Neurosis (plural: neuroses) is a term mainly used today by followers of Freudian thinking to describe mental disorders caused by past anxiety. On the other hand, “Suburban neurosis” was a hypothetical condition caused by a vacuum in the life of the modern woman;
Dr George Scott Williamson was concerned that such unhappy mothers would be unable
to produce happy, healthy offspring. The problem went beyond
physiological questions.
II
Learning Objectives
Understand the characteristics of the neurotic personality
Explain the symptoms of a neurotic personality
Gain an awareness of the neurotic needs developed
by Karen Horney
Experience Evan's methodology and warm up
III
Main Lesson
1
Video 1
Question 1
After watching the video, which characteristics of the neurotic personality mentioned by the narrator do you have?
After
watching this 1971 video of a Wellington mother expressing a longing
for adult company and the stimulation of paid work, what symptoms of
suburban neurosis experienced by her coincide with the symptoms
described in the first video?
Explore Karen Horney's theories
on the development of basic anxiety and neuroses. Learn about each neurotic
need, further illustrated with some real life examples.
Karen Horney
Karen Horney was a psychoanalyst
who researched theories about why people develop neuroses, or obsessive and
excessive anxiety. She thought that neuroses appear when people manage basic
anxiety by over-fulfilling an irrational need. Horney believed that basic
anxiety is experienced when adults feel hopeless, isolated, or abandoned as a
result of being raised by emotionally neglectful parents.
Neuroses
According to Horney, these
neuroses grow out of an extreme need to feel loved and wanted. At one time or
another, most people act on these insecurities to feel better about themselves.
However, it becomes unhealthy when they strive to obsessively meet a few needs
for self-protection, rather than all of them more evenly. For example,
occasionally needing to hear reassurance that one is liked is healthy. Needing
to hear this reassurance constantly is not healthy and would be the sign of a
neurotic need.
The following is a list of neurotic needs that was developed
by Horney:
Need for Affection
and Approval
This need involves craving approval and acceptance from
other people. It typically involves being eager to please and having a high
sensitivity to criticism.
Here's an example: Libby needs everyone to like her. She
sacrifices all her own needs to make everyone else happy. However, at the end
of the day, she still feels exhausted and unappreciated.
Need for
Over-Reliance on a Partner
This need involves an obsessive
fear of being abandoned by a partner. One's life revolves around a partner and
his or her decision making. One might even believe their partner will solve all
of life's problems.
Example: Lisa is terrified Jon
will eventually leave her. She constantly checks his phone to see if he is
cheating on her. If he left her, she would be devastated. After all, she
believes she is nothing without him.
Need for an Overly
Restricted Life
This need involves living a
modest and inconspicuous life by not drawing attention to oneself and
undervaluing one's worth.
Example: Clark lives a simple life 60 miles out of town. He
doesn't venture into town very often because he doesn't have many needs. He'd
prefer to keep to himself and not bother anyone.
Need to Take
Advantage of Others
This need involves seeking
relationships based on what can be gained from them. This is someone who would
easily exploit and manipulate others for personal gain.
Example: Jeff wants to get ahead in the company. He knows
that his co-worker, Jim, is best friends with the boss. So, he starts asking
Jim to join him for golfing outings. Like most of his relationships, Jeff feels
lukewarm about Jim, but he knows Jim can further his career.
Need for Power
This need involves seeking fame, public recognition, and
prestige. Conversely, public humiliation or loss of prestige is devastating.
Example: Jack loves to be in the
spotlight. His goal is to be the owner of a Fortune 500 company and be on the
cover of all of the successful business magazines. He gets an adrenaline rush
thinking about all the people he will have power over and all the people who
will cater to him when he gets to the top.
Need for Admiration
This need involves seeking the
admiration of others and inflating one's own self-worth and importance. They
might even be called narcissistic, or believe they are better than everyone
else.
Example: Mary is unable or
unwilling to recognize the needs and feelings of her boyfriend Tom.
Tom is very outgoing and has lots of friends. He is also friendly and
good-looking so he gets lots of attention. At the same time that Mary
sees Tom as her own trophy, she is envious of Tom and believes others
envy her for being his girlfriend. While Mary has no friends of her own,
she sabotages every opportunity Tom has to make new friends or meet his
old friends.
3. What did Evan asked therapists to be cautious about? Explain
4. What did Evan believe in accordance to Adlerian Psychology?
5. Which are some of the neurotic tendencies expressed through the body?
6. What does Evan mean by "ego power shrinks to low self-esteem with an ineptness for both anger and love?"
7. What was Evan's goal?
8. Why was her stress on the use of the ego function of regression and important intervention?
9. What did Evan considered was a successful treatment?
---------------
5
Evan's Methodology - Page 48
"Rhythm,
exertion, and form, which can help individuals to experience and express repressed traumas and other forbidden and frightening thoughts and
feelings. In short, for Evan, dance was a language
very similar to words. But unlike words, dance represented a more direct
communication and language of the self."
IV
A Note to Remember
Problems of loneliness, of physical and psychological disorders, of
spiritual poverty in conditions of increasing material well-being,
underpinned the notion of suburban neurosis.
V
Case Study
VI
Activity
Evan's warm-up.
Students participate in a warm up Evan's style.
a) Free swinging in different directions
b) Total joint mobilization: skipping, running, jumping, rotating, shaking out body parts.
c) Drum beat to increase tempo and stimulate freer and faster motion.
d) Circle (with music or without music) where each member proposes a warm up action.
e) Body isolation: warming up different body parts.
f) Integration of the whole body (before and after body isolations): large, rhythmic, total body movements.
VII
Journaling
VIII
Glossary
IX
Sources
Desperate housewives and suburban neurosis. Wellcome Collection.
I Check In II Unit: Re-Integration Theme: Body-Ego Technique Introduction Theater has always been a tool for healing since the beginning of civilization. In retrospect, I feel that my own theater practice began with my own need to find a way to process trauma. Today, we will see how Ancient Greek theater was indeed a healing practice. This will lead us to Trudi Schoop, a theater practitioner who used her performance skills to help patients who suffered from schizophrenia. She single handedly developed her body-ego technique. Today we will introduce you to the concept of schema, a term which, along with body-ego, aids the therapist in understanding the body integration process. III Main Objectives Understand the role of ancient theater as a healing practice Explain the meaning of body-ego technique. Gain an awareness of the concept of schema when used to develop the ego structure of a patient with schizophrenia Experi...
I Unit : Marian Chace Theme: The Chacian Circle Introduction Created in the 1940s by Marian Chace , dance/movement therapy (DMT) is a psychotherapeutic practice. . The term ' Chacian circle comes from Marian Chace's approach to Dance Movement therapy. Since she created this approach, the Chacian Circle has become a very frequent and popular way of doing group therapy by DM therapists. Today's class introduces Marian Chace as the creator of the field of Dance Therapy in the East Coast. II Learning Objectives Understand the importance of making eye contact Explain why the term reflecting is more accurate than mirroring when using it in Dance Movement Therapy. Gain an awareness of attunement & kinesthetic empathy Experience what would be like to be a client or therapist through role playing III Check In IV Main Lesson 1 Video Dr . Arredondo is an expert on neurological or mental dysfunction and gauging the contri...
Comments
Post a Comment