Therapy Archives | Lilya Mayorova

IMAGE THERAPY

admin — Mon, 28 Jan 2019 21:47:50 +0000

Image therapy is the author’s direction in modern practical psychotherapy, image therapy is an effective cure for the neuroses of an ordinary city dweller

psychological recommendations for choosing a carnival costume

Image therapy is an original direction in modern practical psychotherapy.

Image therapy was invented by St. Petersburg fairytale therapist and psychodramatist Andrei Vladimirovich Gnezdilov. At one time, like Jacob Moreno, he organized probably the first psychotherapeutic theater in Russia - the “Theater of Musical Pictures”.

Andrei Gnezdilov, by the way, worked with seriously ill somatic patients, so he was not joking.

What early psychotherapy came up with for patients, then modern psychotherapy released us into the world - for the widest audience - clients.

Since it helps against somatic ailments, it will also help against the neuroses of an ordinary city dweller, who has not yet had time to exhaust himself to a very extreme point... This is how I reason, this is how the vast majority of psychotherapists reason.

What is the essence of image therapy?

In life we are given many roles (the whole world is a stage).

But gradually we choose one role (like a person who is not very happy in his current moment chooses one “comfortable” sweater and wears it until they start serving him on the subway).

We choose one role, one image of ourselves and gradually become... his slave...

In the theater this is called becoming a “slave to the stage cliche.”

Psychology calls this bad phenomenon “conforming to the image.”

In general, conformity to an image can be good or bad. A good image fit is a flexible fit.

Poor image fit is inflexible fit. What's wrong with inflexible conformity to your favorite image? (In other words, what is bad about rigidity in a person?)

Rigidity and inflexibility deprive a person of SPONTANEOUSNESS, and with it CREATIVITY and the ability to make POSITIVE CHANGES.

And a rigid person, a slave to the stage cliche of his worn-out image, closes the Doors to positive changes that can come to him from OUTSIDE.

A bearded joke tells about this: “You should at least buy a lottery ticket.”

But in the old image (of which the person is a slave) there is no such line - go and buy a lottery ticket... so the joke is in vain...

In order for a person to go and buy a lottery ticket, he needs to rewrite the script, add new scenes, lines, exits to the script... Ah! How to work hard...

But everything can be arranged much more simply – with the help of image therapy.

The effect of image therapy is based on the famous effect

Instant transformation.

In the psychotherapeutic theater, Andrei Gnezdilov had a whole wardrobe of ancient costumes and... a mirror

His mini-performances (psychodramatic sessions) arose ONLY SPONTANEOUSLY.

The suit told the person his further behavior. Having changed clothes, people began to live the life of a new image. They approached a large mirror and, looking at themselves, created the picture that was suggested to them by the music sounding at that moment and the image they saw.

The goal was this: the participant in the psychodrama was to see instant transformation effect.

Psychologists have long noticed that for the vast majority of people, deep positive personal changes begin with a change in their appearance.

An OLD COSTUME is not suitable for a new sense of self (and then for a new life).

This axiom was not discovered by psychologists; it has been understood for a long time. But only recently - with the help of this truth they began to heal a large number of people and make them happier - purposefully.

Imagine that you have decided to go to a monastery.

Its walls, daily routine, interior decoration, the cell itself, your new clothes, your new name and the act of tonsure (which is the act of funeral service for a person with an old name!) all this sets you up in a new way...

imagine a monastery where monks and novices wear jeans and T-shirts, with a player, and the cells are furnished with furniture from Ikea...

Hardly an image such monastery will set you up for some CHANGES... Such a unfortunate monastery will need urgent restyling so that it does not close...

The process of transformation of the human personality is holistic, holistic.

Therefore, it is a mistake to neglect some details out of your special love for other details.

The process that calls for Change is holistic, it affects every cell of a person’s body, and, of course, concerns his appearance...

But that’s not all in image therapy...

A new image at the SYMBOLIC level gives a person (attention!)

new present,
new future,
and a new PAST!

And you probably guess that there is nothing more “real” in the world of people, in the world of culture, than the SYMBOLIC...

We think and live in symbols. Cynics and postmodernists call this habit of homo sapiens living in the world of symbols “show-off”...

Yes, if you want, that's how it is.

A person differs from an animal in that he constantly “shows off”, or, to put it differently, thinks and lives in a system of symbols, in a sign system...

Tell me offhand: with equal zero costs on your part (a gift), where would you prefer to go for a week: Turkey or Italy?

To Italy? What's worse about Türkiye?

This is a typical feature of Homo sapiens - showing off. In terms of nature, you can equally enjoy any corner of the planet that suits your climate, but we will be more comfortable where the SYMBOLS are more beautiful and bold.

Italy is a symbol of big money (good self-image).

Türkiye is a symbol of small money (dimmer self-image).

But vitamins and sun have almost no effect on humans...

This is the feature that image therapy noticed for you and me...

Image therapy formulated: all real positive changes in a person’s life begin with a “change of show-off” - with a change in the symbols with which we are accustomed to operating - to other symbols.

Just like we unconsciously rely on our ROD. In the same way, we can rely on a new (more interesting to us) CULTURAL CODE, CULTURAL SYMBOL.

A practical step for this is changing the image.

Here's what a practitioner writes about it:

“A fragile, shy girl with a stooped back and an uncertain look is transformed, thanks to the costume, into a Fairytale Queen.

In the image of the Queen, she begins to apparently display a style of behavior that was previously unusual for her. Her posture improves, her chin rises proudly, and chesty notes appear in her voice. Movements become confident and soft.

Coming out of the image, the girl admits: she has never felt such a surge of strength from somewhere deep within herself.

We watch the girl come out of character and notice: “royal” show-off slips into her dialogues with others, her shoulders are straightened. The look stopped being frightened and prickly and became warmer.”

Is the new image a lie?

The stupidest mistake is to think that a new image is some kind of bank with an overpriced price tag. Nonsense! Nonsense and ignorance of the basics of psychology.

The new image is actually not new. Image therapy “pulls out” from a person what is in him, but is deeply hidden.

If you like, image therapy is one of the catalysts that helps open the “Unknown Zone” of the Johari Window.

Let me remind you: something that neither a person nor his environment knows about himself.

During an image therapy session, a person (and those around him) begin to understand how little they knew about themselves.

You just need to choose the right suit...

But it’s not for nothing that Andrei Gnezdilov had a huge and constantly expanding wardrobe with old and simply vintage suits... Everyone, approaching this wardrobe, selected exactly what he liked, what was asking for freedom.

The time for carnival costumes is coming. Why not play image therapy yourself?

Сообщение ИМИДЖ-ТЕРАПИЯ появились сначала на Лиля Майорова.

CHANGE OF IMAGE AS A WAY OF COPING WITH NEGATIVITY

admin — Mon, 28 Jan 2019 23:03:42 +0000

The problem of experiencing traumatic situations is related to the psychological well-being and even health of a person. Today's life is full of stress: emotionally a person is in constant tension, his thoughts “circle” around problems.

In relation to how people cope with negative experiences, a certain tradition has developed in psychological science. The main areas of consideration of this problem are works on psychological defense mechanisms and coping strategies.

Image change has good potential for coping with emotions for the following reasons:

– the importance of the physical self for self-esteem and self-attitude – improving your appearance will have a positive impact on your self-perception;

– the need for change intensifies in difficult life situations. Of course, everyone’s readiness for these changes is different, but during a period of difficult experiences, a person can even develop the following schemes, even on an irrational level: “something needs to change urgently, let it be at least me”, “I change - the situation will change” . That is, the change itself has a “therapeutic” effect;

– external activity distracts a person’s attention from experiences. Changing your image is a certain external activity that allows you to divert attention from internal negative experiences.

In order to consider the possibilities of changing an image as a coping strategy, we organized an experiment: we analyzed the dynamics of the experiences of five women - clients of a beauty salon in the process of changing an image. The following diagnostic methods were used: the “Social Adaptation Scale” questionnaire (Holmes and Reich), the “Characteristics of residual experience of unpleasant events” method from the package of methods for diagnosing the experience of critical situations by R.V. Ovcharova, the technique of ultimate meanings (MPS), developed by D.A. Leontiev, the “Personality Differential” method developed by E.F. Bazhin and A.M. Etkind. In addition to standardized methods, conversation and observation were actively used.

The change of image took place in the process of visiting a cosmetologist, hairdresser, nail technician, consultations with a stylist and selection of clothes, consultations with a makeup artist.

As a result, we made the following conclusions:

1. A change of image leads people, according to the participants, to a desire to live, a change in activity, harmony in relationships, freedom, satisfaction, peace, improved personal life, and health. It is possible to group the ultimate meanings into those reflecting family values and relationship values (harmony in relationships, improving personal life), as well as into meanings reflecting individual values (the desire to live, freedom).

2. The decision to change your image is mainly dictated by the desire to make changes in your life and your image, increase your self-esteem, attract attention, and assert yourself. An important fact is that the participants predicted in advance the effectiveness of changing the image to achieve the listed goals, which is a sign of a coping strategy.

3. The change in image gave the experiment participants, according to their self-reports, an excellent mood, confidence, comfort, narcissism, increased self-esteem, a sense of flight, social courage and determination, and a desire for career growth. That is, the indicators for the parameters of self-awareness, self-attitude, and self-realization have changed.

4. If we consider a change of image as coping, it is necessary to highlight the mechanisms of this process. Judging by the observed cases, there are several options for deploying such mechanisms.

When with client #1 The coping mechanism “Change of image” is based on “activity”, “switching attention”, that is, for it the effect is most likely due to the fact that thanks to the procedures for changing the image it was possible to switch attention from internal activity, as well as from professional activities to the sphere of informal (“frivolous”) communication and personal life. Strength indicators decrease, which indicates a decrease in tension, which we regard as a favorable result. At the same time, self-esteem indicators do not increase; moreover, changes in appearance even somewhat confuse the subject. This type of coping mechanism of image change can be called "Frivolous activity." It is useful for hyper-responsible women who have forgotten about their femininity, which leads to the development of psychosomatic diseases and deprives them of simple human happiness.

IN case No. 2, the main mechanism for coping with a change in image is increasing self-esteem by changing appearance, which is a resource state, especially for women - “I am a beauty.” The subject became more open, friendly, communicative, and active. At the same time, strength indicators increase, since in this case strength is not an obstacle, but, on the contrary, a necessary condition. A similar mechanism “worked” in the case of another client (case No. 3). She also needed increased self-esteem, strength and activity. Confidence in one's own appearance increased social courage.

U participants No. 4 Against the background of high self-esteem of personal qualities, there were worries about age-related changes in appearance. The change in image also allowed her to gain confidence in her attractiveness. This type of coping mechanism for image change can be called "Gaining Confidence". It is useful for women whose self-esteem has been undermined by life circumstances, unsuccessful relationships, age-related changes, and perhaps they inherited low self-esteem from their parents. To withstand the blows of fate, they need to be confident in themselves, and a woman’s strength lies in her beauty.

IN case No. 5 we are observing another mechanism. The participant is a self-confident woman: she has a positive image of herself, considers herself strong and active, independent - the “Iron Lady”. Despite a number of difficult life circumstances, she practically does not worry in a subjective sense: “I’m calm,” “everything is fine with me.” However, she admits that she is afraid to be alone, which indicates an avoidance of awareness of her feelings. For her, the procedures of taking care of her appearance became a symbol of a return to femininity, helped her “soften”, begin to feel, admit to herself her desires and experiences. This mechanism can be called "Journey to the Senses". It is especially useful for women who at some point in their lives, in order not to experience mental anguish, “numbed” themselves and stopped feeling. By depriving themselves of the opportunity to experience negative feelings, they also deprived themselves of positive emotions. In addition, the connection with the need sphere is lost, because it is negative feelings that signal to us that there is an unsatisfied need.

So, the hypothesis of our research has been proven. Indeed, changing your image is a way of coping with emotions. Using the example of beauty salon clients, we identified positive dynamics in experiencing life circumstances, increasing self-confidence due to a change in image.

...at least three mechanisms have been identified that underlie the “image change” coping strategy and ensure its effectiveness. We gave them conventional names: changing the image as “Frivolous Activity”, “Gaining Confidence” and “Journey to Feelings”.

Сообщение СМЕНА ИМИДЖА КАК СПОСОБ СОВЛАДАНИЯ С НЕГАТИВОМ появились сначала на Лиля Майорова.