The focus of this paper is on the meaning in life and the importance of sociality and perceived purpose in life and events

Mariessa Peiris ID: 23352620 PSY2042 A Critical Essay on the Meaning in Life Mariessa N. Peiris Due date: 20th September 2012 Student ID: 23352620 Tutor: Kymberlie Preiss Class: Monday, 14:00 – 16:00 ________________ Meaning. A term that we as human beings throw around on a day to day basis without so much as giving the term a second thought as to what it actually refers to. In consideration of the true definition of meaning, many ideas arise. Meaning can be defined as an innate reality of a non-physical nature, in the relationship between a symbol or representation and to what it refers to, be it road signs, or logos of a company, to further provide insight into an idea or concept or to communicate something more effectively and efficiently to a wider base of linguistically diverse people (pp. 686, Stillman, Baumeister, Lambert, Crescioni, DeWall & Fincham, 2009). A simpler definition is that meaning can refer to the understanding we derive from communicating either verbally or non verbally with one another. The definition for meaning in life however is a completely subjective association dependant on the individual in question and the experiences which they encounter throughout their life (Kaler, 2006). In other words, there is no single universal definition for meaning in life that can fit into every person’s life as

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Biological Sciences
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I will discuss the article The Evolution of Alter Personality States in Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) (Pica, 1999).

In this review, I will discuss the article ‘The Evolution of Alter Personality States in Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)’ (Pica, 1999). Pica’s article is about to explain what the causes are the alter personality states formed in early childhood, and how the personality develops during a critical period. In particular, the author proposed that the reason why the original character develops dissociative states is due to the imaginary companions as a defensive mechanism to protect the children get away from the unbearable pain, which he suggests that the emotional trauma might have taken place in childhood. The treatments of merging the dissociative states have also been discussed in different ways, which the key is to early diagnosis the DID. The arguments will briefly summarise and criticise in the following paragraphs. I shall be claiming that the perspectives of DID evolution although interpreted quite reasonable in the article, but still remain controversial. The importance of this article lies in pulling all theories together and discussing DID in a developmental context. First of all, the author provides a brief history of DID. Pierre Janet, a French physician and psychologist, who coined the term dissociation to represent the patients whom were affected by traumatic experiences that the consciousness was split into two or more sections. The concept then

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Biological Sciences
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This is a two part assignment looking at clients with a range of bereavement and mental issues, how person centred therapy could be used. It will also examine other theories and systems that are available to clients outside of the therapy room.

HEA 2073 Life Experiences and Mental Health Theoretical Assessment This is a two part assignment looking at clients with a range of bereavement and mental issues, how person centred therapy could be used. It will also examine other theories and systems that are available to clients outside of the therapy room. Part 1 John is 42; 3 years ago he lost his partner of 15 years to cancer which had only recently been diagnosed. Since then he tells me that he has lost his job as a car mechanic and his house and has an increasing struggle with everyday tasks such as getting up in the morning and basic hygiene. Most days he feels worthless and has no place in the world anymore. John recently went to see his G.P. about his situation, was assessed and prescribed anti-depressants by way of sertraline and was referred for counselling. After an initial assessment by the primary mental health team he was put on an 18 month long waiting list. Two months after seeing his G.P. he had decided to seek counselling privately. With so many losses in the last 3 years, his partner, job and house, it would be easy to make assumptions about how John has come to be where he is at this moment. It is important to allow the client to lead as 'person-centred therapists take their direction from their clients' (Wilkins 2010:257) and as with any client, to provide the core conditions of congruence,

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Biological Sciences
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In order to compare and contrast both Focusing-Oriented and Experiential therapies to Classical Person-Centred theory it is important to look at each in turn to understand what they are

HEA 2072 Developing Person Centred Theory Supporting Paper Roy Spencer 31/03/2012 In order to compare and contrast both Focusing-Oriented and Experiential therapies to Classical Person-Centred theory it is important to look at each in turn to understand what they are. Classical Person-Centred therapy, or Classical Client-Centred therapy as it is often referred to, can be considered as that which adheres to the original tenets as written by Carl Rogers in his 1951, 1957 and 1959 works. I consider that there are three important features that need to be considered as part of these works. Firstly there is the accepting of the actualising tendency as the motivation of people to achieve, maintain and enhance their potential. The client is the expert on their life and what is best for them and not the therapist. Secondly is that there are no additional therapeutic techniques required beyond the six necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic change. By necessary Sanders (2006:9) states 'Rogers means that in order for therapeutic change to take place all of the conditions must be present'. By sufficient Rogers means that the conditions are all that are required, nothing else is necessary. And finally, that the therapist believes in the sovereignty of the client and adopts a principled non-directional approach to therapy. The client remains in control of the process with

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Biological Sciences
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Compare and contrast the person-centered approach and cognitive-behavioural approaches to understanding and working with fear and sadness. Which of these two approaches do you feel more drawn to and why?

Compare and contrast the person-centered approach and cognitive-behavioural approaches to understanding and working with fear and sadness. Which of these two approaches do you feel more drawn to and why? -------------------------------------------------------- In this essay I will look[KHB1] at the key features of the cognitive behavioural approach and the person centered approach, I will look at the differences and similarities of the two approaches and explain why I am drawn to the person centered approach. The overall purpose of cognitive behavioural therapy is to increase self awareness, introduce better understanding, and improve self control by developing more appropriate responses to negative feelings. The goals of the person-centered therapy are to increase ones self-esteem, to have a greater openness to experience and to find out where you belong in life and be content with it. Both therapies help individuals to experience and express feelings at the moment they occur, rather than dwell on them at a later date. I will first look at the Cognitive behavioural therapy which was founded by Beck (1976), he believed that "the emotional and behavioural difficulties that people experience in their lives are not caused directly by events, but by the way they interpret and make sense of these events "as sited in Introduction to counselling p143. It is based on the fact that

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Biological Sciences
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With reference to current research, evaluate the efficacy of treatment for Anti-Social Personality Disorder.

Student No. 401001175. Abnormal Psychology PSYCH 3028. With reference to current research, evaluate the efficacy of treatment for Anti-Social Personality Disorder. Anti social personality disorder is listed in the DSM IV criteria as to have at least three of the following, Repeated law breaking, deceitfulness, impulsivity, irritableness and aggression, disregard for own and others safety, irresponsibility as seen through unstable employment, or lack of remorse. The individuals must also be at least 18 years of age, have evidence of a conduct disorder before the age of 15 and have antisocial behaviour not occurring exclusively during episodes of schizophrenia or mania. The term is often used in conjunction with that of Psychopathy, as the two are closely related and there is an argument over diagnosis (Davidson et al 2004; Reid 2000; Kendall et al 1998). Within psychopathy there are different criteria of diagnosis, Cleckley 1976 (cited in Davidson et al 2004; Sutker 2001) developed a set of criteria mainly based on thoughts and feeling rather then behaviour. The key characteristics of this are their lack of emotion, anxiety and continued manipulation for personal gain. Hare et al 1990 (cited in Davidson et al 2004;Black 1999) also developed a checklist for the psychopathic personality which contain two clusters, firstly is emotional detachment characterised by selfishness

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Biological Sciences
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The term sociopath.

The term sociopath usually conjures images of violent serial killers like Ted Bundy. However, this is not always the case. Sociopaths can be unethical business professionals, high-pressure evangelists, crooked politicians, imposters, drug pushers, and other assorted criminals (Carson, Butcher, Mineka:359). The following is a description of a sociopathic disorder, also called Antisocial Personality Disorder or Psychopathy. Donald S. escaped from prison with less than a month left to serve on a fraud charge. He then went on to pose as a philanthropist raising money for several religious organizations. To advertise his plot, Donald completed a television interview, which was subsequently run on national television. Donald was arrested and served a three-year sentence for fraud, bigamy, false pretenses, and escaping lawful custody. During his trial, he rationalized his behavior by claiming that his plea for donations caused people to donate to all funds, not just his. He also claimed that those who donated money did so because they felt guilty about an act that they were involved in, and therefore deserved to be conned out of their money. (Carson, Butcher, Mineka) While Donald was in prison he took part in a psychological study as a subject. After he was released he applied for admission to a university, claiming that he had been a colleague of the researcher. (Carson,

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  • Subject: Biological Sciences
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The conduct disorder within child psychology

The conduct disorder within child psychology Introduction This paper shall examine the field of child psychology in respect to the topic of conduct disorder (CD). In child psychology, conduct disorder is an extremely difficult subject to accurately address and clarify, due primarily to the need to distinguish between normal childhood behaviors and the onset or development of an actual disorder. Once a child matures to the stage where he or she is allowed into the school system, however, it becomes pressing to identify and clarify the presence of CD in order to better assess the behaviors of that child. This paper shall investigate the issues and the psychological development of conduct disorder in both the childhood and the adolescent years. The diagnosis of conduct disorder shall be compared and contrasted against oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and the correlation that conduct disorder has with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Standard medical definitions for these disorders, as well as the growing body of literature on this field, shall be included to better round out the discussion and to signify the impact of such disorders on children and adolescents. Conduct Disorder Conduct disorder (CD) is defined by the American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychology (AACA) as: "'Conduct disorder' is a complicated group of behavioral and

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Biological Sciences
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A Discussion on Whether Only Biology Can Provide an Adequate Explanation of Personality

A Discussion on Whether Only Biology Can Provide an Adequate Explanation of Personality How an individual will tend to react in certain conditions is defined as their personality. Although the environment is constantly changing and therefore behaviour changes, personality is considered as a constant factor that causes the stability of behaviour over a period of time. Some argue that due to the consistency of personality it must be hardwired into our biology (Eysenck, 2006), others believe it is the interaction with the environment that shapes personality (Sturaro, Denissen, van Aken, & Asendorpf, 2008) and some argue personality differences are linked to evolution (Buss, 2009). This paper will provide a brief discussion on whether biology alone can provide an adequate explanation of personality and individual differences. One of the first theorists to suggest that personality can be linked solely to biology was Hans Eysenck (Maltby, Day, & Macaskill, 2009). By using factor analysis Eysenck, (2006) suggested that all personality traits can be broken down into the two super traits of Extroversion-Introversion and Neuroticism. His theory is that individuals exhibit responses to external and internal stimuli and their responses will vary based on the intensity of the stimuli, and it is these responses that define personality traits. These responses to stimuli were originally

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  • Subject: Biological Sciences
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should humans drink alcohol?

Should humans drink alcohol? Neuropsychopharmacology is an area of scientific study which investigates the effect of drugs on the nervous system and behaviour. One drug in particular has attracted profound interest and research. Alcohol was discovered accidentally in the prehistoric times and a strong concentration of it was first found in Arab, where it's named originates from, 'alkuhl' (Arabic word) (Roueché, 1966; as cited in Feldman, Meyer & Quenzer, 1997). The pleasurable effects of alcohol have since been increasingly enjoyed by most societies. Although laws on amount of consumption (for driving) and age limits have been put into place in the majority societies, the recently reported binge drinking culture in youths today is becoming a cause for concern and research into alcohol effects is a talked about topic of the moment. This essay will be discussing weather humans should drink alcohol by considering the positive and negative effects of alcohol with reference to biological explanations and evidence. As it will be seen, the answer to this isn't as straight forward as it may first seem. Alcohol is a depressant that affects the central nervous system (CNS). Excessive amounts enhances activates of the neurotransmitter GABA in the brain, which cause unwanted behaviours and motor coordination problems (Hanchar, Dodson, Olsen, Otis & Wallner, 2005). On the other hand,

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Biological Sciences
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