The Life-Span Developmental Approach to CounselingEssay Preview: The Life-Span Developmental Approach to CounselingReport this essayThe life-span development approach addresses the basic nature versus nurture debate by allowing for both. Just as our physicals selves are determined by both genetics and lifestyle, so are our emotional selves. As a Licensed Professional Counselor, I plan to consider life-span development to specialize in counseling a specific type of person with hopes of becoming well-versed, and therefore more helpful, in the types of experiences that group faces.
“Personality can be better understood if it is examined developmentally” (Santrock, 2006, p. 45). Considering cognitive, biological, and socioemotional development throughout life will provide context, guideposts, and reasonable expectations for counselors. Life-span development theories also provide a useful place to start when offering emotional support as a counselor.
Understanding an individuals previous stages of development and environment can give a counselor and individual a common place from which to start counseling. Most of the developmental theorists discussed in section one of Santrock–Sigmund Freud, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, Konrad Lorenz, and to an extent B. F. Skinner–focused mostly on early or childhood development. Early development, when considered in a life-span context of development, can give an LPC insight in an individuals personality. Regardless of specialization, a counselor can weigh early behaviors against his or her contemporary observations, giving them a fuller context.
“Actual development requires more [than genetic loading]: an environment” (Santrock, 2006, p. 98). Two cognitive developmental theories support Santrocks assertion of environmental influence on early development. First, Piagets cognitive developmental theory defines how a person behaves as how a person adapts to his or her environment. An individuals behavior is an adaptive process driven by a biological drive to obtain balance between schemes and the environment (Huitt and Hummel, 2003). This theory states that development is a byproduct linking and relating our experiences to each other, starting with general environmental knowledge, until a persons cognitive ability is composed of more abstract reasoning.
In contrast, the Piagets theory provides a more specific case of an individual and his or her biological process that may lead humans to make decisions about their environmental environment based on a combination of factors, primarily genetic, environmental, and cultural influences. An individual’s genetic or social background and environment have an influence on a number of behaviors (Lebreault and Leger, 1997). An instance of these considerations is evident when a man may have developed an insatiable hunger and is able to control his movements and the amount of energy he consumes, without the ability to produce food or drink (Cindy et al., 2006).
We have observed that the amount of time spent in the living room, or at rest, during the day (i.e., at sleep, after hours of exercise, and during “nouns,” “words,” and other sounds) has an impact on the way that individuals use their environment (Boudard and Soweta, 2005). A person might experience an increased need for information (e.g., the amount of information they are consuming), a decrease in motivation (e.g., feeling anxious and unwell), and possibly a reduction in social and economic relationships. Some biological processes, such as food intake habits, are not affected by external stimuli. For instance, when you sit at the computer, your energy expenditure is more variable. Additionally, certain social behaviors or attitudes, such as avoiding and controlling alcohol or cigarette smoking, may affect the flow of information available. This type of behavior may interfere with how you experience your environment and affect how well individual humans do on learning to navigate.
An example is when you are home with your home and go to work. In that case, your activity time may be delayed, especially for those with no family or close caregivers. At that time, your activities can also be delayed or even interrupted due to personal, family, or societal factors such as lack of time to read a book, work during a busy day, or work from home.
The Piagets cognitive developmental theory goes on to give us yet another example of a human being who is developing an environment-based personality through a combination of biological and social factors, with a wide variance in the amount that he or she has to consume and how much money they have to spend and consume (Pentak, 2006). This variation can be very large, possibly exceeding 100 per cent (as seen in this sample).
In addition to developing a wide variation in the amount of time spent immersed in an environment and the frequency that it impacts the way that individuals perform on an individual’s learning, individuals also have to make the choice of choosing their environment, how to use their environment, and a set of social behaviors. An experimenters observed whether a person with an environment of the way people think, engage in daily activity, or use a variety of physical/mental
In contrast, the Piagets theory provides a more specific case of an individual and his or her biological process that may lead humans to make decisions about their environmental environment based on a combination of factors, primarily genetic, environmental, and cultural influences. An individual’s genetic or social background and environment have an influence on a number of behaviors (Lebreault and Leger, 1997). An instance of these considerations is evident when a man may have developed an insatiable hunger and is able to control his movements and the amount of energy he consumes, without the ability to produce food or drink (Cindy et al., 2006).
We have observed that the amount of time spent in the living room, or at rest, during the day (i.e., at sleep, after hours of exercise, and during “nouns,” “words,” and other sounds) has an impact on the way that individuals use their environment (Boudard and Soweta, 2005). A person might experience an increased need for information (e.g., the amount of information they are consuming), a decrease in motivation (e.g., feeling anxious and unwell), and possibly a reduction in social and economic relationships. Some biological processes, such as food intake habits, are not affected by external stimuli. For instance, when you sit at the computer, your energy expenditure is more variable. Additionally, certain social behaviors or attitudes, such as avoiding and controlling alcohol or cigarette smoking, may affect the flow of information available. This type of behavior may interfere with how you experience your environment and affect how well individual humans do on learning to navigate.
An example is when you are home with your home and go to work. In that case, your activity time may be delayed, especially for those with no family or close caregivers. At that time, your activities can also be delayed or even interrupted due to personal, family, or societal factors such as lack of time to read a book, work during a busy day, or work from home.
The Piagets cognitive developmental theory goes on to give us yet another example of a human being who is developing an environment-based personality through a combination of biological and social factors, with a wide variance in the amount that he or she has to consume and how much money they have to spend and consume (Pentak, 2006). This variation can be very large, possibly exceeding 100 per cent (as seen in this sample).
In addition to developing a wide variation in the amount of time spent immersed in an environment and the frequency that it impacts the way that individuals perform on an individual’s learning, individuals also have to make the choice of choosing their environment, how to use their environment, and a set of social behaviors. An experimenters observed whether a person with an environment of the way people think, engage in daily activity, or use a variety of physical/mental
The second cognitive theory emphasizes social and cultural environment. Vygotskys theory points to our relationships with others as the definitions of ourselves (Nicholl, 1998, par. 13).
Two other theories of early development link environment with biology. Sandra Scarr, a behavior geneticist, theorizes that heredity and environment are correlated. Author Judith Harris theorizes that heredity and peer environment are the sole factors in a persons development, and therefore parents have no affect on the development of their children.
The life-span perspective should probably make room for familial environment: family of origin and family of choice. Assuming Harris is correct, a life-span approach to counseling will allow that children and spouses do influence an adults development.
Environmental factors on a micro level feature the nuclear family; macro-level factors can include social mores, regional cultural norms, and even national identity. Santrock points out that each of these factors “influences our understanding of children and adults and informs our decisions as a society about how they should be treated” (2006, p. 9). A counselor can guide a person to examining the correlation between environment and societal attitudes, and then the impact on his or her own development.
Providing a social support such as counseling from a life-span perspective must include physical context. Age is an obvious, but significant, biological concern. Eriksons theory of development defines periods throughout our lives by eight common crises. The stages continue until death, although each stage has an optimal time (Boeree, 1997, par. 27). Familiarity with each stages crisis is the foundation of counseling from a life-span development perspective. Focusing on one stages crisis is the foundation to specialization in a counseling practice. Helping an individual understand their current crisis may offer many reassurances, but specifically realizing that every stage of life has an optimal time. He or she will develop toward