Meichenbaum: Be Aware
Kortney Sasaki
Azusa Pacific University
MEICHENBAUM: BE AWARE
MEICHENBAUM: BE AWARE
stories into a more adaptive and helpful manner. It is also helpful for the therapist to hold
the client responsible for the changes they make in their life, supporting their progression
through the process.
The therapy process entails three phases for the client to work through. The first
phase is self-observation. According to Meichenbaum (1994) The first goal of therapy is
to have the patient entertain the possibility that his maladaptive behaviors and emotional
upset are contributed to by what he says to himself (p. 189). The client must listen to
himself or herself as they observe their behavior in combination with self-talk. The focus
of self-talk is centered on recognizing negative statements and altering those beliefs.
Phase two is the clients efforts to change their self-talk to a more adaptive approach and
positive internal dialogue. The client will start to notice patterns of negative thoughts,
which will be the area of acquired change. Instead of avoiding negative self- statements,
the client copes through positive self-verbalizations. For example, instead of saying
something is too difficult to complete, the client will acknowledge the level of difficulty,
but will not state that it is a definite failure. Phase three recognizes the clients new skills
of cognitive restructuring, specifically negative self-statements. Meichenbaum (1993)
describes the last phase as The therapist helps clients to cognitively reframe events and
to normalize their reactions (p. 203). Through positive self-verbalizations, the
following behaviors to the speech will be positive based on the new skills learned. The
therapist is there to help reform narratives to create new stories. The new narratives that
a client creates will incorporate into a whole new life narrative, which is the summation
of key events that the client has turned into meaningful stories.
Root Metaphor
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Practicing awareness helps the client to identify their own distorted reality,
misconceptions, and maladaptive behaviors by testing their validity and sensibleness.
The Self
Meichenbaum views humans as capable and adaptive beings. Humans have the
capacity to change their cognition, emotions, and behaviors. As a cognitive therapist,
Meichenbaum holds the belief that distressing emotions can result in maladaptive
behaviors. Humans also have the innate desire to eliminate distress and therefore,
cognitive interventions are needed. Within the constructive narrative perspective, selftalk is important to recognize as an action that produces feelings within a person, then
maladaptive behaviors. The concept to acknowledge is that humans are self-sustaining
through self-talking and self-evaluation. The targeted area to change behavior comes
from self-verbalizing. Meichenbaum (1977) In other words, early in the mastery of a
voluntary act speech serves a useful supportive and guiding function. With practice the
verbalizations disappear (p. 19). External speech develops into the skill of internal
speech, which internalizes thoughts of oneself, and then consequential behavior. The
beginning production of distress resonates within humans; therefore humans must act to
change themselves. Self-control is another aspect that is related to awareness as a person
is trying to change behavior. The self is contained within the self. A person is defined by
their actions because they are capable of change if they desire to do so.
Meichenbam (1977) One of the underlying principles behind the many treatment
suggestions offered is that by inhibiting an impulse at a low level of intensity or at
an incipient state and then practicing self-control or inhibition at increasingly
greater levels of intensity the impulsive client will develop self-control (p. 104).
MEICHENBAUM: BE AWARE
A person can control the automatic behaviors from impulses, once awareness of the
events and responses are recognized. According to Meichenbaum (1994) One task for
the therapist is to help clients appreciate how they construct reality, how they live the
stories they tell, and how they can begin to change their stories, and their behaviors (p.
110). Clients have the capacity to change because they are the creators of their narratives,
stories, to begin with. The power to change resides in the client, as the self is selfsustaining.
View of Transcendence
Meichenbaum did not believe that the self and religion are incorporated within
one another. Religion provides coping mechanisms and hope during difficult times.
According to Meichenbaum (1994) Religion and rituals provide a powerfully culturally
accepted metaphors and a framework to construct a new adaptive narrative (p.545).
Although religion is not a key component in the constructive narrative perspective, the
idea of self-transcendence is somewhat related. Meichenbaum respects that clients may
feel that they are a part of the universe and have spiritual experiences. Spirituality is
considered a facet of personality, but it is only a concept that affects behavior when
considering its relation to constructive narrative perspective. People may have strong
beliefs in spirituality and religion, but in the constructive narrative perspective, it is not a
sense of being for the self. The source of meaning for the self lies within behavior,
behavior that is affected by feelings, language, thoughts, and spirituality or religion.
Normative Framework: Frankena
In considering Meichenbaums background in cognitive behavioral therapy,
specifically the constructive narrative perspective, he thinks the desirable standards of
MEICHENBAUM: BE AWARE
conduct and character traits are formed through behaviors. Within normative ethics,
constructive narrative perspective would fall under Obligation Theory. Obligation Theory
is defined by actions of right and wrong in comparison to Value Theory, which
emphasizes a persons character. For constructive narrative perspective, the person must
change their maladaptive behaviors in order to promote himself or herself in a manner
that then benefits their external world. According to Meichenbaum (1977) therapy is a
learning process through which a person acquires an ability to speak to himself in
appropriate ways so as to control his own conduct (p. 185). The moral obligations that a
person holds are to the result of the actions, the ends. Teleology emphasizes the ends,
results of actions. Frankena (1973) defines Teleological theory as saying, the basic or
ultimate criterion or standard or what is morally right, wrong, obligatory, etc., is the
nonmoral value that is brought into being (Egoist and Deontological Theories, para. 6).
The moral quality of a person resides within the nonmoral value that he or she brings
about. The nonmoral value within the constructive narrative perspective would be related
to control, with self-control the person benefits themselves and those surrounding them.
Within Teleological theories, constructive narrative perspective would fit under the
definition of ethical egoism, non-hedonistic. According to Frankena (1973) Ethical
egoism is an ethical theory, not a pattern of actions or trait of character, and is compatible
with being self-effacing and unselfish in practice (Egoist and Deontological Theories,
para. 17). An ethical egoist does not necessarily mean they are narcissistic or behave
selfishly.
selfish, but their adaptive stories lead to well-being, which benefits society as a whole
with normalized persons.
MEICHENBAUM: BE AWARE
clients and the nonclinical population in order to provide assignments to encourage better
coping mechanisms, rational self-talk, and therefore adaptive behaviors. The constructive
narrative perspective requires the therapist to guide the client to awareness of thoughts,
feelings, and patterns of behaviors in differing situations. According to Meichenbaum
(1994) Common to each of these proponents is the tenet that the human mind is a
product of the personal meanings that individuals create (p. 103). The client is the
creator of their life and the meanings they form are part of natural processing through
cognition. The client is held responsible for their actions, which in turn affects any
clinical outcomes. Meichenbaum (1994) states, In summary, psychotherapy is viewed as
a means of helping clients construct a new narrative (p. 111). Through therapy, the
therapists role is to help the clients create new stories, which changes consequential
behaviors because of their new thoughts and feelings. As a whole, this therapy approach
takes a hands-on strategy, working with the client, to change their behavior, therefore
change their life.
MEICHENBAUM: BE AWARE
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cope with stress or to protect against stress (p.6). Whether religion or spirituality, these
concepts are used as coping methods and Meichenbaum accepts that people choose to
believe or to not and it is a part of their identities and stories. Although religiosity and
spirituality are not essential components to the constructive narrative perspective,
Meichenbaum respects that humans can make those concepts a part of their narratives
and it is important to gain more information about how it affects humans lives. When
conducting spiritual assessments it is important to be respectful and supportive of any
beliefs as it may be a part of the development of a person.
Meta- Ethics
The foundation of ethics, meta-ethics, for constructive narrative perspective is
supported by Definist Theories. According to Frankena (1973) This is the definist view
that Ought can be defined in terms of Is, and Value in terms of Fact (Meaning and
Justification, para.8). The constructive narrative perspective falls under the category of
cognitive behavioral therapy, which emphasizes behaviors and actions as definers of a
person. The ought in definist theories are the behaviors and the consequential reaction
and affect from the behavior determines the values. Constructive narrative therapy
focuses on behaviors, which act as the empirical facts because in the natural world, there
is value in how one behaves with another. The nature of the person determines the good
within them.
Clinical Outcomes
The purpose of constructive narrative perspective is to help clients recognize
negative precursor self-talk, feelings, and thoughts in order to change consequential
behaviors.
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References