Verified Document

Psychology In The Year 2005, United States Essay

Psychology In the year 2005, United States experience one of the biggest, deadliest and costly hurricanes of that period. The hurricane was named Hurricane Katrina; it cost loss of lives, property and flooding across different states. The emergency situation had to be dealt with immediately and strategies to do so had to be all rounded. This is because those affected were either directly involved or witnessed the occurrence. This discussion is aimed and analyzing the victims of the emergency following two approaches that is humanistic and behavioral while comparing and contrasting their effectiveness.

How do therapists using each of these perspectives view the client and client's problem?

Behavioral approach is concerned with theoretical and measurable aspects of human behavior. Human behavior can either be learnt or unlearnt depending on whether they are acceptable on a social and cultural basis. Humanistic approach in the other hand is concerned with individual responses to stimulants provided by therapists that are limited by psychodynamic theories that interfere with results that could provide answers to the real meaning of healthy growth and behavior. Behavioral responses of victims of Hurricane Katrina include antisocial behaviors, reluctance to abandon property, non-communication, withdrawal, erratic movements, and startled responses, changes in speech patterns, impulsivity and pacing. Humanistic responses of the victims include expressed feelings of unreality, denial that the situation has taken place, hopelessness, hostility, anger and feelings of guilt Sue & Sue, 2008.

Using the two approaches as defined above, therapists have different perspectives about the client and the problem they are going through. Hurricane Katrina presented wide problems where victims and witnesses were greatly traumatized and therapists had to find ways to help them deal with their problems. The two approaches are aimed at alleviating psychological suffering depending on the perception of the therapist using developed after symptoms of the patient have been analyzed. This triggers the therapist to decide which approach to focus on amongst the two or even employ both.

It is important to mention the consequences of traumatic stress which include triggering disease, paves way for mental disorders, and destroys relationships between families and friends and results to substance abuse. Using the two approaches to mitigate the psychological stress brought about by the intense hurricane will have a positive effect on the victims, beyond this; media can also be used to offer more timely and practical information to mitigate ongoing emotional suffering. The difference in the two approaches is the manner in which the therapists handle the patients. While using the behavioral approach, techniques employed will focus on behavior change without background information of how the problem came about and any further indulgence trying to find the source of the complexity. In other words, the therapist concentrates on the individual and his current surrounding in order to identify factors responsible for his/her behavior followed by manipulation of the troubling environment to alleviate the difficulty Sue & Sue, 2008.
Therapist attempt to enhance desirable behavior and ensure they are promptly rewarded while the undesirable ones are punished so as to avoid them. Humanistic approach involves the therapist's investigation of individual perception of oneself during the traumatic stress and their willingness to accept and recognize growth, responsibilities and self-direction. The method offers an understanding and non-judgmental experience for the victims to be optimistic, recognize their strengths and strategies to overcome their weaknesses.

How would the process of therapy be different?

What is your overall comment about how these approaches compare in your chosen event?

In the event of the emergency situation that hurricane Katrina presented, humanistic approach was to be intensely employed compared to behavioral approach because of the nature of the victims. This situation…

Sources used in this document:
Reference

Cervone, D., & Pervin, L.A. (2010). Personality: Theory and research. Hoboken;NJ: . Wiley.

Plante, T.G. (2011). Contemporary clinical psychology. Hoboken, NJ:: Wiley.

Sue, D., & Sue, D.M. (2008). Foundations of counseling and psychotherapy: Evidence-based practices for a diverse society. Hoboken, N.J:: John Wiley & Sons.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

United States Has the Most
Words: 6833 Length: 20 Document Type: Literature Review

Al., 2010). Nursing and the ER The Emergency Room is often one of the most visible parts of healthcare for political debate. It is also one of the most difficult environments for a modern nurse. It is interesting that one of the founders of modern nursing had emergency experience prior to developing her overall theories. Nightingale also looked at negatives and positives that are the conditions, which could help make people recover

US Government Should Limit the Level of Immigration
Words: 1424 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Immigration to America An Introduction and Claim Over the years, the issue of immigration in America United States has raised complex demographic issues. Elements of population increase and cultural change on the native societies in the United States are evident characteristics of immigration. The social, political, and economic components of immigration cause controversies on issues of employment, settlement patterns, ethnicity, and economic benefits for non-immigrants. The government works on developing social mobility,

United States, There Is No
Words: 2727 Length: 8 Document Type: Research Paper

, 2005). At no time is any state obligated to comply with the federal guidelines for federal highway fund eligibility or to give up any sovereign rights established by the Tenth Constitutional Amendment. Furthermore, there is no issue of "withholding" or "withdrawing" any federal funds from states that choose not to comply with federal guidelines pertaining to the drinking age eligibility. Those monies are supplemental to any other federal funds

United States Has the Highest Rate of
Words: 13726 Length: 50 Document Type: Essay

United States has the highest rate of confinement of prisoners per 100,000 population than any other Western country. Analyze this phenomena and discuss actions that you feel are necessary to combat this problem. The United States currently has the highest incarceration rate of any nation worldwide. For example, greater than 60% of nations have incarceration rates below 150 per 100,000 people (Walmsley, 2003). The United States makes up just about

Homelessness in the United States
Words: 10814 Length: 35 Document Type: Term Paper

" How many people are homeless? The number of homeless is difficult to ascertain because estimates vary depending on the methodology used. Numbers also vary substantially depending on whether a measurement is taken on a single night or is extrapolated to a given year. One approximation of the annual number of homeless in America is from a study done by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, which estimates between 2.3 and

Juvenile Crime United States Is on the
Words: 4607 Length: 15 Document Type: Essay

Juvenile Crime United States is on the top of western countries experiencing crime activities. Though, till the past decade the rate of crimes has fallen down but still U.S. has the highest rate. Whether they are adults or juveniles, the rate of committing crimes is quite higher in both groups. There are different reasons been explored, why U.S. is facing the highest rate of crimes; however the exploration and discussion is

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now