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Do You Need Therapy?
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Do You Need Therapy?
Contributing Writer Trapped in your own world on a road leading nowhere? When there is the awareness that your quality of life is not good enough anymore. When you want more from life _ something that money or a new car or abigger apartment can't give you. When you want more happiness and less pain and you lack the inner strength to reach that `ideal,' it might be time to consult a therapist. In the West more and more people are seeing it as normal and essential to receive therapy. People want to be equipped to cope with the stress of being. It is not unusual when `normal' people admit that they are going for therapy, that they need help and direction in these times of uncertainty and anxiety. Living today is more difficult and stressful than ever before, saida couple of therapists when questioned on the matter. We live in anera where the escalating divorce rate, alcoholism, anxiety and depression affect the psyche of every Korean in some way or the other. Just about every Korean suffers from soul-deadening mental, physical or emotional tiredness. So what is happening in the Korean world of psychotherapy? From a Western viewpoint there is the perception that therapy should be booming considering that Korean society has seen rapid changes over the past decade and increasingly being influenced by the Western lifestyle. Imitating the Western lifestyle brings about a whole new set of psychological problems such as coping with changes in gender roles and family structures, and the loosening of the human network.
According to Dr. Jung Sung-chul, who runs a neuropsychiatry clinic in Seoul, "Interest in psychotherapy is increasing, but still plays a small role in Korean society. "Professor Chey Jean-yung, a neuropsychologist at Seoul National University, agrees that psychotherapy is not hugely successful and that Koreans should be educated how to cope with the rapid changes in their society. "Korean people tend to think it is a luxury to see a psychotherapist, but when they get really sick they could go to a mental hospital,'' she explains.
For Koreans it is still easier to deal with the physical problem than the psychological problem. `I am not crazy. Why do I have to see a psychiatrist?' is often the angry protest when a patient refuses help. Although Western psychiatry was introduced to Korea about 100 years ago, its practice has been somewhat less than successful. This ismainly because many patients still seek help from herbal medicines, health foods, faith healing and shamanism. Traditional medicine especially plays a strong role in Korean society where each visceral organ is believed to have a specific (symbolic) emotional or mental function. To acknowledge having a psychological or emotional problem would require exploring one's inner conflicts. Thus, `I have a stomachache' instead of `I am depressed. 'Professor Chey would like Koreans to "look inside" and explore their inner worlds. When she returned from the United States nine years ago, she noticed a lot of anger and stress in Seoul.
"Koreans tend to think the problem is caused by someone else, that it does not lie within the Self," she said. Due to political hard times, dirty money and competition people feelthat they are not being treated nicely. ``Anger'', by Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hahn, has sold particularly well here, even though the current trend is to buy self-help books that focus on how to be successful, rather than how to develop the inner Self.To facilitate the process of looking inside, Professor Rhee Dong-shick, at 84 still a practicing psychotherapist and the founder of the Korean Academy of Psychotherapists, has developed Tao-psychotherapy, a unique form of psychotherapy that aims at fusing Western psychotherapy and psychoanalysis with Eastern traditional Tao (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism). Prof. Rhee explains that Tao is something that is realized inside a person, while psychotherapeutic results occurthrough the therapist's personality and experiences. It is Rhee's aim to "bring spring to the patient who is shivering in a frozen land.
"One of Rhee's main concerns in the 1960's was the Korean inferiority complex which originated from historical defeatism. In the introductory period, therapists were pessimistic in practice due to a prevailing negative viewpoint of Korean culture. However, he felt that Korean culture is very suitable for psychotherapy since it places more emphasis on the nonverbal emotional component, has a relationship orientation and is concerned with being.
"But first of all we must do complete self-examination. Our history testifies that Korean people have lacked serious self-examination, "he explained. Professor Chey feels that the introduction of Western movies into Korean culture and the host of self-help books available on the market are opening doorways for making therapy more acceptable and less intimidating, though the Korean media, especially the television programs, should try to steer clear from the stereotypical relationships that are portrayed on screen, for example three generations living under one roof, the prototypic husband/wife roles, and the daughter-in-law/mother-in-law relationships.
Will Korean psychotherapy grow to the proportions it has reached in the West?
Chey doubts whether this will happen _ the Korean society being a relationship society with little respect for personal boundaries and many intrusions on the family and business levels. Preconceived ideas about gender roles are hard to break and psychotherapy is often not seen as an option. She would like to see more psychotherapists in Korea with more direct reimbursements from the national medical insurance. Currently, the Korean medical system doesn't want to pay for something they can't see, like psychotherapy. To mention but a few examples, Koreans that have lived abroad, Korean women climbing the corporate ladder and the young Korean generation that is being exposed to the Western "to have" culture could all benefit from therapy. As for how to choose a therapist, Dr. Park Jin-seng, author of the bestseller, ``Lovers! Marry after you have fought'' suggests that your therapist should be compassionate and empathetic with a mind that is "clear like a mirror" so the patient can see his or her problem reflected in it. Dr. Jung adds his sound advice: "If possible, find a therapist through good, trustworthy friends."
Question
Q1) What kinds of stresses do you have to cope with in your daily life?
What is the biggest pressure that you have ever experienced so far?
Q2) What is your most effective way to get rid of the stress?
Q3) Have you ever considered getting a help from a therapist?
Please give us the reason for your answer.
Q4) What should we do to minimize our mental pressure before it gets serious?
이 글은「대학연합영어토론동아리」www.pioneerclub.com에서 제공하는 영어토론 정보입니다.
Contributing Writer Trapped in your own world on a road leading nowhere? When there is the awareness that your quality of life is not good enough anymore. When you want more from life _ something that money or a new car or abigger apartment can't give you. When you want more happiness and less pain and you lack the inner strength to reach that `ideal,' it might be time to consult a therapist. In the West more and more people are seeing it as normal and essential to receive therapy. People want to be equipped to cope with the stress of being. It is not unusual when `normal' people admit that they are going for therapy, that they need help and direction in these times of uncertainty and anxiety. Living today is more difficult and stressful than ever before, saida couple of therapists when questioned on the matter. We live in anera where the escalating divorce rate, alcoholism, anxiety and depression affect the psyche of every Korean in some way or the other. Just about every Korean suffers from soul-deadening mental, physical or emotional tiredness. So what is happening in the Korean world of psychotherapy? From a Western viewpoint there is the perception that therapy should be booming considering that Korean society has seen rapid changes over the past decade and increasingly being influenced by the Western lifestyle. Imitating the Western lifestyle brings about a whole new set of psychological problems such as coping with changes in gender roles and family structures, and the loosening of the human network.
According to Dr. Jung Sung-chul, who runs a neuropsychiatry clinic in Seoul, "Interest in psychotherapy is increasing, but still plays a small role in Korean society. "Professor Chey Jean-yung, a neuropsychologist at Seoul National University, agrees that psychotherapy is not hugely successful and that Koreans should be educated how to cope with the rapid changes in their society. "Korean people tend to think it is a luxury to see a psychotherapist, but when they get really sick they could go to a mental hospital,'' she explains.
For Koreans it is still easier to deal with the physical problem than the psychological problem. `I am not crazy. Why do I have to see a psychiatrist?' is often the angry protest when a patient refuses help. Although Western psychiatry was introduced to Korea about 100 years ago, its practice has been somewhat less than successful. This ismainly because many patients still seek help from herbal medicines, health foods, faith healing and shamanism. Traditional medicine especially plays a strong role in Korean society where each visceral organ is believed to have a specific (symbolic) emotional or mental function. To acknowledge having a psychological or emotional problem would require exploring one's inner conflicts. Thus, `I have a stomachache' instead of `I am depressed. 'Professor Chey would like Koreans to "look inside" and explore their inner worlds. When she returned from the United States nine years ago, she noticed a lot of anger and stress in Seoul.
"Koreans tend to think the problem is caused by someone else, that it does not lie within the Self," she said. Due to political hard times, dirty money and competition people feelthat they are not being treated nicely. ``Anger'', by Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hahn, has sold particularly well here, even though the current trend is to buy self-help books that focus on how to be successful, rather than how to develop the inner Self.To facilitate the process of looking inside, Professor Rhee Dong-shick, at 84 still a practicing psychotherapist and the founder of the Korean Academy of Psychotherapists, has developed Tao-psychotherapy, a unique form of psychotherapy that aims at fusing Western psychotherapy and psychoanalysis with Eastern traditional Tao (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism). Prof. Rhee explains that Tao is something that is realized inside a person, while psychotherapeutic results occurthrough the therapist's personality and experiences. It is Rhee's aim to "bring spring to the patient who is shivering in a frozen land.
"One of Rhee's main concerns in the 1960's was the Korean inferiority complex which originated from historical defeatism. In the introductory period, therapists were pessimistic in practice due to a prevailing negative viewpoint of Korean culture. However, he felt that Korean culture is very suitable for psychotherapy since it places more emphasis on the nonverbal emotional component, has a relationship orientation and is concerned with being.
"But first of all we must do complete self-examination. Our history testifies that Korean people have lacked serious self-examination, "he explained. Professor Chey feels that the introduction of Western movies into Korean culture and the host of self-help books available on the market are opening doorways for making therapy more acceptable and less intimidating, though the Korean media, especially the television programs, should try to steer clear from the stereotypical relationships that are portrayed on screen, for example three generations living under one roof, the prototypic husband/wife roles, and the daughter-in-law/mother-in-law relationships.
Will Korean psychotherapy grow to the proportions it has reached in the West?
Chey doubts whether this will happen _ the Korean society being a relationship society with little respect for personal boundaries and many intrusions on the family and business levels. Preconceived ideas about gender roles are hard to break and psychotherapy is often not seen as an option. She would like to see more psychotherapists in Korea with more direct reimbursements from the national medical insurance. Currently, the Korean medical system doesn't want to pay for something they can't see, like psychotherapy. To mention but a few examples, Koreans that have lived abroad, Korean women climbing the corporate ladder and the young Korean generation that is being exposed to the Western "to have" culture could all benefit from therapy. As for how to choose a therapist, Dr. Park Jin-seng, author of the bestseller, ``Lovers! Marry after you have fought'' suggests that your therapist should be compassionate and empathetic with a mind that is "clear like a mirror" so the patient can see his or her problem reflected in it. Dr. Jung adds his sound advice: "If possible, find a therapist through good, trustworthy friends."
Question
Q1) What kinds of stresses do you have to cope with in your daily life?
What is the biggest pressure that you have ever experienced so far?
Q2) What is your most effective way to get rid of the stress?
Q3) Have you ever considered getting a help from a therapist?
Please give us the reason for your answer.
Q4) What should we do to minimize our mental pressure before it gets serious?
이 글은「대학연합영어토론동아리」www.pioneerclub.com에서 제공하는 영어토론 정보입니다.
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