Been reading this book (title above, edited by Mary Brownescombe Heller and Sheena Pollet) that according to the back cover “provides a comprehensive insight into the ways in which psychoanalysts think and work.”
Here are some thoughts on the concept of “containment,” as illustrated through the lens of parent-infant relationship.
"CONTAINMENT"
THE THEORY (described by Bion, 1962, paraphrased here):
-Baby depends on mother to manage said baby’s “unbearable experience” which baby can convey to her w/o words (through gestures, etc).
-Baby disposes this unbearable or unmanageable experience (labeled a beta element) to mother by projecting it on her
-Mother takes in this unmanageable experience, reflects on it (reverie), then returns this to the child in the form of a modified, more bearable experience (alpha element). Returning the reflected-on beta element, for the mother, is performing her alpha function.
-Alpha elements can be used for thinking, so the baby can then think a rudimentary thought.
-The whole process is containment. Bion considered it a “crucial factor in the infant’s developing the capacity to manage his own experience and to think.”
COMMON SENSE TRANSLATION (in case you didnt get it the first time around)
-Baby conveys difficult emotions through gestures, aura, crude baby-like sounds, etc.
(Poor) tennis analogy: On the ad-side, baby hits a mean kick serve to mother’s backhand.
-Mother processes the baby’s harsh emotions with her motherly wisdom, and returns a gentler more manageable response to the baby, again via gestures, aura, subtle facial expressions, etc.
With Agassi-like prowess, mother steps inside the baseline, takes the kick serve early with a compact backhand, almost no backswing, and remarkable reaction time. Unlike Agassi, she feathers this return to baby’s forehand, right in his comfort zone.
-Baby thinks, and therefore learns to deal with life, from mother’s returned (modified) response.
Baby drills a forehand winner down the line. He wins – at tennis, and at life, which tennis is supposedly a great representation of. He learns to think, on the court and off.
REAL-WORLD IMPLICATIONS
I believe we should be able to use this process of “containment” to develop the depressed person’s capacity to manage his own experience differently.
Sure, a college-student’s mind may not have the same level of plasticity as an infant’s, but I’d say we’re at an even more influenceable stage of life – perhaps even the most influenceable age. At least in terms of higher-level decision-making and cognitive choices (combined with the opportunity to explore), there’s no time like now for change.
And make no mistake, it’s entirely possible for someone, even with the severest depression and the most stubborn/unwilling personality, to change the way he manages his experiences.
Two people might experience the same or a similar experience. Due to personal factors/worldview/innate character traits, one might react positively (manage the experience well), and the other might react negatively (manage the experience poorly).
Is the second person doomed to forever poorly manage his experiences? Hell no. It’s never late to change, even (and perhaps especially) for someone of college age. I know because I did it. It's hard work, but it’s entirely possible.
THE QUESTION IS, HOW?
To what extent is talking useful? How about taking action (for instance, by embracing one's passions in the effort to develop a sense of self-worth)? Does action really have to be premeditated for a specific consequence in order for beneficial changes to take place? Etc.
I'll definitely have these kinds of questions in mind as we look to start the pilot program for our social venture.
Keep reading as I keep reading, and as I retrospect and extrapolate from my own life to try to figure out how to codify the process as much as possible.
The important thing is to turn all this theory into something:
1 Actionable
2 Scalable
Our venture will have limited impact unless we can find a way to do this.
Anyone have any ideas?
-David
Showing posts with label Therapy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Therapy. Show all posts
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
On Therapy – Intro (It’s all about the people)
When I think about some of the enormous challenges facing the world today, I realize that I firmly believe the solutions for many of these challenges lay right before us, out in the open, absolutely within reach. (Forgive my youthful idealism)
I believe that for many of these challenges, we don’t necessarily need high technology or extreme sophistication.
Off the top of my head, depression (slated to become the world’s 2nd leading disease burden by 2020) and education (it’s pretty much universally accepted we’re in deep trouble) both immediately strike me as crucial areas where advanced science and technology serve a tangential purpose. (Blasphemy, eh?)
Sure, they help, sometimes in revolutionary ways (The internet rocks, man), and sure they’re impressive (Drugs that can correct the chemical imbalances in your brain? Dayummn…). But at a certain point a device is just a device. (Shoutout to Steven and Raphael for our conversation last night that brought some of this stuff to mind)
It’s really all about the people, when you think about it. Of all our resources, human capital is the most undertapped, and holds the most promise.
There’s no question in my mind – what we need most urgently to do is to bring out the best in people. After all, we are the jumping off point for everything else.
To do this, we need to lend wings to the fearlessly creative people who will innovate, and to the relentlessly determined people who will implement.
And innovation often just means throwing together “old” pieces of the puzzle in fresh combinations, and watching magic happen. (Ex – the shipping container is just a box, it’s one of the most important inventions of all time. See here: http://www.gizmag.com/go/5716/)
In the past, I have been critical of therapy as a long-term solution to depression (not that I’m in any credible position to judge, but still, that was my opinion). But the more and more I read about it, the more and more I think therapy holds enormous potential.
I’ve come to realize that my problem with therapy lies not in the theory, but in the implementation. A lot of this has to do with the negative experiences I’ve had with it. At some point, I may share some of these stories with you, so you know where I’m coming from.
The fact is, my world is narrow – I’m young.
As I explore the out-of-the-box alternatives that I think might hold great potential for helping people overcome depression, and as I imagine the day my team and I launch the pilot program for our social venture, I can’t help but think about some of the older, more experienced, more credentialed, more legit professionals who probably will look down on me with utter disdain.
What gives me - a "nobody" - the right to assume such responsibilities?
My response is one that I come back to time and time again:
"To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men – that is genius."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
I’m young, but I do have a good amount and variety of life experience, both when it comes to the challenge I'm dealing with and when it comes to other things. And though my experiences most definitely will not be applicable to everyone, I know that some people resonate with them. As long as there are these few people, I’ll keep on, knowing that it's likely there are more. And based on some of the responses we’ve gotten already, I’m fairly confident we’re on to something with our ideas.
Everything else I need to know, I'll work hard to learn along the way.
But all this being considered, it’s high time I started educating myself on some of the stuff that's already out there - specifically on therapy. Because judging by some of the books I’m reading, there is indeed some incredible work being done by therapists around the world, and I feel it’s highly relevant that I learn about some of it. Of course I won’t be able to acquire the same sort of first-hand experience that an actual practicing therapist would, but I'll still be able to vicariously explore their world and pick their minds for ideas.
And you know what? When you really think about it, therapy really is all about the people. It’s really supposed to just be a mano-a-mano learning session, a transferrance of wisdom from “therapist” to “patient.”
Take off the white coats, strip the elite diplomas from the wall, and remove all the other barriers of ranks and labels and titles, and therapy is really just about finding the best ways for one person to inspire another, or for one person to help another inspire him/herself. At least that's how I see it.
With all this in mind, I’ve decided to start a series of posts on Therapy, of which this is the introductory post.
Check back in for my thoughts and ideas on therapy, as culled from my personal experiences, those of others, whatever literature I can get my hands on, and anything else that comes my way. Often, I will simply recap my findings without drawing connections at first, but I trust that the connections will start to forge themselves afterwards. And I promise to write in as non-academic and as accessible a way as possible. I firmly belive that even the most complex intellectual concepts can be communicated to the layman (or at least the thrust of those concepts). In fact, I imagine a world where everyone is a "therapist" in some way. We could all use a little wisdom and (self)knowledge every now and then, and I would love to a part of the effort to make "therapy" more accessible and relevant to us laypeople (read: if you ever wanted to learn about therapy through conversational language, read this series!).
The "Depression Epidemic" is a sign that human potential is just waiting to be unleashed. Therapy might well turn out be one of the most effective vehicles for unleashing it.
It might not, also, but who's to say?
-David
[nsn_quick_feedback]
I believe that for many of these challenges, we don’t necessarily need high technology or extreme sophistication.
Off the top of my head, depression (slated to become the world’s 2nd leading disease burden by 2020) and education (it’s pretty much universally accepted we’re in deep trouble) both immediately strike me as crucial areas where advanced science and technology serve a tangential purpose. (Blasphemy, eh?)
Sure, they help, sometimes in revolutionary ways (The internet rocks, man), and sure they’re impressive (Drugs that can correct the chemical imbalances in your brain? Dayummn…). But at a certain point a device is just a device. (Shoutout to Steven and Raphael for our conversation last night that brought some of this stuff to mind)
It’s really all about the people, when you think about it. Of all our resources, human capital is the most undertapped, and holds the most promise.
There’s no question in my mind – what we need most urgently to do is to bring out the best in people. After all, we are the jumping off point for everything else.
To do this, we need to lend wings to the fearlessly creative people who will innovate, and to the relentlessly determined people who will implement.
And innovation often just means throwing together “old” pieces of the puzzle in fresh combinations, and watching magic happen. (Ex – the shipping container is just a box, it’s one of the most important inventions of all time. See here: http://www.gizmag.com/go/5716/)
***
In the past, I have been critical of therapy as a long-term solution to depression (not that I’m in any credible position to judge, but still, that was my opinion). But the more and more I read about it, the more and more I think therapy holds enormous potential.
I’ve come to realize that my problem with therapy lies not in the theory, but in the implementation. A lot of this has to do with the negative experiences I’ve had with it. At some point, I may share some of these stories with you, so you know where I’m coming from.
The fact is, my world is narrow – I’m young.
As I explore the out-of-the-box alternatives that I think might hold great potential for helping people overcome depression, and as I imagine the day my team and I launch the pilot program for our social venture, I can’t help but think about some of the older, more experienced, more credentialed, more legit professionals who probably will look down on me with utter disdain.
What gives me - a "nobody" - the right to assume such responsibilities?
My response is one that I come back to time and time again:
"To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men – that is genius."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
I’m young, but I do have a good amount and variety of life experience, both when it comes to the challenge I'm dealing with and when it comes to other things. And though my experiences most definitely will not be applicable to everyone, I know that some people resonate with them. As long as there are these few people, I’ll keep on, knowing that it's likely there are more. And based on some of the responses we’ve gotten already, I’m fairly confident we’re on to something with our ideas.
Everything else I need to know, I'll work hard to learn along the way.
But all this being considered, it’s high time I started educating myself on some of the stuff that's already out there - specifically on therapy. Because judging by some of the books I’m reading, there is indeed some incredible work being done by therapists around the world, and I feel it’s highly relevant that I learn about some of it. Of course I won’t be able to acquire the same sort of first-hand experience that an actual practicing therapist would, but I'll still be able to vicariously explore their world and pick their minds for ideas.
And you know what? When you really think about it, therapy really is all about the people. It’s really supposed to just be a mano-a-mano learning session, a transferrance of wisdom from “therapist” to “patient.”
Take off the white coats, strip the elite diplomas from the wall, and remove all the other barriers of ranks and labels and titles, and therapy is really just about finding the best ways for one person to inspire another, or for one person to help another inspire him/herself. At least that's how I see it.
With all this in mind, I’ve decided to start a series of posts on Therapy, of which this is the introductory post.
Check back in for my thoughts and ideas on therapy, as culled from my personal experiences, those of others, whatever literature I can get my hands on, and anything else that comes my way. Often, I will simply recap my findings without drawing connections at first, but I trust that the connections will start to forge themselves afterwards. And I promise to write in as non-academic and as accessible a way as possible. I firmly belive that even the most complex intellectual concepts can be communicated to the layman (or at least the thrust of those concepts). In fact, I imagine a world where everyone is a "therapist" in some way. We could all use a little wisdom and (self)knowledge every now and then, and I would love to a part of the effort to make "therapy" more accessible and relevant to us laypeople (read: if you ever wanted to learn about therapy through conversational language, read this series!).
The "Depression Epidemic" is a sign that human potential is just waiting to be unleashed. Therapy might well turn out be one of the most effective vehicles for unleashing it.
It might not, also, but who's to say?
-David
[nsn_quick_feedback]
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