Advanced Training Quiz B

Answer these questions after reading The Science of Positivity: Stop Negative Thought Patterns by Changing Your Brain Chemistry and Why Love Is a Neurochemical Roller Coaster (scroll slider down); and watching Life Story, Episode 4 – Power (not the same as his “Life Stories”).

Email your short answers to [email protected]

 

1. Imagine a client who tells you they are distressed because the world is going to hell in a handbasket. You explain to them the reasons why our brain scans for threats, but they insist that they do not have a negativity bias. They are perfectly open to the positive, but there isn’t much positive in our society and if you can’t see that you are badly informed and lacking in compassion. What do you tell this person?

2. Imagine a client who says they feel stuck, and mentions a habitual use of artificial stimulants and relaxants. You explain the concent of personal agency and realistic expectations. They reply that their substance use is not a problem – it is just an adaptation to the stuckness of “our society.” How can you help this person?

3. Imagine a person who is looking for love and reports that “all the good ones are taken.” They relate a long history of disappointed longings and investments in failed relationships. What advice would you give them?

4. Imagine a person who tells you that they are suffering from dopamine deficiency. You explain to them that dopamine is designed to reward steps toward rewards, not to flow all the time for no reason. They tell you that have been diagnosed by a doctor and that you are stigmatizing them for their disorder. What steps would you take with this person?