A deep dive into the principles and frameworks that underpin modern psychology. Understand theories like locus of control, self-determination, and attachment, and how they shape both mental health and recovery.
Adversity in the context of psychology and counselling, refers to any experience a person encounters that they find difficult to cope with or that produces unwanted effects in later life.
What makes any given experience adverse is mainly down to individual subjective interpretation, although there are….
Socially acquired beliefs play a vital role in shaping our core beliefs, a fundamental concept within the therapeutic approach we adopt at Tranceform Psychology.
While experiential beliefs are derived from direct personal experiences, socially acquired beliefs are the core beliefs we assimilate from our social environment as we mature.
Experiential beliefs are one of the two sources of beliefs that go on to form our core beliefs alongside socially acquired beliefs.
They are beliefs that are formed as the result of our own, personal experiences.
If as a youngster, for example, you put your hand into an open fire….
There are 3 core beliefs that we use to make sense of the world and our experiences.
Technically these are known as:
Extra-personal beliefs – beliefs about how the ‘World works’ (the world outside of ourselves)….
Michael Glasser’s Choice Theory is a groundbreaking approach that empowers individuals to take charge of their own happiness and well-being.
By understanding that our thoughts, feelings and behaviours are all choices that we make, we can gain control over our emotions and ultimately improve our mental health.
Learned helplessness is a psychological concept that refers to a state of mind in which you may feel helpless and unable to change a negative situation, even when opportunities for change are presented.
It is a condition that results from repeated experiences of failure or lack of control over the environment.
Confirmation bias describes a mental process by which we have a tendency or a ‘leaning’ towards seeking out evidence that fits with our existing beliefs.
A further consequence of confirmation bias is that we also tend to ignore, or simply not ‘process’ evidence that contradicts what we believe.
Making Sense of Agency
Agency, within a psychological context, is defined as:
“The sense of agency (SA), or sense of control, is the subjective awareness of initiating, executing, and controlling one’s own volitional actions in the world.”
Attribution theory, developed by Fritz Heider 80 years ago, explores how we perceive and understand the causes of our experiences.
It is closely tied to the concept of Locus of Control, which measures our belief in our ability to shape our own life outcomes.