Psychology, Philosophy and Real Life published the following articles in 2008.
All of us at CounsellingResource.com would like to extend a warm welcome to psychologist and character disorder expert Dr George Simon, who joins our International Advisory Board. We look forward to incorporating Dr Simon’s perspective and feedback as we continue building and developing the site.
Is psychotherapy about “cases” to be explained, or about individual persons who need and benefit from understanding? In this review of an article by psychotherapist Janet L. Etzi, we look at therapy and counselling as a complex interaction based on understanding the client as a human phenomenon, an interaction that is informed by both the client’s and the therapist’s emotions and thought processes.
Whereas neurotics need and value insight in therapy, disordered characters are already keenly aware of their attitudes and behaviors that cause problems. They already see, they just disagree.
When I politely but firmly stopped accepting “I don’t know” for an answer from my character-disturbed clients, I was astonished at how easily I began to get more straightforward answers that actually made sense.
Personality and character disorders are not the same thing. Our personality defines the stylistic way we tend to interact, while our character is defined by the level of social conscientiousness and virtue in our personality. When personality or character traits present major obstacles to functioning in a healthy way, they might constitute a disorder.
Nineteen months and countless hours later, our Ask the Psychologist service today publishes Dr Carver’s reply to the 1000th question answered since the service launched in May 2007.
Almost all the principles of traditional psychology are based upon the attempts of various theorists to explain a phenomenon rare for its time and almost totally unheard of in modern times. Character disturbance — not neurosis — is the pressing psychological reality of our day and simply can’t be understood or dealt with using traditional paradigms.
Overseen by an international advisory board of distinguished academic faculty and mental health professionals with decades of clinical and research experience in the US, UK and Europe, CounsellingResource.com provides peer-reviewed mental health information you can trust. Our material is not intended as a substitute for direct consultation with a qualified mental health professional. CounsellingResource.com is accredited by the Health on the Net Foundation.