Category Archives: Psychoeducational

Psychoeducational

Developmental Motivations

Posted by Ken Fields on November 18, 2009 at 9:48 pm.

What motivates you?  What motivates your friends, your companions? (Remember from a previous past that “socio” means “companions.”). What motivates a society? A nation? Or a collection of nations, that makes of a human world? What is “motive?”

Motivations are energies that animate the psyche, which animates the bio, the body. Psyche motivations also animate the society at large, the socio being  made up of individual persons, each of whom is both bio and psyche.  And, the collection of “companions” that make up a society(or neighborhood),  the group, the mob…..has a mind of its own.

Fundamental motivations are word labeled “pleasure” … and “pain” and “reward” / “punishment.” But, what those words mean are not absolute fixed realities. As paradosical as it may sound, one person’s pain may be another’s pleasure, while for some punishment is a reward. The psyche logic can be quite silly at times.

Higher motivations have to do with Outcomes. End results. The path to an end result may indeed contain pain the pleasure being willingly delayed.

Developmental outcomes are the results of need satisfaction at any given stage. To the degree we have met our needs, we are healthy, well balanced, feel good….relatively happy, much of the time. The malaise millions feel, even if periodically, can be related to the lack of need satisfaction.  Developmental needs, and the outcomes from their satisfaction, or obstruction,  can be categorized into generally positive and negative. The end result of our developmental tasks can be broadly stroked with single word labels.

…

Stage Developmental Needs Developmental Tasks Developmental Paths Positive Outcomes Negative Outcomes
7 Beauty Integrity Synthesis Acceptance Denial
6 Knowledge Generativity Giving Service Boredom
5 Belonging Intimacy Engagement Connection Alienation
4 Esteem Identity Achievement Individuality Conformity
3 Control Competence Exploration Industriousness Shame
2 Safety Autonomy Opposition Independence Guilt
1 Sustenance Trust Receiving Faith Doubt

…

Lindsey 091021 - 21

Psychoeducational

Developmental Paths

Posted by Ken Fields on November 17, 2009 at 9:39 pm.

It would make sense that if there are developmental tasks that must be, at least partially,  mastered to meet the developmental needs at any given stage, then there would be means to accomplish this. There would be, so to speak,  developmental paths….

…

Stage Age Developmental Needs Developmental Tasks Developmental Paths
7 76-90+ Beauty Integrity Synthesis
6 41-75 Knowledge Generativity Giving
5 21-40 Belonging Intimacy Engagement
4 13-20 Esteem Identity Achievement
3 8-12 Control Competence Exploration
2 3-7 Safety Autonomy Opposition
1 0-2 Receiving Trust Receiving

…

The complexities of behaviors contained within the paths required to accomplish the tasks that meet the needs are represented with one-word labels, for each stage of development. Each word, at each stage,  is a symbol denoting…. motivations…

Waiehe Valley 091115 - 20

Psychoeducational

Developmental Tasks

Posted by Ken Fields on November 17, 2009 at 9:24 pm.

Each developmental stage has an over-arching task which can take the form of a crisis, or significant challenge. Nobody says life is easy, and one reason it can be hard is because of our developmental tasks. These developmental tasks, like our developmental needs, are both heirarchical and interwoven. What had been a dominant need or task in the earlier years is no longer…and, yet, does still exert influence, as do the higher needs and tasks which, even though they may be sub dominant at the time, do pull us up…

….
…

Stage

Age

Stages of Psyche-Socio Development

Spheres of Influence

Developmental Needs

Developmental Tasks

7

76-90+

Late Adulthood

World

Beauty

Integrity

6

41-75

Middle Adulthood

Nation

Knowledge

Generativity

5

21-40

Early Adulthood

State

Belonging

Intimacy

4

13-20

Adolescence

City

Esteem

Identity

3

8-12

Later Childhood

Community

Control

Competence

2

3-7

Early Childhood

Neighborhood

Safety

Autonomy

1

0-2

Infant

Home

Sustenance

Trust

…

…
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Psychoeducational

Needs To Know

Posted by Ken Fields on November 9, 2009 at 9:50 am.

Our developmental needs can be expressed in  broad-based and comprehensive terms, as depicted in the one word labels in the table below.  Each word-label can be extensively elaborated upon but, for the sake of general discussion, these one word labels can suffice. They are more like over-arching themes for each psyche-socio stage of development. And, they overlap. It’s not that in late adulthood we no longer need identity, or exploration….but, the need for knowledge, both self knowledge, and knowledge of our larger environment, is more dominant. Here, knowledge refers much more to the synthesis of life experience rather than mere fact gathering.

This collection of needs,  chronologically unfolding and age-based, is referred to as “the heirarchy of needs.”

Certainly, the need for sustenance is prevalent throughout the entire range of needs, as is the need for safety, but when consistently  satisfied, other needs arise.  Also, sustenance and safety are not limited to purely physical concerns; there are needs for psyche sustenance and psyche  safety, as well as socio sustenance  and socio safety.

Although this collection of 7 Needs is considered heirarchical, it is also interwoven. Even the lower level needs such as control and esteem are influenced by the higher level needs, such as the need for knowledge and beauty.

When higher needs are not satisfied, there is  psyche-logical malaise in much the same way physical deterioration is the result of neglect. Malaise is like a slow psyche-logical starvation.

It’s helpful to recognize our higher level psyche-socio developmental needs. It can add to one’s sense of direction,  meaning and purpose.

…

Stage

Age

Stages of Psyche-Socio Development

Spheres of Influence

Developmental Needs

7

76-90+

Late Adulthood

World

Beauty

6

41-75

Middle Adulthood

Nation

Knowledge

5

21-40

Early Adulthood

State

Belonging

4

13-20

Adolescence

City

Esteem

3

8-12

Later Childhood

Community

Control

2

3-7

Early Childhood

Neighborhood

Safety

1

0-2

Infant

Home

Sustenance

…


…

Auster 090630 - 104

Psychoeducational

The Stages Of Ages

Posted by Ken Fields on November 7, 2009 at 10:14 pm.

In the post “Sphere Of Influences” a table was presented which linked stages of psyche-socio development to ever larger spheres of community influence from the home through the city and state to the global influence as a whole. This post is going to link these relationships more closely to our biological clock: our “age.”

Also in a previous post it was suggested that time is both cyclical and linear, more accurately a spiral….and that each year though we may be at the very same calendar date, in the very same season, and maybe even at the very same place,  there have been changes…biological changes, psyche and socio logical changes….and they each influence each other, making for “more age”…and year older.

…

Stage

Age

Stages of Psyche-Socio Development

Spheres of Influence

7

76-90+

Late Adulthood

World

6

41-75

Middle Adulthood

Nation

5

21-40

Early Adulthood

State

4

13-20

Adolescence

City

3

8-12

Later Childhood

Community

2

3-7

Early Childhood

Neighborhood

1

0-2

Infant

Home

…

Candid 090703 - 1

Psychoeducational

Spheres Of Influence

Posted by Ken Fields on November 6, 2009 at 4:04 pm.

No man is an island, no woman either for that matter. We are all influenced by our surroundings. Our consciousness is really not our own, but belongs to the environment in which we exist.

In family systems therapy, the sphere of influence most addressed is generally the nuclear family, although it could easily expand to extended family members, i.e., grandparents, aunts, uncles…. But, it does not really stop there. Permeating the home environment is the neighborhood, which itself is contained within the community. Family systems therapy often includes these extended spheres as many resources needed to bring about positive changes are contained within the neighborhood and community.

Spheres of influence extend even beyond the community. The city, state, nation and even the global sphere all have their influence on the community, neighborhood, and the home. A single person, at any age, exists within a complex multidimensional field of influences not all of which are conscious. A child of 7 years is significantly influenced by, and at least partially conscious of, the home and neighborhood, but not at all aware of the influence the state, or nation, has upon his/her growing consciousness, even though it is very present and active. As an adult of 56 years, there is much more awareness of the influence of city, state and nation, and even a consciousness of how the global sphere impacts his/her self, as well as how that global sphere influences the nation, state and city. And, at 56, the earlier spheres of home, neighborhood and community, although subconscious, continue to exert a significant influence.

If we refer to the traditional stages of psychosocial development, popularized by Eric Erikson, and couple those stages to these spheres of influence, it presents an interesting view of how our developing consciousness can parallel these spheres. In the chart below, the developmental stages are linked to the ever-larger spheres of influence.

…

Stages of Psychosocial Development

Spheres of Influence

Late Adulthood

World

Middle Adulthood

Nation

Early Adulthood

State

Adolescence

City

Later Childhood

Community

Early Childhood

Neighborhood

Infant

Home

…
Of course, even as an infant, we are influenced by the higher spheres; but, we are not conscious of that. As we mature, we become more conscious of, and involved in, the larger more encompassing spheres of influence. Ideally, we mature from being a citizen of the neighborhood, to a citizen of the global community – a citizen of the world.

Hilo Orchid 11

Psychoeducational

Chrono Logos

Posted by Ken Fields on November 4, 2009 at 4:36 pm.

Chronology.  Chronometer.  Chronic. Chronicle. Chronograph. Chronoscope. Chrono is alive and well in the Modern English Language. Chrono is the old god of time, Chronos or Kronos. And Time, as a word, goes back to Early Middle English…..and one of the defining characteristics of time is “measured intervals.”

Time can be measured in any number of units and the intervals can be assigned arbitrarily or by some logic (i.e., Logos)…. both linearly, and cyclicly.  Cycles of time, repeated rounds  of measured intervals, is best represented by the change in seasons.  Although time might appear to be linear,  just as empty space appears to be solid,  we really measure time in cycles. A year is a cycle….A decade is a cycle, as is a century, an age, a millenium…..A minute is a cycle, an hour is a cycle….time goes round and round in cycles. Time recycles.

And cycle, as one might see, is kin to circle; so, time is a circle – except for the linear perception of time which makes the circle into a spiral – 22 is further along the linear path than 21, even though, after one year, you’ve returned to the very same season, in the very same month, on the very same date…. one year later -  you have passed through 4 seasons worth, 12 months worth, of personal experience – and that makes all the difference. It may be the same season, the same month, the same place, but it’s not the same….it’s a year later.

It appears we are moving towards a future, away from a  past……movement through measured intervals of days, weeks, months, years, decades…, in a linear fashion…which, though actually cyclical,  can be viewed more as a spiral motion, round and round in circles and, at the same time, moving along what appears to be a linear path – able to look back down at where we were, and project up front where we hope to be…..

0501-14 redrosecult - zen

Psychoeducational

And On The Seventh Day….

Posted by Ken Fields on November 1, 2009 at 10:14 pm.

God rested. Really? God gets tired? And angry? And eats fast food, talks on a cell phone and works 8am – 5pm?   God is a word. And a sound…Three letters. One syllable. A word with  meanings….lots and lots of meanings….meanings that move people to pray, and fight; to hope, and fear.

But, that aside, it appears that God was bound by a seven day work week, the last day of which was rest;  how relaxing.  Or, is it that, as suggested in previous posts, and most likely suggested in occult mystical teachings, that 7 represents a developmental archetype, a blueprint. There are 7 major stages or phases of development, of manifestation, of creation.   As a developmental archetype, we can then postulate that our school of life has 7 Lessons learned repeatedly ever more thoroughly through 7 Grades of 7 Classrooms. Or, if you prefer….our school of life has 7 Chores, repeatedly completed, in ever more thorough degrees,  over 7 Hours of 7 Days. Its about the archetypal structure…..

We can use this archetype to understand developmental stages of psyche-socio “spheres of influence” – which develops, or expands, beyond the personal to include the neighborhood, the community, the city, state, nation and globe. The 7 spheres of influence….

For the first 7 years of life, the neighborhood, of which the home is an integral part,  forms the content of influence….but, after that….the community…and then the city…..state, nation…..and, eventually, global influence is the dominant theme in patterns of living. Of course, the larger, broader,  more expansive spheres of influence contains the smaller, more narrow,  less expansive spheres of influence. We are all contained within, and influenced by, the national, and global, spheres, at whatever level they might be operating.

The personal sphere is kind of like Classroom #1. The global sphere is kind of like Classroom #7.  The national sphere is kind of like Classroom #6, but the grade level in that classroom could be 1, and the lesson could be 3:  a person learning to identify with and be an integral part of the community , during a period of globalization.

It’s a long haul to be a conscious part of global influence….; and it doesn’t end there….solar and galactic influence become 8 and 9…..and then, the whole, all encompassing, cosmic  sphere……

And yet, just as the state is contained within the nation, can even be considered a manifestation of the nation, is an expression of national consciousness like a wave is an expression of the ocean,  so even our personal consciousness is a manifest expression of cosmic consciousness, just as is  galactic, solar, global, national, state, community and neighborhood consciousness.

As Shakespeare’s character Hamlet said…

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

Kahului

Psychoeducational

The Needs Of A Child

Posted by Ken Fields on November 1, 2009 at 2:27 pm.

In a sense, we are all children….the fundamental needs we had as a child don’t go away just because we are now an adolescent or an adult; those needs are still quite prevalent; but, because they have been met, are taken care of, on a daily basis,  we focus on higher more pressing needs….

The needs of a child are simple: nourishment, both physical and psyche-logical and safety, both physical and psychelogical. From those needs being met, trust develops; trust in others, trust in the world, and trust in self.

Our fundamental sense of trust, formed during childhood, permeates our perceptions and we are ever responsive to threats to safety, and nourishment. For the most part, there are no or minimal threats, and we continue on our path of lessons through our gradations of developmental stages working with higher needs of self identity and engagement with the larger community.  But, all the while, within us and within everyone we meet, is the child….with ongoing needs of nourishment and safety….

You might say that a child needs love, care, encouragement, etc.,etc….I agree, and have lumped those all into the psyche-logical nourishment category…..What can be more nourishing to Psyche than love, care and encouragement…..And, when it comes to those things, we are ever children….

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Psychoeducational

Addled Lessons

Posted by Ken Fields on November 1, 2009 at 11:29 am.

To be addled is to be confused; that about sums it up for adolescence. Actually, the word “addled,” from the Middle English period, translates as “mud, filth.”  Adolescence is a dirty, filthy, confusing time. Adolescence, as a word comes from Latin and translates into English as “to grow.” The word “adult” comes from the same root .

Periods of rapid growth and change can be confusing; there a lots of conflicts, pulls and pressures from the previous patterns of living, as well as pulls and pressures from the developmental themes (i.e., classroom lessons) emerging, which naturally require different patterns of living.

Whereas a major psyche-socio theme in adolescence is exploring options and developing a sense of individuality and self esteem, in early adulthood building a sense of connection and belonging to/with others, and to a larger whole, is more dominant.

As a person, you may be in late adulthood, enmeshed in the emerging late adulthood themes of  accepting, synthesizing and finding meaning in the many relationships that have made your life what it has been, even while the nation, of which you are a part,  as a twenty year old,  in it’s  21st century, is enmeshed in the emerging early adulthood themes of building meaningful relationships.

Of course, one of the hallmark traits of adolescence is not listening to the wisdom of the elders….So, whether its on the personal level or the national level, adolescence is often filled with addled lessons.

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