Psychology of Mind and Health Realization

Transcription

STRENGTHS
A Strengths-Based Practice Model:
Psychology of Mind and Health Realization
stephen G. Warfel
Abstract
The author discusses the tenets and applications of the psychology of mind/health realization theory (POM/HRl,
stating that, al1hough used for the past 27 years,

it is still unfamiliar to many In the helping professIons. This ther
apeutic model has been best described by Roger Mills and George Pransky. It fits In well with the trend toward
strengths-based practice, focusing on the client's resources and resilience, on self-empowerment and self-help,
effectiveness and efficiency. It can be taught and

implemented easily, and, among other advantages, allows here
and-now focus on feelings of well-being rather than on painful thoughts and disturbing memories.
COMMON SENSE AND WISDOM are the keys [Q opti
mal mental health and are always available as a default set
ting. Just a.~ human bodies ha\"e the sunival capacity, honed
by evolution, to maintain homeostasis and to heal, minds
also have innate, self-righting mechanisms accessed through
common sense and wisdom (Mills & Spittle, 2001). This
theory is called psychology of mind/health realization
(POM/HR)I. Practitioners report achie\ing positi\'e out
comes, mobilizing strengths and catalyzing funher gro\\'th
through a brief and efficient helping process.
This article is based on the work of se\'eral POM/HR the
orists and practitioners (Bailey, 1990, 1999; Banks, 1998,
2000, 2001; Carlson, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999;
Carlson & Bailey, 1997; Mills, 1995; Mills & Spittle, 2001;
Pransky, 1990, 1998; Suarez, Mills, & Stewart, 1987), and
in it, I discuss the rationale for using the approach, introduce
basic concepts, explore techniques and applications, and help
you ro identifY additional resources.
produces thought. Bdiefs are conditioned patterns of
thought, and memories are thoughts about past events.
Thought creates feeling, as method actors know \\'elI,
thinking of an anger-provoking experienee to get into the
part. Thoughts and feelings guide our actions, producing
behaviors.
Thought Creates Reality
The constructivists (Watzlav,ick, 1984) state that people
create their picture ofreality. POM/HR would add that this
reality is constructed by thoughts. The-·senses take in stim
uli, which are given meaning by one's thinking. Unaware of
the proccss, one equates these perceptions \vith reality.
POM/HR uses three principles: mind, thought, and con
sciousness. The metaphor of a film projector is used to
explain this same process. Mind, the irreducible source of
mental energy, is the projector. Thought is the film through
which the light-carrying sensory stimuli-shines.
Consciousness is the light, causing the images on the screen
to appear real (Mills, 1995, pp. 33-53).
Two Types of Thi11ki~lg. Thinking can be either analytic or
intuitive. Analytic thinking is useful in problem solving,
where assessment is coupled with selective information
stored in memory to yield solutions. Parents and teachers
condition the child to develop, apply, and refine these skills
oyer time. Whe~er one is tying one's shoes or calculating
Thought as the Foundation
for Feeling and Behaving
The POM/HR conceptual fume\\'ork is consonant \\ith
cognith'e psychology (Beck, Freeman, & Associates, 1990;
Ellis, 1962) and states that thought is the foundation for
feeling and behavior. Thinking is the process by which one
I In rO,\ljHR. 1'0,\1 is often used to design.!e iu clinital.pplie.lions. md HRis used for it. community .nd pr<\'ention .pplicl<ions,
Fam1lJes In Sodety: 71le Journal oj Contemporary Human Services
Copyright 2003 Alliance for Children and FamllJes
185
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FAMILIES IN SOCIETY
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Volume 84, Number 2
the time needed to dri\'e to the airport, analytic thinking,
founded on memory and on conditioned thoughts and
beliefs, serves well. It supports solutions where discreet
choices and specific calculations are quickly available.
Imutire thinking is good for situations that do not lend
themselycs to specific analysis. Here, thinking that is based on
inruition, common sense, and \\isdom is more useful.
Realizations that emerge fTom intuitively knm\ing something
are hard to describe in \Yords. People simply reflect and know
what is right for them. Sometimes it just "pops into their
heads." Intuitive thinking is optimal when trying to decide
whether a mate is the right one to marry or how to plan one's
work life to assure comfort and prmide meaning. 2
The capacity to use both types of thinking is essential.
The intuiti\'e mode is our default setting, which is accessed
by simply suspending the analytic mode through "letting
go." Optimally, people mix: the styles on the basis of need,
and they are guided in the assessment of need by the intu
itive rather than the analytic mode. Unfortunately, as people
grow up and are increasingly schooled in analytic thinking,
they mm'e further and further fTom trusting their intuition.
This ieads to unbalanced, overused, and ultimately abused
analytic thinking in which people overthink issues that are
more appropriate to creative resolution using the other
mode. Overthinking resembles Zen's "busy mind."
Inappropriately applying conditioned thinking and beliefs,
people are ofTen unable to divine the improved solutions of
the quiet mind (see Glaxton, 1997). This ruminati\'e pro
cess mentally wcars on people and on a biochemical b'el
may deplete neurotransmitters like serotonin. 3
Feelings: The Guide to T170ught REcognitioli. Thought luog
nitioll is the ability both [Q recognize the primary role of
thought and to recognize and optimally mix the thinking
modes producing moment-to-moment thought. nut' how
does one employ the right mix? People can be guided by
their feelings, which sen'e as a natural and universally avail
able barometer to help them differentiate the two.
Comfortable, positive feelings accompany intuitive, com·
monsense thinking. Neutral, mildly cffortful feelings are
associated with an easy, quick use of analytic thinking, yield
ing viable solutions. Uncomfortable, negative feelings
accompany overuse and abuse of the analytic thinking mode,
producing mental strain. Emotional se!f-mvn-rmcss, defined as
recognizing and using our feelings, is a component of emo·
tional intelligence (Bar-On, 2000; Goleman, 1995; Mayer,
Caruso, & Salovey, 2000) and guides adapti\'e thinking.
POM/HR labels the natural, spontaneous, and transitory
fluctuations in the quality of thinking as moods. Moods are
conslandy changing. Lower moods, like clouds on an oth
emise sunny day, pass. According to POM/HR, we cannot
think our way out of a mood. Tf}~ng to do so will only
deepen it, producing uncomfortable feelings and prolong
ing the experience. The best solution is to recognize the
fluctuation (mood recognition is a form of thought recog
nition), amid dwelling on it, and simply wait it out. Until it
passes, it is preferable not to try to soh'e problems, as this
will be mentally straining and unproducti\·e. KnO\ving thaI
moods arc temporary allows one to rela.x when facing them.
Remaining as much as possible in the intuith'e mode and
maintaining a quiet mind \\ill allow them to naturally pass.
In sum, the higher the level of understanding thought,
resulting in proper use of thinking as cued by feeling, the
higher the o\'erallle\'el of functioning and mental health or
well·being. Conversely, the lower the level of understand
ing, the more misuse and abuse of the analytic mode. This
leads to experiencing more uncomfortable feelings, stress,
and strain, resulting in poorer and less efficient solution
building and a lower level of mental well-being.
Lepels of Mental WelJ-BeirJg. In Tbe Rennissrmce of
Psychology (1998), George Pranslcy, one of POM/HR's
founders, described six levels of mental weil·being: pro
found well-bcing, well-being, chronic low-level strcss,
chronic high·level stress, chronic distress, and chronic deep
distress. He drew the "mental health line" at well-being.
Pransky (1998, p. 108) defines chl'OlIic deep distress as
inability to separate thought from reality, resulting in a
chronically /Tightening world and the need to be protected.
There are no opportunities for relationships and work.
At the b'e! of chronic distress, limited thought recogni
tion, accompanied by "rumination" and "distorted percep
tions," keeps the person in a constant state of crisis (p.l08).
In c/Jrollic high-level stress "life is stable but difficult
because of chronic, but unrecognized, worry, bother, and
fTenetic thinking," resulting in labile moods, poor job per
formance, and chronically conflicted relationships.
In chronic IOJP-level diftress, Pransky (1998) described
good job performance and stable relationships built on
overusing the analytic mode, thereby crearing tension and
joyless lh~ng.
As people cross the mental health line, they move to lVeil
being characterized, according to Pransky (1998), by "high
thought recognition and desirable feelings." This person is
"creative and resourceful at work" and enjoys fulfilling rela
tionships.
At the highest leVel menraJ health is profolllJd IveJJ-beillg
in which deep reflection based in "free-flowing thinking"
produces "ingenious ideas that society values," and one is
able [Q bring out the best in other people (p. 108).
REsilience: T/Je Default Setting. POM/HR is easily prac
ticed ifaccepted open-mindedly and accompanied by a sus
pension of other contradictory practices. Intuitive,
commonsense thinking is available to everyone as the
default setting. Young children, who are far less conditioned
to analytic thinking, can easily distract and quiet themseh-es,
2 PO.\lfH R th¢orim u,e the terms proctJ>i"lJ riJinkm,tJ ror .n:u)nc thinl<ing and frr<j1urril/ofJ riJiT/ti'!!J foc inlllion thinking.
3 Is thc ,ecoton;n dc.ficicncy "en;l.l an epidemic by Norden (1996) in B'J'(J7II1 PrCl"'.A& tho C.uSC (aa he hrpoth"ileo) Or the elf«r Or""Sl, rc,ulong in "ide,prnd frol2C 1150~
1815
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WarteJ • A Strengths-Based Practice Model: Psychology of Mind and Health Realization
I
relationship is a critical earl)! step. But in this practice, lis
tening for the clients' understanding of thought and their
beliefs abont presenting requests is the preferred road to
building rapport. Empathizing a\'oids promoting ventila
tion and reinforcing beliefs that fail to recognize that per
cei\'ed reality is constructed from inside out via thought.
Lengthy problem description accompanied by emotionaHy
saturated exploration is seen in this practice as another way
to use the analytic mode, reinforcing negative thoughts
and feelings. 4 Respect, genuineness, warmth, and open·
ness, plus empathizing \\;thout joining unproductivel)',
quickl)! establishes rapport. The practitioner promotes a
relaxed tone and calm setting. This is based on state
dependent learning and suggests that optimal [earning will
be facilitated by a quiet mind.
Some traditional therapies hypothesize that events in the
past (e.g., childhood experiences, trauma, conditioned
behaviors, etc.) cause problems in the present and seek to
undo their effects. Exploration of earlier experiences cou
pled with abreacted feelings or behavioral or cognitive
reconditioning becomes part ofthe process. These therapies
often assume that change will be resisted and will invoke
substantial effon, time, and emotional pain.
POMjHR practice hypothesizes that recliscovering an
optimal mi." of thinking, guided by common sense and wis
dom, will restore mental balance and remain available to
solve future challenges. Because common sense and wisdom
are already a\-ailable, though underutilized, they can be
accessed quickly so that help need not take a long time. In
fact, change em be so rapid that practitioners speak of "ver
tical jumps" in levels of undemancling, b>'Passing interme
diate levels. Feeling-saturated recall of memories is avoided,
as is the accompan>ring mental distress. Substituting one
conditioned behavior or belief for another is seen as time
consuming and insufficient to produce lasting change.
Traditional therapies often require booster sessions over
time. POMjHR-informed practice assumes that once a per
son is on track again and consistently functioning above the
mental health line, this natural healing process will be self·
reinforcing and self-sustaining. Ending in traditional therapies
can be a time-consuming process. In this practice, people
who identif)' thar the}' have been sufficiently helped simply
choose to stop visiting, conlident that they will continue to
grow on their O\\TI. "Flights into health" that are based on
achie\ing higher levels of understanding are welcome.
Although rediscover}' and use of commonsense thinking
is initially facilirated by outside help and may be supported
by some self·talk and letting go, this process usua1l>' falls
away over time. Catal>'zed,5 it once again becomes as
autonomous as it WJS prior to overconclitioning. If I ma>'
take a bit of poetic license-this resilient healing born of
detours t1u-ough challenging times produces a repaired pro
resume free-flowing thinking, and quickly regain a positi\'e
and playful state following a cliscomfotting e\·ent. Using the
barometer offeelings, people simply need to get our of their
own way to rediscover their intuith'e mode and quiet mind
and follow it as their guide. When people trust and folio\\'
their common sense, they will always mix the optimal
amount of intuitive and analytic thinking to yield the best
possible solution available at that point in time. And make
nO mistake about producti\ity. Clearly focused, quiet minds
work smarter ratller than harder.
Practice Implications
POMjHRis a simple, parsimonious theory that builds on
cogniu\'e and constructivist psychologies. Thought is the
foundation for feeling and behavior and is created through
t\\'O modes of thinking: a natural, irmate, inmitive mode,
char;lcterized by common sense, CreaO\1ty, and wisdom,
which is accessed effortlessly and accompanied by comfort
able feelings; and an analytic mode, learned early on through
parental and school· based conditioning, which is best for
deciding rapidly among finite, quantifiable, fixed choices.
Analytic thinking rakes effort and can escalate through
overuse and abuse, resulting in uncomfortable feelings,
mental strain, and potentially poor actions. The more peo
ple trust the intuitive mode's guida.nce and supervision of
the mix, the more effortless and productive the solution and
the higher the likelihood of effecti\'e beha\10r.
A practice approach that assesses clients' understanding of
thought, strengthens their awareness of thinking modes via
the barometer of feelings, and assists them in rediscovering
an optimal thinking mix produees second-order change.
Rather than giving clients a fish to feed themselves for ada)',
the>' are taught how to fish so that they may feed themselves
for life. True to its underlying philosoph)', this approach
maintains a calm, positive atmosphere in which to teach basic
principles, trusts practitioners' intuition to identify teachable
moments, and affirms the innate \\isdom and strengths of
people seeking help. Being nonanal)'tic, it 3xoids diagnosing
pathology using categories from the DinjJlloJtic nlld
Stntisticni Mnl1l1ni of MeJltni Diso/'ders-Text Revisioll
(DSM-IV-TR, American Psychiatric Assoeiation, 2000;
Kutchins & Kirk, 1997) and tends to bte\ity.
Process of Helping
People seeking help will find similarities and differences
between practitioners of traditional therapies and
POMjHR-informed practitioners. Humanistic psycholo
gists like Rogers (1957), and the solution·focused work of
Hubble, Duncan, and Miller (1989) identify the impor
tance of the therapeutic relationship. In POM/HR
informed practiee, establishing rapport through the
4 You
;;zrc
i.1l\ltcd to
CXUj poJ,1(C
(hi.. "it:\\' co th( potemj~l n('gui\"(
dT('ClS
of h:l\·ing: pfobkm'sJ.runt~d com·~rS1dons \'it.h friends.
5 For> disnmion oflbe C1toJrtic function in > fir<l·ord<t ch1ngc model Ibot i' m1Mged·c,",c Lkndlr. <eo Bennett (1992).
187
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fAMILIES IN SOCIETY
•
Volume 84, Number 2
this parent, the client's mood quickly deteriorated. It was
clear that the client was prepared to ventilate at length,
believing from past experience mat this is how helping
worked.
After briefly listening, building rapport, and discussing
options, indudirlg medication evaluation by a consulting
psychiatrist for symptom relief, the practitioner asked per
mission to share another other way of vie\ving stress. This
was allowed, and an introductory discussion ensued about
thought, belief, and how reality is constructed from inside
out. The client was interested in the idea that once a belief is
created, like rhe client's beliefabout a p:\fent, a person tends
only to see confirmatOry e\>idence. Able to listen \\ith an
open mind, the client decided to try to learn more about this
merhod first to see whemer it would sufficiently help and
avoid the need to be evaluated for medication.
POM/HR goals became understanding the two modes
of thinking, recognizing thoughts, and beginning to use
this recognition to reduce rumination and stress, to access
more free-flO\\ing thinking, and to experience more positive
feeling. Over a few sessions, supplementing insights from
reading Slowillg Dowll to tbe Speed ofLife (Carlson & Bailey,
1997) \\ith other understandirlg and applications to every
day life, the client made strong gains. Expressing conviction
of being well on the way, and confident of being able to
continue growing \vithout further sessions, the client chose
to stop.
Standard across practices, whether they are POMjHR
informed or use other methods, is an initial focus on reliev
ing suffering and exploring options, includirlg safety and
referral for medication evaluation. The symptom picture was
abbre\iated in rhe above vignette, but many clinicians seeing
this person would have identified anxiety, depressed mood,
rumination, and impaired social and occupational function
ing and would have' assigned one or more DSM-IV-TR
diagnoses (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). A
POMjHR practitioner focuses on assessing thought recog
nition, level of understanding, strengths, and reSOtuces.
Teaching the concepts initially resembled work done in
cognitive therapies. Howe\'er, whereas cogniti\'e rherapies
try to change specific thoughts and beliefs, POMjHR prac
rice goes beyond this, focusing on the thinking process itself
to promote second-order change. This person decided to try
to try to imprO\'e presenting symptoms to see if it could be
done \vithout using medication. The client evidenced strong
readiness for change (Prochaska, Norcross, & DiClemente,
1994). Through a brief POMjHR-informed helping pro
cess, this person quickly overcame presenting symptoms,
rekindled hope, and was well on rhe way to further gains.
cess with scar tissue even suonger than the original. Over
time, with growth and development back on track, the pro
cess continually improves upon itself.
POMjHR-informed practice requires that the helper be
conversant with and able [Q reach the theory, This is sup
ported by practitioners regularly using the tenets and
achieving their own level of menral health, defined as con
sistently functioning abO\'e the menral health line (Pransk)',
1998). Rela..xed, calm, intuitive practice in which both par
ties trust each other achie\'es value-added outcomes. This
im~gorates helpers and pre\'ents fatigue and burnout.
Reports in the POM/HR literature reveal that therapists
who are experiencing stress and fatigue but who then dis
cover this practice renew their interest in helping (Carlson
& Bailey, 1997). Selective, facilitative, and therapeutic dis
closure of the usefulness of POM/HR to the helper
suengthens the helping relationship and engenders hope.
self-Help Orientation
This practice crusts in a person's ability to self-hcal. It
empowers people to help themselves by providing tools that
they can then nse for a lifetime. Helping is framed more as
educating and teaching than as counseling and therapy.
Suggesting useful readings is a significant aid to this process.
A ca\'eat, howe\'er, is in order for people already in therapy,
for example, for stress management. Because POMjHR may
be a very different way ofproviding help, clients are informed
at the outset that exposure to this new material may affect
their therapy, They may want to explore this further, talking
it o\'er \\>ith thelr current therapist and then making a deci
sion about furrher consultation. Fortunately, POMjHR is
compatible with many suengths-based models of help.
Teaching and the Thinking Modes
Teaching, rhe heart of POMjHR-informed practice,
requires some use of the analytic mode. Although the lan
guage of teaching can, at times, be metaphoric, evoking
abstract concepts, practitioners accept the incongruity of
rel}~ng, at times, on cogniti\'e concepts and a mode whose
dominance it ultimately aims to diminish, KnO\ving when
and what to teach, howe\'er, depends on the practitioner's
understanding and insight (Mills, 1995, p. 118). Early and
ongoing conditioning that reverses humans' inborn disposi
tion makes the analytic mode primary and the intuitive
mode sccondary. Successful POMjHR practice tips the bal
ance back rhe other way.
An Illustration ofPOM/HR-Injormed PracUce
A person in his 50s had heard the practitioner at a pre
sentation and subsequently came for help to deal \virh his
stress, In his fust visit, the client spoke of chronic distress,
rumination, and mental strain, adding tlla-r on rhe basis of
prior counseling, this was caused by a parent's long-rerm
criticism going back to childhood. While speaking about
Applications
POMjHR has been applied to a \\ide range of present
ing problems. In assisting trauma survivors, practicing from
188
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Wanel- A Strengths-Based Pradice Model: PsychOlogy oj Mind and HealUl ReaJlzaUon
Biological psychiatry posits organic causes for these symp
toms, adducing evidence from neurotransmitter chemistry,
the ameliorative effects of psychoJ.ctive medications, and
genetics. Another explanation, which fits the same observa
tions but reverses cause and effect, is that prolonged O\'eruse
md abuse of the analytic mode depletes md O\'erwhelms
neurotransmitters, producing the dOWI1"'JId spiral and
symptoms seen. Medications can helpfully interrupt the
cycle. Parents having low le\'e!s of understanding and
thought recognition cm induce these thinking styles in their
children through conditioning. Genetic predisposition in
the form of biological differences promotes vulnerability
but not destiny. This "iew could also help explain the results
of resiliencc studies. These show children who are living in
challenging home situations succeeding when exposed to
the adapti\'e style of a positi\'e adult in their em1ronment
(Werner & Smith, 1992).
The POMjHR mode! is compatible with mixing cogni
ti\'e and biological explanations for major mental illness
(Mills, 1995, chapter 9), Psychiatrists who use the
POMjHR model prescribe psychoactive medications as
needed. When initially encountering a person who is expe
riencing painful emotional uphea\'al, any compassionate
practitioner would consider using psychiatric consultation
to evaluate the need for medication to reduce suffering and
psychiatric hospitalization to support safety. After stabiliza
tion occurs and levels of understanding and thought recog
nition begin to increase, psychiatrists can monitor and
reevaluate the need for medication, tapering doses as appro
priate. Practice, follOWing leading-edge rehabilitation prin
ciples, would support adapti\'e functioning, including help
obtaining entidements, housing, and other community sup
port. Initially, POMjHR teaching would retain a cognitive
focus, increasing thought recognition.
Joseph B:liley (1990)'has written a self-help book based
on earlier POM/HR concepts to help those abusing alco
hol: TIle Semlity Pl·illciple. Nthough concepts presented in
that book ha\'e since evoked, they remain relevmt. In
POMjHR, lower levels of understanding and thought
recognition are characterized by believing that success and
happiness come from outside of ourseh·es. Given the
vagaries ofUfe, supplies wax and wane, inevitably producing
insecurity, This can lead to addicti\'e seeking and anaes
thetizing. Changing the insecure mind to an increasingly
tranquil one through POMjHR yields serenity, obviating
the need for alcohol or substances.
The POMjHR model has been successfully used to
strengthen relationships and marriage. Because no two peo
ple can think alike, each marriage represents a wonderful
microcosm of diversity. This challenges the mates to find
richness in their differences, thereby vitalizing their rela
tionship. POMjHR practitioners teach this tenet to cou
this vantage point improves upon solution-focused and cog
nitive-behavioral strategies. POMjHR-informed practice
dovetails well with other resilience and strengths-based
models that recognize challcnges rather than deficits
(Benard, 1991, 1997; Saleebey, 1997bj Werner & Smith,
1992; Wolin & Wolin, 1994). It supports helping people
who ha\'e faced traumatic events to reduce their suffering,
resume theit lives, and grow.
POMjHR-informed practice with its here-and-now
focus sees the memory of any event occurring in the past as
a thought, whether the e\'ent happened a day, a month, a
year, or decades ago. Traumatized persons, often unable to
m:lintain high thought recognition in the face of initially
overwhelming events, are at the mercy of these memories
and associated painful feelings. Without understanding that
these are thoughts of prior events now arising internallr,
these memories, perceived as current reality, continue to
inrrude painfully and often precipitate :lJ1 emotional shut
down. Even though an event took place a long time before,
\vithout understanding about thought and memory as a
type of thought, people may experience something renewed
reliving of the event \vith numbing symptoms.
Crisis intervention \vith trauma victims focuses on creat
ing safety and reducing suffering. A5 stabilization succeeds
and a calmer state begins to return, opportunities to begin
the educational process toward thought recognition slowly
avail. Permission to proceed is respectfully sought and
explained in terms of potential value to strengthening stabi
lization and aiding in recovery from the trauma. This prac
tice, given its didactic nature, here-and-now focus,
avoidance of emotionally charged material, empowering
stance, frequent checking, and respectful and regular seek
ing ofpermission, has numerous safeguards when guided by
an experienced practitioner functioning at a high level of
mental health. Over time, even the most egregiously vic
timized people, follmving this POMjHR-informed process,
can be helped to recover and grow.
Traditional practice using psychoanalytie or expressh-e
models \vith a focus on past e\'ents and abreaction creates a
risk of promoting the reliving symptoms of posttraumatic
stress disorder, worsening the person's emotional state and
delaying recovery.6 However, some first-order change
strategies based in cognitive-behavioral and solution
focused theory are: compatible: and can be: integrated into
POMjHR-informed practice.
Treatment based on POMjHR holds out promise for
people diagnosed as se\'erely mentally ill. At the lower le:vc:Is
of understanding and thought recognition, a pc:rson is
unable to separate thought from reality. When thcse:
thoughts spiral downward and are accompanied by fearful
or depressed fec:lings and agitation, the symptoms of major
mental illness are: e:xperienced.
6 uurcn Sbtcr (2003) in;l [(:ccnt article "'Tote. "'N(\y testlfch sho\\".5 th:1t some tI2.um"1ozcd people mlY be better orr rcprtlsing: Lhc c.lpcncncc th:JJl illuminating it in ther
apy." TI.e «search 011 tnum. [t•• unent prc••nted in her .rride has inlerc.sting implieatioru for HR/I'O~1.
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FAMILIES IN SOCIETY
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Volume 84, Number 2
Conclusion
pies. This reframes their differences as being enriching
rather than conflicting. Traditional couple counseling posits
a need for compatibility, based on each mate sharing similar
thinking and beliefs. The l'OMjHR model sees this as
neither a necessuy nor sufficient condition for rich and last
ing relationships. George Pransl.,:y's (1990) Diporce Is Not
tbe AIlSlver is a self-help book using the POMjHR model.
The popular stress reduction consultant and author,
Richud Culson, has e.xplored his learning and use of this
model in Slowill/J Down to the Speed of Life (Carlson &
Bailey, 1997). Although POM/HR can be synergistically
combined with compatible, cognitive-behavioral, stress
management strategies to produce strong results, some
purists eschew any additional, active technique as too effort
ful. Mindful meditation and other meditative practices
(Kabot-Zinn, 1994) that have also been used to reach a
quiet mind are seen by POMjHR purists as unneeessary,
especially at the higher b'els of thought recognition and
mental \\·eU-being. In my practice of stress-reduction con
sulting using a POMjHR approach, I have found these
other adjuncts to be initially helpful in raising people above
the mental health line, mer which the process becomes self
sustaining. Then adjuncts can drop away?
The POMjHR model, wirh its focus on \\'ell-being,
serves as the guiding philosophy for the new Sydney Banks
Institme for Innate Health at the Robert C. Byrd Health
Scieru:es Center at Wesr Virginia University. The institute is
named mer the Scottish-born philosopher and theosophist
Sydney Banks (1998,2000,2001), whose seminal ideas led
to the discovery of POM/HI\, and was dedicated in 2000
to promote health and wellness. It is promoting use of the
model at this large medical campus dedicated to teaehing,
research, and treatment. You can learn more by accessing
their Web site (see Appendix).
Finally, in keeping with a human service mission,
POMjHR strategies have been successfuUy used in youth
and community development projects (Mills, 1995;
Saleebey, 1997a). These programs are often based in low
income housing projects in inner-city neighborhoods.
Results include helping delinquent and gang-invoh'ed
youth, abusive parents and spouses, and substance-abusing
adults to regain their equilibrium, access their innate com
mon sense and \visdom, discontinue maladaptive behaviors
based in insecure thinking, and get back on track toward
capable parenting, loving and respectful relationships,
school success, and gainful employment. Frequently sup
ported by government grants, the outcomes of these pro
grams have been documented, and the programs themselves
have been profiled on national and publie television,
Follmving these earlier successes, community- and school
based programs have been developed to emphasize protec
tl\'e factors and resilience (Benard, 1991,1997).
POMjHR has refined its tenets oyer the past 2 decades,
becoming a true strengths. based model. Yet, it has not
achieved widespread recognition in the human service field.
The model is easily learned, brief, and energizes pl<lctition·
ers, preventing their burnout. It offers a comprehensiYe the
ory that heuristically generates hypotheses supporting both
micropl<lcnce and macropmctice. Reported outcomes are
robust, although the model would benefit from additional
research,
POMjHR founders Mills (1995) and Pransk)' (1998)
have envisioned a time when continued de\'elopment and
application of these concepts would contribute to creating a
world where peace, harmony, and fulfiUmenc prevail. They
see living at a high level of understanding and mental well
being as a benefit to humankind, I encoumge human service
professionals sharing rhis vision to seek more information
through the list of Web sites (see Appendix) and references
to decide whether these innm'alive and promising tenets '
merit their continued interest.
References
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PO.\IjHR.
190
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Appendix
Please sec the foUO\'ing Web siles for further informalion:
"",,·.pomhr.com
,n,,,·.healthreaJiz.tion.com
"""·.heoUlnreoU.eom
""w.lonepincpublishing.eom/e't/sclf..help
,,'\\w.hse''''lJ.edu/sbij
'\"'w,dontswe:lLCOm
\\'\\ w.prJ..ll.SJc}':Uld~,odl.tes.com
IlllIJdbook of'IIIotiollaf illulligmce: Tbtory, dITflopJlltJIt, lIS!fS!JIIWr, a"d
applieaIion at bOl>/f, ""001, alld in tl" workplace (pp. 320-342). San
Frmciseo: JOiSej'·Bm.
Mills, R. C. (1995). Reali~iJJ,D mwtal htnlth: Ton'ard" IItw pf)·thology of
r"ilimCj. Nel\' York: Sulzburger & Grili.1.1l1.
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Publishing.
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pwjm;I}}1 ro "lImtIf alLnuy IIl1d ptrform at"our peak. Ne\\' York: B:lSic
Boob.
Pransky) G. S. (1990). Diporu iJ not rbe rrn!Wlr. A c/J(lJJ,De of/"art will ,npt
JOllr >nrrrripgt. New York: TAB Bools.
Pnnsky. G. S. (1998).17" rena;mlllu ofPryt"ology. N'el\' York: Sulzburger &
Gr.iliam.
1
c., & Stewart, D. (1987). Sallity, iniaJlity PlJd tomilion
17ltgrolJndbr(/lki'l!J IJCWllpproac/l ro happilJcI$. N'ew York:
Suarez, R., 11 !ills, R.
Slfpl1en G. WarteJ, MSW, Is a clinical social worker and slrez reduction
canstJllont living In Gansevoort NY. E-mail: [email protected].
Submilled: February 23, 2001
Revised: March 10,2003
Accepted: May 10, 2003
191
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