Theoretical Orientation Paper
Part I: My Worldview
Most human beings choose to adopt a worldview that is already mapped out using religious guidelines. Other individuals, like myself, determine most of their worldview on the experiences that are gained through life. It is intricate to isolate the specific influences that have shaped my worldview. Still, there are those who have the most significant impact on my worldview, including my family, friends, and personal experiences.
My family has had the most apparent influence on my worldview. Specifically, my parents instilled in me numerous values and beliefs that they live their life by. In the many years that I shared with my parents, they taught me uncountable life lessons, the most influential being that experiences and relationships are what shapes the life of an individual. As I grew up, my family relations grew stronger, more outward, appreciated, and cherished. My parents traveled a lot for business and established relationships with people from diverse cultures and from all walks of life. They cultivated in me an attitude of compassion and acceptance towards others.
As a full-grown adult, I have utilized these attitudes when dealing with people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Looking back on my childhood life, the memories that I remember best are the ones in which I was introduced to the amazing sceneries around the world. My parents took me to various excursions trekking through rainforests and scuba diving the breathtaking coral reefs. Since I moved away from my parents’ care, I have managed to sustain the traveling habit, which has helped me gain valuable experiences. It is as a result of extensive exposures to these experiences, coupled with an appreciation of the significance of relationships in my life that I am grateful for the worldview that my parents have cultivated in me.
My parents were among people who questioned the intentions and goals of religion. They lived their lives, believing that love was their religion. Therefore, they always focused their full attention on loving family and friends rather than spending time in worship of a being that was hard to prove its existence. Religion is a major determinant of most people’s worldviews. I was brought up agnostic, and I have a different view on life and the origin of human beings. Being agnostic, I am not sure of the existence of God, but I am not in total denial of his existence.
I believe in science and what it can substantiate. I am highly skeptical and desire significant evidence of all entities. I would prefer to consider the existence of a divine essence conveying personal purpose in the world, but it is hard to ascertain such information. I derive pleasure from working hard and doing good deeds. I normally work very hard to achieve my life goals and become successful. I just want to a good person, and I hope to make a positive impact on humanity.
The community I grew up, and my friends had a significant impact on defining my worldview. Living in my hometown community, I realized that people have a huge deal of acceptance and respect towards others. My community is a mixture of many races, and this is what makes it unique since there are no conflicts, and the community thrives as a society that is made up of people from diverse cultural backgrounds. This is something that has influenced my worldview, and I am appreciative of it. My friends and I take pride in being from different racial, cultural, and religious backgrounds. These friends have a huge impact on my worldview. This is why I always stress the significance of relationships in my life. Without these friends, my life would not have the same meaning and purpose.
Part II: My Primary Theoretical Orientation
My primary theoretical orientation is founded on the behaviorism. This theory best fits me because this model exploits the learning theory developed by Skinner and Watson and the Behaviorism school (Marrero et al., 2016). This theory is founded on the idea that all human behaviors are learned through conditioning (Chaves et al., 2017). It positions that the principles in learning, including the operant and associative conditioning, are an effective approach to realizing change in a person. In general, the plunge of this theoretical perspective is centered on the symptoms that an individual is experiencing. Just as most of the faults of the behavior patterns are products of learning from the environment, it is also presumed that a person can be able to unlearn some of these behaviors using learning principles techniques. To some extent, I suppose this works: reinforcements are applicable in some cases, and in some people hence I am integrating this stance separate from the cognitive-behavioral approach. In behavior therapy, feelings, and thoughts, as well as all the malfunctions and undesirable manifestations revealed in a person’s undertakings, can be unlearned through working with a behavior therapist. The fundamental concepts entail extinguishing, which is employed when maladaptive patterns are to be removed or weakened and replaced by habits that are considered healthy through successive approximations (Carter et al., 2020).
When these considerations are strengthened, such as through rewards extrinsic or intrinsic rewards, the prospects of a more steady and secure change in behavior is initiated and decisively established (Marrero et al., 2016). Although very few psychologists currently consider themselves as firm behaviorists, behaviorism has played a major role in the development of modern psychology. However, there exist diverse emphases within the behavioral discipline. Some behaviorists contend that the scrutiny of a behavior is the most effective method of exploring cognitive and psychological processes. Others argue that it is the only approach that can be utilized in examining such processes. In contrast, others claim that behavior is the only fitting psychological subject, and common psychological terms such as belief are a form of implicit behavior. The social-cognitive approach, as instituted by Albert Bandura’s, is a product of this movement (Geschwind et al., 2019). Bandura’s approach gives cognitive processes preferences over observable behavior, focusing on both the influence on an individual’s upbringing and the thought process (Carter et al., 2020).
Another theory that informs my theoretical orientation is cognitive-behavioral therapy. Primarily postulated by Ellis and Beck (Chaves et al., 2017), this theory promotes a collaborative association between a therapist and a patient. With the notion that the patient and the therapist together cooperate to realize a trusting connection and establish which issues or problems need to be prioritized during therapy. For cognitive-behavioral therapists, the presenting and immediate problem that a patient is facing takes precedence and must be handled and focused on during the treatment. Consequently, this approach results in immediate relief of a patient’s symptoms, and hence the patient is encouraged to seek in-depth treatment where possible. The relief of the symptoms that emanate from the primary issue or problem has been found to inspire the patient to believe that change is possible. In this model, problems and issues are handled directly in a more practical manner.
In the cognitive approach, the counselor understands that a patient enters the healing relationship, and the role of the therapist is to modify or change the patient’s maladjusted thinking patterns (Marrero et al., 2016). These maladjustments may include unrealistic expectations, wishful thinking, the constant reliving of the past, and over energizing. These adjustments result in frustrations and ultimate disappointments. This therapeutic approach accentuates or stresses the logical or rational and positive worldview where humans are viewed as problem solvers. This approach also considers the fact that since people have no options, numerous things await an individual who has made bad decisions in the past and can, therefore, view the future positively. Further, the cognitive-behavioral model recognizes the idea of insight as well, which is positioned as the only concept of focus or emphasis. In behavioral and cognitive-behavioral therapies, the focus is always centered on the modification of behavior where insights are usually a tangential advantage.
Part III: Why I Chose the Behaviorism Theory
I considered the behaviorism theory as my fundamental theoretical orientation since I aim to be a therapist whose practice is categorized as collaborative and empowering. Through empowering, I will be in a position to comprehend the limitations of my role. Therefore I will be compelled to impact my best efforts and knowledge to facilitate my client in the process of understanding him/herself and direct the therapeutic process to a point where the client is able to stand on his/her own without the support of a therapist. Moreover, this theoretical orientation implies that I am able to recognize my client as an individual who is both complex and saturated with nature can grow, mature, and heal inherently.
Consequently, this theoretical orientation will enable me to contribute to the process and my attitudes towards the entire duration of the therapeutic relationship is an essential aspect of attaining my objectives. As a therapist, I can, therefore, be in a position to remove all the existing obstructions or barriers to the realization of the goals, especially if the barriers emerge from me as a therapist. Through being collaborative and understanding the existence of limitations on my capabilities, I appreciate the availability and capability of others in areas that I find challenging and that working with open-minded individuals will afford my clients more effective options and give him/her the comprehensive and best interventions that are available at the time of therapy.
A therapeutic process that is beneficial to a client must go beyond my established approach and preferences of diagnosis as well as treatment. It should not only be progressive but also pursue to enhance the initial strategies which had been established and expand oneself continually through researching and learning. I believe the behavioral theoretical orientation affords me that freedom due to its ability to support numerous other psychological approaches. In particular, through considering a collaborative approach, the client becomes the most significant collaborator, and this notion needs to be sustained throughout the therapeutic process (Geschwind et al., 2019).
I have always been a person who is interested in going beyond my limits when attempting to help others, as I consider this the most important aspect of humanity as a whole. This can be attained by the flexibility afforded under the behavioral approach. According to research, the effectiveness of a therapeutic process is significantly dependent on the cooperation by the patient and the therapist’s expertise. Numerous experts within the field of psychology appreciate the contribution of a client in the success of the entire therapeutic process (Carter et al., 2020). The therapist’s considerations are essential to the resultant treatment. Devoid of the essential preliminary positive perception of the therapist by the client, the entire therapeutic process will fail to attain the desired momentum that is necessary for setting the entire schema in a premeditated stance. Consequently, understanding how behavior influences all these attributes are key to a successful therapeutic process.
The goal of a therapist is not limited to the relief of the client. Even though an immediate relief has been found to be beneficial, this is not the case in most therapeutic issues. As a therapist, my goal is to provide a sustained reduction of the symptoms and the manifestation of a problem if possible. Specifically, the client must demonstrate a desire to heal or rather believe in the curative effects of the entire therapeutic process. This presupposes that the client is expected to learn how to trust the counselor’s capabilities as well as in facilitating the modifications or changes. The client needs to understand ownership of the choices and deeds in the thought processes he/she developed are responsible for the emergence and occurrence of the problem or issue he/she is experiencing (Chaves et al., 2017). Furthermore, the determination of the specific interventions and treatments according to the diagnosed problem needs to be accommodated and executed based on the selected modalities of treatment that align with the adopted therapeutic approach (Geschwind et al., 2019). This can be a single modality founded on a single approach such as desensitization and learning for a client with specific phobias or a combination of numerous modalities, including Rogerian, CBT, and family systems. All these attributes are acceptable and applicable within the behaviorist paradigm.
In conclusion, a successful therapeutic process is a reflection of the life of a client. The client is expected to reflect on their life and understand their significance, and why they are in the situation, they are facing. Through family background, community connections, friends influence, and insights from past experiences, my worldview has been shaped me to a person who does not believe in problems with supernatural origins. Every issue that a person faces can be traced back to a specific behavioral pattern that was acquired through life interactions. Therefore, as a therapist with the behavioral theory as a foundational paradigm, I can be able to effectively bring my beliefs and values in establishing effective and successful therapeutic experiences and relationships that will positively alter the client’s life.
References
Carter, J. C., Kenny, T. E., Singleton, C., Van Wijk, M., & Heath, O. (2020). Dialectical behavior therapy self‐help for binge‐eating disorder: A randomized controlled study. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 53(3), 451-460
Chaves, C., Lopez-Gomez, I., Hervas, G., & Vazquez, C. (2017). A comparative study on the efficacy of a positive psychology intervention and a cognitive behavioral therapy for clinical depression. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 41(3), 417-433.
Geschwind, N., Arntz, A., Bannink, F., & Peeters, F. (2019). Positive cognitive behavior therapy in the treatment of depression: A randomized order within-subject comparison with traditional cognitive behavior therapy. Behaviour research and therapy, 116, 119-130.
Marrero, R. J., Carballeira, M., Martín, S., Mejias, M., & Hernandez, J. A. (2016). Effectiveness of a positive psychology intervention combined with cognitive behavioral therapy in university students. anales de psicología, 32(3), 728-740.