Essay on Counselling Theories

Words: 1186
Pages: 5

Counselling Theories
Assessment 1
1. Explain the concept of nature versus nurture, using yourself as a case study to illustrate the theory.

The concept of nature versus nurture is that human behaviour is influenced by genetic information inherited from our parents and also by environmental and social influences.
My appearance such as short sightedness and pigmentation (freckles) I inherited from my parents. This means like my father I must wear glasses to drive and many other aspects of my daily life.
Being a woman this heightens my social awareness as how others perceive me. Society dictates ‘the body beautiful’. Magazines, Bill-boards, TV and newspapers constantly suggest the need to have a perfect complexion. This influences
…show more content…
One weakness of Sigmund Freud’s concept of the ego, id and superego in relation to understanding human development and individual behaviour is that not each may be equally well developed. This mix of psyche occurs at different rates for each individual. This can lead to social consequences where individuals will be treated differently causing a hindrance in the future development of the ego and superego.

5. Describe Jean Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development and provide an example from your own experience to illustrate the theory.

 Sensorimotor (Birth 18 months): During this period the baby begins to recognise the world around them and so develops refined eye movement, depth vision, and later as they begin to explore further learn to crawl and then walk. They start to use simple language ‘mum’, ‘dad’ and other single word responses.
 Preoperational (18 months to 6 years): Here the child increases their vocabulary and recognise some simple symbols and how to deal with certain basic situations. They can understand those near to them and begin to categorise the world around them.
 Concrete operational (6 to 12 years): At this point language skills increase but are still tied to the real world. The ability to reason increases in seeking to understand the world around them.
 Formal operational (12 years and over): About this