Different areas of practical psychology address the issue of personal responsibility in different ways.
The personal-active approach recognizes the maximum personal responsibility for a person, which implies personal responsibility for both external and internal behavior. This approach, which implies high awareness and development of the will, personal efforts and personal responsibility, a high level of personal development, is not suitable for everyone. Most of all, this approach is in demand in working with business people, businessmen — people who are developed and accustomed to responsibility. It is clear that this is not the most frequent contingent of psychologists. For most clients (and psychotherapists after them) a shared responsibility approach is more attractive.
For example, according to M.R. Ginzburg, in Ericksonian hypnosis, the client is responsible for the request, the psychotherapist is responsible for the procedure, and the unconscious is responsible for the result …
Personal responsibility for your problems can be attributed to repressed emotions, a closed soul, polluted chakras and birth trauma — there would be a desire. It seems that this is the wrong approach in its focus, but specific situations may be different. Taking into account the fact that not every person is ready to immediately take full personal responsibility, sometimes it seems understandable and justified.
From the notes of a colleague counseling women:
I often think if my client will hear me if I tell her: “Darling, you are furious that you simply have nothing to do in your free time, and you have never been fond of needlework, no one taught you, and it’s too lazy to start looking for a hobby yourself . Or go to the pool, take a walk in the park. Be active! “No, this client of mine won’t want to hear that from me, no. She will hear in this collision, accusation, and may even be offended. Instead, say warmly, “Get the pencils. Draw! You see, you depict this house with closed windows, because your soul is closed and does not let love, joy, beauty into your world. Let’s redo the house. Let’s open the windows, paint the sun orange, this is the color of positive emotions. We will plant a tree nearby. Will we draw a child? Open your heart, create! You will succeed!” And women immediately come to life. Blooming and getting younger like girls!
The question of the level of responsibility that the psychologist considers possible and correct to assign to the client is the question of the distribution of responsibility.
It is widely believed that if the consultant takes full responsibility for the effectiveness of the consultation, then he thereby deprives his client of responsibility, makes him irresponsible. This is not true. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for a consultant to work irresponsibly, and his client responds with the same irresponsibility. And, on the contrary, often the most responsible approach of the consultant sets up the client for the same most responsible work.
We can say that one of the main responsibilities of a consultant is to load the client with the maximum possible responsibility for the result. In an ideal consultation, both are responsible for the result: both the consultant and the client, and the responsibility between them is not shared, but complements each other. In an ideal consultation, one hundred percent of the responsibility is assumed by the consultant and how much the client keeps.
It is clear that the ideal is very far from us …