Organismic Approach
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LeeOrganismic Approach
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LeeORGANISMIC APPROACH Largely on the basis of his extensive work with brain-injured patients and on patients with.
language disorders in particular, Goldstein became increasingly certain that an atomistic approach is fundamentally inadequate to any real understanding of the organism. He therefore came to believe that all aspects of livingbe they symptoms, disease states, or any of the various forms of behavior a person may manifestcan be appreciated only in terms of the total organism. In Goldsteins organismic framework, persons interrelations with their society, the similarities and differences that exist between them and other members of that society, and even their broader relationships to their culture and to other cultures must all be taken into consideration. The organism, in sickness and in health, was brought by Goldstein into this comprehensive holistic framework. Symptoms become meaningful only in terms of their functional significance for the whole organism. They do not merely affect a damaged part, but involve attempts of the total organism to handle environmental demands, for which the persons former problem- solving techniques are now inadequate or inapplicable.
The organismic theory proposes that man must be viewed as a whole and not by parts. It also involves his interactions with society and his environment. When a body part is particularly involved, example in appendicitis, the appendix is not only the one involved but the whole human being. Symptoms could be felt at different regions of the abdomen and the person could not function well, example walk, because of the pain that is experienced. ORGANISMIC GOALS IN SICKNESS AND HEALTH Goldstein saw self-actualization as involving somewhat different goals in sickness and in health. The organism in a pathological state may, for example, be forced to limit expressions of self- actualization to maintenance of the status quo, discharging tension as much as possible and perhaps concentrating merely on survival. Goldstein regarded pathology as always associated with isolation to some degree, so that the organisms whole integrity is threatened. Faced with that threat, sick persons may respond rigidly and compulsively, fall back to more primitive levels of behavior, constrict interests and activity, or withdraw into routines. They may become perseverative, manifest fatigue and retreat from challenge, or merely refuse to undertake any task in which they envision the possibility of failure. Goldstein regarded all such behaviors as catastrophic reactions, responses of the damaged persons to what they interpret as devastating conditions with which they are unable to cope. Even those responses were thought of as attempts at self-actualization, within the limited response repertoire remaining. The person with sickness only aims to survive. He displays lack of interests in activities and may easily give up when faced with challenges. They may also decline tasks that may fail at the end. These reactions, Goldstein views, are disastrous and they may not be able to cope from it. Self-actualization also molded Goldsteins interpretation of psychotherapy. The treatment of mental disorder by psychological rather than medical means. He believed that patient and therapist enter into a relationship of communion. a union that enhances the self-realization (The development or fulfillment of one's potential.) of
both patient and therapist. Because the patients problems arise from the disruption of mutual relationships between self and others, Goldstein regarded this communion as a prerequisite for successful treatment.
In contrast to the impaired organism, Goldstein saw the healthy persons self-actualization drive as inducing spontaneity, creativeness, genuine self-expression and willingness to accept some amount of risk with a spirit of adventure and confidence. The healthy person is, therefore, able to reach what Goldstein called the sphere of immediacy, (sphere of fulfillment) where the human becomes truly dynamic and finds the source of genuine wholeness and creativity. For Goldstein, the sphere of immediacy and its dynamic character are the vital aspects of human living.
