Research (notes)

Even though I prefer counselling to research, my psychology degree provided me with the knowledge of how important research is.  There are many schools of thoughts when it comes to therapy.  I prefer to consider each person individually, keeping in mind all my experiences and studies within the various schools of thought.  I shall always be a student, because there is always new information from new or developed research.  How can I benefit my client if I don't appreciate the whole person and don't work hard enough to be the best that I can be for that person?  That includes understanding his or her own background, traumatic experiences, spiritual and religious background and concerns.   A client may may not even know what it is that is actually bothering her/him.

Research Designs include case studies and correlational studies.

Case Studies       Freud and Erickson used the case study approach extensively in recording the personal histories of patients and subject participants in their clinical work.  Case studies are detailed in depth history of a single individual.  One looks for individual differences as well as shared patterns among individuals.  Case studies provide a hypothesis or suggestions that may be examined in more detail in other types of research designs.

 Correlational Studies   A case study may suggest some relationship between early rearing and later personality.  An example is authoritarian parenting might show up in greater aggression at school.  Where as authority-based parenting correlates (relates) to more mature manners of coping with responsibility and daily stress and therefore less aggression at school.  Other relationships to be explored are between amount of tv violence viewed and tendency toward aggression or degree of identity crises resolution and later adjustment to career choice.  Correlations show how two variables are related, in what way positive or negative and demonstrate how strong the relationship is strong or weak.  Correlations do not specify cause and effect relationships, just that there may be a relationship.  Other variables, perhaps a third variable may influence the relationship between  the amount of schooling and likelihood of having dementia for people over 75 years of age.  The likelihood of dementia increase with amount of schooling decrease, a negative correlation.  However, little or no schooling may result from poor living standards which increase the likelihood of health problems.  Therefore, the correlation between schooling and dementia is influenced by other variables.

to be continued..... 

A reminder - Have some fun!

It is the weekend and what have you been doing?  Remember we need a balance in life.  Is your life chaotic? Are you bored stiff?  Confused about what fun is?  Take a moment.  Pause...... What may be fun for me, may be a nightmare for you and vice versa.  If you are doing physical work all week, perhaps catching a movie may be relaxing and soothing.  If you are sitting around all week, maybe you need to go dancing, walking or play.  Why not write down ten things you think are fun and ten things you hate to do?  If your idea of fun does not hurt anyone, why not take a break and go out and do it?  You may want to be with people or get away from them.  Try something new.  You may find you actually like something different.  Have a nice weekend.  What do you think?    

Dating of the Exodus (theology)

Dating of the Exodus

Question 4, Feb 17, 2011                       Assignment Two                            Silva Redigonda

     When examining and studying scripture, one major factor is to determine what period of time the writer is referring to.   How is this gleaned?  How does one know if the information is reliable and to what extent?  There are always differences in perspectives from studying the same material.  How does one know who to believe or trust?  This paper will provide arguments used to support the dating of the Exodus in the 15^th and the 13^th centuries from Ceresko’s[1] and Bright’s[2]  texts. 

     Bright indicates that there is no “extra-Biblical evidence” of the Exodus (Bright, p 122).  Ceresko reveals that the information he provides from scholars regarding the arguments to venture a date of the exodus is “ambiguous”.  He adds that even the definition of the Exodus can be questioned (Ceresko, p 80).  So what is the Exodus?  Let’s begin there.

     The Exodus is identified with the escape of the slaves and defeat of Pharaoh’s army through the sea.  Earlier tradition spoke of the Exodus in terms of going out from, or Yahweh bringing Israel out from Egypt, identifying the Exodus as the flight from Egypt following the death of the first born, before the rescue of the sea (Ceresko, p 81).  Since many of the places mentioned in the Exodus are difficult to identify, the exact location of the Exodus is uncertain as well (Bright, p 122).  The sources of what actually constituted the Exodus – the escape from Egypt or the rescue at sea differ among sources.  With regard to the rescue at the sea, none of the available sources provide a complete and coherent account of what occurred.  There is also a possibility of combined memories of more than one group, involving several successful escapes at various times (Ceresko, p 84).  None the less these arguments need to be examined if only to fulfill our curiosity for truth.

     The 13^th century B.C.E. was the last century of the Late Bronze Age which coincided in Egypt with the New Kingdom or Empire Period.  A new dynasty, the Nineteenth came into power in 1305 B.C.E.  The first pharaoh, Ramses I, reigned a few months prior to his son Seti I (1305-1290 B.C.E.) who transferred the capital from Thebes, in central Egypt, north to the city of Avaris.  Avaris was renamed, the House of Ramses by Seti I and his son Ramses II.  Both “conducted ambitious building programs there.”  These building projects support Exodus 1:11 which refer to the pharaoh who “built the store cities, Pithom and Ramses” using slave labor (Ceresko, p 80).  Ceresko adds that scholars who venture to assign a date to the escape of the Moses group from Egypt includes the building projects of Seti I and Ramses II employing slave labor in the late fourteenth and early thirteenth centuries B.C.E. and this mention of an Israel in Canaan by Merneptah in 1220 B.C.E. are key pieces of evidence (Ceresko, p 81).  If Hebrews labored at Avaris, then they must have been in Egypt at least in the reign of Sethos 1 (ca. 1305-1290) (Bright, p 123).

     Numerous texts from the 15^th century onward provide evidence of the presence of ‘Apiru in Egypt.  ‘Apiru were brought as captives as early as 1438-1412, if not prior to that period (Bright, p 121).   Sethos 1 collided with the ‘Apiru in the mountains near Beth-shan “almost on the eve of the Exodus”.  One can conclude that ‘Apiru (Hebrew) elements established there and became absorbed in the structure along with other groups.  Israel came into being by a complex process with a tribal structure filled with strains of diverse origin   (Bright, p 136,-137).

     Archaeological evidence depicts that a major upheaval engulfed Palestine as the Late Bronze Age ended.  Numerous towns, a number of them in the Bible which were said to have been taken by Israel, were actually destroyed at that time.  Many scholars have seen in this evidence that the Israelite conquest took place in the 13^th century.  However, it must also be noted that there is no trace of such a destruction surviving (Bright, p 130). 

     The Bible states (1 Kings 6:1) that it was four hundred and eighty years from the Exodus to the fourth year of Solomon (ca. 958).  According to this information we could accurately place the Exodus as occurring in the fifteenth century.  But this would deem that the conquest took place in the Amarna period, which has generally been abandoned because of the difficulty to harmonize this information with other evidence.  It could also be that the four hundred and eighty years is a round number for twelve generations (Brown, p 123). 

     Ultimately at this time we cannot reconstruct the details of Israel’s wanderings in the desert, because actual events were more complex than the Biblical narrative and because none of the places mentioned can be identified with certainty (Brown, p 124).  

     Arguments indeed have been provided to determine the actual date of the Exodus as occurring during the 13^th century.  However though, the general consensus is the 13^th century, there is enough doubt raised to extend this prior to the 13^th century and perhaps up to the 15^th century.  What must be kept in mind is the importance of the canonical text, accepted as scripture.    It is the ” revelation” contained in the story, which is the proclamation of God’s saving love and power on behalf of this people (Ceresko, p 84) that has remained steadfast throughout the centuries.  With new findings such as more manuscripts or more archeological revelations, we may be able to be more accurate in supplying a date for the Exodus.      

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[1] Ceresko, Anthony.  An Introduction to the Old Testament, New York: Orbis, Maryknoll, 2001.

[2] Bright, John.  A History of Israel. 4^th Edition. Philadelphia: Westminister, 2001.

Grief

These last two weeks, my study lectures have been around the topic of grief.  I have been providing you with information about human development and I would like to continue with that sporadically, but I am pausing for grief.  I have been provided with  a long list of recommended books, that I will eventually read.  But for today, I will recommend one that I have used and found very helpful.  It was given to me at a senior home.  It is titled, Time Remembered, A Journal for Survivors by Earl A. Grollman, Beacon Press, Boston, Massachusetts; 1987. I have been told that the exercises within, have been found very useful.   This is a book, I like to loan out when someone is grieving.  Page 33, provides a list of body reactions to the death of someone you love.  It can cause sleep disturbances, difficulty in breathing, a tightness in the throat or chest, low energy, sudden weight loss or gain, headaches and backaches, susceptibility to breathing upsets, constant colds and sore throats.  It can also cause dizziness and blurred visions.  This is your body's response to the mental turmoil you feel.  People grieve differently and for different reasons.  It depends on the relationship you had with that person, on how the person died, etc...What is important is that how you will grieve or are grieving is particular to you.   You will need support.  You will need to talk about it.  Sometimes, you will need to seek out a therapist to help you with your feelings, especially if you feel overwhelmed and it does not seem to go away.  Your voice and feelings need to be heard and understood.  What is worse than hearing that you should be over it?  Sometimes, people mean well but do more harm.  Why not think of your loved one and the good time you shared.  Try to think of your loved one when he or she was healthy.  Why not write him or her a letter, if you can.  You may keep it or destroy it, but try it.  If the life you had together was abusive, this is where you can begin to heal.  Give yourself your own time to grieve in your own way.  It takes time.   What do you think?        

development continues..........(psychology notes)

Bandura's reciprocal determinism conceptualises the person, environment, and behaviour as revealing an ongoing reciprocal relationship.  Behaviour influences the environment which in turn influences the person and so on.

Buhler's healthy development depends upon fulfilling personal goals and aspirations within an ever changing context.

The Stigma of Psychotherapy

I often forget that people may be embarrassed about getting therapy.  It is when I see a comercial informing the public that it is ok to seek help, that I am reminded.  It is when someone tells me that therapy is so helpful and often people shy away from it because of the stigma surrounding it, that I am reminded.  In psychology and in Pastoral Counselling we are informed that we need our own therapy to be able to help others.  I remember one psychologist telling us in class that we need to be aware of our own issues so that we can benefit our own clients.  "You cannot breakdown from what your clients touch in yourself.  It is not about you. It is about helping them."  Though some of us found it quite amusing by the sounds of our chuckles, we realized he was right.   In providing therapy there is something called transference and counter transference that happens in a session.  I will be providing definitions about that and examples another time.  This time I want to focus more on the stigma.  However, it concerns what is triggered in ourselves in relation to our clients, and what is triggered in our clients in relation to ourselves. The point of this, is that therapy becomes so natural,  that I need to be reminded that for some, no matter how much they need help, they do not get it.  Why not take some time today to examine your life.  Are you happy?  What is making you happy?  If you are not happy, is it bothering you?  Have you taken steps to understand why you are sad?  Is it an unhappy marriage?  Is there too much stress in your life?  Do you feel you are just existing?  Are you in a dead beat job, finding no satisfaction?  Are you alone, even in a crowd?  Why not begin writing your feelings if you have not?  You might even see a pattern of dissatisfaction?  Has some one died in your life and you cannot seem able to cope?  Do you realize that your social drinking has increased?  Is your life being changed from something horrible that has happened to you?  Do you simply just exist?  There are times when we simply need someone to talk to and there are times when we need someone to help us understand, why?  I remember attending a lecture in my earlier career where a psychologist informed us that sometimes we cannot see what is consuming us because we are too close to what is bothering us.  That is all that I remember of his lecture but it has stayed with me.  It is true.  When your life is consuming you, you need to be able to step back and look at your life.  Sometimes, one needs a little help with that.  How do you get help if you are feeling stigmatised?  Perhaps, it is time to examine that?  Have you heard someone make derogatory remarks?  Have you heard someone making jokes?  We do live in a society where bravery is equivalent with strength.  Strength is equivalent to being of strong mind.  Getting therapy is a sign of strength.  It demonstrates strength to be able to do what is best for you.  It takes strength to say that you need  help.  There are people who will not see a physician because they want to be  seen as strong.  There are many other reasons but I wish to remain focused.  There are people who get the strength to walk into a therapist's office and realise they cannot deal with their problems, because it is just too much.  That is ok.  A step has been taken and perhaps, they are just not ready.  Our perceptions are ingrained and not always clear.  If you need help and you know it, ask yourself why you are not getting it.   What do you think?   

cont......Contextual Theory (development - notes) Psychology

Contextual Theory -  Neither the environment or the organism is static.  Development takes place in a dynamic context where organism and environment interact.  Every act changes the context and the actor, creating new conditions for development.  The changing person acts on and changes the environment and the environment acts back to change the person.  Development is continuous since previous outcomes, influence subsequent change.  Development is discontinuous as well.  Brofenbenner's ecological approach is both quantitative since people change how much they do, as well as qualitative in terms of how they go about doing.   There is no particular path or goal suitable for everyone.  Thus, individual difference is emphasised and individual success is understood on how appropriate behaviour is to the context.