Application of Personality Theories

Running head : THE APPLICATION OF PERSONALITY THEORIES

Implications of Personality Characteristics on Client Behavior towards Counseling

Abstract

The essay is based on interviews administered to two psychiatrists and is designed to unravel the complications surrounding the implications of personality characteristics on client resistance towards counseling Indeed , the effectiveness of counseling strategies can be measured by the levels at which counseling therapists succeed in warding off patient resistance associated with personality dilemmas and cultural inclinations of the patient . From a social sciences perspective personality is perceived to be an outcome

of both conscious and unconscious conflicts of individual value orientation among individuals Therefore , sources of client resistance towards counseling can be as varied as possible with personality traits between clients and therapist being possible root causes for misunderstandings or misrepresentations .Introduction

Personality refers to organized and dynamic sets of characteristics that uniquely influence the individual cognitions and which differentiate one person from another . Personality stands out as an outcome of both conscious and unconscious dynamism relative to the environment , heredity factors , uniqueness , universality , optimism and pessimism . Theorists who study cognitive and behavioral therapy perceive resistance to be a conscious reaction controlled by the client personality as opposed to the assumption that resistance is an unconscious response . Indeed , most therapy theories acknowledge that personality-related resistance is a conscious spontaneous reaction that can be provoked or increased by inept actions of the therapist . Such spontaneous defensive reactions by clients can be provoked by diagnostic inaccuracies such as improper interpretation of cases , wrong assessment...