Please be sure to ask questions and comment on your Anna and Monique responses, and respond to their questions and comments regarding your own response

Anna Cox

What are your basic assumptions about human nature?

My basic assumption about human nature is that even though none of us are perfect, we all strive for our own idea of perfection. By working too much towards how we think we should be it can cause stress, anxiety, depression and other mental health issues and often these are the root cause of them. Humans are beautifully imperfect and while, yes, oftentimes we all have behaviors to be altered, we need to embrace ourselves with love and kindness. It is easy to give someone else our love, patience and kindness, but if we turn that inward we can be the best version of ourselves, perfect or not.

Which approach to therapy is closest to your beliefs about human nature?

The therapy that is closest to my beliefs about human nature is existential therapy. “Existential therapy focuses on exploring themes such as mortality, meaning, freedom, responsibility, anxiety, and aloneness as these relate to a person’s current struggle.” (Corey, 2013). Existential therapy looks at the bigger picture of humanity and encourages celebration and appreciation of our successes rather than focusing on downfalls.

In what ways do you believe that your basic assumptions might determine the procedures that you would use when working with clients?

My basic assumptions will help me to focus on the good in my clients and not the negative that they themselves may focus on. It will give me a better understanding of why people feel their own shortcomings and how to show them that there is good and valuable qualities in everyone.

Monique post

When you look into the mirror, you are checking how you appear, and how you feel and whether it matches. Human nature is the sum of our whole species looking in the mirror. Human nature includes 3 core characteristics shared by all individuals; feelings, behaviors, and psychology. Our experiences with humans are different. Some view humans as good or bad or capable of great kindness. These views can be clouded by what our culture tells us and by people’s influences in our lives. In western cultures, our discussions usually begin with classical Greece; Aristotle and Plato (Claudia, 2021).

My basic assumptions about human nature is that we can survive from our past and that humans are generally kind creatures and extremely resilient. I believe that humans construct their reality. They do not have to be destined to a certain life based solely on their past circumstances. We have the ability to overcome mountains of challenges with proper thinking and behaviors. We are responsible creatures for our choices and can therefore change and become something. I am proof of these assumptions. My teenage years were so bad that I lost my identity and lacked the proper social developments that most teens have. According to Corey, (2013), Adler believes that humans are motivated primarily by social relatedness and want to belong. Although I still carry subtle wounds, I have never let them determine who I am and who I would become. I am always working on social anxiety though but in my beliefs it does not determine or label me. I was happily married for 20 years, have a beautiful daughter and a warm social circle. Unfortunately, after being divorced a few years back, awful things kept happening to me before I could catch my breath from the last episode. Experiencing depression, I rarely said “I am depressed”. I would say that I am experiencing depression right now. I was not depression. After 6 months of these episodes I sought mental health services and we would work with CBT. Looking at the reality of my life saddened me. Experiencing depression, single, and not doing anything meaningful, I pulled myself up and enrolled at SNHU still seek therapy, and at 56 I will become a therapist. It’s never too late to become!

I resonate with the Adlerian way of thought. He stressed a positive view of human nature and believed individuals can control their fate. It can be done by understanding and analyzing their lifestyles. He emphasized that where we are striving to go is more important than where we have come from. Adler was a big believer also that people move toward self goals. “The life of a human soul is not ‘being’ but ‘becoming.'” Understanding the causes of behavior is not as important as understanding the goal to which a person is directed (Corey, 2013).

The following approaches are ways I believe that my basic assumptions might determine the procedure I would use when working with clients. If I had a client labeling themselves based on past experiences, I would have them use mindful techniques to change their thought pattern and separate themselves from their problem. They are not their problem but just experiencing one/some. Goal setting would be a priority depending on their issues and offering the thought that humans can control their fate for the most part with their decisions and behaviors. I would keep the mood positive and be a very assertive listener to help build the client’s confidence. Creating a collaborative environment, together the client and I would create homework assignments for realistic goals to accomplish between sessions. Adler promotes the idea that the therapist and the client are equal partners in a mutually respectful therapeutic alliance (Corey, 2013).

Respond to Kiley and Jacob. Work to expand the discussion by contributing unique, relevant content (personal/professional experiences or examples) or by expanding and adding depth to the thoughts and ideas shared by your peers (presenting different strategies in the book, or new ideas and thoughts, or similar personal/professional experiences to connect with).

Kiley post

In week 1 I wrote about bringing my best self to the classroom by planning, preparing, asking for help and setting aside the appropriate time needed to succeed. After these last few I still agree with what I wrote but I have so much to add to it now. Using effective time management has been a huge help in my daily life. Using the calendars, weekly schedules and daily to-do lists help me to be organized and not forget important appointments or much needed time for self-care. I am not a very good writer and often times I get stuck. Remembering the tools I have been taught in this class in going to greatly help in my success. Taking breaks, making list of alternate possibilities, free writing, and all the note taking suggestions will all be implemented in future work. I can see how this course will help me with future classes. I will be a better note taker, a better reader and better overall because I know I have the grit to get through anything.

At first I was extremely intimidated by this course, but getting through it with such a high grade has given me such high self-esteem. I struggled around week  with the final project but I was able to show my true self by digging in and putting in some extra work, showing my grit, and was able to turn it around. Next time I am in a similar situation I will know not to beat myself up like I did during this class but instead just get right into turning it around.

Greg Fowler said “When I look back over the day, have I treated people the way I want to be treated?” Every night I look back over my day and look to see if there is any part I could have done better. Could I have been nicer to someone? Could I have been more patient, more loving, and more generous? I try every day to be a little bit better of a person than the person I was the day before. I believe as long as I strive for that daily then I am always headed in the right direction. I know I will never be perfect, nor do I want to be, but I think if everyone was a little nicer everyday what a wonderful world this could really be.

Jacob post

Knowing when to seek help and where to find it.  Most of the time (as per stated previously) I am completely self reliant and resist the urge to ask for help even when I really need it.  Part of this was because I wasn’t sure where I could find it when I needed it most, the larger part was because I’m overly independent.  Taking advantage of the tools and resources provided does not make one less of themselves, by knowing our own shortcomings we can set ourselves up for the best chances at success.  Life isn’t about making your struggles harder for yourself to overcome, it’s about successfully overcoming them as your best self.

One of the challenges I had this term was time management.  I feel I did alright using the way I have (take it as it comes mentality) but also found that planning ahead more specific times really benefited me.  Being able to schedule my week and writing down due dates really helps with not keeping everything in my memory, and allows me to focus better on what’s at hand.  This was one strategy I honestly put down when I first came across this term, but upon using it found that it will be critical to my success in the future.

What stood out to me most in the video was when Greg Fowler talked about knowing why you work and keeping those reasons front and center. In all of our lives we come to points where we encounter enough stress or obstacles to question whether they are worth it. Keeping the reasons why in our mind and reflecting on them often will help us persevere in the long run and put doubt out of our mind. Confidence is key to success, and I feel without directly saying this Greg Fowler made a strong and valid point.

RESPOND TO ANTOINETTE AND MEGAN POST BE CONSTRUCTIVE AND PROFESSIONAL.

Antoinette post

When I encounter information through mass media venues I rely on word usage to evaluate whether the source is using opinon over reliable, valid, and factualy content. If the slightest word suggests an opinion like: using the words “i feel” or “it was tragic” can also be used out of context. Another way to process information thrown to the people through mass media is to either research the writer or compare to other stories being written about the same topic. It is known that there are three sides of a story (left, right, and center) meaning that there is only one truth, and the possibility of hearing the entire truth is near impossible. My personal opinion, I do not rely on mass media often to be informed of current events. It has been a long decade where a huge amount of messages given to the public have been sworn as false information — which generally makes me paranoid even more.

A time where I realized information from a mass media venue declared themselves falisifying information was during the debate of 2020. This experience as an American made voting extrememly difficult. One news broadcaster supported the words of one candidate while another would twist the words entirely to create a story that never happened or was said to begin with. These media sources would cut out words just to make their point — which is creating more negativity than generating positive outcomes.

Class,

When it comes to media, do you find that it is based on ratings over delivering truth to the people? Thoughts.

Megan post

When I inquire about information, I first evaluate the source of my info. Is it credible how accurate has this source been with past information what has the quality of the info been like? I check the authority, currency, and timeliness is it objective or bias who is the intended audience for this information. I look for answers to my questions when reading crosscheck the information. I check to see if the info is up to date, doses the purpose of the site, media, or info, meets my needs.

Where I’m from we have a local news page on Facebook I’m sure just like every other small city has. Whenever something going on in the city someone is there taking pics or making a video trying to inform the neighborhood and keep the people up to date. But you can’t always trust what people are posting sometime it’s the same people over and over just throwing out an opinion instead of giving out facts.