Wednesday, October 08, 2003

Time runs a race while I nap

Most everything got posted yesterday at Corner of Babble- about the recall of course. Today was a day off, but I wasn't feeling well, so spent most of it zoned out, not really napping as the title suggests, but not really fully engaged either.

Tomorrow (Thursday) is another long day on campus, but I think I am basically caught up on everything this moment. There are assignments yet to complete that are due for Monday and Tuesday of next week.

I can't decide how I feel about the behavioral psych/counseling class. I understand the concepts of course- Antecedents--> Behavior--> Consequences and the whole positive/negative reinforcement idea as well as punishments versus reinforcement (I raised my son using the reinforcement idea for the most part rather than punishments). But to me this is still only a part of the whole. Approach and avoidance issues come into play in the Behavioral perspective, but I think there is a lot left out.

In order to "do" this class well, I have to check any other thoughts and theories at the door when I walk in. I understand the profs enthusiasm for his field, but I don't agree with everything he says about this or other theories. I am more - I lean more towards the learned/cognitive/behavioral sorts of perspectives, but I think a good therapist ought to use what works for the client and the client's needs at any given point in time and not simply have only one framework to use.

I like thinking that the theories and their applications are tools in a toolbox. This class requires me to believe (at least during the class) that I only have one huge all purpose tool. Anyone who has used tools knows that the all purpose kind will work, but that the correct tool for the situation is much easier to use and often quicker.

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