What's the Difference Between Therapy and Personal Growth? -Frank DeDominicis/January 26,
2014
Coaching isn't a substitute for
counseling but both may augment each other.
Counseling provides coping skills. Coaching provides thriving, self-actualization
skills. For the right individual a
combination of both approaches may work well.
From the medical community first
came the deficiency model of health illustrated by the discovery of the source
of scurvy proving to be merely a vitamin C deficiency. Many psychotherapists and psychiatrists tend
to use the medical model of human
health. Therapy provides awareness and
definition of core problems, or "deficiencies' and provides apropos coping
skills, with the responsibility for change and growth resting on the
practitioner, the helper, not the patient.
The medical model of health
acknowledges that for those repairing from losses, therapy or "talking"
counseling may help the 'deficient' patient acquire coping skills. However, the educational model is often
preferred by those whose lifestyles are positively proactive and who tend to invest
in lifelong learning and experiencing new things. A recent mental health study reveals that a
blend of medical (counseling) and educational (coaching) approaches is
preferred by and works well for some individuals, but not for everybody.
In the 70's the medical community
spawned biofeedback, proof of self-regulation.
The physiological evidence served as a no-brainer metaphor for simultaneous
and interdependent processes: the rewiring of neuronal pathways affected by
self-regulation. Significant frontal
lobe rewired personality changes are observed in the adolescent brain as it
deletes old, minimally used applications and reinforces new behaviors and their
associated attitudes, especially during what Dr. Michael Bradley refers to in
his book Yes! Your Teen is Crazy as "the four years of hell."
"Epigenetics" is the
buzzword for adjusting the brain's hard-wiring and consequential behavior
patterns. Behavior and rewiring are simultaneously cause and effect of each
other. Behavioral psychology studies show that significant, positive peak
experiences can change us at depth, at a gut level that transforms core values. Hence, I urge others to create guilt-free "eustressors"
in their life, powerfully positive events, in part to offset negative
events. Biochemically five positive
events are required to offset one negative event and balance one's amygdala chemistry. The amygdala is like your computer processor
which instructs your frontal lobe hard drive.
Martial arts teaches that breath
calms oneself, conserves and focuses energy.
The superior warrior is not upset but instead calmly executing an
intentional strategy which relies upon forcing the opponent to respond to
explosive and often extremely accurate acts of aggression, provoking and using
the opponent's energy, as it were; ultimately forcing compliance.
It's no small wonder that personal
change processes involve deep relaxation processes such as guided meditation,
breathwork, yoga, mindfulness and other holistic modalities. Through
self-regulation, a concept espoused by military theorist and general Sun Tzu in
440 BC, one can change oneself; i.e., can choose the best attitudes and
enforced behaviors for responding to specific challenges for optimal results. Sun Tzu cautioned soldiers to imprint into
their memories the fact that "the
difference between the defeated warrior and the victorious warrior is that the
defeated warrior goes to battle and tries to win. The victorious warrior wins
first, then goes to battle."
United States Army Captain
Timothy A. Boone at Fort Ord, California, a leadership development laboratory
facilitator and organization consultant, has taught personal growth skills which
equipped United States Navy Seal Team 6 to maintain mental calmness and focus while
executing precarious, "surgical" missions in Kenya and Iraq. Personal growth processes and real transformation
are aimed at self-actualization, not at relieving or resolving past issues and
pain.
Remember too that human nature's
six common fears and complaining are self-reinforcing (potentially, and not
immediately obvious, locked into a vicious cycle of negative self-talk and low
or no positive expectations). Do you
know anybody who lives down to the expectations of others or, even worse, down
to their own bad expectations?
The educational model of health is
ancient and based on the premise that the locus of personal responsibility lies
ultimately and totally with the individual for
their own life, a position favored by Will Schutz and Fritz Perls. The humanistic personal growth leader does
not "do something" to the client but merely makes available
generally accepted best practices and processes which guide individuals
through experiential, affective learning experiences; and encourages interdisciplinary
exploration and noncritical experimentation with one's values, attitudes and
personal codes.
Many psychotherapists employ the "personal
strengths" focused wellness model of health as well as personal growth facilitators. So what really is the difference between
psychotherapy and personal growth?
Remember, it lies within the definition of the locus of control and
responsibility for change. Catherine Ponder, in the closing chapter of her book The
Dynamic Laws of Healing, suggests that the activator for positive healing
is accepting one's sense of personal responsibility in the right spirit.
*(FD&A
services offered are not for everyone. If you seek treatment, call a
therapist. If transformation you desire,
contact me for a private, confidential, personal needs assessment dialogue.)
