Point of Conflict in Psychology and Social Work:
A
typical conflict in psychology and social work, especially in my job at the
prison, is determining “blame” or reasons behind events and conflicts of
openness. There is a sort of battle between what the client thinks (which is
often unhealthy or irrational, especially when dealing with the inmate
population) and what the therapist is trying to convey.
Topics of Invention in Psychology and Social Work:
When
thinking over situations and circumstances, it is common for people to blame
the victim, circumstances, or their past for their problems instead of being
proactive and open about their roles in the situation. As psychologists and
social workers, our goal is to empower the client and help them recognize that
they have a lot of power in their lives. Here is a good example of a typical conversations:
Therapist: Tell me about your crime- what you did and why you did it.
Inmate: Well, I abused _____, and I think it was because of the I was abused when I was younger and ____ was asking for it the way that she/he did ______ and I was just trying to teach (or many other excuses).
Therapist: Many other people were abused, but did not become abusers. Can you tell me why you chose to victimize ____?
Analysis:
Almost every interaction between the therapist and the inmate involves persuasion in trying to get the inmate to think in a different way and accept some sort of reality. We, as therapists and social workers also try to get the inmate to search for empathetic feelings. Here, the therapist is trying to get the inmate to accept the vice in the situation, whereas the inmate is trying to point out the virtue in his or her actions.
Inmate: Well, I abused _____, and I think it was because of the I was abused when I was younger and ____ was asking for it the way that she/he did ______ and I was just trying to teach (or many other excuses).
Therapist: Many other people were abused, but did not become abusers. Can you tell me why you chose to victimize ____?
Analysis:
Almost every interaction between the therapist and the inmate involves persuasion in trying to get the inmate to think in a different way and accept some sort of reality. We, as therapists and social workers also try to get the inmate to search for empathetic feelings. Here, the therapist is trying to get the inmate to accept the vice in the situation, whereas the inmate is trying to point out the virtue in his or her actions.
The therapist may use several topics of invention (such as morality) to emphasize the inmate's affect on the situation.
Interesting. I had always wondered why inmates were willing to talk to therapists, etc about what they had done. but if they think that their actions were good and productive then that makes sense. They would want to justify themselves.
ReplyDeleteI think that psychology would be a very difficult kind of persuassion. It is essential as a psychologist to understand what your patient is feeling before you try to persuade them. many people are suffering from traumatic events, mentally and emotionally, and as such, have experienced a change in their perception of reality. Most times a psychologist cannot use the same reasoning that he would use on someone who is mentally healthy as he would someone with mental illness or severe traumatic events. Its essential to understand your audience because each one is so different.
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