THE two latest articles in this column reported on positive impacts on young people undergoing self-management approach in solving human problems, when tested for the first time.
Consequently, the prospect for utilising self-management option in assisting people drowned in problems, does exist.
All problems are expressions of an inner conflict and touching the root where problems surface, can only solve the numerous human predilections.
It is a waste of effort when people and organisations deal with problem issues only. Problems of human beings are numerous in the forms of abuse of drugs, domestic violence, financial mismanagement, divorces and prostitution, HIV infection, gambling and pokies, learning disabilities, emotional and mental problems, degradation of women and natural environment, just to name a few.
Dealing with the issues themselves will not change anything until we restore human beings who create them.
The self-management approach tries to deal with the human machines by asking participants to do a thorough retrospective introspection (looking back inside oneself).
Unlike other counseling methods where counsellors are preoccupied with the problems by dealing with the symptoms in trying to arrive at the cause, the self-management approach does a service check of the human psychosomatic machine. To do that, knowledge, skills and techniques are required for retrospective introspection.
The approach taken in self-management is quite simple. It deals with the inner faculties and processes of human beings, and when properly directed, will serve as antidote to personal discrepancies. The irony is that one can manage people, public funds, organisations and systems, however, if one cannot manage oneself, effort in managing other entities will be a wasted expenditure.
Indeed, the self-management option should be regarded as the basis on which other management systems and approaches can be grounded.
The self-management option designed is, first of all, deeply rooted in personal experiences with an earnest desire to seek solutions.
Secondly, appropriate knowledge and techniques were sought in the field of psychology; namely logotheraphy, psychoanalysis and psychosynthesis. Thus, the knowledge and techniques used in self-management is the blending and configuration of this three subject areas.
A brief explanation of the process is given below:
1. Logotheraphy
The process of going within us and have excess to the immense power we have inside us is technically termed as the “myotic process”. Thus, the subject field that helps us to go within ourselves is called logotherapy.
The person who discovered this field of knowledge is Victor Franklin. He developed the idea of proactivity – meaning the ability to act from within than from any external influence. His own personal experience in the Nazi concentration camp helped in formulating this.
The myotic process in self-management helps us to enter within us to discover the hidden powers and potentialities that are either latent or idle in us.
No matter what people say what we are, only by going within ourselves that we would come to know ourselves better and can approve or disapprove what others say about us.
In fact the inner space is as immense as the outer space, thus the space for improvement within has immense potential.
To draw immense power from within is a possibility not often utilised by many people, and this is exactly what self-management approach is concerned with.
2. Psychoanalysis
We need to know what is involved when we go inside ourselves. Thus, the way of self-discovery is the most appropriate manner of entering within us.
The technical term is called the “heuristic process”. The subject field is called psychoanalysis and the expert is Sigmund Freud.
The important idea about psychoanalysis is to dig into buried experiences of the past and to see if they have any bearing on our recent attitudes and behaviours. The heuristic process help us to discover more in detail the different parts that we are composed of, especially concentrating on our lower unconscious region.
Many of the psychological techniques employed in self-management option is developed towards enhancing this process of self-discovery.
3. Psychosynthesis
Psychosynthesis, while helping us to know our differing parts, furthermore shows how those parts are interconnected and form entities of its own.
In technical term, it is called the “synergic process”. Thus integrity and synthesis are words that can be used to describe the same process.
The process looks at people in their totally and not partially.
The expert in the field of psychosynthesis is Roberto Assagioli.
The synergic process is both used as a process and the end in achieving self-management.
By working toward balance and synthesis in our personality is to gain self-management and this in turn will give meaning and purpose to what we want to be and do.
In self-management clinic, all sessions, exercises and discussions try to help us enter these three processes.
Firstly, self-management clinic deals with the three processes followed by topics regarding determinism, autonomy, freedom and responsibility.
Other sessions deal with the techniques for cleansing psychological junk and recogniting the inner dynamics and psychic energies and how to access them.
Following from that are topics dealing with the destructive forces of eros, discovering sub-personalities and working with sub-personalities.
The significant area has to do with self-identification process followed by sessions on empowering the human will and mind.
Moreover, proactive versus reactive paradigms are contrasted as well as lessons on motivational adjustments.
Following from that are tips regarding personality redesigning and prospective planning.
The final session is a ritual dedication of consciousness.
Each session has one or several accompanying psychological drills to enhance the development of those human faculties and functions.
In the self-management coaching, there are 16 presentations, 10 routine drills, 10 short psychological exercises, 10 long therapeutic sessions with chances for group dynamics and dream analysis.
Self-management clinic is a process and not a content teaching. As such self-management cannot be conducted alone but always in conjunction with a problem issue, such as drug and alcohol, HIV infection, personal and corporate risk, student learning impairment, degradation of women and other problem issues.
The self-management clinic, while incorporating particular problem content, lasts for 10 days.