a. Compare the two sets of letter codes you recorded as a result of Steps 1 and 2. If one or more letter codes are common to both sets, make a special note of the common code(s); otherwise, group the letter codes together.
b. Refer to Table 3 (pages 86-87), which summarizes the letter codes of all the therapies discussed in this guide. Check the code(s) you just listed.
c. If you feel that you have taken your time, have been thoughtful about yourself, and now feel reasonably confident about the tentative conclusions you have reached, turn to the chapter(s) in this book that discuss the approaches to therapy you checked. As you read these, try to imagine yourself as a client in each of the therapy situations described. Which approach seems most appropriate given your goals or problems? Do you feel that you have the personal traits that the therapy is most suited for? If so, give that approach to therapy a reasonable trial period. If not, consider other alternatives you checked.
AN EXAMPLE OF FOLLOWING STEPS 1, 2, AND 3
Suppose you check §3.1, shyness passivity, in Table 1. You refer to the section following Table 1, relating to personality trait problems. You feel that shyness is something that interferes significantly with your life, interests, and desires, and you want to do something to overcome it. Therapies Q, C, N, and D are recommended to you as potentially useful. Then, in Table 2, you check §7. You refer to §7 following Table 2, and you decide that you especially need to work on pent-up feelings in need of release. Therapies C and J are suggested there as potentially appropriate for you.
You now have two sets of therapy letter codes to consider: Q, C, N, and D; and C and J.
Therapy C is common to both recommended groups of therapies, but you are interested in comparing the other therapies with C. In addition to reading about C, you decide to read the discussions of therapies D, J, N, and Q. From Table 3, the five letter codes C, D, J, N, and Q denote Gestalt therapy, transactional analysis, bioenergetics, counter-conditioning, and group therapy, respectively. After reading about these therapies, you come to feel that Gestalt therapy probably would challenge you in especially needed ways, so you decide to locate a therapist with training in Gestalt therapy. (For information on locating a therapist, see Chapter 17.)
STEP 1
TABLE 1: