{"id":33199,"date":"2023-10-04T22:02:10","date_gmt":"2023-10-05T05:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=33199"},"modified":"2023-10-04T22:02:10","modified_gmt":"2023-10-05T05:02:10","slug":"get-over-yourself-a-positive-approach-to-therapy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/get-over-yourself-a-positive-approach-to-therapy\/","title":{"rendered":"Get Over Yourself: A Positive Approach to Therapy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Francis Fukuyama articulates the roots of political tension in his book <\/span>Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment<\/span><\/i>. He gives a raw analysis as he states, \u201cResentment over lost dignity or invisibility often has economic roots, but fights over identity often distract us from focusing on policies that could concretely remedy those issues.\u201d [1] He looks at these issues directly and concludes, \u201cIdentity can be used to divide, but it can and has also been used to integrate.\u201d[2]\u00a0 How this is done is not one dimensional. Looking at the roots of where our identity comes from, Fukuyama addresses several sources. I, however, will only address how our nation has made an effort to build self-esteem. Inherently a positive concept, self-esteem has taken on some negative connotations, and this author attributes this to psychotherapy. As a clinician, I want to be quick to acknowledge therapy\u2019s downfalls, but I will also be quick to champion its benefits. In this blog, I will share the author’s concerns regarding therapy and how it is influencing identity politics but also give light to a therapist\u2019s work and how it positively addresses a client\u2019s needs to improve their self-concept.<\/span><\/p>\n

In chapter ten of Fukuyama\u2019s book, he explains a democratization of dignity by unpacking what he calls a \u201ctherapeutic enterprise.\u201d [3] He makes arguments for how therapy has influenced society in its attempt to promote self-esteem. Fukuyama asserts, \u201cOne reason that identity politics has become so embedded in the United States and other liberal democracies is because of rising concern over self-esteem, and by what has been labeled the \u201ctriumph of the therapeutic.\u201d [4] The author describes \u201ctriumph of the therapeutic” as the growing demand for therapeutic services where therapist\u2019s focus on the aggrandizement of the self.\u00a0 I believe an alternative perspective should be taken toward therapy and how the therapist approaches the needs of their clients.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the late 1970\u2019s, Christopher Lasch made a critique of the \u201cpromotion of self-esteem\u201d by arguing that its promotion \u201cenabled not human potential but a crippling narcissism and trapping people in emotional dependence.\u201d I agree with this critique, but he goes on to say:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEven when therapists speak of the need for \u201cmeaning\u201d and \u201clove,\u201d they define love and meaning simply as the fulfillment of the patient\u2019s requirements. It hardly occurs to them\u2013 nor is there any reason why it should, given the nature of the therapeutic enterprise\u2013 to encourage the subject to subordinate his needs and interests to those of others, to some cause or tradition outside himself.\u201d [5]\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These later remarks assume that all therapists take this approach, and this is not always the case.<\/span><\/p>\n

Personal Responsibility<\/b><\/p>\n

Abdicating personal responsibility is often far from many therapists\u2019 way of working. An example of this might be best illustrated with the book <\/span>It Didn\u2019t Start with You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We are and How to End the Cycle<\/span><\/i> by Mark Wolynn. At first glance, the title of this book might make one think that a therapist would use this book to help a client blame their family for their intrapsychic woes. But after reading this book, I found the author to have a different intent. Wolynn states: \u201cReconciliation is mostly an internal movement. Our relationship with our parents is not dependent on what they do, how they are, or how they respond. It\u2019s about what we do. The change occurs in us.\u201d [6] Readers of this book will find that there is much personal work to be done even if the underpinnings of their emotional responses are coming from prior generations. Lasch argues that therapists want \u201cmeaning\u201d and \u201clove\u201d which come from the \u201cfulfillment of the patient\u2019s requirements\u201d but often what is required is clients seeing themselves differently, subordinating their needs and interests. This is the work that they must undertake.<\/span><\/p>\n

Healthy Self-esteem Comes in Community<\/b><\/p>\n

Another example, contrasting Christopher Lasch\u2019s view, comes from the author W. Keith Campbell, PhD who addresses narcissism in his book:<\/span> The New Science of Narcissism: Understanding One of the Greatest Psychological Challenges of Our Time-and What You Can Do About It<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0 In the chapter on reducing your own narcissism, he suggests some BIG SOLUTIONS with the social investment theory where a person \u201ccombines work, volunteering, religion, and community.\u201d [7] Clearly, healthy self-esteem is only healthy in the context of community.<\/span><\/p>\n

Participating in the Death and Resurrection of Jesus<\/b><\/p>\n

In addition to an individual taking personal responsibility for their therapeutic outcomes and therapists\u2019 promoting investment theory, I believe self-esteem can be addressed well with a proposal Dr. Jason Clark made at a plenary session in Oxford. My notes read: \u201cHow do we process with ourselves and others? Theology of participation-we need to have a theology of the Cross.\u201d[8]\u00a0 In having a theology of the cross, one finds the joy of participating in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 For those who believe, this is the best therapy for getting over oneself.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1] Francis Fukuyama, <\/span>Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment. 179<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

[2] Ibid. p.183<\/span><\/p>\n

[3] Ibid. p.98<\/span><\/p>\n

[4] Ibid. p.96<\/span><\/p>\n

[5] Ibid. p.98<\/span><\/p>\n

[6] Mark Wolynn, <\/span>It Didn\u2019t Start with You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We are and How to End the Cycle, p.157<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

[7] W. Keith Campbell, <\/span>The New Science of Narcissism: Understanding One of the Greatest Psychological Challenges of Our Time-and What You Can Do About It<\/span><\/i>.<\/span> p.221<\/span><\/p>\n

[8] Dr. Jason Clark, Plenary Session #2, Doctorate of Leadership in Global Perspectives, Oxford Advance September 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Francis Fukuyama articulates the roots of political tension in his book Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment. He gives a raw analysis as he states, \u201cResentment over lost dignity or invisibility often has economic roots, but fights over identity often distract us from focusing on policies that could concretely remedy those […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":165,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2782],"class_list":["post-33199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-fukuyama-identity","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/165"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33199"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33200,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33199\/revisions\/33200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}