Elements of Positive Mental Health

Elements of Positive Mental Health

Elements of Positive Mental Health

• Personal autonomy and independence

• A sense of identity

• Feelings of personal worth

• Skilled interpersonal communication

• Sensitivity, nurturance, and trust

• Genuineness and honesty with self and other

• Self-control and personal responsibility

• Committed and loving personal relationships

• Capacity to forgive others and oneself

• Personal values and a purpose in life

• Self-awareness and motivation for personal growth

• Adaptive coping strategies for managing stresses and crises

• Fulfillment and satisfaction in work

• Good habits of physical health

? TABLE 15.1

Adapted from Bergin, 1991; Bloch, 2006.

Knowledge Builder Treating Psychological Distress

RECITE 1. One modern scientific explanation of medieval “possessions” by

“demons” is related to the effects of a. ergot poisoning b. trepanning c. exorcism

d. unconscious transference 2. Pinel is famous for his use of exorcism. T or F? 3. In psychoanalysis, an emotional attachment to the therapist is

called: a. free association b. manifest association c. resistance

d. transference Match:

4. _____ Directive therapies A. Change behavior 5. _____ Action therapies B. Place responsibility on the client 6. _____ Insight therapies C. The client is guided strongly 7. _____ Nondirective therapies D. Seek understanding

8. An approach that is incompatible with insight therapy is a. individual therapy b. action therapy c. nondirective

therapy d. time-limited psychotherapy

REFLECT Think Critically

9. According to Freud’s concept of transference, patients “transfer” their feelings onto the psychoanalyst. In light of this idea, to what might the term countertransference refer?

Self-Reflect

The use of trepanning, demonology, and exorcism all implied that the mentally ill are “cursed.” To what extent are the mentally ill rejected and stigmatized today?

Try to free associate (aloud) for 10 minutes. How difficult was it? Did anything interesting surface?

Can you explain, in your own words, the role of dream analysis, resistances, and transference in psychoanalysis?

Make a list describing what you think it means to be mentally healthy. How well does your list match the items in ? Table 15.1?

Answers: 1. a 2. F 3. d 4. C 5. A 6. D 7. B 8. d 9. Psychoanalysts (and therapists in general) are also human. They may transfer their own unresolved, unconscious feelings onto their patients. This sometimes hampers the effectiveness of therapy (Kim & Gray, 2009).

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