I've always considered myself somewhat left of center, but I have had a huge awakening and that area. The culture at the school (University of Vermont) makes me rather uneasy at times. As a middle-aged white male (which I'm reminded of CONSTANTLY), I'm coming from a different place than most of the students who are 20-something women.
Let's see, the ones we've spent the most time on:
Freud - I like psychoanalysis in practice, but the theroy part is, in the words of a shink I know, "psychotic."
Adler - Seems like a more reasoned approach to Freud.
Gestalt - Some interesting techniques, but not enough as a package.
Reality Therapy - I like this one. I'll be taking quite a bit from it.
Behavioral Therapy - Nice and testable, but only applicable to overt behaviors. How would you use this with a grief-stricken patient?
CBT - I understand its effectiveness in the short term, but I'm concerned about things like "thought stopping." Where do those thoughts go when you stop them? Do they just dissapear? Freud would say not. I'm not sure.
Narrative Therapy - I don't mind the technique, but the postmodernist anti-reality stuff really bothers me. There's a thread in the philosophy forum about this.
Family Systems is coming next semester.
I know I'll end up being ecclectic, but what criteria am I using to pick and choose?
