Please write a reply for each student post minimum of 120 words for each reply : You reply should add something to the post. Mention any interesting point in the post and discuss it. Give your opinion about the post e,g I agree with you , you raised an interesting point when you said……… it is ,,,,,, Thank you Discussion 1 :Week 3 Discussion Forum 17In the Depressive Disorders Chapter, when diagnosing Major Depressive Disorder the clinician was cautioned to distinguish between normal grief/bereavement after a death of a loved one from a major depressive episode. As well as, in the Trauma-and Stress-Related Disorders Chapter, when diagnosing an Adjustment Disorder one of the criteria states, "the symptoms do not represent normal bereavement". If an individual came into your office after the death of a loved one when would you diagnose an Adjustment Disorder or a Major Depressive Disorder? What type of symptoms would need to be present to justify a clinical diagnosis? How would you distinguish between normal bereavement and pathology? Student L.S post : When trying to figure out the difference between someone who is grieving versus someone who’s having a major depressive episode, “it is useful to consider that in grief the predominant affect is feelings of emptiness and loss, while in major depressive episode it is persistent depressed mood and the inability to anticipate happiness or pleasure,” (p.161). Since it can be difficult to determine whether a client is simply grieving or if they have a major depressive disorder, the DSM-5 helped distinguish between the two. Aspects which grief and major depressive disorder are different are that often when a client is grieving, their emotion for pain will come and go and the feeling of being unhappy with life will decrease. When a person is grieving, the client will be able to fall back on positive memories of the deceased and they may also be able to joke around, remembering humorous stories of the past. But, someone who is having a major depressive episode will be controlled by his or her negative feelings. This means that the “depressed mood of MDE is more persistent and not tied to specific thoughts or preoccupations,” (p.161). When someone is grieving they are able to maintain their self-esteem and someone with major depressive disorder are self-loathing and have feelings of worthlessness. Someone who is grieving could have thoughts of taking their own life so they can be with their loved one but someone with major depressive disorder will having suicidal thoughts because they believe they are worthless. Another sign of major depressive disorder is complete impairment of their basic everyday functions over a period of time. If I had a client come to me after a death of a loved one, I would make sure to take note of all the different symptoms my client presents. Before reading the differences between grief and major depressive disorder, I thought it was going to be a lo.

1. Please write a reply for each student post minimum of 120
words for each reply :
You reply should add something to the post. Mention any
interesting point in the post and discuss it. Give your opinion
about the post e,g
I agree with you , you raised an interesting point when you
said……… it is ,,,,,,
Thank you
Discussion 1 :Week 3 Discussion Forum
17In the Depressive Disorders Chapter, when diagnosing Major

2. Depressive Disorder the clinician was cautioned to distinguish
between normal grief/bereavement after a death of a loved one
from a major depressive episode. As well as, in the Trauma-and
Stress-Related Disorders Chapter, when diagnosing an
Adjustment Disorder one of the criteria states, "the symptoms
do not represent normal bereavement". If an individual came
into your office after the death of a loved one when would you
diagnose an Adjustment Disorder or a Major Depressive
Disorder? What type of symptoms would need to be present to
justify a clinical diagnosis? How would you distinguish between
normal bereavement and pathology?
Student L.S post :
When trying to figure out the difference between someone who
is grieving versus someone who’s having a major depressive
episode, “it is useful to consider that in grief the predominant
affect is feelings of emptiness and loss, while in major
depressive episode it is persistent depressed mood and the
inability to anticipate happiness or pleasure,” (p.161). Since it
can be difficult to determine whether a client is simply grieving
or if they have a major depressive disorder, the DSM-5 helped
distinguish between the two. Aspects which grief and major
depressive disorder are different are that often when a client is
grieving, their emotion for pain will come and go and the
feeling of being unhappy with life will decrease. When a person
is grieving, the client will be able to fall back on positive
memories of the deceased and they may also be able to joke
around, remembering humorous stories of the past. But,
someone who is having a major depressive episode will be
controlled by his or her negative feelings. This means that the
“depressed mood of MDE is more persistent and not tied to
specific thoughts or preoccupations,” (p.161). When someone is
grieving they are able to maintain their self-esteem and
someone with major depressive disorder are self-loathing and
have feelings of worthlessness. Someone who is grieving could

3. have thoughts of taking their own life so they can be with their
loved one but someone with major depressive disorder will
having suicidal thoughts because they believe they are
worthless. Another sign of major depressive disorder is
complete impairment of their basic everyday functions over a
period of time.
If I had a client come to me after a death of a loved one, I
would make sure to take note of all the different symptoms my
client presents. Before reading the differences between grief
and major depressive disorder, I thought it was going to be a lot
harder to tell the difference between the two. But, there are a
few clear-cut symptoms that make them different. The more I
read about major depressive disorder and grief/ bereavement,
the more I began to see the difference between normality and
psychopathology. For instance, “the pain of grief may be
accompanied by positive emotions and humor that are
uncharacteristic of the pervasive unhappiness and misery
characteristics of MDE,” (p.161). Also, “if a bereaved
individual thinks about death and dying, such thoughts are
generally focused on the deceased and possibly “joining” the
deceased, whereas in MDE such thoughts are focused on ending
one’s own life because of feeling worthless,” (p.161). These are
just an example of some of the symptoms I would look for when
working with a client who recently lost a loved one. I would
make sure to observe my client’s emotional state and try to see
if their feelings are completely affecting their daily activities.
Even though someone who is grieving can have this happen to
them, if they are able to bounce back after a few weeks, this is a
sign of grieving and not a major depressive episode. This means
that, if someone were having a major depressive disorder, after
a few weeks they still wouldn’t be able to preform daily
activities and obligations. Someone who is having a major
depressive disorder doesn’t just feel sad or upset, they feel
something stronger like hopeless or worthless. I would make
sure to look for trigger words like these. Before making a
clinical diagnosis, I would need to see all the symptoms that I

4. mentioned above and the symptoms that the client presents
needs to be a well-defined difference between whether it is
normal grief/ bereavement or a major depressive episode.
My reply :
Student A.N post :
In the Depressive Disorders Chapter, when diagnosing Major
Depressive Disorder the clinician was cautioned to distinguish
between normal grief/bereavement after a death of a loved one
from a major depressive episode. In the Trauma-and Stress-
Related Disorders Chapter, when diagnosing an Adjustment
Disorder one of the criteria states, "the symptoms do not
represent normal bereavement". Base on this explanation above
if an individual came into an operating office it is possible for
the psychologist to diagnose this client with major depressive
disorder, especially if this person has presently experienced
death of a loved one. This experience has altered this
individual’s mental state to showing abstract symptoms of
Major Depressive Disorder. MDD manifest sadness,
hopelessness, lack of appetite, weight loss, and difficulty
sleeping. Qualifications to diagnosing MDD recommends five or
more of its symptoms to be present during the same 2-week
period.
Experiencing severe difficulties to sustain daily living ----not
being able to perform the work as a caregiver at your home to
the point where it’s disturbing your view of your reality this

5. according to DMS-5 is the displacement of what may be
Adjustment Disorder characteristics. With this disturbance,
signs may show within 3 months. Normal bereavement could be
said to be a product of MDD even though MDDs symptoms
itself “…does not represent normal bereavement” they are both
similar in appearance with symptoms of lost for life, lack of
appetite, insomnia, experiencing weight loss. Reckless
behavior of adjustment disorder, and the fact that the symptoms
of adjustment disorder are not a part of typical bereavement
helps in differentiating. In diagnosing an individual for such
disorder, the knowing of pathology, past history and family
history is very important; these outlets may help come with an
effective conclusion in diagnosing the patient. Aside from
going over the patients pathology, past and family history if
he/she initiate suicidal talks, or indicate that thoughts of suicide
have been present long before the death in the family it is
possible to diagnosed this individual with Major Depressive
Disorder, however if the patient display destructive behaviors or
lack the ability to maintain occupational functioning this patient
could be diagnosed with what DMS-5 describe as adjustment
disorder.
My reply :

6. Discussion 2 :
Week 3: Zimbardo Prison Experiment Discussion
35How does Zimbardo's prison experiment relate to bullying
behavior?
How do you think you would have responded if you participated
in the experiment?
What surprised you most about this study?
Student M.H :
How does Zimbardo's prison experiment relate to bullying
behavior?
I believe this experiment just shows that behavior is learned and
our surroundings impact who we are. Bullying is a learned
behavior and where and how we grow up and what we see
impacts who we become. The movie said that in the experiment
all the men who were chosen were pretty much all the same
types of people and it wasn’t until they were given their roles
that they changed. Once the guards felt like they had power
over the prisoners they began to mistreat them. The video stated
that the guards knew that the prisoners didn’t actually do
anything and it could have easily had been them as the prisoners
instead and yet they still treated them like they had done
something wrong. A bully’s behavior can be easily influenced
just like the guards when they believe they have power of
someone. It also goes to show that bystanders can join in and
bully too because none of the guards stood up for any of the
prisoners. I wonder what would have happened if one did.

7. How do you think you would have responded if you participated
in the experiment?
If I was a prisoner I know that I would have for sure had a break
down. It’s completely understandable that those men did
because of how they were treated. If I was guard I honestly am
not sure how I would have responded. I’m not one to follow the
crowd and I would hope that in that situation I would have
stood up for what was right and not allowed the prisoners who
weren’t actually prisoners to be treated like animals.
What surprised you most about this study?
I can’t believe that study actually happened. I think that was the
most surprising part. I can’t believe that the men who conducted
it didn’t think that people who were a part of it could be that
deeply affected by it. I guess they probably didn’t assume that
the guards would take so well to their roles? I also can’t believe
it lasted 6 days. I would think after the first prisoner breakdown
they would have shut down the whole thing since it showed
what it was doing to them.
My Reply
Student M.W.C post :
Zimbardo's prison experiment relates to bullying because it
shows how easily people can be manipulated into bullying
others if they are higher up than them. It shows how those being
bullied are affected and how people respond to a harmful
environment without clear rules. The individuals that were
chosen for this experiment were basically similar in their
aspects, healthy and chosen at random for who would play the
role of a guard and who would play the prisoner. In an
experiment like this with no rules or structure can be dangerous
as we saw with the way people began treating one another.
Those in power and command treated the prisoners with no
respect like real prisoners and it began taking a huge told on
everyone mentally. In this experiment, individuals were putting

8. on a mask or "playing a role" similar to the bully, the bullied
and the bystanders in which they adapted certain characteristics
that coincide with the roles they were given. Individuals who
would not likely abuse or disrespect individuals were doing the
complete opposite in their role because they were adapting to
their environment. This is very similar to bullying because
children take on certain roles and behaviors that fall into a
specific category and act in ways they would not have without
their "mask" on. I honestly do not know how I would react if I
was participating in this study because certain experiments that
are conducted for periods of time that dehumanize individuals
begin taking a large toll on a persons mental status. Prison 8612
was the first individual to have a mental breakdown due to the
harassment and degrading he experienced which is exactly what
can happen in this type of situation. I know I am a strong
individual however if placed in this type of experiment where
my mental status was being severely challenged, I do not know
if I would survive or have a break down as well. When peoples'
mental health is challenged it can go in any direction even ones
they never thought. Power over the mind is a scary concept
which is why I have no idea how I would mentally respond. I
have learned about this experiment before in my undergraduate
studies and seeing it again, I would defiantly say that the same
things surprised me still. I was surprised by how easily people
can change their behaviors and actions just by "playing a role"
that they are told to do. It goes to show how easy one can be
manipulated to treat others with disrespect and humiliation that
they would not otherwise do outside the experiment. It is
similar to bullying with a child who experiences certain
environmental aspects in the home that they know could be
wrong but still turn around and hurt others in a vindictive
manner.
My Reply

9. Week 3: Bronfenbrenner Ecological Theory Discussion
19
After reviewing the diagram of Bronfenbrenner's Ecological
Theory...
How does Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Theory impact the make-
up of a bully? Please explain
How does the type of family and response to behavior e.g.
punishment/discipline impact a child's behavior?
Are parents to blame for their children's bullying behavior?
Please explain
Student m.w.c post :
Brofenbrenner's Ecological Theory can impact the make-up of a
bully because it shows how the first interactions that a child has
are with the family, peers and outside aspects. If a child learns
bullying in their home, it will be projected to those outside such
as peers and teachers because it is the first influence they have.
This will then continue to be projected outward towards other
aspects in their life and form the vicious cycle of violence that
can begin to form the basis of their beliefs. Social media, video
games and movies that are violent will continue to provide
attitudes and ideas of the bullying aspect as a way of life for the
child. However, if bullying is taught to be wrong in any of these
settings and moral education is taught instead then a more
positive aspect will be projected outward in the childs' life.
They will show more respect for those around them and become
kind, caring and strong individuals. Both aspects form the cycle
that is being shown by this model and it depends on the parents
or teachers to provide a positive environment. I will say that
parents can be part to blame for their childrens' behaviors if
they do not teach them right from wrong and moral education
from the start. However, as we have read, children have to want
to change and become caring individuals with virtuous

10. behaviors otherwise teaching moral education will not provide
positive results. Parents must demonstrate morals to their child
and empower them to become righteous children who an show
strength and positive behaviors when faced with difficult
situations. The type of punishments and parental response to
behaviors from children can have an impact of how they view
themselves and the want to change their behaviors. Isolation,
humiliation and emotional segregation will not make a child
want to become virtuous but instead make them more angry and
less willing to change. It can cause depression, anger and
thoughts of how to not get caught next time around. Parents
need to teach their children how to view their behaviors as
wrong and the right ways to change by having them take
responsibility. This means explaining to the child that their
behavior was wrong and demonstrating the correct way to act
and respond. If the parents do not provide moral education then
it can be up to the teachers to demonstrate and teach moral
education to try and break this cycle of violence. This is why
having moral education taught in schools would be so crucial
because those children who do not receive it at home can
possibly still have a chance to change their negative behaviors
into a more positive role.
My reply :

11. Student K.L post :
Looking at Broffenbrenner's model, a Bully originates in the
microsystem. IF we choose to bully, it does not make us a bully
at the basic level. Anyone who exhibits bullying behavior has
the ability to change their actions, and their behaviors can
redefine them. Bullying behavior comes from influences within
our family/school/peer/church environment. When we exhibit
bullying behaviors, they do not change us on an individual
level. Bullying behaviors do not redefine our age, sex,
genetics, appearance, etc.
When we bully, our behavior affects the greater
community, or mesosystem. If we create a hostile environment
our mesosystem responds with limits, consequences, and
bullying policy. These enforcements are not likely in direct
action of our behaviors, but the effects of an environment we
have perpetuated.
Bullying behaviors need to be addressed and corrected
before they extend this far. When family conflict, school
pressure, or peer influence stress our restraint and we exhibit
hostile and anti-social behavior, the source of stress should be
isolated and dealt with. If there is not pain or stress fueling
bullying behavior, the behaviors extinguish and will not cause
further damage to the community, peer system, or family
environment. When a family addresses stress and teaches
appropriate behavior, the bullying can be controlled. If a
community does not address the emotions behind bullying, and
respond with equal or harsher bullying or aggression, the
community grows more hostile and the larger Exosystem
responds with anti-bullying legislation, social worker
observation or review of school/home environments, or police
involvement. When an entire culture ignores the causes of

12. bullying, mental illnesses, abuse or neglect, and other social
issues in the Microsystem then competition, dominance,
bullying and harassment become the normal behavior. Before
long the entire culture is poisoned and is uncaring,
unaccountable, and negative. In order to control bullying at a
private and manageable level, there needs to be more support on
the home front. That means that issues need to be caught early
on; recognized and observed by parents, teachers, and
counselors. Adults and professionals cannot be blind or lazy
when it comes to harassment behaviors because they quickly
spiral out of control and feed more community hate and fear.
My reply :

13. Week 3: Moral Education Discussion
Should schools teach moral education? Why or why not? Please
explain
Student M.H post :
I feel as though moral education could be beneficial if there was
a specific way for teaching it based on specific morals that
every school all over the country used. I believe that in today's
society especially morals aren't something children really even
know about. But to teach it in public schools it would have to
be same countrywide since different people have different
morals. I think it would be really awesome if there was a
program designed to implement into schools and if it could get
parents involved too that would be a bonus. Everything now a
days though with schools and parents is so tricky and it's so
easy to step on someones toes I don't know how well it would
work because everyone has different views on what morals are
the most important ones.
My reply :
Student L.R :
I feel that moral education is taught within many aspects of
society, school being one of them. Children are spending more
time in school and an even greater part of their life with the
circle of friends gained in school. These outside influences are

14. sure to help mold the moral structure of one's inner self and I
think that the school environment is a large part of this culture.
If we ignore the value moral education has in school, many
opportunities for education, prevention and self worth could be
lost. The difficult part is supporting the school culture in this
challenging task. By defining moral beliefs, schools may
interfere with the home culture or send a mixed message to
children and their families. I think that strong value in positive
interactions, meaningful friendships and great self identity can
help support communities in creating successful moral
characteristics.
My reply :
Week Three Discussion: Initial post due Thursday, 2 peer
replies due Sunday
http://www.ted.com/talks/anne_marie_slaughter_can_we_all_ha
ve_it_all#t-1015352
(Links to an external site.)
Watch the video by Ann-Marie Slaughter: Can We All Have it
All?
Answer the following questions:
1. Do you agree or disagree with her position on breadwinners
versus caregivers? In today's society (in the United States) can
we have it all?
2. Balancing work and family is a common stressor that many of
your clients will experience. What is something that you learned
from this video that you can use when you have a client who is

15. facing the issue of needing to care for others, and is trying to
balance the obligations of work and family?
Student A.N :
Do you agree or disagree with her position on breadwinners
versus caregivers?
I agree with her position on breadwinners versus caregivers.In
today’s society Women are not only more likely to be the
primary caregivers in a family they are also becoming
breadwinners too. This change is a result of evolving family
dynamics. Married and single women are now joining the work
force while learning to manage it all—work, family, home, and
career. Recession or loss of a job in the family pushes women
to become breadwinners of the family while fathers are
becoming more of the caregiver pushing the barriers that we can
in fact have it all and to have it all that takes sacrifice---
spending less time in the family home, more responsibilities, or
missing out on family
events...
What is something that you learned from this video that you
can use when you have a client who is facing the issue of
needing to care for others, and is trying to balance the
obligations of work and family?
Balancing work and family is a common stressor that many
clients will experience and in the video much of this was
brought to an understanding. The idea of getting into the habit
of balancing our lives to meet the demands of “having it all”
sounds ideal. To have it all one must create time that can
accommodate with his or her other activities. Finding balance
between work and daily living is a challenge that all face;
families are particularly affected in this dynamic. Some couples
would like to have more children, but do not see how they could
afford to stop working. Other parents are happy with the number
of children in their family, but would like to work more.

16. Learning to create time to fit other activities in the schedule is a
first that must be establish in order to proceed with other
desired activities. Creating time by remove extraneous activities
out of your daily routines is a must in the premises of having it
“all.” Extraneous activities can simply be cutting down on
social media, TV, or cell phone usage to fit an activity of more
importance.
My reply :
Student S.W :
I found Ann-Marie Slaughter’s point of view to be valid and I
agree with her position. It’s important for employees to have
ability to be parents as well as employees. A parent should not
have to choose between caring for their families and their jobs.
Many people suffer significant stress and medical issues related
to this. There are many studies and much evidence that show,
that parents who are employed by companies that offer
flexibility when it comes to caring for their families, (without
the worry of being losing the employment) have reduced stress
and are able to work more effectively (this reduces the cost for
the employer). An employer who doesn’t offer flexibility their
employees could be faced with constant guilty and stress.
Stressors can mentally and physically diminish the person’s
abilities to meet their work and family requirements. Some
stressors that increase individual stress levels are increase
workloads, longer work hours, and bringing work home with
them. A chief complaint/struggle parents have are that there
aren’t enough hours in the day. A feeling of guilt often

17. consumes them; guilt that they spend more time working than
with their children and guilt about not putting more effort into
their work (work-stress conflict). Many children view this
conflict as a lack of time and attention from their parent, often
time this feeling of neglect causes the child to act out in an
effort to gain more attention. Some consequences of the work-
family conflict are health risks for the parent and child, mental
health disorders, detrimental lifestyle choices, metabolic
disorders, transference of anxiety from work to children, and
obesity for both the parent and the child. Many working parents
have to financially and emotionally support their children,
themselves, and in many cases their aging parents, while still
meeting the demands of their employer.
I think it’s more acceptable today for father to be caregivers,
than it was years ago, but there are still stigmas and negative
views of it. Some people view stay at home fathers as lazy,
inadequate, etc., while stay at home moms are the “norm”. I
think it’s important for employers and society to embrace
family diversity, if a mother chooses to work and a father
chooses to be the primary caregiver, there should not be
negative stigmas or labels given. This is becoming a constant
norm and it should be not be frowned upon, it should be viewed
as joint parent (working together for the betterment of the
children.
My reply :

18. Discussion :
Chapter 7 wk 3 Discussion 1
Existential therapy is a form of psychotherapy which
encourages clients to accept responsibility for their lives and to
live with greater meaning and value (Cormer, 2013). The
foundations of this therapeutic approach are found within the
work of philosophers including Kierkergaard, Nietzsche,
Hiedegger, Sartre and others. Individuals who pondered
religious or theological topics are also echoed within the
elements of existential therapy. As you saw in the first few
pages of chapter 7 the early philosophers present complex
thoughts, theories and concepts. This discussion question will
focus on the principles and practices section of your text. The
eight concepts are discussed on pages 110 through 114.

19. The concept of “choice” is discussed, noting that the existential
therapeutic model aspires to bring clients to a mental place or
understanding of the choices they have overlooked or “avoided
seeing”. The author talks about how ones outcome (or
situation) implies one’s intention. Here the suggestion is that
individuals engage in patterns of interactions having some
(significant) responsibility for the overall outcome. Rochlen is
careful to caution us against “blaming” victims.
Review Rochlen’s description of “choice” on page 111 and
discuss it in comparison to one of the other eight principles.
Remember to post your initial response by Wednesday and then
respond to two of your classmates’ comments.
Student W.W post :
An existential counselor's job is to listen simultaneously to way
their clients represent their lived worlds, so they can pay
attention to the possible choices existing in the worlds they
actually seem to create, and work toward them seeing more
clearly how they may have been telling themselves that they do
not have alternatives. The hope that clients may come to see
choices they had avoided "seeing". According to the text,
outcome implies intention and the results that clients do point to
the possibility that these consequences are at some level what
they sought.
I think identity is also an important concept an existential
counselor should keep in mind and look to apply. Everyone at
some point in their lifetime wonders "who am I?" Clients may
come to the office for answers but an existential counselor has
to point out that first one must make a goal of getting to know
themselves better and take stock of their identity. People spend
so much time trying to "find themselves" that they don't realize
that personal identity is more like something we are challenged
to create. Clients may identify themselves by social status,
personality traits, history, age, physical characteristics - but as
counselors, we have to guide them to see those are just allusions
and who they "think they are".

20. Reply :
Student J.V :
The concept of “choice” is an important principle within the
realm of existential psychotherapy. “Choice” refers not only to
the capacity for one to determine their own actions, but also the
acknowledgement that choices have been made in the past. A
major component of this involves recognizing that on some
level, a client’s current dilemmas have been arrived at
intentionally. This may not be immediately evident to a client,
and may feel quite the opposite to them. The concept of
“choice” involves taking ownership of choices that have been
made in the past. Even choices which have been made through
an absence of action. Sometimes the internal deliberations
involved in taking a course of action may be explicitly not
conscious. At these times, it may feel to the client that things
have been “happening to them.” It is an objective of the
existential therapist to reframe their perspective instead to the
“they have been doing things.”
I think the concept of “choice” pairs particularly well with
the concept of “Identity.” Boiled down to its simplest core, the

21. concept of “Identity” explores the basic question, “Who am I?”
In existential terms, this becomes the product, or result of the
others values, or quantifications represented by all the other
qualities. Rather than being something one finds or discovers,
the book points out that “Identity” represents something the
individual is challenged to create. To extend a metaphor, the
“Identity” is somewhat like a stone statue. Whether the
individual creates the piece, or simply removes the material
obscuring it is up for debate. However, “choices” become the
tools used in the process of removing the scrap stone. As each
of us make different choices, our statues will invariably become
different, even if we began with identical pieces of stone. Yet at
the end, each of us will have created a statue. The discussion of
what makes each statue unique provides context of the actual
Identity. In this manner, the therapist seeks to help the client
understand and appreciate themselves through such context and
decisions. It also becomes the responsibility of both the
therapist and the client to acknowledge that the process was
executed by the individual with intent, not through some
arbitrary whim of nature. Much in the same manner an artist
may not be able to immediately identify “why” they chose to
place a particular line or shade a specific color, such
occurrences are the result of choice, even when they occur from
a level deep within the psyche. By understanding this, it enables
an individual to better appreciate their past, and better evaluate
decisions in the future.
My reply :

22. Chapter 8 wk 3 Discussion 1
The four pillars of Gestalt therapy include: what and how, here
and now. The hope of this approach is to facilitate clients with
regard to improving relationships, fostering self-growth and
their sense of overall well-being.
Reread the concept “Here-and-now focus” on page 129 of your
text. Discuss the benefits of using this conceptual framework
within a counseling session. What do you think the potential
“pit falls” may be to this particular approach?
As always, remember to post by Wednesday of this week and
respond to two of your classmates.
Student J.P :
he “Here and now focus” is the creating of heightened emotions
that focus on a now feeling, a now emotion about any
impediment, episode in their client lives. Gestalt “practice
relates, “Brown contends, “directly and immediately to
improved health and more mature functioning, not only at some
future time, but in the present. It seems to be that HNF is the
basis to the whole therapy because Gestalt is based on the
phenomenological “inquiry, paying attention to what is actual
now.” The therapist places both therapist and client within a
process of now[s] and in the end, the client experiences an
emotional catharsis whereby the client is a product of change
and development. The therapist excludes nothing, no gesture is
too small not to be considered and since this therapy encompass
the “lived world” as the basis to help the client sincerely engage
with the therapist and produce a healthier client. In this focus
on the now, it shares similarity with TLDP therapy whereby
duration of sessions is a key component in both therapeutic
process. To elicit that kind of emotional honesty in a moment
of heightened awareness takes creative and spontaneous skill
from the therapist. Yet the therapy does not shy away from
bold moves within the everyday things and lives in the real
world. The therapy believes it can help a client overcome

23. unfinished business rooted in early experiences. The benefits
could be quite good and the therapy successful in helping a
client to release pent-up emotions and memories, unhealthy
patterns and associations, and a wounded self when they buy
into the “Here and now focus.”
A possible pitfall is the development of a claustrophobic or
paranoiac personality if the engagement between therapist and
client does not work out. With therapies that significantly
involve the client in a special relationship with the therapist,
they run the risk of experiencing emotional and mental
imbalance between the client and therapist. The other thing I
thought is a challenge is its notion of the self. If it is a therapy
of process looking for those emotional and mental catharses,
what self is experiencing the emotions and feelings and how
many selves? For those that want to connect to a stable self, a
self of little change, this therapy is not for that client. Will the
client feel security with a dynamic self and therapy that ask
them to focus on new experiences and adventures? The self is
in need of healing but to inform the client that the self is ever
changing might help some client heal while impede others
because of their greater need for security. And then the therapy
might conflict with a diagnostic framework since its focus on
lived experience undermine consistent diagnostic categories.
My reply :
Student W.W :
I like the thought of incorporating Gestalt's approach in therapy
sessions. I agree that it is important to stay in the moment - the
"here and now", focusing on awareness and contact, and
bringing clients from feelings of "stuckness" and into process
and integration. We have no control over the past and future, all

24. we have is the present moment. Now is the only time we have
power to influence an event. I can picture saying that to a
client. It's true, by staying aware and in the here and now,
emotions will surface and feelings and thoughts heightened- to
uncover what needs attention the most.
However, I would not use this approach with clients going
through some sort of trauma or that are having suicidal
ideations. Triggering negative or stressful feelings or thoughts
would not be a good idea.
My Reply