Life Skills Curricula for Mental Wellness and Personal Growth
Phase 1 - Understanding: Explore why the client is stuck
In this phase....
The therapist attempts to understand what has occurred to people as they confront the future. There are four key characteristics that they must look at:
1. Unexamined Life: Explore clients' life situation and the strengths and challenges of their life skills.
2. Repetition Compulsion: Examine the reason why clients keep reliving negative events in their lives.
3. Unhealthy Habits: Discuss why clients keep repeating negative behaviors and expecting different results.
4. Determine Stuckness: Determine what needs clients are unable to meet. This inability to meet Maslow's needs is what causes the person to become "stuck."
Phase 2 - Insight: Determine the depth and breadth of the problem
In this phase....
The therapist assesses the person's perception of the problem.
1. Create a Stuckness Map: Therapists create a "Stuckness Map" to determine how their problem is manifesting itself: emotional, mental, physical, and psychological.
2. Set Transcendent Goals: Therapists help clients identify the "ideal" life situation by identifying and setting transcendent goals, long-term goals, and short-term goals.
3. Bridge the Gap: Therapists identify potential life skills clients need to "bridge the gap" between where they are and where they want to be.
4. Explore the "Type" of Stuckness the Client Exhibits: Therapist identify the best therapeutic approach based on the severity of Stuckness: Group, individual, or a combination.
Phase 3 - Mastery: Conduct Life Skills IQ Training
In this phase....
I. The therapist provides 4 steps in the developmental Life Skills IQ Training process:
Step 1: Assessment: Therapists assess the life skills problem component for strengths and shortcomings. For example, if traumatic thoughts keep re-entering a client's consciousness, which life skills does the client need to strengthen? See the Life Skills Curricula link for information about reproducible life skills resources.
Use a Developmental Approach:
Step 2: Negative Habit Patterns: Explore the habit patterns associated with the problem (PAST). All of John's reproducible activities incorporate a Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy component to help clients examine how their habit patterns impact their lives.
Step 3: Life Skills Instruction: Therapists teach and model critical life skills that enhance strengths and strengthen shortcomings (PRESENT).
Step 4: Help Clients Develop Wisdom: Therapists provide clients with opportunities to apply enhanced life skills in real-world situations (FUTURE)
For Information About Lifeskills IQ Training
If you would like information about John's Lifeskills IQ Training, don't hesitate to get in touch with John at jjliptak1@verizon.net
John has provided training and research services to the Romanian Public Education System, the Scottish Highlands Development Corporation, Jamaican Business Development, and the Hong Kong Government.