Psychology Articles

Take a kid, bring him up like a slave, abuse him, neglect him, show him hatred instead of love, keep him from his education and you will probably produce a ‘person’ who hates authority, everyone around him and even himself. He will go on to become a negative statistic adding nothing to society and will require extensive special educational needs.

So who is at fault, the kid, the parents or the sub-culture that our society has allowed to grow? I have worked with over 50,000 young people in schools, colleges and youth training organisations up and down the UK and I see the signs regularly. Young kid stressed out, in trouble with teachers, complains that everything is boring and is constantly off school. Anger and aggression are a part of his everyday messed-up life. As time goes on these things become more pronounced because he realises that standing up to anyone gets him respect and significance from his sub-culture mates.

School or education is not a part of his life because his parents couldn’t care less. They didn’t go to school so what’s good enough for them is good enough for him. Or, maybe they need him to look after his younger brothers and sisters while they are out of their heads on alcohol or drugs.

State benefits supplemented with money generated from their sub-culture activities create their standard of living and help them survive.

The odd occasion that this kid does go to school, he is not focused, he gives attitude to teachers and is more interested in messing around because he becomes the centre of attraction – something that doesn’t happen at home.

He creates a defence mechanism to justify his negative beliefs. He puts down anything that is in danger of showing up his weaknesses. Education is crap, lessons are boring, swots are weak and work is for idiots. He is always turning away from or putting things or people down because then he won’ t ever be put in a situation where someone will discover that he has low confidence, low self-esteem and a lot of fear. So his cool to be dumb, couldn’t care less attitude makes him a survivor.

This kid is a product of our society – a society that, has in it complacency, allowed kids to grow up and become dysfunctional parents to yet another generation of dysfunctional kids. We then wonder why crime rises, why more people are on state benefit and why our juvenile detention centres and prisons are busting at the seams.

The courses we offer to schools and college are for kids like the one above. We try to put back what was taken away – love, respect, confidence and self-esteem. We want these kids to know that they are as good as any person on the planet, to know that they have talents, skills and abilities just like anyone else and to know that their life can be better. We offer them special educational needs that deal with social, emotional, attitudinal and motivational barriers to achievement.

The male term above also applies to females.

There are also lots of other kids who go through similar experiences but find the light at the end of the tunnel and go on to do something wonderful in their lives.

I wrote this article because society needs a wake-up call. It needs to see the dangers that lie ahead if we don’t take action.

I personally have experienced a father in prison, being brought up on benefits, children’s and foster homes and, leaving school with no academic qualifications. Thankfully, I had a loving mother who ensured I didn’t become a negative statistic.

http://www.school-teacher-student-motivation-resources-courses.com

History:

Forensic psychology came in light in the twirl of the twentieth century. In 1901, William stern studied on recollection of memory course. He made his students to analyze a picture for few seconds and then asked questions to them relating to it. He then concluded from his research that memories which are recalled are in general not precise. Lead-in query are frequently use in police force cross-examination and in inquiring spectators. The first forensic psychologist is often said to be “Hugo Munster berg”. He wrote a book which was published in 1908 which was titled as “On the Witness Stand”. There were some other scientist who has created some test which is helpful for the legal proceeding is Sigmund Freud and Alfred Bi net. There studies suggested that the time taken by an individual to answer a question may possibly be an aspect in determining guiltiness or incorruptibility.

About forensic psychology:

It is the interface between psychology and the law, so all psychosomatic services offered for the official community is forensic psychological services. The services provided are both medical and forensic in nature. It is also known as the application of science and its answers to the queries relating to the rules and regulation of the legal system. The term “forensic” came from “forensic” which means the forum it is a Latin word. Presently it refers for the purpose of technical and scientific principles to carry out a challenging process which is possible with a well-educated and highly professional scientist.

Key terms:

Some key terms in forensic psychology are Insanity, Expert Witness, Competency, Jury Consulting and Criminal Profiling. Some motivating Sub fields contained by this Psychology are social psychology, developmental psychology, cognitive psychology, criminal investigative psychology and clinical-forensic psychology.

Pros and cons in the field of forensic psychology:

Pros: Helping Others, Opportunities, Varying surroundings, acknowledgment and Personal Fulfillment, long-lasting Education, threat of Injury, no independent work it always teamwork, and Burnout Risk.

Cons: long-lasting Education, threat of Injury, no independent work it always teamwork, and Burnout Risk.

Qualities needed in Forensic Psychologist:

Desirable ability, aptitude, and acquaintance are the key qualities for forensic psychology. Those with an aspiration to work must be patient, flexible, at ease working with others, and take pleasure in doing research. One also have to be a good quality speaker for the reason that a lot of people who do work in this field work as specialist spectators at a few point through their career. An expertise in irregular, motivational, scientific, and social psychology is also main features to be victorious in this field. Additionally, working in this field requires continuing education throughout career, even after 5-7 years of graduate school. One cannot be a certified psychologist with out a doctoral degree.

Institutions for Master degree courses

A few Terminal Master Degree courses for practicing a profession in Forensic Psychology are Forensic Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the University of Melbourne.

George Anto is a Copywriter of Psychology, Forensic Psychology, Community Psychology. He written many articles in various topics such as sports Psychology. For more information visit: http://psychegames.com.

I want to control my feelings!

Clients often come into therapy dismayed and upset by the strong feelings that they are undergoing.

Sometimes the causes are “situational”…

You may be reeling from a recent blow, an emotional loss, a divorce, a death, a disappointment, a serious life transition. In these cases empathy, interpersonal support and especially time, are the forces that will naturally bring your feelings back down to what is normal, manageable and acceptable for you. You may be able to find these helpful resources in friends or in family circles, but when these supports are not accessible or effective you may find it useful to go through your process with another person in the safe space of a therapeutic relationship with a psychologist, coach or other professional helper.

…in other cases the situation is not so clear in origin.

You may suffer from a pervasive feeling of being unable to control yourself emotionally in more ordinary situations. Emotional expressions may be too forceful, inappropriate to the situation… or even absent when they should be present. As a result you may feel out of step or out of control or inadequate. You may also be criticized by others or feel that the situation is damaging interpersonal relationships that are important to you. The “uncontrolled” feelings may be anger, sorrow, shame, or jealousy. (We rarely worry that our positive emotions ….love, joy, pride, are out of control).

What does it mean to “control” feelings?

Most people’s first instinct when it comes to the control of feelings, especially negative feelings like hurt or anger, is to wish for the ability to minimize them, to hide them when they are present, or to not feel negative feelings at all. The poster child for this attitude might be Mr. Spock, the character from the TV show “Star Trek” who prided himself on showing no emotions and making all decisions on the basis of pure logic. It was however one of the recurring themes of the show to prove over and over again that the emotionality of the other characters was wise and useful… even essential to good outcomes for the characters. Among the positive human emotions lost by Spock’s excessive control were his love, compassion, pity, and joy. He could not be angered… but he could feel none of these positive emotions either.

Simple control of feelings by will power or the reduction of thought to logic and practicality do not create a good human life. It is easy enough to see that we need emotion and that emotion serves us. So when people develop fantasies of “ridding themselves of emotion” they are usually barking up the wrong tree.

A better thing to look for and develop might be what psychological researchers call “emotional intelligence”

What is emotional Intelligence?

Psychologists Salovey, Mayer and Caruso (2002) describe emotional intelligence as having four components:
Emotional perception and expression. This is the ability to identify emotions in yourself and others. It means being able to read other people’s signals and to express your positive and negative feelings accurately Emotional understanding: This is the ability to label emotions with words, to understand the causes and consequences of emotions and to see how emotions are connected to events and to other emotions in complex ways. This includes understanding how feelings change over time and recognizing the effect of contradictory emotions. Emotional management. Truly effective emotional management calls for an ability to reflect on feelings and disclose them appropriately to others. It also means being able to help others manage their emotions Emotional facilitation of thought. Because emotions turn our attention to what is important in a situation they can be harnessed to energize and motivate effective problem solving and to find creative solutions. and to use emotions to inspire action, for example when a coach inspires his team with feelings of pride or a motivational speaker creates in his audience a desire to take action. This is especially true of interpersonal problems but understanding what others want and need helps us in everything from automobile design to investment strategies.

But feeling like an emotional mess inside…

Individuals develop typical strategies for managing their emotions in public and in private.
Drugs or alcohol or food may be used to turn down the dimmer on feelings… or the opposite… they may be used to permit feelings, both positive and negative, to be released or expressed … sometimes inappropriately or in ways that cause problems for others. Suppression and avoidance are two of the least effective because they are the emotional equivalent of stuffing all your junk into the closet and shutting the door on it. The room may look tidy but every time you open the closet stuff falls out on your head… or the head of any other poor soul… friend, lover, co-worker… who tries to get something out of your emotional closet! Usually they object to this. They say, “Get your feelings under control! It is often at these points that a person might think about therapy as an option and wonder how therapy might help.

How does therapy help “control” feelings?

Therapy provides a safe supportive environment in which to develop emotional intelligence by examining your own thoughts and feelings and emotional history in a compassionate, and curious way.
Talking about the triggers and maintainers of emotional states helps you to clarify the role that they play in life situations, both positive and negative. Recognizing and exploring contradictory emotions often helps to reduce anxiety and unblock energy that was bound up by indecision and release it for action. Understanding that feelings change over time and considering how, why and what is currently appropriate can reduce guilt.Feeling and showing emotions appropriately can help to reduce depression when it is caused by a need to suppress and avoid anger, envy, guilt or some other negative emotion.

Positive benefits of developing emotional intelligence

Other research by Salovey et al (2002) suggests that the benefits of developing emotional intelligence are significant, including better leadership skills in the workplace, lower levels of aggression and less substance abuse including cigarette smoking and alcohol abuse.

Researcher Daniel Goleman (2002) argues that emotional intelligence may be the distinguishing characteristic of good leaders. It permits them to bring out the best in others, to build relationships and to solve disputes.

The human world is an emotionally charged and colorful world.

Emotion researchers suggest that up to 90% of emotional information is transmitted non-verbally, by tone, glance and gesture and that we are rarely consciously aware of how much we are transmitting or reading from others.

To have to deny, to lie about, to suppress feelings, or to be blind to the feelings of others causes tensions and anxieties that limit us in our ability to connect to and live with others. It is necessary to develop emotional intelligence because the ability to move easily and freely in the emotional world is a very important part of what it means to live an authentic and happy human life.

References

Goleman, D (2002, June 16). Could You Be a Leader? Parade Magazine, pp. 4-5.

Salovey, P., Mayer, J.D. & D. Caruso (2002). The Positive Psychology of Emotional Intelligence. In C.R. Snyder and S. J. Lopez (Eds.) Handbook of Positive Psychology (pp. 159-171) New York, Oxford University Press.

Susan Meindl, MA, is a licensed psychologist in private practice in Montreal Canada. She has a special interest in Jungian ideas and practices a Jungian approach to psychodynamic psychotherapy

http://therapists.psychologytoday.com/rms/59983