The “Course Topics” series from Manage Train Learn and Slide Topics is a collection of over 4000 slides that will help you master a wide range of management and personal development skills. The 202 PowerPoints in this series offer you a complete and in-depth study of each topic. This presentation is on "Personal Growth".

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Personal Growth
Counselling Skills
MTL Course Topics
COUNSELLING SKILLS
Personal Growth

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Personal Growth
Counselling Skills
MTL Course Topics
The Course Topics series from Manage Train Learn is a large collection of topics that will help you as a learner
to quickly and easily master a range of skills in your everyday working life and life outside work. If you are a
trainer, they are perfect for adding to your classroom courses and online learning plans.
Course Topics from MTL
The written content in this Slide Topic belongs exclusively to Manage Train Learn and may only be reprinted
either by attribution to Manage Train Learn or with the express written permission of Manage Train Learn.
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slides. As with all programmes on Slide
Topics, these slides are fully editable and
can be used in your own programmes,
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Copyright Manage Train Learn 2020
onwards.
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These images may also be those which are
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Commons license.

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Personal Growth
Counselling Skills
MTL Course Topics
Psychologist, Erik Erikson, maintained that personality develops in a predetermined order through eight
stages of psychosocial development, from infancy to adulthood. During each stage, the person
experiences a psychosocial crisis which could have a positive or negative outcome for personality
development. According to the theory, successful completion of each stage results in a healthy
personality and the acquisition of basic virtues. Basic virtues are characteristic strengths which the ego
can use to resolve subsequent crises.
INTRODUCTION

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Counselling Skills
MTL Course Topics
1. Who Was Erik Erikson?
Erik Erikson was one of the most famous developmental
psychologists of the 20th century. He focused much of his
work on explaining the role of the environment on a
child's development. Along with his model of "Lifespan
Psychology", he is most famous for inventing the phrase
"identity crisis", which reflected many of the challenges
in his own life.
Timeline
Born in Frankfurt, Germany to a Jewish mother
1902
Travelled around Europe and slept under bridges
1920
Enrolled at art school in Vienna
1927
Married a Canadian dancer and became a Christian
1930
Awarded a psychology diploma in Vienna
1933
Became America’s first child analyst at Harvard
1933
Joined Yale University and became a US citizen
1936
Became a prolific writer of psychiatry books
1950
Died aged 92 at Cape Cod, Massachusetts
1994
In a review published in 2002, Erikson was ranked as the
12th most quoted psychologist of the 20th century.

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Counselling Skills
MTL Course Topics
Personal Growth or Stagnation?
It shows how each of the major
changes in life, from birth to death, is
accompanied by a quality that can
promote personal growth and one
that can prevent it and leave the
individual in
stagnation. There are 8 qualities for
both change and stagnation. They are
the same qualities that are present in
any other change process in our lives.
Erik Erikson first published his 8-stage
theory of human development in his
1950 book "Childhood and Society"
under the title, "The Eight Ages of
Man". Erikson called the theory,
“Lifespan Psychology”.
The Awareness – Acceptance –
Growth cycle produces change
and development.
The Ignorance – Blockage -
Inaction cycle produces
stagnation and no growth.
The 8 stages in the Growth cycle are:
Trust – Autonomy – Initiative – Industry – Identity –
Intimacy – Generativity – Integrity
The 8 stages in the Stagnation cycle are:
Mistrust – Shame and Doubt – Guilt – Inferiority -
Role Confusion – Isolation – Stagnation - Despair

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Counselling Skills
MTL Course Topics
1. Trust
In personal growth, Trust is the
belief that things will work out
even if we don't have the evidence
to prove it.
Age: 0 - 1 years. Babies trust their mothers implicitly.
How you grow: Trust is the foundation and first stage of all growth.There is
no growth withoutTrust.Trust is necessary for us to change
because we cannot be sure where things will lead, we simply
have to believe that things will work out.Trust is a reliance on
our own and other people's integrity.Trust produces a strong
belief in ourselves and others.
How you get
stuck:
The opposite ofTrust is Mistrust which leads to total lack of
co-operation. We withdraw, withhold and stop taking
chances with our life. Mistrust often arises if we have had
previous experiences of being let down.
Virtues: Hope and faith
Significant others: Mother
2 – 3 years 6 – 11 years
0 – 1 years 4 – 5 years 12 – 18 years 19 – 35 years 36 – 60 years 60 years +

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Counselling Skills
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Bind and Bond
The following story illustrates “Trust".
A little girl and her father were crossing a bridge.
The father was kind of scared so he asked his little
daughter, "Sweetheart, please hold my hand so that you
don't fall into the river.
"The little girl said, "No, Dad. You hold my hand."
"What's the difference?" asked the puzzled father.
"There's a big difference," replied the little girl." If I hold
your hand and something happens to me, the chances
are that I may let your hand go. But if you hold my hand,
I know for sure that no matter what happens, you will
never let my hand go."
In any relationship, the essence of trust is not in its
bind, but in its bond. So hold the hand of the person
whom you love and trust rather than expecting them to
hold yours.
"Be trustworthy. Be the person who can keep a secret, isn't a gossip,
and can be counted on in all situations." (Larry Winget)

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Counselling Skills
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2.Autonomy
In personal growth, Autonomy
means allowing people the
freedom to explore, to make
mistakes and grow.
2 – 3 years 6 – 11 years
0 – 1 years 4 – 5 years 12 – 18 years 19 – 35 years 36 – 60 years 60 years +
Age: 2 - 3 years.This is the age when toddlers begin to to stand on their own
two feet.
How you grow: In developmental work, autonomy is expressed as Ownership
and Responsibility. No growth is possible if people don't own
their own process of change. Others, whether they are
managers or parents, keep their distance, allow for mistakes
and let it be known they are there for support.
How you get
stuck:
The opposite of Autonomy is Dependence, Shame and Doubt.
These conditions are created when others hammer home the
message: "do it my way or no way"; "don't dare make any
mistakes"; and "check with me before you do anything".
Virtues: Will and determination
Significant
others:
Parents

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Counselling Skills
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The Emerging Butterfly
The following story illustrates “Autonomy", learning to stand on
your own two feet.
A man found a butterfly cocoon. One day a small opening
appeared. The man watched the butterfly as it struggled to force
its body through the hole. The man decided to help the butterfly.
He took a pair of scissors and snipped the cocoon open The
butterfly then emerged easily.
But something wasn't quite right. The butterfly had a swollen
body and shrivelled wings. The man expected that at any
moment the wings would expand to support the body. But this
did not happen. Instead, the butterfly spent the rest of its life
unable to fly.
What the man had not understood was that the struggle for
the butterfly to get through the small opening in the cocoon
was Nature's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly
into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it
achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
“Control leads to compliance; autonomy leads to engagement.”
(Daniel H. Pink)

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Counselling Skills
MTL Course Topics
3. Initiative
The word "initiative" derives from
the word "initiate" meaning to start
something new. When we show our
initiative, we try things out.
Age: 4 - 5 years.This is the age when small children want to try things they've
never done before.
How you grow: In developmental work, initiative and experimentation is the
phase when all things are possible. Nothing is barred. Work is
like play. It is an endless process of discovery, made possible
by the permission and guidance of others.
How you get
stuck:
The opposite of Initiative is Guilt. Guilt makes us think that it
is wrong to try things out. It is the emotion attached to
wrongful doing. When we feel guilty, we are paralysed into
inaction and expect punishment.
Virtues: Purpose and courage
Significant others: Family
2 – 3 years 6 – 11 years
0 – 1 years 4 – 5 years 12 – 18 years 19 – 35 years 36 – 60 years 60 years +

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Counselling Skills
MTL Course Topics
Digging a Trench
The following story illustrates “Initiative".
One day an elderly couple who had retired to the
countryside noticed a man on the heath carrying a spade
and a small case. The next day, the man appeared again and
the following day too. On the next day, becoming suspicious,
the couple decided to go up on the heath to see what he
was doing. When they got there, they discovered a long
trench in the ground.
Just then the young man appeared. Seeing their surprise, he
explained, "I'm digging a trench. Well, actually I'm learning
how to dig a good trench, because the job I'm being
interviewed for later today says that experience is essential.
So I'm getting the experience. And the case - it's got my
lunch in it."
The next day there was a knock at the old couple's door. It
was the young man. "I got the job," he said. The old woman
smiled and said, "We knew you would."
"In order to do anything in this world worth doing, we must not stand
shivering on the bank thinking of the cold and the danger, but jump in and
scramble through as well as we can.” (Sydney Smith)

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Counselling Skills
MTL Course Topics
4. Industry
In personal growth, industry means
applying ourselves to learning the
skills to manage new situations.
2 – 3 years 6 – 11 years
0 – 1 years 4 – 5 years 12 – 18 years 19 – 35 years 36 – 60 years 60 years +
Age: 6 - 11 years.The days of childhood are the days when we throw ourselves
into things we love to do for no other reason than we want to do them.The
world of learning begins to open up to us.
How you grow: In developmental work, industry helps us learn new skills to
cope with the changes we have initiated.We apply ourselves
to knowledge, to skills and to the discipline of learning.
How you get
stuck:
The opposite of Industry is Inferiority, the belief that we're not
capable: " I could never do that". Inferiority is also seen in the
fear of trying and in a use of comparisons between ourselves
and those who already possess the skills.
Virtues: Competence
Significant others: School

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Counselling Skills
MTL Course Topics
Kicking a Giraffe to its Feet
The following story illustrates “Industry", persistence and stickability.
In his book, "A View from the Zoo", Gary Richmond gives an example
of the importance of working at something until you get it right.
He describes how a new-born giraffe learns its first lesson. Its mother
positions herself over the calf and gives it a strong kick to make it
stand. She then repeats it again and again. Even when the baby calf
grows tired of being kicked to its feet, the mother kicks it again to
stimulate its efforts. Finally, the calf stands for the first time on its
wobbly legs. Then the mother giraffe kicks it off its feet again. Why?
She wants it to remember how it got up.
In the wild, lions, hyenas, and wild hunting dogs all enjoy young
giraffes. Being able to get up as quickly as possible is a way to stay
with the herd, where there is safety. In working persistently to teach
her offspring to stand, the mother giraffe is teaching it survival.
"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn
how to do it." (Pablo Picasso)

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Counselling Skills
MTL Course Topics
5. Identity
In personal growth, Identity means
being able to break free from past
concepts of who we are and making
up our minds to be who we want to
be.
Age: 12 - 18 years. In the teenage years, young people begin to ask the
question: "Who am I?" Answering it is a sometimes painful process of self-
reflection, experimentation and learning from experience.
How you grow: In developmental work, identity is the process of awareness
and acceptance: "I know who I am. I accept myself whatever
anyone else says or thinks."
How you get
stuck:
The opposite of Identity is Role Confusion. Instead of working
out who we want to be, we play roles to suit others. We seek
to please them and worry about the impression we make.We
swing in the wind.
Virtues: Fidelity and loyalty
Significant others: Peers and role models
2 – 3 years 6 – 11 years
0 – 1 years 4 – 5 years 12 – 18 years 19 – 35 years 36 – 60 years 60 years +

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Counselling Skills
MTL Course Topics
The Sting of a Scorpion
The following story illustrates "identity"; why, when we
know who we are, we need to stay true to our nature,
regardless of the outcomes.
There was a man in India who saw a scorpion drowning
in some water. He decided to save it by stretching out
his finger, but the scorpion stung him. The man still
tried to get the scorpion out of the water, but the
scorpion stung him again.
A man nearby told him to stop saving the scorpion that
kept stinging him. But the other man said: "It is the
nature of the scorpion to sting. It is my nature to love.
Why should I give up my nature to love just because it
is the nature of the scorpion to sting?"
"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't
matter and those who matter don't mind." (Dr Seuss)

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Counselling Skills
MTL Course Topics
6. Intimacy
In personal growth, Intimacy means
growing close to others in
relationships that are open and
honest.
2 – 3 years 6 – 11 years
0 – 1 years 4 – 5 years 12 – 18 years 19 – 35 years 36 – 60 years 60 years +
Age: 19 - 35 years. As young adults, we make our first steps into the outside
world alone.This is the time when we do things for others selflessly: we put
ourselves out for customers, we share innermost feelings with friends, we fall
in love with partners.
How you grow: In developmental work, intimacy means being willing to form
relationships in which there is risk-taking and vulnerability
and a high level of respect for others.
How you get
stuck:
The opposite of Intimacy is Isolation.We develop shallow
relationships at arms' length and feel safer in formal, polite,
ritualistic relationships or in being alone.
Virtues: Love and respect
Significant others: Friends and partners

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Counselling Skills
MTL Course Topics
I Knew You'd Come
The following story illustrates “Intimacy".
The story is told of a soldier who saw his life-long friend fall
in battle in No Man's Land. The soldier asked his lieutenant
if he might go and bring his comrade back. "You can go,"
said the lieutenant, "but I think your friend is dead and you
may be shot."
The lieutenant's words didn't matter, and the soldier went
anyway. Under fire, he managed to reach his friend and
bring him back to their trench. As the two of them tumbled
in together, the officer checked them both and said, "I told
you it wouldn't be worth it. Your friend is dead, and you are
badly wounded."
"It was worth it, though, sir," the soldier said. "When I got
to him, he was still alive, and I heard him say, 'Jim, I knew
you'd come.'"
“Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I
may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.” (Albert Camus)

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Counselling Skills
MTL Course Topics
7. Generativity
In personal growth, Generativity
means the power to generate and
produce things for the good of others.
2 – 3 years 6 – 11 years
0 – 1 years 4 – 5 years 12 – 18 years 19 – 35 years 36 – 60 years 60 years +
Age: 36 - 60 years. Our mature years are the years when, if we have been
nurtured well, we give freely of ourselves. We produce whatever we believe we
are gifted to produce.We let our talents have free rein. Nobody makes us do it.
We do it because we believe it is what we are here to do.
How you grow: In developmental work, generativity is the result of finding
what we are good at and then doing things that make the
most of our gifts.
How you get
stuck:
The opposite of Generativity is Self-Absorption, the need to
have something back before we're prepared to give. It is
RadioWIIFM: "What's In It For Me?".
Virtues: Care and giving
Significant others: Home and workmates

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Counselling Skills
MTL Course Topics
TheAcorn Planter
The following story illustrates "generativity", giving something
back.
While travelling in the French Alps in the 1930's, a young man
came upon a rocky valley where he saw an old man with a sack of
acorns and a length of iron pipe.
The old man was planting acorns in the ground. When the
traveller asked him why he was wasting his time in the barren
valley, the old man said, "My wife and son have died and I want to
do something useful before I die too. I've planted over 100,000
acorns. Perhaps only a tenth of them will grow."
25 years later the now-not-as-young traveller returned to the
same desolate area. What he saw amazed him. The land was
covered with a beautiful forest two miles wide and five miles long.
Birds were singing, animals were playing, and wild flowers
perfumed the air. The traveller stood there recalling the
desolation that he saw before. Now a beautiful oak forest stood
there, all because someone wanted to give something back.
“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”
(Arthur ashe)

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8. Integrity
In personal growth, Integrity means
living according to a set of rules,
values and principles that underlie
what we do, what we say and who
we are. They are the things that
matter more to us than anything
else.
2 – 3 years 6 – 11 years
0 – 1 years 4 – 5 years 12 – 18 years 19 – 35 years 36 – 60 years 60 years +
Age: 60 + years. Integrity describes the time of old age and retirement, when
our main life's work is done and the lifespan cycle nears completion.
How you grow: The growth cycle is complete when we learn to live with those
values and principles that are right for us.These become part
of who we are; there is meaning and a sense of completion in
our lives.
How you get
stuck:
The opposite of Integrity is Despair, the feeling that it has all
been a waste of time.We look back with a sense of a life that
could have been better and now it is too late to do anything
about it.
Virtues: Wisdom and understanding
Significant others: Mankind or “my kind”

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Counselling Skills
MTL Course Topics
The New Emperor
The following story illustrates “Integrity".
An ageing emperor in the East decided on a novel way to
choose his successor. He called the city's youths to his palace.
Handing out some special seeds, he told them, "Go and plant
these seeds. In a year's time, I will judge your plants and
choose the new emperor."
One boy named Ling took his pot home and planted the seed.
Every day he watered it but nothing grew. Even though his
friends at school were talking about their growing plants, Ling
only had an empty pot.
When the day came to return to the palace, Ling went with a
frightened heart. The emperor appeared. All the other youths
had magnificent plants. When the emperor saw Ling's plant,
he summoned him to the front and announced to the crowd,
"Behold your new emperor! He has courage and integrity for
all the seeds I gave you were boiled and useless. He was the
only one not to cheat. He will be a wise ruler over you all."
"It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we
have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when
things go wrong.” (Laura Ingalls Wilder)

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Counselling Skills
MTL Course Topics
"Change and growth
take place when a
person has risked
himself and dares to
become involved with
experimenting with
his own life."
(Herbert Otto)

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Counselling Skills
MTL Course Topics
THANK YOU
This has been a Slide Topic from Manage Train Learn
Personal Growth
Counselling Skills
MTL Course Topics