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WHAT is ALTRUISM?

     Altruism is the unselfish concern for other people—doing things simply out of a desire to help, not because you feel obligated to out of duty, loyalty, or religious reasons. It involves acting out of concern for the well-being of other people.       In some cases, these acts of altruism lead people to jeopardize themselves to help others. Such behaviors are often performed unselfishly and without any expectations of reward. Other instances, known as reciprocal altruism, involve taking actions to help others with the expectation that they will offer help in return Examples of Altruism      Everyday life is filled with small acts of altruism, from holding the door for strangers to giving money to people in need. News stories often focus on grander cases of altruism, such as a man who dives into an icy river to rescue a drowning stranger or a donor who gives thousands of dollars to a local charity. Some examples of altruism include: Doing something to help another pe
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Introduction to Aaron Beck

  Aaron Temkin Beck is an American psychiatrist who is professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. He is regarded as the father of both cognitive therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. Early Life Aaron Temkin Beck was born on July 18, 1921, in Providence, Rhode Island. He was the youngest of five children. Both of his parents were Russian Jewish immigrants to the United States. Two of Beck's siblings had died before his birth, an older brother in childhood and an older sister in the influenza pandemic of 1919. As a result of these tragedies, Beck's mother was chronically depressed for several years and became overprotective of her youngest son. Beck came to think that he was a replacement for his sister, and that his mother was disappointed that he was not a girl. Beck developed several phobias in the course of his childhood. One was a blood/injury phobia, which he related to his experience with surgery for his broken arm at age seven. D
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Therapeutic techniques in Gestalt therapy

Therapeutic techniques ❖ Repetition & Exaggeration Repetition and exaggeration: If there is repetition such as the example of the client tapping their feet on the ground, the therapist would get them to exaggerate the movement and talk about feelings that come up. This in turn focuses on the emotion and should help to release the blocked awareness. ❖ Role playing This is a role-playing exercise that allows a client to imagine and participate in a conversation with another person or another part of themselves. Sitting across from the empty chair, the client enters into a dialogue as if they were speaking with that other person or that other part of themselves. This enables client to gain self-awareness and express repressed thoughts. ❖ Open chair technique It is sometimes called as empty chair technique. In this technique, therapist places a person in therapy across from an empty chair. He or she is asked to imagine that someone (such as a boss, spouse, or relative), th
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Gestalt therapy

  Gestalt therapy is a humanistic, holistic, person-centered form of psychotherapy that is focused on an individual's present life and challenges rather than delving into past experiences., emphasizes personal responsibility, and focuses upon the individual's experience in the present moment, the therapist–client relationship, the environmental and social contexts of a person's life, and the self-regulating adjustments people make as a result of their overall situation. It was developed by Fritz Perls, Laura Perls and Paul Goodman in the 1940s and 1950s, and was first described in the 1951 book Gestalt Therapy. It rejects the dualities of mind and body, body and soul, thinking and feeling, and feeling and action. Gestalt is a highly positive and practical integrative therapeutic approach. Broadly ... It has the sense that meaning cannot be found from breaking things down into parts but rather interpreted as a whole. Goals of gestalt therapy Goals of therapy is to enab
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Gestalt theory

Gestalt theory emphasizes that the whole of anything is greater than its parts. That is, the attributes of the whole are not deducible from analysis of the parts in isolation. The word Gestalt is used in modern German to mean the way a thing has been “placed,” or “put together.” There is no exact equivalent in English. The development of Gestalt psychology was influenced in part by Wertheimer's observations one day at a train station. He purchased a toy stroboscope which displayed pictures in a rapid sequence to mimic the appearing movement. He later proposed the concept of the Phi phenomenon in which flashing lights in sequence can lead to what is known as apparent motion. In other words, we perceive movement where there is none. Movies are one example of apparent motion. Through a sequence of still frames, the illusion of movement is created. "The fundamental 'formula' of Gestalt theory might be expressed in this way,” Max Wertheimer wrote. "There are whol
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Introduction to Fritz Perls

• Introduction: Fritz Perls was a 20th century psychiatrist who founded Gestalt therapy in collaboration with his wife, Laura Perls.Frederick or Friedrich Salomon Perls (July 8, 1893, Berlin - March 14, 1970, Chicago) entered the history as Fritz Perls, a famous psychiatrist and psychotherapist. He was a Jew born in Germany, who developed absolutely new approach in psychotherapy. He reacted against the structuralist, behaviorists and psychoanalysts. According to this theory, one of the primary objectives of Gestalt therapy is the ability to restore the self-awareness which is lost when a psychological disorder becomes evident. This is accomplished by restoring the individual's ability to differentiate, which helps the individual to identify what is and what is not a true part of the self, what provides the individual with a sense of self-realization and achievement and what leads to frustration. Due to him term of Gestalt therapy came into view. It is based on Gestalt psycholog
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Culturally Promoted Behaviors that can be labeled as Mental Disorders

There are a number of behaviors and tendencies that are promoted by our culture in men and women. In this section we will discuss some of those, with reference to the labels that they may acquire. • Women Reaction to Phobias: 1.       Women are more prone than men to essentially all anxiety disorders. Simple phobia is twice as common in women as in men. Phobic objects tend to be the same for men and women (animals, heights, blood, airplanes), but women score somewhat higher on fear questionnaires such as the Fear Survey Schedule commonly used to assess the severity of phobias. 2.       From very early childhood, girls learn to be scared of insects, animals, strangers, and strange situations. Besides, a feeling of dependence on the ‘perceived protectors’, mothers as role models are possible contributory factor. Young boys do not have fathers as role models for phobias and fears. 3.       Girls are kept protected, much more than boys. • Women Reaction to PSTD: 1.       A lar
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Women psychopathology

Psychopathology 1. Psychopathology refers to mental disorders, or mental illness. 2. Stereotypically speaking there are marked gender differences in psychopathology. 3. However empirical research does not support this view. 4. Men and women, both have an equal risk of developing any mental disorder.   5. Many mental health professional and researchers are of the view that it is the diagnostic criteria that are designed in such a manner that women are more likely to be diagnosed with certain mental health problems than men. Women Reaction to Stress 1) Men and women may experience different types and levels, of physiological strain from stressors. 2) Men have been found to show more reactivity as compared to women when psychologically stressed. 3) Gender differences have been reported in how people respond to stress and influence of stress on illness. 4) Men in general have higher blood pressure than women and show greater B.P variations in stressful situations. 5)
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Some facts about Gender Differences in Psychopathology

  1 ) Although, as said earlier, no significant gender differences exist. Some gender differences in some disorders have been found. We present here some facts pertaining to specific disorders in males and females. 2 ) Major depression is more common in women with a 2:1 ratio. 3 ) Dysthymia is more prevalent in women with a ratio of 2-3:1. The prevalence of depression in women is almost double as compared to the prevalence in men. 4 ) The rate of personality disorders is higher among men. 5 ) In case of Substance Related Disorders, men are higher in Alcohol dependence. 6 ) Women are at a higher risk in sedatives, hypnotics, or anxiolytics. 7 ) Women are at a higher risk of panic attacks. 8 ) There are no gender differences in obsessive compulsive disorder or posttraumatic stress disorder. 9 ) Conversion Disorder is substantially more common in women than in men. 10 )Women account for 95% of somatization disorder patients. In the U.S, this diagnosis is rare in men, but
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Difference Between Psychosis and Neurosis

  1. Meaning of Psychosis and Neurosis Psychosis: The psychosis is a severe mental illness. Neurosis: The neurosis is a less severe mental illness. 2. Personality Changes of Psychosis and Neurosis Psychosis: The psychoses lead to the change of the personality. Neurosis: The neuroses are purely functional diseases and do not affect the personality. 3. Contact with Reality in Psychosis vs. Neurosis Psychosis: The contact with reality is totally lost or changed. Neurosis: The contact with reality is partially intact, though its value can be changed. 4. Awareness of the Own Condition in Psychosis vs. Neurosis Psychosis: The person with psychosis does not realize his/her disorder. Neurosis: The person with neurosis is aware of his/her personal problems and difficulties. 5. Language and Communication in Psychosis and Neurosis Psychosis: The thought and speech processes are disorganized, incoherent, and irrational. Neurosis: The neurosis does not affect language, c
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