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Donnerstag, 17. Juni 2021
Similar representations of self and other in the brain
ahc, 10:26h
"[I]t is interesting to note that our ability to represent our own thoughts and represent another's thoughts are intimately tied together and may have similar origins within the brain. The fact that there seems to be a partial overlap between self-processing and processing of others fits well with the old adage of 'putting ourselves in another person's shoes?." (p. 532)
Decety, J., & Sommerville, J. A. (2003). Shared representations between self and other: A social cognitive neuroscience view. TRENDS in Cognitive Sciences, 7 (12), 527-533. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2003.10.004
Decety, J., & Sommerville, J. A. (2003). Shared representations between self and other: A social cognitive neuroscience view. TRENDS in Cognitive Sciences, 7 (12), 527-533. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2003.10.004
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Mittwoch, 10. März 2021
How our consciousness constantly changes
ahc, 09:48h
"As you embark on this journey [of understanding consciousness, ahc], be kind to yourself. Be aware of the self-limiting beliefs that we allow to weigh us down and rebuke them daily. You are not the sum of your past, and you are certainly not stuck in the state of consciousness that you now live. If there is one thing that we do know about consciousness, it is that it is constantly changing. Perhaps it is this fluidity that has caused our great challenges, as a species, in pinning it down, but it is definitely this changeable nature that we should celebrate. If our consciousness today does not have to be the same tomorrow as it is today, then the possibilities are endless.The most likely scenario, looking at all of the various theories, philosophies, and schools of thought around consciousness, is that the truth about consciousness lies in an amalgamation of all of these things. How we piece together those answers may not be a group journey, but rather an individual one. Although our consciousness may be linked as a species, it is certainly still very individual and based on our own experiences, lenses, and biases. Therefore one perception of consciousness will never be the same as another, and, indeed, would we want it to be? Perhaps we don't need a final definition for consciousness? Maybe its definition is its changeable nature. The idea that we all see life through our own lenses is a very empowering one, because that means that you can change those lenses. Like a kaleidoscope, you can switch the lens and change your view."
From the conclusion of:
Browne, J. (2020). Understanding the human mind. The pursuit of consciousness. Jason Brown.
From the conclusion of:
Browne, J. (2020). Understanding the human mind. The pursuit of consciousness. Jason Brown.
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Freitag, 5. Februar 2021
Do we become better therapists the more clients we see?
ahc, 10:20h
[first entry after Corona-break]
...and what makes a good therapist anyway?
In German probably most people know the saying “Practice creates the master.” While the general idea of this saying immediately feels correct, upon closer look we probably have to admit that only correct practice makes perfect. In their editorial work “The cycle of excellence” Rousmaniere, Goodyear, Miller, and Wampold (2017) hang on these questions and provide ideas on how to improve one’s skills as psychotherapists.
They create the concept “deliberate practice” to explain the phenomenon that most therapists will stay on one level of expertise throughout their careers – it seems that only those therapists with routine work experience will become better and better experts who also engage in sufficiently many hours of deliberate practice – actually 4,5 times more hours than less effective therapists (p. 9). We also learn that, in the US system, graduate students are highly motivated to learn how to become therapists, but that after they enter independent practice with some level of competence they only develop their curiosity very diffusely and find deliberate practice (e.g. in form of ongoing supervision, additional training of specific missing skills, and self-tracking of performance) not only challenging but also much less pleasant than graduate school (p. 13). In the literature, extremely highly-achieving therapists, however, showed “perseverance and passion for long-term goals” (Duckworth et al. as cited in Rousmaniere et al. 2017, p 13).
So what makes a good therapist? Or, asked in a more research-oriented way that is: Which therapist variables predict psychotherapy effectiveness?
The list of characteristics and actions of effective therapists is long: the ability to form an alliance across a range of patients, facilitative interpersonal skills visible with “difficult” clients are most prominent. But what does “facilitative interpersonal skills” mean? Besides the classics, warmth and empathy, emotional expression, hopefulness, problem focus and alliance-bond capacity, we find the interesting elements persuasiveness, delivery of a cogent treatment, professional self-doubt and deliberate practice (Wampold in Rousmaniere et al., pp. 56ff). That means, those therapists have better outcomes who are persuasive about their treatment modality (and thereby also convinced of it), who stay focused, and who still keep a certain level of self-doubt whether what they do is beneficial. The theoretical orientation per se is, however, unrelated to outcome (as are age, gender, profession, adherence to treatment protocol, and other elements).
This is not the place to summarize all recommendations of this intriguing book, but to answer the questions posed above based on its main ideas: no, more client hours do not make us better therapists per se. Fore and foremost we are to find the orientation that makes us passionate and convinced of what we do, to stay curious about other modalities, and to engage in career-long professional development (deliberate practice) which we should also model to our students. And while deliberate practice does not make perfect, it brings us closer to our goal of serving our clients the best we can. At present, this is the best available option a therapist can choose.
Rousmaniere, T., Goodyear, R. K., Miller, S. D., & Wampold, B. E. (Eds.) (2017). The cycle of excellence. Wiley Blackwell.
...and what makes a good therapist anyway?
In German probably most people know the saying “Practice creates the master.” While the general idea of this saying immediately feels correct, upon closer look we probably have to admit that only correct practice makes perfect. In their editorial work “The cycle of excellence” Rousmaniere, Goodyear, Miller, and Wampold (2017) hang on these questions and provide ideas on how to improve one’s skills as psychotherapists.
They create the concept “deliberate practice” to explain the phenomenon that most therapists will stay on one level of expertise throughout their careers – it seems that only those therapists with routine work experience will become better and better experts who also engage in sufficiently many hours of deliberate practice – actually 4,5 times more hours than less effective therapists (p. 9). We also learn that, in the US system, graduate students are highly motivated to learn how to become therapists, but that after they enter independent practice with some level of competence they only develop their curiosity very diffusely and find deliberate practice (e.g. in form of ongoing supervision, additional training of specific missing skills, and self-tracking of performance) not only challenging but also much less pleasant than graduate school (p. 13). In the literature, extremely highly-achieving therapists, however, showed “perseverance and passion for long-term goals” (Duckworth et al. as cited in Rousmaniere et al. 2017, p 13).
So what makes a good therapist? Or, asked in a more research-oriented way that is: Which therapist variables predict psychotherapy effectiveness?
The list of characteristics and actions of effective therapists is long: the ability to form an alliance across a range of patients, facilitative interpersonal skills visible with “difficult” clients are most prominent. But what does “facilitative interpersonal skills” mean? Besides the classics, warmth and empathy, emotional expression, hopefulness, problem focus and alliance-bond capacity, we find the interesting elements persuasiveness, delivery of a cogent treatment, professional self-doubt and deliberate practice (Wampold in Rousmaniere et al., pp. 56ff). That means, those therapists have better outcomes who are persuasive about their treatment modality (and thereby also convinced of it), who stay focused, and who still keep a certain level of self-doubt whether what they do is beneficial. The theoretical orientation per se is, however, unrelated to outcome (as are age, gender, profession, adherence to treatment protocol, and other elements).
This is not the place to summarize all recommendations of this intriguing book, but to answer the questions posed above based on its main ideas: no, more client hours do not make us better therapists per se. Fore and foremost we are to find the orientation that makes us passionate and convinced of what we do, to stay curious about other modalities, and to engage in career-long professional development (deliberate practice) which we should also model to our students. And while deliberate practice does not make perfect, it brings us closer to our goal of serving our clients the best we can. At present, this is the best available option a therapist can choose.
Rousmaniere, T., Goodyear, R. K., Miller, S. D., & Wampold, B. E. (Eds.) (2017). The cycle of excellence. Wiley Blackwell.
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