Dr.Sc.Psych., Professor O.I. Shcherbakova¹
Dr.Hab., Professor A.M. Tatarintseva²
Dr.Sc.Tech., Professor A.K. Chernykh³
PhD, Associate Professor A.V. Shirshov^4
1Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Moscow
²Baltic International Academy, Riga, Latvia
³St. Petersburg Military Institute of National Guard Troops of the Russian Federation, St. Petersburg
⁴N.P. Ogarev Mordovia State University, Saransk

Keywords: concept, mental health, mental health components, psychological counselling service goals and methods.

Background. Individual mental wellbeing securing problem may be described as the fundamental problem of the modern psychological science which is differently addressed in a variety of fields and concepts of the latter. Solutions to this problem are being found via modern psychological counselling practices and psychological health building concepts (by I.B. Dubrovina, V.I. Slobodchikov, O.V. Khukhlaeva et al.). The current mental health standard implies lack of pathologies and symptoms that hamper the individual’s social adaptation process; whilst “the psychological health standard, on the contrary, implies certain personal qualities being developed to not only help in social adaptation but also contribute to the social development by own individual progress” [6]. I.B. Dubrovina defines psychological health as the psychological aspects of mental health i.e. those that refer to the personality on the whole and are closely related to the supreme manifestations of a human spirit [2]. O.V. Khukhlaeva believe, due identification of the psychological health components give the means to set forth the following goals of the psychological counselling and correction service: train the subjects to develop a positive attitude to and accept other people; help them master the relevant reflexive skills; and cultivate a conscientious need for self-development [6].

Objective of the study was to consider the concept of mental health and analyse its essence in the context of the leading concepts of healthy individual in different aspects.

Study results and discussion. Let us consider a few psychology-based personality concepts and mental health factors with the relevant provisions and ideas most popular in the modern psychological theories and practices. As provided by the Freudian psychoanalyses, it is the subconscious individual complexes, psychological traumas and suppressed sexuality that comprise the key source of psychological problems and pathological mental conditions; and when the above are ousted from the individual consciousness, it may trigger unhealthy symptoms (including movement, perception, emotional disorders, dysmnesia etc.) [5]. Classical psychoanalysis is based on a few key psycho-techniques as follow: free association analysis; dream analysis and interpretations; erroneous/ unintentional symptomatic action interpretations; resistance analysis; and transfer process analysis. It is obvious that neither of the above analyses is geared to develop some personal abilities or qualities to help the individual act in a more constructive manner; as they are rather intended to help solve some past problems. As provided by the K. Jungian psychoanalysis, it is the moral conflict due to unresolved sentiments hidden in the subconscious and collisions of different acute contradictions that are interpreted as the key reason for psychological problems [7]. Therefore, the key goal of the psychological counselling service is the personality individualisation to help solve the relevant problems. This means that analyst must help establish contacts of the personal conscious with the individual and collective subconscious; i.e. help balance the conscious and subconscious and optimise their interaction process. The key access methods to the subconscious are the following: method of focused associations; dream analysis; and method of active imagination.

The Alfred Adler’s individual psychology makes a special emphasis on the uniqueness of each individual and the processes applied by people to cope with their drawbacks on the way to their life goals [1]. It is further stated that each individual strives to overcome own inferiority complex and prove his/her dominance (with the latter viewed as the fundamental law of life and driving force that may have its destructive/ negative and positive/ constructive aspects). People suffering from different neuroses are those who once took the wrong way in their lives - mostly in early childhood, or went through physical sufferings, or were too much protected and pampered, or rejected. The people who strive to dominate and at the same time demonstrate a zero/ negative social interest may be described as holding to a pseudo-compensatory lifestyle i.e. going to compensation via indirect ways rather than directly addressing and solving relevant problems. Alfred Adler mentions a few pseudo-compensatory behavioural models including the so-called “escape to disease” which is often referred to by the modern psychoanalytical concepts as the secondary benefit from the symptom. As provided by Alfred Adler, any symptom makes it possible for the individual to obtain the following benefits: (a) his/her failures are now excused and, hence, he/she is no more expected to face and solve problems; (b) he/she receives additional means to control other people; (c) he/ she may now rely on support and compassion of other people; i.e. “escape to weakness”, “tears and complaints” and thereby destroy natural cooperation and take other people down to slavery in fact. Such individuals strive to dominate by proving how weak and unhappy they are; with their passivity and a set of “objective” reasons for inactivity being applied to excuse their own failures, habitual inactivity and lack of initiative in facing life challenges; it is not unusual that they make resort to lying (fraud, ruse) to attract attention to themselves and offset accomplishments of others. Such a person may be described as the “cruel tyrant” who takes revenge on the world for his/her inability to satisfy own caprices. Such behaviour may not necessarily be extremely malicious as it may be driven by the formal proneness to order and discipline; or ruthless struggle with different (scientific, political, religious etc.) opponents; or career-centred self-assertion; or a variety of reckless/ high-risk gaming activities; with the superiority complex in this case acting as an anaesthetic drug to suppress the feel of insufficiency; or psycho-stimulating agent giving the means for the individual to strongly affect others in a positive or negative way. He/she may also make resort to self-promotion to win approval and acknowledgement of other people. On the whole, such individuals are in need of permanent confirmations of their importance by other people associated with support and protection. It is only natural that the above pseudo-compensation tools are fraught with multiple conflicts with the surrounding people.

The psychological counselling service in the case must be designed to: (1) mitigate the feel of inferiority; (2) develop some social interest (socialising drive) in the individual; (3) and help him/ her revise the habitual lifestyle to: detect the erroneous perceptions of him/her self and other people; remove false goals; set forth new life goals to fully mobilise the personal resource. Alfred Adler rated the social interest reinforcement component as the key mission of psychological therapy. Moreover, he stated that as soon as the patient starts communicating and cooperating with other people he may be considered successfully cured. The psychological counselling service must be designed to help the client fully understand and accept the new individual lifestyle and him/her self; train and cultivate the social interest and natural need for social cooperation. The Alfred Adler’s therapy may be described as a set of cooperation developing practices designed to help master the interpersonal contacts with other people and thereby activate and apply the awakened social feelings to other people. The wider and stronger are the growing social interests, the faster the egoistic agenda is replaced by constructive life goals.

It was J. Wolpe and A. Lazarus who initiated the behavioural correction domain of the psychological counselling/ correction service in the mid 1950ies to early 1960ies albeit the idea was rooted in the J. Watson, B. Skinner and E. Thorndike behaviourism in fact. Behaviouristic approach in the psychological counselling process may be described as the application of experimentally grounded education principles geared to help the trainees revise an inadequate behavioural model; suppress and remove deadaptive habits; and introduce and reinforce adaptive ones. It should be noted that the basic human aspiration is to get free of negative environmental impacts and be positively assessed by surrounding people. When this natural aspiration is hampered, the person comes to conflicts with him/her self and other people. Personal problems in fact may be interpreted as behavioural disorders (deadaptive behavioural models) and conflicts of the habits cultivated by the erroneous education process. Some people have no idea how to express their own friendliness, efficiently communicate, demonstrate their anger, refuse unreasonable requests etc. These socialising disorders may result not only in social isolation and loneliness but also in anxiety, depression and proneness to win the other people’s attention by harmful or destructive actions; such individuals may be unable to master more sophisticated communication skills. The key objective of the behaviourism-driven psychological counselling service is to secure due educational conditions to help the client master new adaptive (standard, criterion, adequate) behavioural model(s) and cope with the deadaptive behaviour/ syndrome. Specific goals of the service may include the initiatives to shape up new socialising and self-control skills; get rid of bad habits; develop stress-control skills; and recover from emotional traumas. The set of behaviour correction tools may include the following: systemic desensitization method; reinforcement methods; immersion (flooding, implosive, paradoxical intention etc.) methods, token method etc. The key goals of the assertive training process are attained via modelled socialising situations with the relevant role models or practical training in real communicative environments. The trainings are designed to embrace the following 4 key categories of the conscious behaviour: (1) come up with own requirements; (2) say “no” and criticise; (3) establish a contact; (4) openly declare own agenda, goals and interests; and make allowance for own mistakes. Acting within the frame of the behaviourial concept, we applied the following exercises: “assertive behaviour” including uncertain, certain and aggressive responses; “contacts (mini-role games)”; “behavioural strategies in conflict situations” with relevant tasks and solutions; and “mediation in conflict” with the relevant business games.

We also applied the client-centred approach by C. Rogers designed to accept the client and show absolute attention to the latter [3, 4]. The core idea of the C. Rogers concept is that every human being is driven by his/her internal agenda, aspiration for progress, growth and own resource mobilisation. Such individual has no need for external supervision or control; and the only thing that can be done by the psychoanalyst is to encourage the client’s own initiative and activity. C. Rogers defines three key conditions for individual growth and progress being as follows: integrity, sincerity and congruence of the psychoanalyst; absolutely positive (respectful and constructive) attitude of the psychoanalyst to the client; and empathy-driven understanding.

Conclusion. Every psychological counselling and psychological health protection concept and approach offers its models and tools to develop the relevant personality qualities and abilities described as specific psycho-technologies. It is important to know and apply these technologies to develop certain individual qualities and abilities for efficient solutions of interpersonal interaction problems.

 References

1. Adler A.O nervicheskom kharaktere [Nervous character]. St. Petersburg: Universitetskaya kniga publ., 1997, 388 p.
2. Grinder D., Bandler R. Formirovanie transa [Trance formations]. Moscow: Kaas publ., 1994, 240 p.
3. Dubrovina I.V. O vospitanii psikhologicheskoy kultury shkolnikov [Psychological culture cultivation in schoolchildren]. Vestnik prakticheskoy psikhologii obrazovaniya, no. 3, 2006, pp. 43-47.
4. Rogers K. Klient-tsentrirovannaya psikhoterapiya [Client-centered psychotherapy]. Moscow: Aprel Press, EKSMO-Press publ., 2002, 512 p.
5. Rogers K. Stanovlenie lichnosti. Vzglyad na psikhoterapiyu [Personality formation. Insights in psychotherapy]. Moscow: EKSMO-Press publ., 2001, 416 p.
6. Freud Z. Psikhologiya bessoznatelnogo [Psychology of the unconscious]. Moscow: Prosveshchenie publ., 1990, 448 p.
7. Khukhlaeva O.V. Osnovy psikhologicheskogo konsultirovaniya i psikhologicheskoy korrektsii [Fundamentals of psychological counseling and psychological correction]. Moscow: Akademiya publ., 2001, 208 p.
8. Jung K.G. Sobranie sochineniy: Konflikty detskoy dushi [Collected Works: Conflicts in the Child's Soul]. Transl. from Germ. Moscow: Kanon publ., 1994, 336 p.

Corresponding author: olga716@bk.ru

Abstract

Objective of the study was to consider the concept of mental health and analyse its essence in the context of the leading concepts of healthy individual in different aspects (based on Freudian and Jungian psychoanalyses, Alfred Adler’s individual psychology, behavioural psychology, K. Rogers’ humanistic psychology, neurolinguistic programming etc.). The authors were governed by the definitions of mental health by I.V. Dubrovina, mental health components by O.V. Khukhlaeva that were applied to identify the key goals and methods of psychological counselling under different concepts; and find the most promising ways of such support and its models based on analysis of the available procedures and techniques. The authors conclude that the psychological counselling and psychological health protection concept and approach offer their models and tools to develop the relevant personality qualities and abilities described as specific psycho-technologies. It is important to know and apply these technologies to develop certain individual qualities and abilities for efficient solutions of interpersonal interaction problems.