Famous Therapist Errors Ii

FAMOUS THERAPIST ERRORS II Presented by CONTINUING PSYCHOLOGY EDUCATION INC. 6 CONTINUING EDUCATION HOURS “Such self-honesty and internal clarity are prerequisites for a serious analysis of therapists’ flaws and imperfections.” Kottler and Blau (1989, p. 127) Course Objective Learning Objectives This course examines the prevalence of Upon completion, the participant will understand therapeutic errors and how we may learn the nature and prevalence of therapeutic errors from the process. A number of prominent and the learning potential inherent in examining practitioners disclose their counseling one’s mistakes. A number of influential mistakes allowing the reader to gain psychotherapists-theorists examine the concept of from their experience. James Bugental, therapeutic errors facilitating the reader to integrate Clark Moustakas, John Gray, and others these principles into his or her own practice. disclose their therapy failures for our benefit. Accreditation Faculty Continuing Psychology Education Inc. is approved Neil Eddington, Ph.D. by the Texas State Board of Social Worker Richard Shuman, MFT Examiners (Provider # 3329), Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors (Provider # 386), and Texas State Board of Examiners of Marriage and Family Therapists (Provider # 110). This course, Famous Therapist Errors II, meets the qualifications for 6 hours of continuing education for social workers, LPCs, and LMFTs as required by the above-mentioned State Boards; for psychologists, LSSPs, LPAs, and provisionally licensed psychologists as required by the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists; and for LCDCs as required by the Texas LCDC Program. Mission Statement Continuing Psychology Education Inc. provides the highest quality continuing education designed to fulfill the professional needs and interests of mental health professionals. Resources are offered to improve professional competency, maintain knowledge of the latest advancements, and meet continuing education requirements mandated by the profession. Copyright Ó 2010 Continuing Psychology Education Inc. 1 Continuing Psychology Education Inc. P. O. Box 142228 Austin, TX 78714 FAX: (858) 272-5809 Phone: 1 800 281-5068 www.texcpe.com FAMOUS THERAPIST ERRORS II INTRODUCTION Process (1978) highlight the importance of sensitivity, love and intuition within the therapeutic encounter. Deducing the causes of failure in therapy is difficult for He disclosed his therapy failure with a client named Nina, a several reasons. First, clients often do not inform therapists wife and mother who experienced periods of despondency all of the true reasons for leaving treatment – it could be as her life and when in this mood would become argumentative. trivial as our style of dress, the way we addressed them on a There was no significant change in her emotional issues after particular occasion or something we said which was more than three years of therapy. “I failed Nina, although understood out of context. Second, clients may not be aware I’m not sure how. My best guess is that I misread the depth of why they felt dissatisfied with the process as it was of her depressive character and therefore didn’t help her unfolding. Third, therapists may lack inner courage or come to an adequate accommodation to it…” Bugental objectivity to admit errors or poor judgment thus maintaining confirmed that client progress did occur in several areas, self-evaluation in a favorable light. Additionally, therapeutic hence, the therapy had successful aspects as well. encounters are generally too complex to discover a single Bugental felt strongly of the need to provide a situation reason causing failure, rather, a combination of factors is which clients can use to implement life changes. He probably at work. understood that this is not always possible, acknowledging Kottler and Blau (1989) believe that determining good that he is very human, thus limited. The common versus bad therapy is based on a subjective assessment of one denominator for therapy failure, in his perspective, is the or both participants such that relative meaning and value are therapist’s hesitation to invest as completely and to be as attributed to the outcome. Bad therapy occurs when personal present-oriented as the client needs. issues and counter-transference processes negatively affect Successful therapy requires therapists to confront client sound judgment (Robertiello & Schoenewolf, 1987). It is despite our fear of their anger, disappointment or of losing understood that committing therapeutic errors is a product of client. We must not divert their emotional outbursts, being human and that constructive processing of our mistakes transference, or “messiness;” we must allow client to face the leads to mastery of a profession (Conyne, 1999). “ultimate insolubility of life” and we are better served to be Estrada and Holmes (1999) examined couple’s assessments responsible for our own neurotic distortions. Moreover, of marital therapy and determined that clients deemed the Bugental believed that at least some benefits resulted given therapy experience lousy when therapists were passive, sincere effort of therapist and client but these benefits may be unclear about their expectations, not empathic or less than desired. He stated, “…there is merit both in trying understanding, and when they did not keep things safe or to approach that ideal more frequently and in accepting that wasted time. Clients find therapy less than helpful when we will always fall short of it.” therapists do not do what they want and expect; therapists gauge the therapy as bad when clients are not cooperative. RICHARD FISCH Poor therapy outcomes tend to result from contributions by therapist, client, the situation and external forces. Fisch, a psychiatry professor at Stanford, has pioneered research in problem-solving therapy and has co-authored The following section examines the self-admitted many books, including Change: Principles of Problem therapeutic errors of prominent practitioners. The goal is for Formation and Problem Resolution (1974) and The Tactics all of us to learn from their mistakes and to confront our own. of Change: Doing Therapy Briefly (1982). In 1965, he founded the Brief Therapy Center at the Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto, California. It was the first such THE ERRORS OF PROMINENT institute in the world established for the purpose of PRACTITIONERS researching ways to make therapy more effective and efficient. In doing so, Dr. Fisch and his colleagues created Kottler and Blau (1989) and Kottler and Carlson (2003) time-proven methods of therapy in use today. interviewed noteworthy practitioners and asked them to He admits that some failure cases leave him puzzled as to describe an experience with therapy failure due to their own the cause – even after reviewing case notes and pondering error, what they learned from the experience and how it has intervention taken. In such instances, “I can’t say I learned impacted their life. James Bugental, Richard Fisch, Clark anything and I had to shrug my shoulders and go on to the Moustakas, John Gray, and others shared some of their next case and give it my best shot.” To Fisch, the therapist imperfections allowing us to learn from their mistakes and to assumes much of the responsibility for treatment and be more disclosing of our own. outcome and the outcome is easily measured by whether client’s issue is resolved or not. JAMES BUGENTAL Fisch recollects that generally he did learn from his errors, including having intervened too quickly or with insufficient Bugental has been a dominant force in existential- planning and having argued with client while attempting to humanistic psychotherapy and his books, including The Art offer a different perspective on a situation. “You can usually of the Psychotherapist (1987), and Psychotherapy and 2 Continuing Psychology Education Inc. Copyright Ó 2010 Continuing Psychology Education Inc. FAMOUS THERAPIST ERRORS II tell when you’re arguing because you’re talking too much. be more responsive as a self, entering into an ‘I-thou’ You can sense you’re working too hard.” relationship.” Disclosure of a therapy error by Fisch involved working Therapeutic errors, according to Moustakas, often occur with the parents of a 10 year-old boy who had a kidney because therapists persist in using a technique or condition requiring dialysis several times a week. The methodology that is not helpful or amenable to the parents indicated their son was socially withdrawn and sensitivities of the client. having peer difficulties at school and in the neighborhood. They felt the medical condition was causing the boy to feel JOHN GRAY inferior to peers which they attempted to combat by reassuring him that he was like the other kids. Unfortunately, Initially trained as a family therapist, Gray became an this was not the case and the “reassurances” reinforced that author of relationship books, including his best-seller, Men he was so different that it could not even be acknowledged. Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus. He was frustrated Fisch recommended parents to deal with the situation in a with the therapeutic style that highlighted expressing feelings more honest and matter-of-fact manner which over seeking mutual understanding between partners, hence, they did and found to be effective. The error arose when his writing focuses upon gender differences within Fisch attempted to reassure the parents by lightening the communication styles. tone. He suggested that despite

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