Who would study psychology if they didn't have some kind of problem?

Chapter 319 Hey, don't let this turn into a faction war!
[Defense] Will it interfere with the consultation process?

Teacher Zhao replied, "Of course, in geography: 'Yes. When a defensive posture arises, doesn't it mean that the speaker feels repulsed by what they are saying? It indicates that the speaker has actually detached themselves from the present emotion and has lost their 'immersion' in the story.'"

Nan Zhuren suddenly asked, "Then just now, when you pointed out that you were on the 'defense,' where were you?"

These words stunned Teacher Zhao.

She didn't react for a moment.

Her subconscious reply was even a little cute: "I... am sitting in front of you?"

Nan Zhuren chuckled softly, his expression surprisingly carrying a hint of encouragement from a teacher to a student.

“Your body is indeed sitting here, but what about your mind?” he guided, step by step.

Teacher Zhao blinked: "Thinking... in our conversation, I want to move the consultation process forward."

That's enough guidance; Nan Zhuren had already seen the confusion in Teacher Zhao's eyes.

The problem has been exposed.

"But when we recount past experiences, shouldn't 'you' be in the 'specific events'?"

Even if you develop a defensive stance, you are still within the scenario you are describing; even if you resist and try to conceal your intentions, you are still recalling, experiencing, and even growing.

"However, when you realize that you are on the defensive, you have 'broken free' from that specific scenario and returned to our 'consultation'."

Nan Zhuren looked into Teacher Zhao's eyes: "In other words, when you realize you are on the defensive and express that to me—you are defending yourself against your own defenses."

This sentence is a bit convoluted, but Teacher Zhao understood it completely.

……

However, although Teacher Zhao understood what he meant.

She still seemed completely oblivious to the reasoning behind those words.

So she instinctively turned to Nan Zhuren for help.

"Teacher Nan...this is actually not good, right?"

Instead of answering directly, Nan Zhuren changed the subject and asked a seemingly unrelated question.

"What was Professor Zhao's undergraduate major?"

"...Applied psychology."

"You're aiming for a consulting career, right? Which school of thought are you specializing in?"

"I learned about behaviorism from my mentor."

Okay, then everything makes sense.

Nan Zhuren thought for a moment and organized his thoughts: "The orientation you just demonstrated in the consultation does indeed have a strong characteristic of 'part of' behaviorism."

Psychology, especially the field of psychological counseling, is currently in a stage of "a hundred schools of thought contending," with many ideological contradictions and value conflicts between various doctrines and schools of thought; although there are occasional fusions and creations, there are also no shortage of attacks and struggles that seem to want to beat each other to a pulp.

Nan Zhuren limited the wording to "the behaviorism in Teacher Zhao" to avoid making the topic seem like a fight between sects.

Nan Zhuren said, "We all know that the most basic application of behaviorism is to use punishment and reinforcement to establish conditioned reflexes, eliminate useless behaviors, and retain target behaviors."

“This is a very goal-oriented approach—as you demonstrated in the conversation just now, you are very determined to move forward with the ‘consultation process’ and skip the ‘defense’.”

“But,” Nan Zhuren paused, “aren’t those points that generate [defense] quite fascinating? When they appear, we shouldn’t skip over them, but rather stop 'in the present moment' to explore and uncover the reasons behind the emergence of this [defense]. Isn’t that a major breakthrough in counseling?” Teacher Zhao blinked: “Teacher, so… should we… now go back and focus on those [defenses]?”

Nan Zhuren nodded and then shook his head: "Besides [Defense], the reason you developed [Defense] is also very important—you could even say it's more important."

I don't know why, at this moment.

Teacher Zhao suddenly blurted out, "Teacher Nan, what school of thought do you belong to? Are you a schizophrenic?"

The concept of "defense" in psychology was indeed first proposed by the psychoanalytic school.

But... what's wrong? I've tried so hard to avoid factional attacks, and now you want to start a sect war?
Nan Zhuren made a gesture with his thumb and forefinger: "I majored in Cognitive Behavioral Theory, but I've also dabbled in other areas such as Schizophrenia and Humanism."

Teacher Zhao nodded thoughtfully.

Then she exclaimed in a low voice, "Teacher, am I... on guard again?"

Nan Zhuren nodded: "So where are you now?"

"I..." Teacher Zhao opened her mouth, but for a moment she didn't know how to answer.

"Teacher Nan, why is this happening? Why am I having this subconscious reaction?"

The answer is actually in the experience that Teacher Zhao just described.

Nan Zhuren said, "The experience you just described mainly focuses on the difficulties you are currently facing in your work."

"You were concerned about students' mental health, and almost lost your job as a result."

"You can't concentrate on your classes, your professional time is taken up by trivial matters, and you can't even do the most basic thing like relieving students' stress..."

Nan Zhuren listed them one by one, guiding the conversation slowly: "These things make you feel [fright], [helplessness], [annoyance], etc. But since you brought them up together, there must be a commonality among them, which makes you feel a certain understanding, a certain emotion."

Nan Zhuren looked at Teacher Zhao with encouraging eyes: "Can you understand what that emotion is now?"

The young female teacher licked her lips, suddenly feeling a tension reminiscent of when she was teaching. Nan Zhuren, standing before her, seemed to be facing away from a PowerPoint presentation, holding a laser pointer, and giving her a lecture.

You've gone from being a peer supervisor to a real supervisor.

However, compared to her former mentors and teachers, Nan Zhuren's voice has an extra sense of comfort.

Although the two were now separated by two arms, Teacher Zhao felt as if an invisible hand was gently stroking her head, like petting a cat.

She inexplicably felt a sense of enjoyment and quickly quieted down.

And immediately immerse yourself in the experience.

"I...feel very frustrated."

She said it.

"My job doesn't give me any positive feedback, and I'm not even able to complete my work..."

"So I feel very frustrated."

"Teacher Nan, what should I do in this situation?"

Nan Zhuren smiled slightly: "Have you studied existentialism?"

　Made it up
　　
　
(End of this chapter)