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Inside Out |
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March 19, 2009-- Volume 5, Issue 3 |
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A Message from Kim |
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Hi Everyone, April 6-9: Prairie State College, Matteson, IL These are all open weeks, meaning that anyone can attend. There will be teachers, helping professionals, college students, business people, parents and those interested in self-growth. If you want to learn more about Choice Theory and Reality Therapy, check out my websites: Reality Therapy training is a workshop with something for everyone. It’s really about the way we think, perceive people and situations, and live our lives. Whenever people have taken this training, whether voluntarily or required to do so from their managers, they frequently leave with the comment that they learned so much that could be applied in both their personal and professional lives. Reality Therapy offers a four-step problem solving method. It can be used by therapists with their clients, teachers with their students, managers with their workers, parents with their children, friends with each other and an individual on his or her own. It is a masterful way to get people to self-evaluate their own behavior, which is the most powerful way to create behavior change. Choice Theory provides an explanation of human behavior. It helps us all have a model by which to understand why we and others do the things we do. It is designed to help people strengthen the important relationships they have in their lives. Workshop participants learn how to strengthen their own relationships, as well as developing the skills to help others with their relationships. Lead Management is based on the pioneering work of W. Edwards Deming and is a method of supervision that encourages the most and the best from the people one supervises. It teaches how to walk the fine line between focusing on production and focusing on the people who are doing the production. Lead management strengthens relationships in the workplace and makes it a more enjoyable place to work for workers, as well as management. There is also a system of quality improvement that will ensure you meet your production goals. The Quality School program is a program that creates a culture where everyone learns and behavior problems are virtually eliminated. It has already been done in almost 30 schools--in the US, Canada, and abroad. When implemented properly, this program has students scoring higher on standardized testing, less absenteeism, less discipline issues, and greater cooperation all around. And if you are a person who is simply interested in self-growth, wants to improve your parenting skills or just wants to live a more fulfilling life, then this workshop is for you! There are Two Other Options: Please come and see for yourself. CEUs are available and there is also college credit offered. I'd love to meet you there. Make today the day you want it to be! |
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In This Issue |
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Feature Article Upcoming Events Book Review |
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Mental Illness: Disease or Choice Is it true that Dr. William Glasser's Choice Theory doesn’t believe in mental illness? Of course not! However, that is what many believe and some don’t give his ideas credence because they think he is wrong about that. This article is my humble attempt to explain exactly what Dr. Glasser means when he says he believes in mental health, not mental illness. This article should be particularly helpful to those of you who work in the helping professions or those of you with family members who have been diagnosed with any type of mental disorder. Choice theory has two concepts that are central to this discussion. One is the concept of total behavior and the other is our creative system. I’ll start with total behavior. Glasser says all behavior is total, meaning it consists of four inseparable components—your actions, your thinking, your feelings and your body’s physiology. All of these components occur simultaneously, even when you are more aware of one of them. You only have direct control over two of these components. No matter how hard you try, you will not be able to change your feelings or your body’s physiology without first changing your actions or your thinking. You may not believe you have control over your thinking because sometimes certain thoughts enter our minds unbidden. However, once you learn how, you can direct your thoughts from unwanted topics to healthier ones. When we want something we don’t have, we are driven to create a behavior designed to get us what we want. Sometimes, we rely on behaviors we’ve used in the past that were effective. Other times we create a new behavior. Whatever our choice, we are choosing the best behavior available to us at the time to get what we want. When it comes to mental health symptoms, many believe that an imbalance in our body’s chemistry causes the unusual behavior or thinking. But what if the “crazy” behavior and thinking over an extended period of time actually causes the chemical imbalance instead? Isn’t it at least possible? Isn’t it exercising that releases endorphins into our blood? It’s not the endorphins that make us exercise. Isn’t it thoughts of bodily harm that releases the chemical adrenaline into our blood stream when we are scared? It’s not the adrenaline that makes us scared, is it? And what about those diagnoses that don’t have a known chemical imbalance? What about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or Dissociative Identity Disorder. These are groups of symptoms that develop during a serious crisis that serve us in that moment. In Choice Theory, Glasser would say they become organized behavior. In neurology, it might be said that neurons that fire together wire together. This means that once we produce a behavior and repeat it over time, it basically becomes the path of least resistance and when confronted with similar circumstances, we will default to our typical way of handling it. So, if someone has developed a behavior that works for them to get something they want, then they are more likely to choose that behavior in the future. It is difficult to think of mental health symptoms as having any positive benefit to them. Why would someone choose such thoughts and behaviors? Currently, there is a concept I hear more and more in psychology called secondary gain. Mental health professionals are recognizing that there often is some pay off for mental health clients in their symptomotology. It might get the client attention. It may abdicate them of daily responsibility. It might get them SSI benefits. They may be able to avoid unpleasant situations and keep undesirables at arm’s length. The list goes on and on. Couldn’t it at least be possible that these are not actually secondary gains, but rather the reason the symptoms developed in the first place? Couldn’t it be that a person learned that being sad got them attention so they developed the behavior of depression? Couldn’t it be that a person learns anxiety gets them out of doing certain undesirable things? Once we experience a benefit, the behavior is more likely to become hard wired and therefore repeated, even long after it stops being effective. Once of the criticisms of Glasser’s theory is that no one would actively choose to be neurotic or psychotic or personality disordered. Glasser never said it was a conscious choice. Most people suffering with mental health disorders are truly suffering, unaware there is any choice in the matter. Our current approach to treatment basically reinforces this image of mental health clients as victims. I don’t know about you, but I want my clients to know there is a choice. They didn’t know it before. But if they understand now how symptoms can develop out of satisfying some need the had, then treatment becomes a matter of teaching them more responsible ways of getting those needs met. Copyright © March 2009 Kim Olver. All rights reserved.
NOTICE: This article is free and can be copied and reproduced *Click Here to read some of Kim's other articles* |
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Teleconferences All teleconferences are free, one (1) hour in length and all you need is a telephone. When you register we will send you a phone number that you will call five minutes prior to the start of your teleconference. You will have the opportunity to ask questions, but if you prefer to just listen that’s all right too. You do not need a computer or Internet, only a telephone. Don’t delay. There are a limited number of slots available. Inside Out Empowerment Mastermind Group The Inside Out Empowerment Mastermind Group is not a typical teleconference. This is an actual mastermind group. Members participate equally -- both giving to others and receiving suggestions for their own challenges and opportunities. Click on the link to learn more about IOE and how it can help you to open your heart, free your mind and transform your life. Goal Setting & Attainment: Set Your World on Fire! March 30, 2009 --8:00 - 9:00 p.m. EST Are you serious about attaining your goals next year? Do you want to do more than make a New Year's Resolution that you forget by the time the Super Bowl is on television? Join me on the free teleconference to learn my time-tested 7-Step process for Goal Attainment. We will do more than set goals--we will discuss a system that will exponentially increase your opportunity for success. Also, my Goal Attainment System is multi-faceted. You won't just be focusing your attention on your career goals unless you want to. My system has you take a look at all areas of your life so you can accomplish optimal work/life balance. There is nothing to lose but an hour of your time and so much to gain. Let's make this your best year yet! Workshops Introduction to Choice Theory Choice Theory® takes the mystery out of behavior—yours and theirs. It provides an explanation for why we do the things we do. Choice Theory ® explains how a person’s perceptions shape their reality and teaches the four components of behavior. Armed with this new knowledge, problem conceptualization becomes much easier and the path to taking effective action is clearer. One of the things I like best about Choice Theory® is its wide-spread application—you can use it in your personal, as well as your professional life. It provides transferable skills for everyday life. Choice Theory® helped me to become a better counselor, supervisor, educator, mother, life partner, friend and a better all around person. When you truly embrace its teachings, Choice Theory® becomes a way of life instead of a hypothetical theory of human behavior. April 8, 2009 Every year millions of people make their “New Year’s Resolutions” and every year many of those same people make the same resolution again. Are you one of those people? Do you know why you are not achieving your goals year after year? I know you start out the year strong and determined that this will be the year you will lose weight, go back to school, buy a home, look for a new job, complete that project etc… and you suddenly find another year has gone by and your list is not only the same, but it has gotten longer! You have new goals to achieve. That is why it is so important to work on your goals now! You are constantly learning and growing and there will always be a new goal you want to achieve. You can attain your goals year after year with a effective, time-tested system—a plan with built in support and accountability. Attaining your goals requires hard work and determination. You need to plan and make time to work on your goals. They will not just happen. My Goal Attainment Workshop will give you the strategies you need to make a plan, manage your time while still maintaining a positive attitude and staying motivated until you complete your goals.
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“A desire to be in charge of our own lives, a need for control, is born in each of us. It is essential to our mental health, and our success, that we take control.” --Robert F. Bennett Just because someone is diagnosed with mental health symptoms does not mean they are incapable of making decisions in their own best interest. Often, from the outside looking in, people assess their decisions as "crazy." However, from the point of view of the one experiencing mental health issues, the decision makes complete sense. We may not be striving to accomplish the same thing but when you look at if from their perspective, their choices are relatively sane. Whose life is it anyway? Shouldn't people be permitted to make their own decisions as long as they are not putting themselves or others at risk? What do you think? |
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Mad in America: Bad Science, Bad Medicine, and the This was a very disturbing book for me to read. It chronicles the treatment of people diagnosed and misdiagnosed with schizophrenia in the United States. What you read is appalling. It's one thing to do wrong out of ignorance, but quite another to misuse a defenseless portion of our society for experimentation and one's own personal gain. Click here to purchase this book | ||||||||||
If you are in the helping profession and working with someone with mental health symptoms and you are attempting to discern what the person wants by using these behaviors, try asking the question, "If you could miraculously get rid of these symptoms, what would change in your life? Consider both the things that would improve, as well as the things you might lose." |
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Question: Why would someone "choose" a mental illness? Answer: I want to be perfectly clear here. I'm not suggesting that a person wakes up one day and consciously decides to become schizophrenic, depressed or personality disordered. What I am saying is that a person who exhibits mental health symptoms is really simply choosing behaviors that are outside the norm in their best attempt to get something he or she wants. It's similar to why people overeat. There are a variety of reasons. Sometimes it's to feel loved, to soothe, to decrease anxiety, to alleviate boredom, etc. The overeaters don't typically have the conscious thought, "I'm looking for love today, so I think I'll open the refrigerator." If they did, they would likely realize how disconnected the behavior is from the goal. Similarly, people don't just wake up one day and decide to be depressed because they need attention. |
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