Definition of Phenomenological Theory
Phenomenology is defined as the study concerned with the structures of human consciousness in relation to the first person experience point of understanding and view. It is wise then to say then that phenomenology theory concentrated more on the subjective experiences realized. It focuses majorly on how individuals construct the meaning to the many things and occurrences around them. These occurrences can be identified to be from different spec of life over different classes of people and over different timeframes. This theory does not just look at one specific part but the entire life of an individual. It acknowledges the capacities of the subject as well as recognizes their limitations on a positive approach so as to maximize the resourceful knowledge of the subject traits to apply therapy which is custom made and well relevant. This therapy suggests to people to take up responsibility by addressing their emotional outcomes and facing the outcome right head on. It encourages one to view his or her life on a journey perspective instead of looking at it as a challenge.
A clear case to demonstrate this theory is someone losing their relative who is quite close to death. It is very well known that each person must go through death at some time. What people do not know is when or how it will happen. It is therefore easy to find a bereaved person getting too anxious about the life after that loved one is gone, or too accustomed to it to even care much about it hence developing a psychological issue often known as psychosis. Therefore, this particular theory seeks to find a middle ground between the awareness of loss of life and being too affected by it to function normally. It is imperative to maintain a positive attitude even in stressing situations as this may be a great sign on the journey to reducing the effect of the impact of the situation one is in. looking at the same example; death seems to encourage one towards the direction of purity and a positive life. This is achieved through the making the subject aware of death, something which encourages them to make wiser decisions and to choose wise over folly in readiness to the eventual event of death which normally cannot be predicted. This theory also suggests that the way that someone deals with the internal conflicts caused by activities and events in his or her life and the decisions that he or she make ends up in the forefront to the process of aligning the life that he or she will live in times to come and the way of dealing with future circumstances of weight to the mind.
This kind of therapy can be used to address a variety of dilemmas as well as preparing for any anticipated future situations in advance. Some traits like substance abuse, trauma or depression can be addressed though this therapy. Such cases among many others may come to being following an experience with, for example, military brutality, rape, abuse or violence. Such cases are normally too traumatic for basic counseling, and hence require a more specialized approach which would address the issue from the root of the problem. It connects well with the client and therefore this makes it easy to discover the problem and take on a step by step discovery process which leads to an eventual recovery. Once a patient has fully recovered, they realize and adopt a very positive perspective on life which normally lasts beyond the therapy process capacity and spreads into the future life of the patient.
There are several pillars that act as foundations to the theory which hold into place. These are the fundamentals that are normally observed by therapists to achieve results. They can also be known to be the set guidelines that give the therapist the focus points in the process of therapy. This however, varies from one client to another and is not restricted to go as a pack. One of the theories identified is the relational focus. This puts emphasis on creating some form of comparison between situations and the clients life, as well as the effect that the situation brings on to their emotional being. The therapist first needs to understand this so as to be able to work on the problem at hand. The focus has to be there of course but for it to be effective there is a definite call for the relation of issues in the patient’s case. For example, if the root issue to addressed in the session is death, the therapist will consider the current occurrence, which is death, the current effect, most probably stress and depression from the loss, as well as the expected turn of events in the patient’s emotional set up during, and after the therapy sessions. This assists in achieving a holistic approach which translating to finding a solution that is all rounded and touching on a broader range of areas all related to the core issue. A patient who has been well understood by the therapist feels closer to the therapist’s opinion and therefore tryst is built between the two. This in return puts a deep linkage, a bond and a clearer functional relationship required to uplift the client’s emotions to that of the therapist for them to have a two sided conversation. This open conversation leads to total disclosure of the client’s internal feelings. Once shared, these are instrumental in proposing a strategy best suited to fix the client.
Another pillar is the use of the client’s experiences as well as their emotions. A lot of emphasis is laid on these two factors as therapy basically majors on the understanding the emotion of the client. This is achieved by ensuring that the therapy paying a substantial amount of attention to the clients problems. To achieve this, each one of the clients experiences are assigned relevant attention and each lead points noted. The therapist then uses these points to respond to the client’s issues one at a time or by relating them to gain a broader understanding of the emotional strain reached. This pillar is scientifically formulate to cover a broader spec of ideas and therefore looks at almost all the experience the client is going though as long as they shares it to the therapist. A good example is a victim of military brutality who in this case happens to be a civilian lady. First the therapist will need to listen keenly as the client narrates the experience as it unfolded. In this moment, the therapist does not interrupt the client by unnecessary comments or gestures. It is paramount that he or se remains calm no matter how touching the narration gets. The client on the other hand is allowed a natural way of reaction. She car cry, shout, curse or yell while she narrates as this helps her echo her pain and emotion for the therapist to understand the level of hey emotional injury. Once the therapist has known all the experiences and established the extent of the client’s emotions, he or she formulates a therapy coursework to address it. This underlines the importance of the emphasis put on the client’s emotions as well as the narrated experiences. Eventually, the therapist helps the client in taking control of their emotions hence concentrating on the experiences. The experiences then are tackled one by one to come up with a neutral work plan towards recovery and wellness. It is a very important strategy because without taking control of the emotions, it would be very difficult to come in to terms with reality the find a lasting solution.
The third pillar is taking an approach that centers on meaning. The sense of acceptance, belonging and meaning of worthiness is very instrumental in helping the client adapt to the changes quickly and with minimal effect on their psychological health. Everyone has a need to be loved and acknowledged. The client focus shifts from the problems they are facing to the care they are being given and this is very important in working up his or her self esteem as well as ego. Once their esteem is psyched up, the client can now go on to face the experience they have had and go through it together with the therapist. This pillar suggests that a client benefits from a periodic shifting of emotions from stressed, sorrow, angry, afraid, anxious or worried to that of an assumption that all is well. This may not be the actual situation but actually helps neutralize the ground for the application of the actual therapy. Therapists who apply this concept always benefit from a very friendly environment as well as a seamless transfer of opinions and experiences between the two parties, that s between the client ant the therapist.
Each one of these given fundamental pillars helps in adaptation into different areas of change. They form a culture of flowing with the river without sinking in the waters. They simplify this form of therapy in many ways than discussed here, and their use advances to a very wide array of applications in the field of psychology and beyond. They assist both the client and therapist form a last relationship which is normally like to spread over and across the therapy period. The two parties benefit from the sessions despite it being viewed as a one way business. The therapist, in the process of trying to understand his o her client ends up knowing quite a lot of things about life. Some of these issues may reflect on an own or relevant experience and therefore leaves them both enriched.
Application of Phenomenological Theory
This theory is suitable for application in a wide range of fields of psychological nature. Its enrichment will different approaches and strategies delivery makes it fit for almost all areas of life. For instance, in the military, governments have spent a lot of money in coming up with a system of supporting soldiers who have had emotional breakdowns after or during war. The challenging schedules, seclusions from the rest of their publics and lack of basic needs at war cause a lot of soldiers to undergo serious psychological episodes. These episodes are normally not very pleasant lead to a lot of emotional challenges on the minds of the soldier. Loneliness, for example leads them to miss home, get anxious, hallucinate or develop fear. Therefore, this theory can fix this problem since the therapist is able to arrest the mind of the client by learning them and letting them relating the problem to the rest of their lives. Another area would be in orphaned children. These are very fragile members of the society. The need to be understood listened to and guided. This can only be achieved through the proper application of this therapy. In this way, they will experience a sense of normalcy leading to calmness to their lives. Victims of abuse as well can greatly benefit from the use of this therapy. This is because it tends to go deeper in understanding the experience, the reflecting before finding a recovery plan. This keen approach ensures that by the time the therapy sessions are over, the client has gone through the several phases of therapy fully maximizing the components of each. Here the gradual recovery is very effective. Another area is the correctional facilities. It can be of great important in instilling a behavioral change instinct to the inmate or to the inmates. This would help them to slowly change their attitudes in life t become more productive citizens. It can also be used in the family set up. For instance, in the case of a desolation of a family, the members of that family, that is the couples plus the children, if any, are recommended to take on this therapy as it will help the cope with the change of things. Individuals recovering from addiction can also benefit from this as well as people who just lost their job and do not have other sources of income. In a family setting, it ca as well apply in any other areas like in the case of death of a loved one, injury or conical illness. These are some of the main applications that can rely on the phenomenological theory of therapy.
This is one of the best approaches to therapy to date. The reason is that it does not only provide a way of changing attitudes, but also looks deeper into a clients life, picks important characters that the client may not be conscious of at the time of beginning the therapy. It also passes off as an important tool in psychology since it helps in enriching not only the client but also the therapist. It provides a lasting solution and this remains an outstanding factor. Its wide range in application is another factor that puts it at and advantages and hence preferable. However there have been concerns about clients who have undergone through it being over dependent on therapy since it provides a wholesome experience. This has been seen by some as a major disadvantage. On general, this is a very positive theory and has proven that besides the little criticism, it is very effective in areas that have embraced it for application. A general opinion would be considered to be that this therapy should be recommended for deeper cases since its effectiveness is most required there.
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