'The Schopenhauer Cure\r'

'The Sch spreadhauer Cure Alyssa K. Engblom Winona State University In the defy The Schopenhauer Cure, Yalom portrays a concourse therapist, Julius, who uses a concoction of throng facilitation proficiencys in order for the pigeonholing to be run effectively. The branch proficiency Julius uses in the mathematical assembl progress is to switch the localise from content to process. â€Å"Julius intervened by using the meeting therapist’s or so public and most effective tacticâ€he switched the focus from the content to the process, that is, away from the lyric poem being spoken to the nature of the blood of the interacting starties” (Yalom, 2005, p. 132).During this scenario, sightly is discovering insecure close to herself and confronts Rebecca slightly â€Å"preening” for the hands in the mathematical chemical root word. Phillip is simmer overpower new-sprung(prenominal) to the group, and the a nonher(prenominal) comp geniusnts ar e non as healthy reliable what to think of him yet. In order for the group to be refocuse, Julius tells perpetu exclusivelyyy wizard to â€Å" pursue a step back…and to stress to understand what’s happening. Let me first erect out this question to every of you: what do you see going on in the relationship in the midst of comme il faut and Rebecca? ” (Yalom, 2005, p. 132). Julius does non want everyone to focus simply on what becoming and Rebecca are verbalize to each other, exactly kind of on their relationship with each other.The second technique Julius uses is to bring forth group ingredients focus on the â€Å"Here and Now. ” An off-shoot of the Here and Now technique is to have members of the group talk immediately to each other, instead of talk of the town both(prenominal)what them. Julius â€Å"had done what the good group therapist should do: he had translated one of his long-suffering’s central issues into the here-and - instanter, where it could be explored firsthand. It was ever so much arable to focus on the here-and-now than to give out on the patient’s reconstructions of an as yett from the past or from received outside action” (Yalom, 2005, p. 158).During this group meeting, Julius is distort to get to the root of wherefore just feels that everyone else is more valuable or more important to the group than her. However, all of her explanations are all external and the other group members feel that her answers are regressive or don’t make sense. Julius consequently moves into a nonher technique. â€Å"In his view the work in therapy consisted of two phases: first interaction, practically emotional, and second, understanding that interaction. That’s the way therapy should go onâ€an alternating sequence of evocation of emotions and in that locationfore understanding” (Yalom, 2005, p. 60). To get to this second stage, Julius asks the group to l ook back at what occurred in the past few minutes. He was toilsome to get sightly to see that she takes situations or comments and then punishes herself with them. The third technique Julius â€Å"taught to his group therapy students was: Members should never be punished for self-disclo reliable. On the contrary, risk pickings must eer be relievered and reinforced” (Yalom, 2005, p. 218). At this point in the book, the group members are upset at Gill for not telling them sooner that he has a drinking problem.They are angry that he was blaming all his difficulties on his wife, Rose, and not talking rough the real problem. Julius then goes on to use a fourth facilitation technique, level vs. Vertical Disclosure. â€Å"Julius eternally taught students the difference between vertical and horizontal self-disclosure. The group was pressing, as expected, for vertical disclosureâ€details closely the past, including such queries as the scope and the period of his drinkingà ¢â‚¬whereas horizontal disclosure, that is, disclosure closely the disclosure, was always far more productive” (Yalom, 2005, p. 19). He then asks Gill what do it possible for him to open up to them at this particular meeting. At the beginning of the story, Philip did not have the appearance _or_ semblance like an appealing character. However, by the end of the book and afterward I got to know his character a snack more, I could see certain strengths peeking out. Philip is an exceedingly intelligent, bright, and committed individual. He was dedicated to conclusion a solution to his sexual addiction, and worked disfranchised to achieve the result he desired. In the group experience, he offered up bits of advice to the other members.The advice may not have helped them amplely, and at least he was laborious to contri neverthelesse. Philip also challenged the other members of the group as well as Julius. His personality was not very inviting, but this forced the others (and Julius) to try harder to understand him and what do him tick. When Pam returns to the group from her retreat, the mode immediately becomes darker when she sees Philip in her â€Å"cozy” group. She does not feel comfortable having him in the group because he had caused her so much trouble oneself in the past.Julius found it hard to govern â€Å" pardonness” for Philip, but he time-tested to identify with him to try to understand wherefore he would have done the things he did. Tony sided with Pam and questioned some of Philip’s statements, whereas Rebecca defended Philip against Tony’s â€Å"attacks”. Stuart also seemed to protect Philip against Tony’s attacks. He re encephaloned Tony that he hadn’t seemed sorry for his sexual flesh out charges in the past. At the end of this confrontational chapter, Pam behaved towards Philip as if he were invisible.Farther on into the â€Å" parting changes”, Pam revealed that she f elt defiled that Philip was a part of her group. He was also, in a way, taking away her role as the quick-witted of the group. In order to handle these dissimilar changes, Julius tries to understand where each person is advent from, whether it is Pam, Philip, Tony, and so on Additionally, he made sure that each group member easygoing what they were feeling and if they were comfortable with how the group was proceeding. fair and Rebecca each have different things to severalise well-nigh their own beauty and attractiveness. Bonnie does not believe that she is attractive in any way.She feels that she isn’t interesting or worth anyone’s time. In her words, Bonnie â€Å"was the little fat girl in your grade-school classroom. Very chubby, very clumsy, hair too curly. The one who was pathetic in gym, got the few valentines, cried a lot, never had best friends, always walked home alone, never had a mall invitation, was so terrified that she never raise her hand in c lass withal though she was smart as pit and knew all the right answers…” (Yalom, 2005, p. 129-130). She eve mentioned that Rebecca was the figure of person she envied and wished she could be.Some of those feelings are likely shut away raw for Bonnie. Those feelings were recreated in the group when Rebecca started â€Å"preening” for Philip when he entered the group as a new member. Rebecca, on the other hand, used to check mark confabulation when she walked into restaurants. She never had to worry to the highest degree feeling unattractive or unwanted. However, now that she is getting older, her outward beauty is attenuation from what it used to be. She no longer sugar conversation like she used to. Philip seems to come it up perfectly: â€Å"Bonnie and Rebecca have similar afflictions.Bonnie cannot accept being un frequent, whereas Rebecca cannot tolerate being no longer popular… Happiness, for the some(prenominal)(prenominal) of them, lies i n the hands and heads of others. And for both the solution is the similar: the more one has in oneself, the less one volition want from others” (Yalom, 2005, p. 157). As the group gives Bonnie and Rebecca feedback, the criticism is not always interpreted happily. The comments sting, but they do help both women. Rebecca realizes that she likes to be admired, do itd, and adored. She likes love. She then goes on ulterior to discuss why she relates more with men than with women.In her discussion with Bonnie, she admits that she finds it more exciting to colligate to men or to date rather than spend time with girlfriends. after(prenominal) this group discussion and feedback session about why Bonnie and Rebecca react the way they do to beauty/attention, they both seem to be more aware of their unconscious actions or why they seem to do certain actions. When Pam first returned to the group after her retreat, it was a huge shock to see Philip seance in the room. I’m sure she never expected to see the populace who made her life so puzzling and turbulent at just age 18.Pam was extremely upset and did not seem to have any inclination towards ever forgiving Philip for what he did to her, as well as to her friend Molly. Philip did not even seem to have any emotions about the whole situation, which was frustrating for the whole group. How could anyone not have any emotion about such an important confrontation? over the course of the group, Philip showed small changes in his behavior. He started to make eye-contact and use the group members’ name calling when addressing them in conversation. Pam starts to acknowledge Philip in the conversation lastly, though it was heated.On page 290, Philip and Pam get into an argument. In response to Pam’s assertion that some things are not forgivable, Philip says, â€Å"Because you are stern does not mean that things are unforgivable. some years ago you and I made a short-term social buzz off… I explicitly stated in our conversation following that typesetters case that I had a pleasurable evening but did not wish to continue our relationship. How could I not have been clearer? ” (Yalom, 2005, p. 290-291). In a meeting a few weeks later, Pam receives a lot of feedback from the group concerning her rage and why exactly the decided to have an subroutine with Tony.Philip observes that she â€Å"honors” postulates when it suits her. When Philip broke off their social contract, Pam was livid, but when she broke off her social contract with Tony, she didn’t seem to have legion(predicate) emotions about the situation at all. After this particular meeting, Philip could not keep his mind off of Pam. Later on, Pam explains that it is easier for her to forgive others because she wasn’t a personal victim of their offenses. With Philip, her life was altered by what happened. â€Å"But there’s more. I can forgive others here because they’ve shown remorse and, above all, because they’ve changed” (Yalom, 2005, p. 16). Philip eventually confesses to everyone that he thought about Pam after the previous session. It was the first time he had actually opened himself up to everyone. On page 328, Philip actually admits to needing therapy, because he ineluctably to get his intentions and his behavior on the comparable page. He needs to be congruent. Ultimately, Philip breaks down when he describes what he thinks he rightfully is: â€Å"A monster. A predator. Alone. An insect killer. plentiful of blind rage. An untouchable. No one who has know me has loved me. Ever. No one could love me” (Yalom, 2005, p. 334).Pam shows dandy strength and kindness when she comforts Philip. â€Å"I could have loved you Philip. You were the most beautiful man…” (Yalom, 2005, p. 334-335). After Julius died and the group members went their separate ways, Philip, Pam, and Tony all stuck together. Through all the feedback, criticism, and hard-work, Pam and Philip were able to move past the â€Å"event” of the past and live in the present. When in a working group, one does not only focus on his or her own problems. Each group member brings different life experiences, opinions, and feedback to the table.This creates a unequaled environment in which each member can receive feedback from more than one person. Members may receive advice or feel a bond they might not have had with the group leader/ private therapist. Most of the 12 â€Å"universal ameliorate factors” appear in The Schopenhauer Cure, but I will only discuss a few of them. Instillation of hope and universality seem to go hand-in-hand with each other. As the members of this group talked about their personal problems and fears, they observe that other members shared some of these same problems and fears. This gave them hope that they could potentially overcome these issues.Altruism is an specially helpful factor fo r Bonnie. The other members helped her put her self-esteem issues into perspective and to see that she is, indeed, important. Pam used Catharsis when she recapped her traumatic experience with Philip. This probably lifted a huge angle off her shoulders of the event being a secret. The positive response of the group members to support her after her confession brought them together even more. Group cohesiveness played an extensive part in this novel. Without a cohesive or trust-worthy group, nobody would ever open up and reveal their problems.When various members, Gill, Pam, Tony, Rebecca, etc. , revealed potentially humiliating information about themselves, it was essential that they trusted their fellow group members to keep the information confidential. The Schopenhauer Cure was an fine example of a working group. It was great to see the different techniques used in diverse scenarios throughout the book. Without these examples, I wouldn’t have the good outline of how a gr oup works that I do today. Reference Yalom, I. D. (2005). The Schopenhauer Cure. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.\r\n'