Todd J. Schmenk, M.Ed.
Rhode Island College
Author Note Todd J, Schmenk, M.Ed., Department of Counseling, Educational Leadership, and School Psychology Department, Feinstein School of Education and Human Development, Rhode Island College. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Todd J. Schmenk, M.Ed., Department of Counseling, Educational Leadership, and School Psychology Department, Feinstein School of Education and Human Development, Rhode Island College, Providence, RI 02908 E-mail: todd@toddschmenk.com
1. Key Concepts
In dealing with individuals and in my experience and studies over the years I have come to the conclusion that a person’s development and interactions with the world is a compilation of internal adaptations to external stimulus. As the philosopher Ken Wilber put it “ A person’s network-logic is a dialectic (an investingating or discussing the truth of opinions) of whole and part. As many details as possible are checked; then a tentative big picture is assembled; it is checked against further details, and the big picture readjusted. And so on indefinitely, with ever more details constantly altering the big picture—and vice versa.” (Wilber, 2000, Loc.213-15)
Drawing upon this broad but key ideology, any approach to counseling or psychotherapy, in my opinion, would have to be sure to address these internal processes and conclusions in order to help an individual deal with and achieve balance when an imbalance has occurred. In order to do so, this would mean incorporating upon several of the key components of made by astute individuals who have helped to define the various aspects of these processes. Of great influence to my approach would be Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory of development which considers the impact of external factors from family, specifically the parents, to cultural and societal influences and their effects on an individual’s
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