fear of not being able to cope, of doing the wrong thing. Parents often cultivate “correct” behavior: their attitude towards the child may include strict control, a strict system of norms and rules, deviation from which entails censure and punishment. In these cases, the child’s anxiety may be generated by the fear of deviating from the norms and rules established by adults.
A child’s anxiety can also be caused by the peculiarities of interaction between an adult and a child: the prevalence of an authoritarian style of communication or inconsistency of demands and assessments. In both the first and second cases, the child is in constant tension due to the fear of not fulfilling the demands of adults, not “pleasing” them, and transgressing strict boundaries.
When we talk about strict limits, we mean the restrictions set by the teacher. These include restrictions on spontaneous activity in games (in particular, in outdoor games), in activities, etc.; limiting children's inconsistency in classes, for example, cutting children off. Restrictions can also include interrupting the emotional manifestations of children. So, if emotions arise in a child during an activity, they need to be thrown out, which can be prevented by an authoritarian teacher.
The strict limits set by an authoritarian teacher often imply a high pace of classes, which keeps the child in constant tension for a long time and creates a fear of not being able to do it in time or doing it wrong. Disciplinary measures applied by such a teacher most often come down to reprimands, shouting, negative assessments, and punishments.
An inconsistent teacher causes anxiety in a child by not giving him the opportunity to predict his own behavior. The constant variability of the teacher’s demands, the dependence of his behavior on his mood, emotional lability lead to confusion in the child, the inability to decide what he should do in this or that case.
The teacher also needs to know situations that can cause children's anxiety, especially the situation of rejection from a significant adult or from peers; the child believes that the fact that he is not loved is his fault, he is bad.
The child will strive to earn love through positive results and success in activities. If this desire is not justified, then the child’s anxiety increases. The next situation is a situation of rivalry, competition. It will cause especially strong anxiety in children whose upbringing takes place in conditions of hypersocialization. In this case, children, finding themselves in a situation of competition, will strive to be first, to achieve the highest results at any cost.
Another situation is a situation of increased responsibility. When an anxious child falls into it, his anxiety is caused by the fear of not meeting the hopes and expectations of an adult and of being rejected. In such situations, anxious children usually have an inadequate reaction. If they are foreseen, expected, or frequently repeat the same situation that causes anxiety, the child develops a behavioral stereotype, a certain pattern that allows him to avoid anxiety or reduce it as much as possible. Such patterns include systematic refusal to answer questions in class, refusal to participate in activities that cause anxiety, and the child remaining silent instead of answering questions from unfamiliar adults or those to whom the child has a negative attitude.
Left-handed child at school
About 10% of people are left-handed, and, according to estimates of foreign and domestic experts, the proportion of left-handed people tends to increase. In almost every elementary school class you can find 1-2 (and sometimes more) children who actively prefer their left hand to their right when writing, drawing and performing other activities.
Left-handedness is not a pathology or a developmental defect. And especially not the whim or stubbornness of a child who simply does not want to work “like everyone else” with his right hand, as some parents and “experienced” teachers sometimes believe. Left-handedness is a very important individual characteristic of a child, which must be taken into account in the process of education and upbringing.
Hand asymmetry, i.e. dominance of the right or left hand, or an unexpressed preference for one of the hands (ambidexterity) is due to the characteristics of the functional asymmetry of the cerebral hemispheres. In right-handed people, as a rule, the left hemisphere is dominant, specializing in processing verbal information (in 95% of right-handers, the speech center is located in the left hemisphere).
In left-handers, the arrangement of the main functions between the hemispheres is more complex and is not simply a mirror image of the brain asymmetry found in right-handers. Numerous studies (Springer S., Deutsch G.) show that functional asymmetry in left-handers is less pronounced, in particular, speech centers can be located both in the left and simultaneously in the right hemisphere, and visual-spatial functions are usually performed by the right hemisphere , can also be controlled by the left. Thus, left-handers have less clear specialization in the functioning of the cerebral hemispheres.
The specificity of the brain functions of left-handers affects the characteristics of their cognitive activity, which include: an analytical method of processing information, element-by-element (in parts) work with the material; better recognition of verbal stimuli than nonverbal ones; decreased ability to perform visual-spatial tasks (Bezrukikh M.M.; Mikadze Yu.V., Korsakova N.K.).
Until recently, left-handedness represented a serious pedagogical problem. It was considered necessary to systematically retrain left-handed children who had no alternative when choosing a hand for writing - everyone had to write with their right hand. When retraining, sometimes the most severe measures were used (punishment, putting a mitten on the left hand, etc.), regardless of the individual characteristics and capabilities of the child and sacrificing his health. There is numerous data showing that in left-handed children, neurotic conditions and neuroses are much more common than in right-handed children. One of the main reasons for the development of neuroses in left-handed people is considered to be forced learning to use the right hand in the first years of life or in the first year of school. This reason becomes obvious in the light of data on the features of functional asymmetry of the brain: relearning leads to a breakdown of the naturally developed individual lateralization profile, which serves as a powerful stress factor. Essentially, forced retraining is a form of pressure from the right-handed environment, which equates a left-handed child and ignores his individuality. In recent years, the school has abandoned the practice of retraining left-handed children and they write with a hand that is comfortable for them. However, this does not eliminate the problem of left-handedness for schools, since children remain - hidden left-handers. We are talking about those cases when a natural left-hander is retrained in preschool childhood. Such retraining can be purposeful in nature, when parents, noticing the child’s tendency to prefer the left hand, strive to correct this “shortcoming” and prevent the possible difficulties that await the child in the future. Most often, this happens in families with hereditary left-handedness, where one or both parents or immediate relatives are also left-handed. In such families, adults are especially attentive to this aspect of the child’s development, since they themselves have encountered the problems of living as a left-hander in a right-handed environment.
In preschool age, non-violent retraining is also possible. In early preschool age, parents and educators do not always pay special attention to which hand the child has, especially since the direction of “handedness” is clearly established only by the age of 3-5. Meanwhile, when learning new actions, children try to do as the adult says: take a spoon in the right hand, hold a pencil with the right hand, etc. And the left-handed child, fulfilling the adult’s demands, does as he is told, even if this action is for him not very comfortable. As a result of such non-violent retraining, many parents may not even suspect that their child is left-handed.
When mastering everyday skills, a child’s hidden left-handedness, as a rule, does not affect the success of performing actions, however, when starting systematic learning at school, especially when mastering writing and reading, such children may encounter unexpected difficulties.
Therefore, it is important to determine the direction of the child’s “handedness” before the start of education: in kindergarten or when entering school. To diagnose the type of leading hand in children starting from 5-6 years old, it is possible to use various functional tests: the interlacing of fingers test, the “applauding” test, the test of crossing the arms on the chest, or the “Napoleon pose”, etc.
In the practice of working with children, the method of assessing the participation of hands in the process of performing various actions is widely used. These can be symbolic actions when the child is asked to show how he, for example, waters flowers, cuts bread, holds a toothbrush, scissors, etc. Actions can also be real, performed in specially selected tasks that require manipulation.
The test battery of such tasks includes the following game tasks: drawing with the right and left hands, opening a box, cutting along the outline of a picture with scissors, stringing beads, tying knots, etc. (Bezrukikh M.M.) In each task, the degree of activity of the right and left is assessed hands. Based on this, a conclusion is made about the child’s dominant hand and appropriate recommendations are given regarding which hand is appropriate to teach him to write. The child who scores more plus points in the “Left hand” column is considered left-handed. As the authors point out, if such a child takes a pen in his left hand and tries to write with it, it is inappropriate to retrain him and force him to write with his right hand. But even if the child received more pluses in the “Right hand” column, but draws with his left hand and the quality of the drawing is higher than when drawing with his right hand, he should not be forced to write with his right hand (provided that he himself is trying to write with his left). Certain difficulties arise when choosing the dominant hand for ambidextrous children, that is, those children who have demonstrated equally good command of both their left and right hands. In this case, the following options are possible: Pronounced everyday left-handers, but graphic ambidextrous, i.e., equally good at writing and drawing with their right and left hands. As a rule, these children are left-handed, but at home or in kindergarten they were retrained from early childhood, and they were encouraged to work with their right hand when drawing. For these children, the process of learning to write is easier if they write with their left hand, although the quality of writing may not be satisfactory enough (poor handwriting, writes like a chicken with its paw). They are clearly right-handed in everyday life, but they write and draw with their left hand or equally with their right and left hands. In practice, the reason for using the left hand rather than the right hand when writing and drawing may be a previous injury to the right hand or a violation of its motor functions. In this case, it is advisable to teach the child to write with his right hand.
Determining the child’s dominant hand is necessary in order to make fuller use of his natural characteristics and reduce the likelihood of complications that arise in left-handed children during the transition to systematic schooling. However, in an effort to prevent difficulties that await a left-handed person when learning to write with the right hand, one must remember: determining the leading hand and choosing the hand for writing on this basis is an extremely important step. Indeed, retraining left-handed children in many cases is not only undesirable, but also unacceptable. As experience with such children shows, often retraining, which began after the child began systematic learning to write (in the middle to late 1st grade), only aggravates the situation. Therefore, the question of retraining a left-handed person can only be raised before learning to write begins. However, along with this, there are many cases of successful retraining of left-handed children without negative consequences.
Thus, the issue of retraining a left-handed child in each specific case should be decided strictly individually, taking into account individual physiological and psychological characteristics, the adaptive capabilities of the body and the child’s personal attitudes. In this case, one should take into account the diagnostic results of all lateral signs accompanying left-handedness: dominance of the eye, ear, lower limb (Krylov D.N., Kulakova T.P.). As already mentioned, left-handed children have a certain specificity of cognitive activity. This applies to both true left-handers and overeducated ones, whose cerebral hemispheres perform functions unusual for them.
In the activities of a left-handed child, the peculiarities of the organization of his cognitive sphere may have the following manifestations:
Reduced ability of visual-motor coordination - children cope poorly with tasks of drawing graphic images, especially their sequence; have difficulty holding a line when writing or reading; usually have bad handwriting.
Disadvantages of spatial perception and visual memory, difficulties in analyzing spatial relationships: left-handed people often experience distortion of the shape and proportions of figures when depicting graphically; mirroring of the letter; skipping and rearranging letters when writing; optical errors, confusion in writing of letters with similar configurations (t-p, m-l, n-k, i-n); errors when determining the right and left sides, when determining the location of objects in space (under-above, on-behind, etc.).
A special strategy for processing information, an analytical style of cognition: left-handers are characterized by element-by-element work with the material, putting it “on shelves”; on the basis of such detailed analysis, a holistic idea of the object of activity is built. This largely explains the slowness of left-handed children, since for complete perception or understanding they need a longer, step-by-step elaboration of the material (Mikadze Yu. V., Korsakova N. K.).
Weakness of attention, difficulty switching and concentrating.
Speech disorders: errors in sound-letter analysis. The listed features most directly affect the success of mastering academic skills, primarily writing (to a lesser extent, reading), which left-handed children have the greatest difficulty mastering.
One of the most important characteristics of left-handed children is their emotional sensitivity, increased vulnerability, anxiety, resentment, irritability, as well as reduced performance and increased fatigue. This is a consequence not only of the specifics of interhemispheric asymmetry, but also of attempts at relearning, which many left-handed children could not avoid. In addition, the fact that approximately 20% of left-handed children have a history of complications during pregnancy and childbirth, birth injuries (according to some data, birth trauma can be one of the causes of left-handedness, when the functions of the damaged left hemisphere, more susceptible to the influence of unfavorable conditions, partially taken over by the right hemisphere).
The increased emotionality of left-handed children is a factor that significantly complicates adaptation to school. For left-handers, the transition to school life is much slower and more painful than for most peers. Therefore, left-handed first-graders require close attention from teachers, parents and school psychologists. A child's left-handedness can be identified by a psychologist during the child's enrollment in school. With such children, it is advisable to conduct a more in-depth diagnostic examination aimed at identifying their psychological characteristics in order to give parents the necessary recommendations on organizing special classes in the summer.
INTRODUCTION_______________________________________________3
CHAPTER 1. DEFENSE MECHANISMS AND ANXIETY IN
THE PROCESS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING____5
1.1. Review of theories of emotions and feelings as the basis of human behavior______________________________________5
1.2. Features of the manifestation of anxiety in the process of psychological counseling______________________________14
1.3. Methods of psychological influence on the emotional and sensory sphere________________26
CHAPTER 2. RESEARCH OF PROTECTIVE MECHANISMS AND INFLUENCE ON
NO ANXIETY DURING THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PROCESS
CONSULTING_______________________________________32
2.1. Justification for choice and description of methods________32
2.2. Discussion and analysis of the results ___________________________________35
CONCLUSION______________________________________________47
REFERENCES_____________________________________________49
INTRODUCTION
The counselor must know how to begin counseling, by what means to continue it, make it intense and productive, and how to end it.
Finding and destroying psychological defense mechanisms in the process of psychological counseling is one of the most important tasks of a psychologist, without which a therapeutic effect is impossible. The style of psychological defense says a lot about the client’s personality. The psychologist must determine:
How deep are the defense mechanisms and how long do they last?
What personal motives are hidden behind psychological defense?
How much defense mechanisms are necessary for a person to successfully adapt to everyday life?
The purpose of this work: to determine the influence of a person’s anxiety on the formation of defense mechanisms in the process of psychological counseling.
Subject of the study: persons with persistent dependence on alcohol aged 30-35 years.
Subject of research: anxiety and psychological defense in the counseling process.
The research hypothesis is that anxiety influences the emergence of defense mechanisms in the process of psychological counseling.
The object, goals and hypothesis of the study determined the following tasks
1. Analyze the literature, existing research on the issue of psychological counseling.
2. Determine the role of the emotional-sensory sphere in the process of psychological counseling.
3. Explore the protective mechanisms of psychological counseling, as well as the influence on their formation of anxiety
4. Analyze the results of our research, draw conclusions, and offer recommendations.
Research methods: analysis of psychological and pedagogical literature, observation, experimental research using a questionnaire
Eysenck on the definition of temperament and the test method “Differential scales of emotions” according to K. Izard.
CHAPTER 1. DEFENSE MECHANISMS AND ANXIETY DURING THE PROCESS
PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING
1.1. Review of theories of emotions and feelings as the basis of human behavior
Emotions are complex processes that have neurophysiological, neuromuscular and sensory-experiential aspects. At the neuromuscular level, emotions manifest themselves in the form of facial activity. At the sensory level, emotion is represented by experience.
Every adult knows what emotions are, as he has experienced them many times since early childhood. However, when asked to describe some emotion, to explain what it is, as a rule, a person experiences great difficulty. The experiences and sensations that accompany emotions are difficult to formally describe.
Despite this, a lot has been written about emotions, both in fiction and in scientific literature, they are of interest to philosophers, physiologists, psychologists, and clinicians. It is enough to refer to systematic reviews of their experimental study in the works of R. Woodworth (1950), D. Lindsley
(1960), P. Fress (1975), J. Reikovsky (1979), K. Izard (2000), translated into Russian, as well as domestic authors: P. M. Yakobson
(1958), V.K. Vilyunas (1973), B.I. Dodonov (1987), P.V. Simonov (1962, 1975,
1981, 1987), L.I. Kulikova (1997). However, the problem of emotions still remains mysterious and largely unclear.
The role of emotions in controlling human behavior is great, and it is no coincidence that almost all authors writing about emotions note their motivating role and connect emotions with needs and their satisfaction (Freud, 1894;
Viliunas, 1990; Dodonov, 1987; Izard, 1980; Leontiev, 1982; Fress, 1975;
Reykovskny, 1979, Simonov et al.). Moreover, some authors give priority to emotions in everyday human life. Thus, A.M. Etkind (1981) writes:
“...in everyday life he (a person) does not so much reason as he feels, and does not so much explain as evaluate. Cognitive processes themselves, free of emotional components, occupy a modest place in everyday life. Apparently, in real processes of activity and in the mechanisms of interpersonal perception and self-perception woven into it, “cold” attempts at explanation and understanding are less important than “hot” acts of assessment and experience. When the processes of cognitive analysis do take place, they are under the strong and continuous influence of emotional factors that contribute to their course and result.”
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Emotions and feelings, performing various functions, participate in the control of human behavior as an involuntary component, interfering with it both at the stage of awareness of the need and assessment of the situation, and at the stage of decision-making and assessment of the achieved result. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms of behavior control requires understanding the emotional sphere of a person and its role in this control.
Swiss psychologist E. Claparède back in 1928: “The psychology of affective processes is the most confusing part of psychology. This is where the greatest differences exist between individual psychologists. They do not find agreement either in facts or in words. Some people call feelings what others call emotions. Some consider feelings to be simple, finite, indecomposable phenomena, always similar to themselves and changing only quantitatively. Others, in contrast, believe that the range of feelings contains an infinity of nuances and that a feeling is always part of a more complex whole...
A simple listing of the fundamental differences could fill entire pages.”
There is skepticism and irritation of a number of scientists about the problem of emotions, for example, W. James, who at the end of the 19th century wrote: “As for
"scientific psychology" of feelings, then I must have spoiled my taste by becoming acquainted with too many classic works on this subject, but I would rather read verbal descriptions of the sizes of rocks in New Hampshire than re-read these psychological works. There is no fruitful guiding principle in them, no basic point of view. Emotions vary and are shaded indefinitely, but you will not find any logical generalizations in these works. Meanwhile, the whole charm of truly scientific work lies in the constant deepening of logical analysis.” W. James complains that “in many German manuals on psychology, the chapters on emotions are simply dictionaries of synonyms. But for the fruitful development of what is already obvious in itself, there are known boundaries, and as a result of many works in this direction purely descriptive literature on this subject, from Descartes to the present day, represents the most boring department of psychology."
It is no coincidence that the Russian psychologist N.N. Lange wrote at that time that “Feeling takes the place of Candrillona in psychology, unloved, persecuted and always taken away in favor of her older sisters - “mind” and “will.” He usually has to huddle in the outskirts of psychological science, while the will, and especially the mind (cognition), occupy all the front rooms. If you collect all the scientific research on feelings, you will get a list so poor that it will be far surpassed by the literature on any issue in the field of cognitive processes, even very small ones... There are many reasons for this general “dislike.” Here, probably, the general character of modern culture, predominantly technical and external, plays a certain role, and the fact that the reasoning of old psychologists about feelings repels us with its rhetoric and moralizations, and the fact that this area is generally difficult to lend itself to precise and scientific methods of research and finally, that for a psychologist, as well as a scientist in general, the area of mind and cognition is usually closer and more accessible than the area of emotions. Perhaps things would have been different if women had taken a greater part in the development of psychological science than they have until now.”
A lot has changed since then. M. Meyer's prediction did not come true
(Meyer, 1933) that emotions would gradually disappear from the sphere of psychology, but N.N. Lange’s wish came true - and the profession of psychologist has now become mainly female. A very large number of works devoted to emotions and feelings have appeared, especially in foreign psychological literature. However, to this day the question posed in the title of W. James’s article “What is emotion?” remains relevant for both psychologists and physiologists. In recent decades, there has been a noticeable tendency towards the empirical study of individual emotional reactions without attempts at theoretical understanding, and sometimes towards a fundamental rejection of this. For example, J. Mandler (1975) proves the futility of searching for a definition of emotions and creating a theory of emotions. He believes that the accumulation of the results of empirical research will automatically lead to the solution of all those issues for which the theory of emotions is being built. B. Rime (B. Rime, 1984) writes that the current state of the study of emotions represents scattered knowledge that is unsuitable for solving specific problems. The manual Human physiology (1983) states that it is impossible to give emotions a precise scientific definition. This is confirmed by an analysis of the definitions of emotions given in Russian literature (Levchenko and
Bergfeld, 1999). Existing theories of emotions mainly concern only specific aspects of the problem.
A.N. Leontiev (1971) rightly believes that the difficulties that are discovered in the study of this problem are explained mainly by the fact that emotions are considered without a sufficiently clear differentiation of them into various subclasses that differ from each other both genetically and functionally. In the preface to the fifth volume of Experimental Psychology
A.N. Leontyev (1975) writes: “It is absolutely obvious... that, for example, a sudden outburst of anger has a different nature than, say, a feeling of love for the Motherland, and that they do not form any continuum.” F. Tyson and R. Tyson (1998) also write about this: “Different theories of affect are often incompatible with each other and confuse the reader because each author tries to define relevant concepts and phenomena in his own way, some more clearly than others . In addition, the terms “affect,” “emotion,” and “feeling” are often used interchangeably, which does not add clarity to the concept of affects.” Let us add that moral qualities, self-esteem, and sensations are often mistaken for feelings. It is no coincidence that some emotion researchers believe that the problem is in a state of crisis.
(Vasiliev, 1992). This is also confirmed by the fact that in Russian psychology over the past quarter century there has been virtually no discussion of theoretical issues related to the emotional sphere of a person, and no attempts are made to establish at least some order in the conceptual apparatus used.
Despite the large number of publications on the problem of emotions, even in reputable monographs and textbooks for psychologists, many aspects of the emotional sphere of a person, which are of great practical importance for pedagogy, occupational and sports psychology, are not even indicated. As a result, the problem of emotions and feelings is presented in a flawed form.
Thus, it is necessary to develop approaches to creating a differential psychological concept of the structure of a person’s emotional sphere. It can be argued that such a concept exists in the form of the now popular theory of differential emotions by S. Tomkins and K. Izard. However, this theory, on the one hand, by name seems too narrow, not covering all emotional phenomena that form the motivational sphere of a person, and on the other hand, by content too broad and inadequate to its name, since within its framework it considers not only emotions, but and other emotional formations that are not emotions: the emotional tone of sensations (pleasure - disgust), feelings (love, envy, etc.), emotional properties and personality traits (for example, anxiety).
The emotional sphere of a personality is a multifaceted formation, which, in addition to emotions, includes many other emotional phenomena: emotional tone, emotional states of emotions), emotional properties of a personality, the accentuated expression of which allows us to talk about emotional personality types, emotional stable relationships (feelings), and each of them has fairly distinct differentiating characteristics.
Thus, the emotional sphere of a person is a more capacious concept that includes many other emotional phenomena.
Emotions and feelings are capable of regulating human activity in accordance with anticipated results, but at the same time, although emotions play a very important role in motivation, they themselves are not motives.
Affects, emotions and feelings are divided by duration in time.
The shortest affects in time, they are accompanied by pronounced motor and vegetative manifestations, and the longest lasting are feelings, and they are supra-situational, objective and hierarchical.
In biological theories of emotions (theories of Anokhin, Duffy, Lindsley, James,
Lange) the source of their occurrence lies in organic changes. In psychoanalytic theories, the cause of emotions is a clash of instinctive energy with the prohibitions and norms of the Super-Ego. This can be explained by the fact that the entire theory of psychoanalysis was built on the idea of two instincts
(eros, tonatos), as well as on the three-component theory of personality structure (Id,
Ego, Super-Ego).
In cognitive theory, the emergence of emotions is associated with the activity of the cogito, and emotion is presented as an assessment; in this, Simonov’s information theory is similar to cognitive theories of emotions, where emotion is an assessment of the situation.
The remaining theories: motivational, adaptation, respectively, consider emotions as motives for adaptation to environmental conditions.
A.N. Leontiev’s view occupies a special place in the theory of emotions.
He considers emotions within the framework of his doctrine of activity, where the mechanism of their occurrence is human activity. Moreover, he says that emotions are a “specific personal attitude,” and the very concept of attitude includes the concept of activity.
Emotions and feelings not only arise in the process of activity, but also give rise to activity - they control human behavior.
As an example, consider a situation where a passenger is driving a car with a person who is driving it extremely carelessly. In this case, the passenger will not admire the surrounding landscape, but will look intently at the road and try to figure out what to do to make the car drive more carefully. Here the influence of the emotion of fear for one’s life on the activity of the whole organism is evident.
The main human motivational system consists of ten basic emotions - joy, interest, surprise, sadness, anger, disgust, contempt, fear, shame, guilt.
Each emotion implies a specific way of experiencing it. These basic emotions have different effects on the cognitive sphere and on behavior in general.
Basic emotions have distinct and specific neural substrates.
Basic emotion manifests itself through an expressive and specific configuration of facial muscle movements (facial expressions).
A basic emotion entails a distinct and specific experience that is conscious to the individual.
Basic emotions arose as a result of evolutionary biological processes.
Basic emotion has an organizing and motivating effect on a person and serves his adaptation.
Thus, at present there is no single generally accepted scientific theory of emotions. All existing theories are united by the fact that emotions and feelings have a significant, one might even say decisive, role in human activity. The emotional and sensory sphere of a person determines the degree of influence of external factors on the individual and his reaction to these factors. Next, we will consider this issue from the aspect of psychological counseling.
1.2. Features of the manifestation of anxiety in the process of psychological counseling
One of the main feelings that a person experiences when turning to a psychologist is anxiety. Anxiety occupies one of the most important places, both in normal psychodynamics and in psychopathology, i.e. in the occurrence of various symptoms. Anxiety warns of danger, threat, and in this sense has no less value than pain. Anxiety is not only a warning signal, but also protects against conflicts, because it activates psychological defense mechanisms.
One of the most common “disguises” for anxiety is renaming. “I’m irritable; I’m stressed; I’m weak; I’m afraid; I’m sad; I keep waking up at night; I don’t feel like myself” - clients use dozens of words and expressions to describe their state of anxiety.
Very often anxiety is expressed by somatic symptoms.
Most clients associate them with specific situations that cause anxiety. However, it is incorrect to call such symptoms “functional”,
“on nerves”, etc., since the client feels as if accused of simulation and complaining about something fictitious, so he resorts to denial and other means of psychological defense. Sometimes somatic complaints are simply a way of communicating anxiety.
For example, when a client complains that he gets a headache in the presence of his wife, the counselor has the opportunity to clarify the problem: “I think you want to tell me that for some reason you get nervous in the presence of your wife, and
Your anxiety manifests itself as a headache. If we can find out what's causing your anxiety, we can help you overcome your headache." This tactic is much better than simply saying, "You have a nervous headache." Somatic symptoms are not necessarily caused by anxiety; they are often just a substitute for anxiety. anxiety.
Sometimes anxiety is masked by certain actions. The whole range of obsessive actions - from tapping fingers on the table, twisting buttons, annoying eye blinking, scratching, to overeating, excessive drinking or smoking, an obsessive need to buy things - can indicate anxiety due to a conflicting life situation.
Anxiety is also often hidden behind other emotions.
Irritability, aggressiveness, and hostility can act as reactions to anxiety-provoking situations. Some clients themselves explain that when they begin to experience stress, they become sarcastic, caustic, and difficult to get along with. Other clients in similar situations, on the contrary, become cold, constrained, and taciturn. The second type of reaction usually expresses an internal conflict between powerlessness and aggressiveness, and this conflict paralyzes activity.
Verbalism is also a way of masking anxiety. Thus, the client seeks to hide his anxiety and “disarm” the consultant.
The verbal flow should not be interrupted, you just need to pay attention to the anxiety hiding behind it. Continuous talking is a peculiar form of self-defense, which it is imprudent to immediately break. The consultant, through the prism of his own feelings, must analyze the motives for talking a lot, keeping in mind that in everyday life the client just annoys others with empty talk, trying to both hide his anxiety and run away from it.
A certain category of clients protects themselves from anxiety in a paradoxical way. They openly talk about their worries and ask what they should do. This is how they behave with a consultant. Such emphasized protrusion of anxiety is usually a manifestation of hostility, and the counselor should draw the client's attention to this.
Anxiety can motivate resistance to the counseling process itself. Essentially, there is a resistance to the awareness of internal conflicts, and thereby an increase in anxiety. By resisting, the client tries to control his openness, to express only
“censored” thoughts and feelings, be as impersonal as possible, suppress your feelings towards the consultant. The consultant’s comments should, on the contrary, draw the client’s attention to how he avoids anxiety: “Have you changed the topic of the conversation?”, “Are you trying to switch attention to me?”, “Do you want me to indicate to you the topic of the statement?”, “ We are going back again - you are trying to impose on me the leadership of the conversation,” etc.
Sometimes anxiety causes the client not only to resist, but also to demonstrate hostility towards the consultant, most often in a hidden form.
The client criticizes with contempt and sarcasm the stupid consultants he has visited before, and tells stories about the mistakes of psychologists and psychotherapists. A more subtle form of attacking the consultant is to try to make friends with him, so that the consultant perceives the client not as a client, but as a friend. An anxious male client tries to find common interests with the consultant and act as his hobby partner. To this end, clients bring postage stamps or other collectibles in an effort to make an exchange, invite a consultant for a cup of coffee or lunch, etc. Women behave in a similar way, but with their own specificity - they try to emphasize their feminine attractiveness, demonstrate maternal or sisterly behavior, show concern for the appearance and health of the consultant, which creates the illusion of friendly relations. This customer behavior is aimed at
“destruction” of the consultant as a professional; the motivating motives are fear and anxiety, denial of the seriousness of the problems. If the consultant is influenced and truly becomes a “friend” of the client, many serious difficulties arise in the consultative contact and, one might say, the consultation as such ends.
When counseling anxious clients, it is important to know not only the ways in which they mask their anxiety, but also the means by which they seek to rid themselves of the unpleasant effects of anxiety. These means serve as psychological defense mechanisms. Mechanisms function automatically, on an unconscious level. The use of defense mechanisms to reduce anxiety is not pathological until it becomes exaggerated and begins to distort the understanding of reality and limit the flexibility of behavior. Many psychological defense mechanisms have been described.
Let us briefly describe the main ones:
1. Repression. This is the process of involuntary elimination into the unconscious of unacceptable thoughts, impulses or feelings. Freud described in detail the defense mechanism of motivated forgetting. It plays a significant role in the formation of symptoms. When the effect of this mechanism to reduce anxiety is insufficient, other protective mechanisms are activated, allowing the repressed material to be realized in a distorted form. The two most widely known combinations of defense mechanisms are: a. displacement + displacement. This combination promotes phobic reactions. For example, a mother’s obsessive fear that her little daughter will get a serious illness is a defense against hostility towards the child, combining the mechanisms of repression and displacement; b. repression + conversion (somatic symbolization). This combination forms the basis of hysterical reactions.
2. Regression. Through this mechanism, an unconscious descent is carried out to an earlier level of adaptation, allowing one to satisfy desires. Regression can be partial, complete or symbolic. Most emotional problems have regressive features. Normally, regression manifests itself in games, in reactions to unpleasant events (for example, at the birth of a second child, the first-born baby stops using the toilet, starts asking for a pacifier, etc.), in situations of increased responsibility, in illnesses
(the patient requires increased attention and care). In pathological forms, regression manifests itself in mental illnesses, especially schizophrenia.
3. Projection. This is a mechanism for attributing to another person or object thoughts, feelings, motives and desires that the individual rejects at a conscious level. Fuzzy forms of projection appear in everyday life. Many of us are completely uncritical of our shortcomings and easily notice them only in others. We tend to blame others for our own troubles. Projection can also be harmful because it leads to an erroneous interpretation of reality. This mechanism often works in immature and vulnerable individuals. In pathological cases, projection leads to hallucinations and delusions, when the ability to distinguish fantasy from reality is lost.
4. Introjection. This is the symbolic internalization (incorporation into oneself) of a person or object. The action of the mechanism is opposite to projection.
Introjection plays a very important role in early personality development, since on its basis parental values and ideals are learned.
The mechanism is updated during mourning, with the loss of a loved one. With the help of introjection, the differences between the objects of love and one's own personality are eliminated. Sometimes, instead of anger or aggression towards other people, derogatory impulses turn into self-criticism, self-depreciation, because the accused has introjected. This often occurs with depression.
5. Rationalization. It is a defense mechanism that justifies thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are actually unacceptable.
Rationalization is the most common psychological defense mechanism, because our behavior is determined by many factors, and when we explain it with the most acceptable motives for ourselves, we rationalize. The unconscious mechanism of rationalization should not be confused with deliberate lies, deception or pretense.
Rationalization helps maintain self-respect and avoid responsibility and guilt. In any rationalization there is at least a minimal amount of truth, but there is more self-deception in it, which is why it is dangerous.
6. Intellectualization. This defense mechanism involves an exaggerated use of intellectual resources in order to eliminate emotional experiences and feelings. Intellectualization is closely related to rationalization and replaces the experience of feelings with thinking about them (for example, instead of real love, talk about love).
7. Compensation. This is an unconscious attempt to overcome real and imagined shortcomings. Compensatory behavior is universal because achieving status is an important need for almost all people. Compensation can be socially acceptable (a blind person becomes a famous musician) and unacceptable (compensation for short stature - desire for power and aggressiveness; compensation for disability - rudeness and conflict). They also distinguish between direct compensation (the desire for success in an obviously losing area) and indirect compensation (the desire to establish oneself in another area).
8. Reactive formation. This protective mechanism replaces impulses that are unacceptable for awareness with hypertrophied, opposite tendencies. The protection is two-stage.
First, the unacceptable desire is repressed, and then its antithesis is strengthened. For example, exaggerated protectiveness may mask feelings of rejection, exaggerated sweetness and politeness may mask hostility, etc.
9. Denial. It is a mechanism for rejecting thoughts, feelings, desires, needs or realities that are unacceptable at a conscious level. Behavior is as if the problem does not exist.
The primitive mechanism of denial is more characteristic of children
(if you hide your head under the blanket, then reality will cease to exist). Adults often use denial in cases of crisis situations (incurable illness, approaching death, loss of a loved one, etc.).
10. Offset. It is a mechanism for channeling emotions from one object to a more acceptable substitute. For example, the displacement of aggressive feelings from the employer to family members or other objects. The displacement manifests itself in phobic reactions, when anxiety from a conflict hidden in the unconscious is transferred to an external object.
A similar state to anxiety is fear. But anxiety, unlike fear, does not have a specific object, while fear is always associated with a specific environmental object (face, object, event). Fear has biological significance, as it protects against many dangers. Without fear, we would be easily vulnerable.
Most often, clients come to us about specific fears associated with some important events (fear of an exam, fear of surgery, etc.). In such cases, the client should first be helped to understand the meaning of the event that caused the feeling of fear, to understand to what extent his reaction to this event is justified and adequate.
The core of neurotic behavior with a predominance of phobias is an increased avoidance of anxiety, the desire to circumvent the conflict that gave rise to it.
Therefore, the client often calmly talks about his fear, but denies the existence of any internal conflicts associated with this fear.
The consultant must be prepared for such behavior. Attempts to avoid discussing conflict can manifest themselves in a variety of ways.
Typically, clients are extremely cautious in their relationships with a consultant. They tend to resist the counselor's desire to talk about things that provoke anxiety. Resistance again takes many forms. The client forgets details of the background of his problems, which shed light on the essence of the psychological conflict. For example, the occurrence of a phobia is somehow connected with changes in the client’s life, the system of relationships of his personality, but the client does not even mention this, although such information is very essential for understanding the nature of the phobia.
Often in counseling there is hidden hostility that the counselor unwittingly feels. It is more difficult to deal with than outright aggressiveness. Most clients are not ready to identify hidden hostility, and it is not safe for a consultant to turn hidden hostility into open one. However, if in a conversation with a client we feel something unkind, we should help him verbalize his feelings, express them openly, because any unexpressed strong emotions, especially negative ones, disorganize logical thinking and behavior, contribute to the emergence of psychosomatic symptoms and complicate the process counseling. We will return to the issue of hidden hostility in the section on the peculiarities of counseling clients with psychosomatic complaints.
When a person seeks psychological help, he usually hopes that positive changes are possible in his life. However, sometimes people come to a consultant against their will and reject the client role imposed by others. For example, a client says: “My wife demanded that I come here, but I don’t think you can help me.” Some people turn to a consultant with the sole intention of proving that no one can help them. These clients lack motivation during the counseling process.
Reluctance to be the object of someone's help is completely normal and understandable when denying the relevant problems. If a person believes that he does not need help, he should not hide this from the consultant.
This situation is an obvious source of stress for a consultant of any theoretical orientation. It doesn't matter in which institution this happens. The consultant is forced to “treat” and “adapt” a person against his will. The hopes of the people who referred the client fall heavily on the consultant’s shoulders and become a kind of test of his skills. It is as if the consultant is being told: “You must be able to help; you are given the opportunity to prove this.” Most consultants feel a responsibility to "re-educate" clients. This is dictated by their ideals, value system, and optimistic assessment of their capabilities.
Therefore, the “unmotivated” client challenges the desire of such consultants to help at any cost.
Clients often express their resistance through silence. Usually this silence is very “loud” for the consultant. Sometimes a client sadly twists a button and shows with all his appearance that he is just sitting in his office. Hostility can also be expressed directly. For example, the client says:
"Spending time with you is not my idea."
Hysterical clients in counseling try to take advantage of their qualities, especially with a consultant of the opposite sex (the classic version is a female client and a male consultant). Usually they strive to give the contact an erotic, sexual overtones.
Another feature of hysterical behavior encountered in counseling is the presentation of oneself as a powerless and dependent being, craving care and attention from a strong father figure.
In such cases, they try to turn the consultant into a father substitute.
In counseling, the hysterical person often uses attack as self-defense, for example, explaining to the consultant what he should say, commenting on his professional actions, making comments about his behavior during a particular meeting, or generally reading
"short lecture" on counseling. The consultant experiences a direct threat to his professional competence and usually becomes angry. However, an experienced counselor understands the psychological reality behind such actions. The client does not seek to offend the consultant, but in this way tries to take control of his anxiety and protect himself from help, which may pose no less a danger to him than his problems.
From the examples discussed above, it is clear that the emergence of psychological defense in anxious clients during the process of psychological counseling is associated with various reasons. Therefore, determining the degree of protection for the client and taking measures to overcome this barrier depend on the behavior of the psychologist and the professional selection of methods. The effectiveness of counseling, in turn, depends on how quickly psychological defenses are overcome.
1.3. Methods of psychological influence on the emotional and sensory sphere
There are many classifications of psychotherapy methods. The method refers to the general principle of treatment, which is determined by understanding the nature of the disease. Thus, the method of rational psychotherapy can be used in the form of a conversation with a group or in the form of a lecture.
A complex of different methods, united by a common principled approach to treatment, forms a system or direction in psychotherapy. Currently, the most widespread areas are psychoanalytic, behavioral, and existential-humanistic. Of the large number of psychotherapy methods in social work practice, suggestive psychotherapy, group, behavioral, family, game, rational, and self-hypnosis are widely used. Psychoanalysis, transactional analysis, Gestalt therapy, etc. are increasingly used.
Let's look at some of the most common methods in practice.
Self-hypnosis is closely related to such concepts as self-education, self-regulation, self-influence. There are many interpretations of this concept. In particular, A.S. Romain defines self-hypnosis as “a volitional process that ensures the targeted formation of the body’s readiness for a certain action and, if necessary, for its implementation.”
Self-hypnosis may not be arbitrary or arbitrary. In the first case, self-hypnosis presupposes an additional charge of the factor, in the second it is necessary to concentrate thoughts and attention on one thing. There are many psychotherapeutic methods based on self-hypnosis.
Autogenic training, the founder of which is considered a German psychologist
I.G. Schultz combines self-hypnosis and self-regulation; her techniques help manage emotions, restore strength and performance, and relieve tension. This orderly use of special exercises and psychological relaxation, overcoming stressful conditions, for the accelerated mobilization of spiritual capabilities can be recommended and applied not only to clients of social services, but also to employees of these services in order to increase labor productivity, improve control over their emotional state in stressful situations. situations, developing the ability to understand the mental state of others.
Behavioral psychotherapy is based on the principles of behaviorism. Main
is a change in client behavior under the influence of a positive stimulus.
The psychologist teaches the client ways of behavior that relieve discomfort, inappropriate reaction or illness.
Methods of behavioral therapy include social training, self-confidence training, etc., carried out in a group. According to
Rudestama K. “the presence or absence of people can influence behavior, the group becomes a microcosm representing the real world. It is a social network where change can be defined and practiced."
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The purpose of temporary groups is to develop behavior that is acceptable not only for the individual, but also for society as a whole.
The training teaches you to manage your emotions, plan the near and distant future, make decisions, teach communication, and self-confidence. Rational psychotherapy as a method includes explanation, suggestion, emotional influence, study and correction of personality, and logical argumentation.
One of its main tasks is to create in the client’s mind the correct idea of a disease or problem and to develop a reasonable, adequate attitude towards it. The evolutionary coloring of painful experiences can be superimposed on the personal characteristics of the client, and the task of the psychologist is to correctly and clearly interpret the nature, causes and prognosis of the disease. The cause of many social problems is often a conflict between the individual and his environment, which cannot always be quickly identified. Using the techniques of rational psychotherapy, arguing or refuting the provisions related to the client’s ideas about the problem that has arisen, it is possible to clarify the true essence of the conflict and correct the client’s views on the causes, course and ways of resolving it. The undoubted advantage of rational psychotherapy is the participation of the client in the process of implementing psychotherapeutic influence.
Group psychotherapy is the treatment of people in groups, through their inclusion in psychologically positive interaction with a specially organized controlled environment.
The motive for an individual's activity in a group is his own recovery, and the group and its members are seen as a means to achieve this goal. By nature we can distinguish:
Family psychotherapy, which involves simultaneous work with parents, children and parents;
Group psychotherapy in joint activities;
Game psychotherapy.
The main indications for the use of group psychotherapy: the presence of neuroses with impaired social connections, difficulties in communication and social adaptation.
A small group is a society in miniature, in which such social factors as social influence and pressure from partners can also manifest themselves. The advantage of a therapeutic group is the opportunity to receive, according to the laws of feedback, emotional support from group members who have common problems and common goals. In such a group, a person feels both accepting and helpful, trusting and trusted. This facilitates the process of resolving interpersonal conflicts that arise outside the group, because the person has already had the opportunity to try out different styles in group classes.
Many experts believe that one of the best ways to treat drug addicts is through therapeutic communities. It's like a camp where people live. They have almost no contacts with the outside world; they work and conduct subsistence farming.
The concept of a therapeutic community (group) underlies many foreign alcoholism treatment programs. The main therapeutic role in them is played by so-called consultants - people who have overcome their own problems associated with alcohol addiction and use their own experience for the benefit of other people. Such programs require a person’s desire to follow the proposed path and a willingness to do a lot of work on himself.
Various therapeutic modalities are often used in combination with occupational therapy, which is considered an occupational therapy. Well-organized work is a bridge connecting a person with social reality. Work protects a person from personal disintegration, creates conditions for interpersonal communication, and organizes a structured microenvironment. Occupational therapy methods are actively used in working with older people and people with disabilities. Work allows you to feel useful, important, and provide additional income. Occupational therapy is an integral part of social programs related to the rehabilitation of persons suffering from alcoholism and drug addiction.
The variety of therapy methods listed above determines the wide range of its use in the practical activities of various social services. The work of psychological services is of particular importance in connection with the ongoing instability in society, when the population is especially susceptible to stress.
That. defense mechanisms in psychological counseling are very often associated with manifestations of client anxiety. During the consultation process, it is important for a psychologist to identify the connection between anxiety and defense mechanisms, as well as the causes of anxiety. At the same time, the psychologist must take into account that the defense mechanisms used by the client should not always be regarded as the client’s reluctance to receive help from a specialist. It is also necessary to take into account that in the interests of the effectiveness of psychotherapy, the client should not be deprived of defense mechanisms at the initial stage of counseling.
An attempt to sharply influence the psycho-emotional sphere of the subject can lead to the development of a stressful situation, which in the future will have to be corrected by increasing the number of consultations. A psychologist must always remember that anxiety is a complex fundamental factor in the psycho-emotional climate of psychological counseling and is the basis of psychological defense.
CHAPTER 2. STUDY OF PROTECTIVE MECHANISMS AND THE INFLUENCE OF ANXIETY ON THEM
THE PROCESS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL
CONSULTING
2.1. Justification for choice and description of methods
The methodology for studying the protective mechanisms of psychological counseling is based on testing clients. For testing, the Eysenck questionnaire for determining temperament and the test method “Differential scales of emotions” according to K. Izard were used.
The choice of the Eysenck questionnaire is due to the fact that it allows us to determine the sincerity of the answers and the temperament of the client - while the first makes it possible to judge the presence and seriousness of defense mechanisms, the second determines the methods of conducting psychological consultation. The Eysenck questionnaire consists of 57 simple questions and thus does not require much time for testing, which is important in the context of social psychological services.
The purpose of the “Differential Emotion Scales” technique is to identify dominant emotions that allow a qualitative description of the well-being of the person being examined.
The Eysenck questionnaire includes a number of questions. Client answer only “yes” or “no” to each question.
The questions are:
1. Do you often experience a craving for new experiences, to be distracted, to experience strong sensations?
2. Do you often feel that you need friends who can understand, encourage, and sympathize with you?
3. Do you consider yourself a carefree person?
4. Is it very difficult for you to give up your intentions?
5. Do you think about your affairs without rushing, and do you prefer to wait before acting?
6. Do you always keep your promises, even if it is unprofitable for you?
8. Do you usually act and speak quickly?
9. Have you ever had the feeling that you are unhappy, although there was no serious reason for this?
10. Is it true that “on a dare” you can decide on anything?
11. Do you feel embarrassed when you want to meet someone of the opposite sex who you like?
12. Does it ever happen that when you get angry, you lose your temper?
13. Does it often happen that you act thoughtlessly, on the spur of the moment?
14. Do you often worry about the thought of... that you shouldn't have done or said something?
15. Do you prefer reading books to meeting people?
16. Is it true that you are easily offended?
17. Do you often like to be in company?
18. Do you ever have thoughts that you would not like to share with others?
19. Is it true that sometimes you are so full of energy that everything in your hands burns, and sometimes you feel tired?
20. Do you try to limit your circle of acquaintances to a small number of your closest friends?
21. Do you dream a lot?
22. When people shout at you, do you respond in kind?
23. Do you consider all your habits to be good?
24. Do you often have the feeling that you are to blame for something?
25. Are you sometimes able to give free rein to your feelings and have carefree fun in a cheerful company?
26. Can we say that your nerves are often stretched to the limit?
27. Are you known as a lively and cheerful person?
28. After something is done, do you often mentally return to it and think that you could have done it better?
29. Do you feel restless when in a large company?
30. Does it happen that you spread rumors?
31. Does it happen that you can’t sleep because different thoughts are popping into your head?
32. If you want to know something, do you prefer to ask people rather than find it in a book?
33. Do you have palpitations?
34. Do you like work that requires concentration?
35. Do you have tremors?
36. Do you always tell the truth?
37. Do you find it unpleasant to be in a company where they make fun of each other?
38. Are you irritable?
39. Do you like work that requires speed?
40. Is it true that you are often haunted by thoughts about various troubles and horrors that could happen, although everything ended well?
41. Is it true that you are leisurely in your movements and somewhat slow?
42. Have you ever been late for work or a meeting with someone?
43. Do you often have nightmares?
44. Is it true that you love to talk so much that you don’t miss any opportunity to talk with a new person?
45. Do you have any pain?
46. Would you be upset if you couldn’t see your friends for a long time?
47. Are you a nervous person?
48. Are there people among your friends who you clearly don’t like?
49. Are you a confident person?
50. Are you easily offended by criticism of your shortcomings or your work?
51. Do you find it difficult to really enjoy events that involve a lot of people?
52. Does the feeling that you are somehow worse than others bother you?
53. Would you be able to bring some life into a boring company?
54. Does it happen that you talk about things that you don’t understand at all?
55. Are you worried about your health?
56. Do you like to make fun of others?
57. Do you suffer from insomnia?
In the “Differential Emotion Scales” method, the subject is asked to rate on a 4-point scale the extent to which each concept describes his state of health at the moment, putting the required number on the right.
Suggested meanings for the numbers: "1" - not suitable at all; "2" is probably correct; "3" is correct; "4" is absolutely correct.
|Emotion scales in terms of |Amount |Emotion |
| |points | |
|Attentive..|Concentrated|Collected | |1. Interest |
|... |ny... | | | |
|Enjoying|Happy.. |Joyful... | |2. Joy |
| Surprised | Amazed.. | Amazed | |3. Surprise |
|Sad... |Sad... |Broken.. | |4. Grief |
|Infuriated.. |Angry.... |Mad.... | |5. Anger |
|Feeling |Feeling |Feeling | |b.Disgust |
| dislike | disgust... | disgust... | | |
|Contemptuous.|Dismissive|Arrogant... | |7. Contempt |
|... |ny.. | | | |
|Frightening......|Terrifying.... |Sowing | |8. Fear |
|.. | |panic.. | | |
|Shy...|Shy...... |Shy... | |9. Shame |
|..... | | | | |
|Regretful....|Guilty.... |Repentant| |10.Wine |
|... | | | | |
2.2. Discussion and analysis of the results obtained
To study the effectiveness of the selected tests, a group of people registered at the drug treatment clinic in Tobolsk was tested. 15 people with persistent dependence on alcohol were tested.
Test subjects are men aged 35-45 years. Testing was carried out in the psychological center of Tobolsk on the direction of a narcologist.
The forced nature of testing presupposed the presence of a high degree of psychological defense on the part of the subjects.
In the Eysenck questionnaire, the indicator on the “lie scale” is determined by the sum of the points of the answers “yes” in questions 6, 24, 36 and the answers “no” in questions 12, 18,
30, 42, 48, 54.
0-3 is the norm, the answers can be trusted. An indicator of 4-5 is critical, it indicates a tendency to give only “good” answers.
6-9 - answers are unreliable.
When testing subjects, this indicator ranged from 5 to 9 points, which clearly indicated that they did not take the test seriously
(Table 1).
To determine the degree of neuroticism, the number of “yes” answers to questions is determined
2,4,7,9,11,14,16,19,21,23,26,28,31,33,35,38,40,43,45,47,50,5255,57.
The number of answers from 0 to 10 corresponds to the emotional stability of the subject. 11-16 - there is emotional sensitivity. At 17-
When the answer is “yes”, individual signs of nervous system instability appear. 23-24 “yes” answers define neuroticism, bordering on pathology, while the client may experience a breakdown or neurosis.
During testing, this indicator ranged from 18 to 23 “yes” answers, which indicated the pathology of neuroticism in all participants in the experiment
(Table 1).
Extraversion - is the sum of “yes” answers to questions
1,3,8,10,13,17,22,25,27,39,44,46,49,53,56 and “no” answers to questions
5,15,20,29,32,37,41,51.
If the sum of points is 0-10, then the subject is an introvert, closed within himself.
If 15-24, then the subject is an extrovert - sociable, facing the outside world.
If 11-14, then the subject is an ambivert - he enters into communication when he needs it.
During testing, extraversion was distributed differently for each subject, but scores of up to 10 points predominated (Table 1). Thus, most of the subjects turned out to be closed within themselves.
Table 1.
Test results according to the Eysenck questionnaire (points)
|№ |Subjects |Lie scale|Degree |Extraversion-intro|
|p/p | | | neuroticism | version |
|1 |Golkov A.N. |6 |18 |9 |
|2 |Golyzhenkov A.V. |5 |21 |14 |
|3 |Guryin K.B. |6 |20 |12 |
|4 |Detkov Yu.M. |8 |20 |8 |
|5 |Ivanov P.P. |7 |19 |9 |
|6 |Ketkov M.E. |5 |21 |7 |
|7 |Knutov K.G. |7 |20 |7 |
|8 |Konovod S.F. |9 |19 |9 |
|9 |Kurin K.I. |6 |20 |15 |
|10 |Lanakov I.B. |6 |20 |13 |
|11 |Manakov K.S. |7 |19 |8 |
|12 |Semyonov I.I. |6 |23 |8 |
|13 |Chebyshev G.A. |6 |19 |10 |
|14 |Shestakov A.A. |5 |21 |9 |
|15 |Shutov V.L. |7 |22 |10 |
Rice. 1. Personality type (according to the Eysenck questionnaire)
Sanguine extrovert: stable personality, social, outward-oriented, sociable, sometimes talkative, carefree, cheerful, loves leadership, has many friends, cheerful. This personality type is little inclined to take defensive actions in the process of psychological counseling.
Choleric extrovert; unstable personality, touchy, excited, unrestrained, aggressive, impulsive, optimistic, active, but performance and mood are unstable and cyclical. In a situation of stress - a tendency to hysterical-psychopathic reactions.
Phlegmatic introvert: stable personality, slow, calm, passive, calm, cautious, thoughtful, peaceful, reserved, reliable, calm in relationships, able to withstand long-term adversity without disruptions to health and mood.
Melancholic introvert: unstable personality, anxious, pessimistic, very reserved on the outside, but sensitive and emotional on the inside, intellectual, prone to thinking. In a situation of stress - a tendency to internal anxiety, depression, breakdown or deterioration in performance
(rabbit stress).
Since the psychologist had every reason to consider the answers to the test questions insincere, the second part of processing the results was not carried out.
Based on the testing, a conclusion was made about a significant degree of psychological protection of the subjects.
In the “Differential Emotion Scales” method, the sum of points for each line is calculated, and these values are entered in the “Sum of Points” line.
The well-being coefficient (Kc) is determined by the formula:
sum of positive emotions (C1 + C2 + SZ + C9 + C10)
Sum of negative emotions (C4 + C5 + C6 + C7 + C8)
If Kc is greater than 1, then overall health is more positive, and if Kc is less than 1, it is more negative, i.e. well-being corresponds more likely to either hyperthymic (with elevated mood) or dysthymic (lowered mood) type of accentuation of a person’s character.
In cases of unsatisfactory health (Ks less than 1), the subject’s self-esteem generally decreases, and, in particular, when a state close to depression occurs.
A depressive state is characterized by a sad mood, apathy, and a sharp decrease in performance. The helplessness and lack of volitional activity acquired in this state sometimes lead to pathological depression and, in some cases, to suicide.
The second test completely confirmed the results of the first test: Kc for all 15 subjects turned out to be less than 1 (Table 2). Consequently, all subjects were in a state of persistent depression.
Table 2.
Test results according to the method
"Differential scales of emotions"
|№ |Subjects |Amount |Amount |Coefficient |
|p/p| |positive |negative |well-being |
| | | emotions (ball.) | emotions (ball.) | |
|1 |Golkov A.N. |47 |52 |0.9 |
|2 |Golyzhenkov A.V. |37 |46 |0.8 |
|3 |Guryin K.B. |34 |48 |0.7 |
|4 |Detkov Yu.M. |32 |46 |0.7 |
|5 |Ivanov P.P. |38 |48 |0.8 |
|6 |Ketkov M.E. |29 |48 |0.6 |
|7 |Knutov K.G. |42 |47 |0.9 |
|8 |Konovod S.F. |38 |48 |0.8 |
|9 |Kurin K.I. |78 |47 |0.8 |
|10 |Lanakov I.B. |37 |48 |0.7 |
|11 |Manakov K.S. |41 |46 |0.9 |
|12 |Semyonov I.I. |32 |45 |0.7 |
|13 |Chebyshev G.A. |15 |38 |0.4 |
|14 |Shestakov A.A. |32 |45 |0.7 |
|15 |Shutov V.L. |38 |47 |0.8 |
Last names and initials are fictitious
For a more visual representation of the test results, below is a graph of Kc indicators (Fig. 2).
Rice. 2. Well-being quotient indicators
Thus, practical research fully confirmed the hypothesis put forward at the beginning of the study. The proposed tests allow us to determine with sufficient reliability the presence of psychological defense in clients with a high level of anxiety. Sharing tests increases the accuracy of determining the presence of protection and allows you to determine measures to neutralize it. The following paragraph provides recommendations for counseling clients who use protective mechanisms.
During the consultation process, it is very important to allow the client to speak out and express his anxiety, because a restless client hears little and the consultant’s exhortations do not reach him. Unspoken anxiety is limitless. When it “dresses” in a verbal shell, it is fixed within the words and becomes an object that can be “seen” by both the client and the consultant. There is a significant reduction in the disorganizing power of anxiety. Therefore, it is necessary to discuss his condition with an anxious client. We must not forget that we are essentially dealing with feelings hidden in the unconscious, so it is useless to put pressure on the client to quickly name the reasons for his anxiety.
Counseling clients with phobias presents great difficulty.
The basis of pathological fears is deeply hidden anxiety.
The essence of the mechanism of formation of phobias is the displacement of anxiety from the primary situation or object that caused anxiety to another situation or object. A person begins to fear things that are only substitutes for objects of primary concern. This displacement occurs due to unresolved internal conflicts.
The counselor should not be hasty in interpreting the client's internal conflicts on the basis of his specific phobia. It is very unreliable to base interpretations on the symbolic meaning of the phobia.
Different people may have different conflicts behind the same phobia.
The meaning of phobias depends greatly on the individual life history of the client, so it is not difficult to make the mistake of succumbing to the temptation of a superficial explanation.
A resistant client may try to divert the conversation and in this way avoid the topic of the consultation. It is possible to avoid talking about yourself altogether. This is a classic form of resistance in counseling.
The counselor must keep in mind these typical behavior patterns of clients with phobias, since sometimes it is necessary to give in to clients and not touch upon unpleasant topics so as not to cause them suffering. However, such tactics do not allow one to hope for success in correcting phobias.
One way for clients with phobic reactions to escape anxiety is through self-medication. They buy medical books, rummage through specialized journals, strive to try all possible treatments, but avoid directly addressing their internal conflicts.
It is important for the consultant to understand what secondary benefit the client derives from his “cowardly” behavior in family relationships, at work or in any other areas. The chances of understanding the client increase if an attempt is made to look at their problems or symptoms in a broader context.
Negative or openly hostile clients create many problems in counseling. Consultants react differently to such clients: some respond to hostility with irritability and hostility; others try to show courtesy and friendliness, trying to turn clients in their favor and explain the absence of grounds for bitterness; still others ignore the clients’ condition and act as if nothing had happened. It may be useful in some cases to be angry with the client, but it is even more important to understand the reasons for his condition. The client should be told that he seems hostile and angry. Sometimes the concepts of “anger” and
“hostility” seems too strong to characterize, so your statements should be formulated less categorically. For example: “You seem unhappy about something,” “Are you disappointed?”, “Is there something you want to say?”, “It sounds like you are angry,” etc. If the consultant only suspects the client of hostility, he can clarify: “What happened?”
"Did I say or do anything wrong?" In any case, when faced with hostility from a client, you should not act as if the world has collapsed.
Of course, one should not look at the client with ridicule or contempt - his hostility should always be interpreted seriously, because it interferes with the therapeutic interaction.
It is important for the consultant to know the origin of anger. The reasons for each client's anger are hidden in his life circumstances.
Anger is “historical”, i.e. has its own past, each person is unique. Throughout life, especially in childhood, an individual “style of hostility” is formed, i.e. what makes us angry, how anger accumulates and is released. Some clients get angry when the consultant speaks in a commanding tone; others - when it does not clearly and precisely indicate what to do; still others - when he asks a lot of personal questions, because it seems to them to be excessive curiosity. Similar circumstances make some clients hostile, others not. These differences are mainly due to the uniqueness of life experience. It is not easy for a counselor to sufficiently trace a client's individual history of anger, but it is most important to understand that anger is primarily "brought" into counseling and is not directly related to what the counselor says and does. Sometimes at a specific moment the consultant directly “replaces” a certain person or situation from a past life. When a client, especially at the beginning of counseling, is hostile, suspicious, or angry, the counselor must know that the source of these feelings lies within the client himself.
One thing to keep in mind in counseling is that sometimes anger masks anxiety. In such cases, it is necessary to help the client understand his true feelings and thus transform the hostility.
At the beginning of the first consultation, a useful question is: “When did you laugh last?” or “When was the last time you laughed at home?” Answers to questions like these are essential. Laughter and its deficit reflect well the emotional life of people.
The first questions should be carefully thought out because clients do not dare answer some questions at the beginning of counseling. If the consultant asks a lot of questions, the client ceases to understand what is wanted from him and does not speak on his own initiative, and then the consultant is forced to continue asking. At the beginning of counseling, questions that have a clear answer should be avoided, because this also forces the counselor to keep asking (for example, the question: “How old are you?” is sometimes important, but is inappropriate at the beginning of counseling).
The client's answer to a question may trigger a string of other questions from the consultant.
Let's look at a fragment of the consultation:
Consultant: Could you tell us a little about the problems you faced this year? Start with how you got here.
Client: I drank a lot, then I divorced my wife and lost everything I had.
In addition, he began to use drugs. I didn't know what would happen to me; he left and wandered for five days - these five days merged (for me) into one day.
Consultant: It seems that you have not had the best of times...
Client: Without a place, without a goal...
Consultant: Are you going to do anything?
Client: I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep. I didn't know what to do. He lived with a friend for a couple of days, then ran away.
This short episode raises many questions. How much did the client drink?
When did you start? What does divorce mean to him? Why did five days seem like one day? What did he remember from these five days? What the client said leads to other questions. However, asking such questions would immediately narrow the conversation. At the beginning of the conversation, you should avoid specificity, but you should keep relevant questions in mind. It may happen that the client himself will answer most of them during the conversation. You can ask the missing questions later. There is no need to doubt or show concern about the veracity of what is being said, because if the client lies, he will be held responsible for the failure of the consultation, and he will suffer psychological and often material losses.
CONCLUSION
This work examines the influence of client anxiety on the emergence of defense mechanisms in the process of psychological consultation.
An analysis of the literature showed that the study of the emotional and sensory sphere is relevant at the present time. This area is the basis for the motivation of an individual’s behavior and largely determines a person’s behavior in psychological counseling, namely, it determines the occurrence and causes of defense mechanisms. Our work explored such an important component of the emotional and sensory sphere as anxiety.
Today it is being actively studied, and ways to overcome it are being developed. Our research confirmed the existence of a problem. Psychological defense exists, is accompanied by a high level of anxiety and is a significant obstacle to the full communication and life of people. The presence of constant psychological defense associated with anxiety leads to personality degradation, which exacerbates the problem of combating this phenomenon.
A client comes for psychological help with two strong feelings - fear and hope. It is the responsibility of the counselor to reduce fear and increase hope.
Even if there are no noticeable signs of anxiety in the client’s behavior, it should not be forgotten, because the counseling situation itself provokes anxiety. Finally, the client’s anxiety is caused by his own problems, as well as doubts about whether the consultant’s qualifications are sufficient, whether he is ready to truly help, what will generally happen during the consultation, etc. Anxiety and tension prevent the client from speaking, so the first task of the counselor who notices the client's anxiety is to help him feel safe.
The consultant is obliged not so much to free the client from suffering as to give his suffering a constructive direction. Suffering can be used as an important force in bringing about personality change in the counseling process.
The most important goals of a consultation meeting are to establish contact between the psychologist and the client, i.e. eliminating psychological defenses during the counseling process. Based on the research, we have compiled recommendations that we hope will help in overcoming psychological crises. During the consultation process, the psychologist needs to:
1. Encourage open, frank and inclusive communication about the issues the client wants to discuss during the meeting, revealing the factors causing those issues.
2. Move towards a deeper understanding of the client, greater respect for him and mutual understanding.
3. Set the client up for the specific usefulness of each consultation meeting.
4. Convey to the client the understanding that he must be an active participant in solving his problems.
5. Identify problems for further work.
This problem interested us. We do not stop at this stage of work, and in the future we hope to continue studying psychological defense.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Ekaterinburg, 1998.
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(materials for seminars and practical classes) / Ed.
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Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation
Tobolsk State Pedagogical
Institute of D. I. Mendeleev
Department of Practical Psychology
Course work
The influence of human anxiety on the formation of defense mechanisms in the process of psychological counseling
Completed by: student
33 PPF groups
Bolshakova K. A.
Scientific adviser:
Nagornaya L.M.
Tobolsk 2002
Thus, based on the material studied, we came to the following results:
1. Emotions and feelings, performing various functions, participate in the control of human behavior as an involuntary component, interfering with it both at the stage of awareness of the need and assessment of the situation, and at the stage of decision-making and assessment of the achieved result. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms of behavior control requires understanding the emotional and sensory sphere of a person and its role in this control. The emotional and sensory sphere of a person determines the degree of influence of external factors on the individual and his reaction to these factors.
Currently, there is no single generally accepted theory of emotions.
Emotions and feelings were studied by Jacobson, Simonov, Kulikov, Izard,
Lindsley, however, the problem of emotions still remains mysterious and largely unclear.
2. One of the main feelings that a person experiences when turning to a psychologist is anxiety. When counseling anxious clients, it is important to know not only the ways in which they mask their anxiety, but also the means by which they seek to rid themselves of the unpleasant effects of anxiety. These means are psychological defense mechanisms that function automatically, on an unconscious level. The main mechanisms are repression, regression, projection, introjection, rationalization, intellectualization, compensation, reactive formation, denial, displacement.
Anxiety is a complex fundamental factor in the psycho-emotional climate of psychological counseling and is the basis of psychological defense.
3. A complex of various methods, united by one common fundamental approach to treatment, forms a system or direction in psychotherapy. The psychoanalytic, behavioral, existential-humanistic directions, etc. are widespread. psychoanalysis, transactional analysis, gestalt therapy.
The variety of therapy methods determines the wide range of its use in practice.
Analysis of literary sources and the theoretical conclusions we have made allow us to move on to the practical study of anxiety and psychological defense in persons (men) with persistent alcohol dependence at the age of 30-35 years.
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n1.doc
Theoretical approaches to the problem of anxiety 6
What is anxiety? 6
Anxiety as an everyday concept 8
Naming anxiety and forming “anxious memories” 10
Biological aspects of anxiety problems 18
Genesis of anxiety problems 28
Processes that give rise to or maintain anxiety problems 30
General provisions of the eclectic approach 40
Features of working with clients 41
Features of anxious clients and contract 43
Anxiety counseling – main goals 48
Formulating anxiety problems 51
Behavioral description and functional analysis 52
Cognitive analysis 57
Case Study Illustrating Behavioral and Cognitive Analysis 60
Assessment in Anxiety Counseling 73
Assessment methods 73
First assessment interviews 74
Assessing key problem areas based on self-observation 75
In-Depth Assessment of Key Issues 77
Self-observation 84
Schematic representation of client problems 86
Setting goals and defining an intervention plan 96
Principles of confrontation 97
Stimulus severity rating 99
Choosing a Starting Point 101
Choosing methods of confrontation 104
Orienting the client towards effective confrontation 104
Planning a Therapy Meeting 107
Meeting frequency 109
Ending program 110
Additional Notes on Working with Anxiety 111
Panic attacks and accompanying phobias 120
Cases of panic and their descriptions 120
Consequences of panic 123
Assessment of panic and associated phobias 129
Self-regulation in confrontation with disturbing situations 144
Intervention: Cognitive Restructuring 152
Worry, social anxiety and other types of anxiety problems 175
Concerns about potential future hazards 175
Indecisiveness, fickleness, and ineffective problem solving 178
Dysfunctional attitudes 181
Inability to relax 186
Diffuse social anxiety 197
Difficult Issues and the End of the Counseling Relationship 209
Difficulties in customer orientation 209
Barriers to adequate assessment 211
What may interfere with the success of the intervention 218
Appendix A 225
Appendix B 227
1
Theoretical approaches to the problem of anxiety
Effective anxiety counseling requires a good understanding of theoretical approaches. The first chapter analyzes the content of the term “anxiety” as a linguistic concept and substantiates the difference between the phenomena called worries, and defiant anxiety. A consideration of the biological aspects of anxiety concludes the chapter.What is anxiety?
We usually use the word "anxiety" without worrying about its exact meaning. We can say this about someone who himself does not believe that his behavior indicates anxiety. Sometimes we use this term to explain why we behaved in a certain way (“it must be because of anxiety”). In my opinion, one should not imagine that there is a special essence- anxiety - and its observable manifestations. In everyday use, the content of this word relates to the complex dynamic interaction between a person and a situation. The forms of such interaction can be (1) behavioral and physiological reactions caused directly by the situation; (2) assessment of reactions and their consequences; (3) a person's intentions in a particular situation; and (4) assessing the resources available in a given situation. The situation itself may be unpleasant (or signal the possibility of unpleasant consequences), but the anxiety it provokes does not arise automatically, but depending on how prone a person is to anticipating troubles. What is important here is that the person feels However, as noted above, the term can also be used in cases where the person himself does not report his experiences.Recognizing that the everyday concept of “anxiety” describes not only a person’s own experiences, it should be assumed that it is unlikely that a set of psychological or biological factors can be found that uniquely determine it. Anxiety cannot be considered as an exclusively objective state of the body. Different people may use it differently, and the same person may use it differently on different occasions. In short, the imprecision and approximate content of the word “anxiety” and its derivative terms allow them to be applied to a wide range of phenomena. If necessary, a person can give a more thorough assessment of the situation, take into account his own intentions, the attitude of others, all kinds of experiences and feelings.
Table 1.1 Common features between words denoting anxiety
Components of negative experience, described by a terminological sequence with the poles “tension” - “horror”
Awareness of imminent danger or harm, regardless of whether its sources can actually be identified
Experience of physical sensations primarily associated with activation of the autonomic nervous system
Strong need for a safe haven
Decreased fine motor control
Worrying or unpleasant thoughts that are difficult to control
Inability to think logically or act in a coordinated manner, especially in unusual, confrontational, or threatening situations
NB: "Anxiety" others determined based on (1) observable behavior consistent with the above characteristics; (2) the emergence of experiences of tension or insecurity in the communication situation; and (3) other cues, such as facial expression or tone of voice.
The commonalities between words denoting anxiety are presented in Table 1.1. The wide range of values indicates the diversity of psychological and biological factors that determine anxiety. Therefore, virtually all areas of theoretical psychology - teachings about innate biological defenses, stress patterns, self-awareness, social assessment, behavior, cognitive abilities, problem solving, learning, etc. - can be adequate in describing anxiety.
Anxiety as an everyday concept
A person calling himself anxious not only tries to define his state of mind, but also strives for certain goals in social interaction. The unpleasantness associated with anxiety forces one to pay attention to itself and, thus, leads to recognition of the presence of a problem. The inability to recognize one's own “anxiety” makes a person unprepared for the development of the situation. Knowing that he is “anxious” forces others to consider the possibility of unproductive interactions. On the other hand, the anxious one enlists support. It is no coincidence that we trust the calmest people the most - such as airline pilots. For them, saying “I’m worried” means: “Here’s something I haven’t encountered before and haven’t thought about what to do about it.” Judging by the voice we hear, no help is required.
Further, we believe that a person studies name anxiety and talk about it. This means that what is observed here verbal/cognitive the process is to some extent independent of the processes that give rise to the experiences we define as anxiety. Without a doubt, as we acquire language and related concepts, verbal information can act as a powerful stimulus for anxiety. Knowing what could happen can fill us with fear. As we proceed further, we will see that the control of biologically based reactions by processes of a symbolic nature (such as inference, assumption or interpretation) can be seen as the cause of anxiety becoming a problem.
The verbal and cognitive abilities that allow us to name our emotions and relate to them from the point of view of other people develop under the influence of the subculture of the family and the social environment as a whole. Parents differ, for example, in the degree of insistence with which they draw their children's attention to potential threats (" Never don’t talk to strangers”) or to physical sensations and feelings (“You’re upset about something - so excited, excited”). Parental guidance and real-life experiences determine a child's sensitivity to those threats that our culture views as significant. Along with biologically inherited fears (fear of the dark, heights, looking eye to eye, small animals, etc.), there are also constant sources of anxiety. They concern our physical survival (death, illness, material security), as well as concerns about losing others, fear of negative evaluation and rejection from others. Significant individual differences in the extent to which a person is willing or able to admit to these types of fears appear to be related to the “emotional training” received in childhood. For example, it is known that the emotional development of boys and girls differs.
The distinction I propose between the everyday concept of emotion and those phenomena that correspond to it has some interesting consequences. Sometimes what a person says about the presence/absence of a threat does not correspond to his behavior. One person may appear tense and distant but deny the presence of anxiety. Another may constantly worry about what might happen, but do nothing about it, and consider their worry pointless. A third may feel nauseous or have palpitations in really stressful situations, but deny that the situation is threatening or deny that they are feeling anxious. These examples highlight the complexity of anxiety problems. The discrepancy between verbal/cognitive expressions of “anxiety” and other behavioral and physiological manifestations of emotions, recognized by most researchers, is quite difficult to give a theoretical explanation. There are many factors that can be considered, but at this stage we will turn to describing the consequences that flow from the distinction between “naming the emotion” and “what is named.”