Austin Fontaine 
Megan Novelli I love Existential theory, no joke. However, in the post research paper delusion I made certain existential and behavioral jokes that my nonpsych major friends did not find the humor in because they are not as engulfed by theory as we are. Which is a slight concern because I feel that when we comprehend theory we are more able to help ourselves. Anyways, back on topic, I love existential theory, the fact that we must come to the realization in time all things end. It is also a theory that calls us as people to a higher standard in a way. As Frankl says we must take responsibilty for our actions and not blame others for the way we act. Coming from someone who survived a concentration camp that is a huge movement. It is also something that I know I do not practice from time to time.
Last semester I had a lot of pent up anger and agression towards my family (there’s just a lot of drama that doesn’t need to be talked about but those of you in Child Psyc have heard some of it) so I went to counseling center to deal with the issue, and in a very existential way Naomi pointed out that the only person I can control is myself, there is not a point in being mad at my dad or my mom for the things they do that “inadvertently affect me”. Which has really made an impact on my life, what do y’all think about personal responsibilty as a counseling technique?
Mary Tomkins
2:02 pm, 11.22.10
I mean, personal responsibility is kind of the point, right? I mean, no matter what method you use, when it comes down to it it isn’t the therapist’s job to fix a person’s life, just to help them either deal with it or adapt to it.
Alyssa Bowyer
2:16 pm, 11.22.10
Life sucks. I think a lot of the suffering that falls your way is not necessarily your fault but affects from others around you who made wrong choices. I agree with Frankl. Generally, you do not have a choice of what life throws at you, but you do have a choice in how you react, respond, and adapt.
Stephanie Bell
2:19 pm, 11.22.10
I think that when people learn that they cannot control other people’s decisions they take a lot of blame off of themselves. A lot of people live in the what if I had pointed this out to the person before they had gotten hurt or what if I had said this. But we forget that everyone has the ability to make their own decisions. Our friends chose to enter a bad relationship, we had no way of knowing the significant other would chose to treat the person badly. And when we learn that we create our own happiness then we do not need to depend on the uncertainty of other people’s decisions to have happiness. And personally, I would rather be certain that I will be happy than to only have a chance at happiness.
Morgan Myer
2:46 pm, 11.22.10
hahaha that cartoon made me laugh really hard. but yes, I love Frankl, his idea that we cannot affect what others do to us, but we can respond how we react is such a great idea. I mean he survived a concentration camp, thats a guy Ill take advice from.
Rebekah Hernandez
9:59 pm, 11.28.10
I think that personal responsibility can be a powerful motivator and very effective in counseling: as exemplified of how that technique helped you. In my own personal experience with counseling, my counselor also pointed out that I was the only one I could control. In this instance, however, I was blaming myself for the way someone close to me was acting and that person was also blaming me for their actions. In one instance, for example, that person got angry at me… punched a wall and severely broke their hand. I felt horrible because I felt like it was my fault that had happened. Moreover, I would always blame myself for this person’s actions or for other people’s actions. Until one day, when my counselor pointed out to me that I cannot control anyone’s actions but my own. This idea made complete sense to me, but it has taken time to have its effect. In fact, often times, I revert back to my former way of thinking and blame myself when things go wrong. In my experience too, then, it was helpful to point that I can only take responsibility of my actions. In short, I agree that this technique can be very helpful.
Hannah Hendrix
1:18 pm, 11.29.10
I am also going through some family drama right now, and have also turned to therapy for assistance in dealing with this. Similar to Naomi, Sara has informed me that I can’t hold myself responsible for the actions of other people. It’s sometimes a difficult to not throw blame around like a hot potato when situations are painful and when people get hurt. It’s difficult to realize that I can only control me, when I want to be able to fix everybody else. With my situation right now, I really want to fix my dad. He’s hurting so many people right now, but I can only control my actions, not his. Its very frustrating, but a part of life. I think realizing this is part of maturing.