Therapeutic Approaches Essays (4369 words) - Clinical Psychology

1. Introduction Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I?ll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select -- doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors. ? John Watson, Behaviourism, 1930 (http://psychology.about.com/) The behavioural approach has a strong influence on our every day life, often without us realising it. Behaviour is the product of learning through conditioning, reinforcement or imitation. It is part of how we develop and grow into an individual with a unique identity. It is not only the environmental factors that influence our lives, but also our subjective interpretation of these factors. However, if one is able to control the environmental factors, it is possible to influence behaviour and even achieve what John Watson has mentioned in the quote above. Using behavioural therapy one will be able to eliminate unwanted behaviours and habits and in return develop behaviours that may enhance an individual?s life. With the setting of an orphanage the best approach will be the behavioural approach. Children come from various backgrounds, conditions, and influences. They often have very little or no routine in their lives and may also suffer from various psychological conditions. Children at a young age will respond well to behavioural methods mainly by using modelling. As they develop and reach teenage years, one will progress to a more complex method, namely cognitive behavioural method, in order to challenge them and let them understand why they engage in certain behaviours. 2. History of behaviourism Behaviourism (also known as the learning perspective) had its origin in the 1950?s, rejecting the focus on the conscious and unconscious and, instead, turned the focus to observable behaviour. It strove to make psychology more of a scientific discipline. It opposed the structuralist focus on the conscious and the functionalist focus on heredity (Skinner, 1984). The feeling was that environment determines behaviour. Therefore, behaviour can be predetermined if one can control environmental factors. Classical Conditioning The earliest form of behaviourism was by the Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov, and is known as Classical Conditioning, also known as instrumental conditioning. Classical conditioning is used to elicit certain behaviours from a passive organism. For example, a dog salivates (conditioned response) when it hears a bell ring (conditioned stimulus). It shows how learning can create a response through pairing. Pavlov demonstrated that through this learning process one is able to make an association between an environmental stimulus and a naturally occurring stimulus. A certain response can diminish and become extinct if the conditioned stimulus occurs repeatedly without the unconditioned stimulus. For example, if the bell rings several times without the food arriving. Eventually the dog will stop salivating whenever he hears the bell. This technique is often used to treat phobias or anxiety problems. John B Watson was one of the strongest advocates of behaviourism and he established the Psychological School of Behaviourism. He is most famous for his controversial experiment known as ?Little Albert? where he experimented the principles of classical conditioning on a young boy. Operant Conditioning Behaviourism had a very big influence on the psychological school thought and B.F. Skinner furthered this perspective by initiating what he called Operant Conditioning. Operant conditioning works on the basis that behaviour is influenced by the consequences that influence them. One will engage in behaviour that has a positive/reinforcing effect and refrain from behaviours that has no reinforcement or an aversive effect. For example, a child completes his/her homework in order to get a reward. According to Skinner behaviour cannot occur without some type of reinforcement whether it is positive or negative (Corey, 2005). This approach has the goal of identifying and controlling environmental factors that lead to behavioural change and can be used to develop pro-social and adaptive behaviours. Social Learning Theory Albert Bandura and Richard Walters developed the Social Learning Theory by using the concepts of the behavioural approach and included other approaches to make it interactional and multi-modal. It states that behaviour is influenced by an event, external reinforcement, and the cognitive process that occurs simultaneously. There is constant interaction among these three factors. This

A Biography of Notorious Auschwitz Doctor Josef Mengele

A Biography of Notorious Auschwitz Doctor Josef Mengele Josef Mengele (March 16, 1911 - February 7, 1979) was a Nazi SS doctor who experimented on twins, dwarves, and others at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp during the Holocaust. Although Mengele looked kind and handsome, his heinous, pseudoscientific medical experiments, often performed on young children, has placed Mengele as one of the most villainous and notorious Nazis. At the end of World War II, Mengele escaped capture and is believed to have died in Brazil 34 years later. Early Life Born March 16, 1911, in Gà ¼nzburg, GermanyParents were Karl (1881-1959) and Walburga (d. 1946), MengeleTwo younger brothers: Karl (1912-1949) and Alois (1914-1974)Nickname was Beppo1926 diagnosed with osteomyelitis Education and Beginning of WWII 1930 graduated from the GymnasiumMarch 1931 joined the Steel Helmuts (Stahlhelm)January 1934 SA absorbed StahlhelmOctober 1934 left SA because of kidney trouble1935 awarded Ph.D. from the University of MunichJanuary 1, 1937, appointed a research assistant at the Third Reich Institute for Heredity, Biology, and Racial Purity at the University of Frankfurt; worked with Professor Otmar Freiherr von VershuerMay 1937 joined the NSDAP (member #5574974)May 1938 admitted to the SSJuly 1938 awarded medical degree by University of FrankfurtOctober 1938 began basic training with the Wehrmacht (lasted three months)July 1939 married Irene SchoenbeinJune 1940 joined the medical corps (Sanittsinspektion) of the Waffen SSAugust 1940 appointed an Untersturmfà ¼hrerAttached to Genealogical Section of the Race and Resettlement Office in occupied PolandJune 1941, sent to Ukraine as part of the Waffen SS; received the Iron Cross, Second ClassJanuary 1942 joined the Waffen SSs Viking Division medical cor ps; earned the Iron Cross, First Class by pulling two soldiers out of a burning tank while under enemy fire; also awarded the Black Badge for the Wounded and the Medal for the Care of the German People; wounded End of 1942 reposted to the Race and Resettlement Office, this time in its headquarters in Berlinappointed to Haupsturmfà ¼hrer (captain) Auschwitz May 30, 1943, arrived at AuschwitzConducted medical experiments on  twins, dwarfs, giants, and many othersSeemingly constant presence and participation in the selections at the rampResponsible for selections in the womens campcalled Angele of DeathMarch 11, 1944, his son, Rolf, was bornSometime middle of January 1945, he fled Auschwitz On the Run Arrived at Gross-Rosen camp; then left before Russians liberated it on February 11, 1945Spotted at MauthausenCaptured as a prisoner of war and held in a POW camp near MunichReceived papers from fellow prisoner, Dr. Fritz Ulmann; for vanity reasons had not gotten blood type tattooed beneath arm, American Army did not realize he was a member of the SS and released himAliases include: Fritz Ullmann, Fritz Hollmann, Helmut Gregor, G. Helmuth, Jose Mengele, Ludwig Gregor, Wolfgang GerhardRemained on George Fischers farm for three years1949 escaped to Argentina1954 his father came to visit him1954 divorced from Irene1956 had his name officially changed to Josef Mengele1958 married his brother, Karls, widow - Martha MengeleJune 7, 1959, West Germany issued its first arrest warrant for Mengele1959 moved to Paraguay1964 the Universities of Frankfurt and Munich withdrew his academic degreesAssumed that his remains were buried in Embu, Brazil in a grave marked Wolfgang GerhardBelieved to have d ied on February 7, 1979, on the beach at Bertioga in Embu, Brazil while suffering a stroke while swimming in the ocean. February 1985 a public trial, in absentia, was held at Yad VashemIn June 1985, the body in the grave was exhumed for forensic identification.