2020-01-15
122
-How my life has been inspired by PCA-
Kazuo Yamashita
About me: PCA has been making my life rich and meaningful. I am grateful.
The story’s color: rainbow color
1. My first encounter with Person-centered approach, 1973
When I was a student, I encountered the person-centered approach. This was in 1973. I took a class from Professor Gisho Saiko, who tried to teach us in a learner-centered way. At first, he explained the reason why he chose these textbooks and his idea about this class. And then he said to students, “Whether you use these books or do not use these books, it is your choice. You can do it any way you want in this class.” He put the books on the desk and never started to lecture. I was very surprised and bewildered. However, I liked teacher’s atmosphere. He smiled; his eyes were so kind. I felt warmth from him and psychological safety. I asked him, “Surely can I do as I want?” He said, “Yes.” I was so glad. I started to express my thoughts and feeling. It was amazing. He listened to my feelings and thoughts carefully and understood me correctly. Something happened in myself. My classmates and I had a great experience in this class. We learned a very important sense of ourselves and a self-motivated attitude toward our lives. It was a starting point of my PCA experience. I attended lots of workshops and leaned about PCA and myself in Japan.
At that time Rogers’s approach, so called, Non-directive therapy, Client-Centered Therapy came to Japan. It was started in 60’s. We learned so much enthusiastically his approach. Many workshops and Encounter groups were held in many places. As the workshops were quite open, various participants were there, teachers, students, managers in companies and housewives so on. They had great diversity. The number of participants were over 60, sometimes almost 100. I remember that enthusiastic atmosphere, very powerful. The workshops were managed by learner-centered way. They were started in non-directive way. I was shocked to be there. I was bewildered at first. However, gradually through the atmosphere, I found myself, my power and had deep encounter with the participants. I loved it so much. It tasted like a new democratic way, which we wanted, and has some similarity to Oriental culture. And Rogers’s approach had a concrete way. My learning had been continued in many years after graduated from the university.
2. Attending the other approaches, reflecting deeper value of PCA, 1973-85
At the same time (70s) I also attended the other workshops managed by Gestalt, Focusing, Transactional Analysis and Hypnotherapy. Mostly I attended a new approach managed by a teacher, Motoi Mutsuura. He named it “Kokoro no tabi workshop.” It means in English “The workshop of Journey of mind.” It was integrated by Occidental and Oriental way. It had hot-seat (Gestalt way), finger-pressure therapy, massage, relaxation, breath-work and so on. It was a quite unique approach invented by him. I believe it would be called mindfulness now. I also had experiences there. Deep self-awareness was always happened. And I felt inner power came from me. I felt it was more powerful than PCA.
However, gradually I felt cooling down my enthusiasm. Indeed, temporarily I felt up, but it was not truly come from inside of me. The exercises influenced me and made me the excitement. It was not me. Besides, I felt the resistance to leader’s power. He always directed and leaded the group processes. Sometime that feeling of the resistance was strong, sometimes it was low, but anyway, I did not feel up at that workshop. So, I rethought of PCA’s importance. There were no leaders there. They were facilitators. All participants had each power inside of them. The true power and awareness came from inside of them. Of course, it was me. My true feelings and thoughts came from me on PCA.
3. Working experiences at nursing homes and childcare facilities, 1977-86
After I graduated from the university, I worked at a nursing home as a social worker. I tried to treat residents the way I had learned from PCA. I listened to their feelings carefully, understood them, and confirmed them. It was wonderful! I felt residents’ satisfaction, their smiles, their liking. I was also satisfied. It was so lovely. I started a community meeting for the residents. Once a month we gathered and expressed anything we wanted. At first the residents were bewildered. But gradually they got used to it and shared among themselves, discussed their lives at home, and planned their recreations. Then I moved my workplace to a residential childcare facility (orphanage). I treated the children in same way, and it worked well. However, in here I needed to set up my limits toward the children. Thomas Gordon’s skill, “I message” helped me a lot[2].
Through both of my experiences, I can say PCA works very well with my clients who have a relationship with me. But I had a big problem with my colleagues. Many of my colleagues did not know PCA well, so my approach-influenced by PCA-was very different from theirs. Their way was the authoritarian way. Mine was the non- authoritarian way. It was hard for me to harmonized.
4. Working as an intern teacher at Play Mountain Place, 1988-90
These conflicts made me exhausted. When I treated a child, who had tendency to steal, I was so much confused. In my vision I treated him in PCA way. But, it something worked, something not worked. It worked to make intimacy relationship with him, however his tendency did not decrease. I also had severe conflicts with my colleagues and the teachers in his school. Their way was more to reprimand him. But I knew it will not help him. But my way also did not work well. I became defensive and exhausted. I lost my way how to treat children in PCA way and I also how to treat that way of the facility. Fortunately, I encountered a book which described an alternative school in Los Angeles. The name was “Play Mountain Place (PMP).” It also is very active now. So, I decided to visit there.
In 1987 I visited there and talked with the director. I talked to her my struggle at the childcare facility, especially the treatment of that child. She said, “I know it is very hard. You felt alone there.” It touched me deeply. She kept saying, “If I had the child who had the tendency. I would set limits more. I had two experiences, the first, I did not need set limits because the other children treated him so well. But, in another experience I set the limit. The children who had delinquent tendency could not use freedom well.” Her saying struck me deeply. I was amazed that school’s way was flexible and, I misunderstood the PCA way, especially acceptance. It did not mean accepting the behaviors of them. It means accept their feelings whatever it is. It gave me fresh viewpoint of that. I also admired the atmosphere of that school. It was warm and children were spending time so lively. I just liked falling love to the school. I decided to stay there and learn their way. Fortunately, they had an internship system. I applied it. I appreciated them so much. I worked as an intern teacher two school years (1988-1990). Indeed, I learned a lot from them. My learning was experiential and so deep.
The things I was impressed were “Morning Meeting,” “Communication Skills,” “Problem-solving Meeting,” “Limit Setting,” “Environmental Setting” and “Parent Meeting.” Especially I was the most inspired by their way of Limit Setting. Their way was non-authoritarian way. It was unique. I saw children were so alive and authentic there. They moved so well and learned in moments. They have their own powers and tendency. The most important things were that we never took a way their tendency. Those methods and attitude are very well described on their website[3].
Through my experience at Play Mountain Place, I learned the very important sense of PCA. Genuineness is the essential attitude of PCA. When I look at myself, many kinds of feelings come up. Sometimes it is positive, but sometimes it is negative. It is impossible for me to feel always positive. My feeling is always flowing. It is natural. The most important thing is that I always listen to myself and aware the feelings correctly. Realness is important. Children are very sensitive to my feeling. They want to encounter my real feelings. If not, they become confused and testing me what my real feelings. I recognized why Rogers mentioned about Genuineness is the first condition.
So, I realize what is the essential issue of PCA. I respect all feeling in myself at the moments, I listen to myself. And I also respect other’s feelings unconditionally and try to understand to the feelings and communicate my understanding. It was my deep learning.
5. Going back to the university to take Master course 1991-93
After I finished the intern program, I came back to Japan. I decided to take master’s course of social work. My teacher was Professor Akito Kurokawa. He was the pioneer in clinical social work in Japan. His approach was psycho annalistic school of social work, it was called psycho-social approach. I had chances to counseling interviews. Mostly for the children and their family who had difficulties to go to school. I also took his supervision. I learned a lot from him. Those points were,
1. The true meaning of the defense mechanism. It was the reactions for avoid feeling real feelings, especially negative feeling. The ego was not enough to sustain it. So, the body and mind tried to protect it.
2. The concepts of human view, “person in his/her situation,” “person and his/her environment are separately related,” “person as a whole.” New technical term was invented, “bio-psycho-social.” It was expanded, “bio-psycho-behavior-social.” Those concepts were not only theoretical, but also it was so useful for practice. I was much inspired by this holistic approach. It was very meaningful learning for me.
3. I also compared this psycho analytic approach with person-centered approach. I had both feelings progressive and discomfort. The first one was that I got new viewpoints for human-being, “person as a whole.” It has five aspects, bio, psycho, behavior, recognition and social, and those are related. I do not say PCA does not have this concept, but I would say it has not been enough. Now, it is so useful for my practices. The second one is authority and directive intervention. His way of treatment was authoritarian and directive. He disliked PCA. I think it comes from his misunderstanding of PCA. He called it, “non-directive approach.” When I took his supervision, I always had a conflict and discomfort. It also gave me the important value of PCA. So, still it is my concern now. I am trying to find more integrated way.
6. Working at colleges and universities, 1993-2017
After I got Master of Social work, I started working at colleges and universities. My subject was interpersonal helping relationship and skills for workers on social services area. Some of them were supposed to work as social workers, caregivers and community workers. They needed the helping attitude and skills. My approach was person-centered approach. Teaching was a complicated word because we could not teach the attitudes. It was facilitated by person-to-person relationship with the person who had PCA attitude. So, I tried to be with the students in PCA way. Three core conditions and communication skills that I had learned were so helpful.
I managed the classroom participative way using the meeting at the school, Play Mountain Place. It worked well. Students were enjoying that way. Lots of energies went on and they made their own plans and projects. It was so active. I also paid attention of the limits. Of course, school did not have freedom. There had some rules, limits for keeping it. I could not break the rule. I took care of the limits and kept it. But also, there had the space of freedom within my relationship. I set them the freedom as much as I could. It worked well. It was much different from my work at the childcare facilities and the nursing home. I felt I grew up. I had a wonderful time with my students.
And at the classroom I tried to teach communication skills and related with them in PCA. I also used some exercise, check-in, empathy laboratory and facilitative group. It also worked well. I was amazed student learned well experientially PCA attitudes. At first, they had confusion because my attitude was totally different from other teachers. It was quite new to them. Gradually they got to use it and caught the atmosphere. And the end of the school year, they learned a lot. Sometimes they helped me by their facilitative attitudes. It’s like they became a counselor for me.
I loved my works at universities so much. It was one of my peak moments.
7. Encountering International Forum of PCA (IFPCA) 1995-
Fortunately, I had a chance to attend The International Forum of PCA in Leptkaria, Greece 1995. That was my first forum. Then, I attended all Forums[4]. Not only I attended them, I held the Forum in Japan. I would say it became part of my life. I’ve loved them so much.
Indeed, the Forum has given me rich experiences. It has been fun, just fun. It consisted of some components, community meeting, presentation, encounter groups (spontaneously), songs, dancing, drinking and so on. The atmosphere was lively, lovely and authentic. It was filled by full of PCA. In those situations, I have experienced a lot. I’ve felt I had comrades who loved PCA value. It was so supportive for me. I have had the important sense of international, diversity. There have been many languages, cultural differences, races. I have experienced deeply that English was not the universal language. That was just a means. Sometimes we tried to express ourselves our own languages at first. It was touched by others I tried many times there. It helped me a lot and it helped others. It was priceless for me.
I’ve also found that we were human being who had struggles, enjoying, sad, despair, run, hope, visions, sickness, death. We were same! We could share it and be empathic. It was so beautiful and dynamic.
It is one of the best gifts given by PCA. I am a lucky person. Now, I have a Facebook page. It is the result of this fact. I have many friends there and am exchanging our daily lives, feelings, thoughts. I felt the rotation of earth and have a view as Global Village. That’s my treasure.
8. Working at CHODR (2013-2017)
I decided to start my private practices. I set up self-employed center named Center for Human and Organizational Development (CHODR) in 2003. And I changed my position at the university to part time work. It was the center for providing counseling services, small groups and communication workshops.
I had the chances to work with the clients who had the difficulties to go to school and depression. Mostly I treated them as a family system. My view of the clients was “a person as a whole.” I focused on their aspects, “bio-psycho-behavior-social” totally. When I kept contact with them as PCA attitudes, the clients tended to open themselves. They moved toward congruent. Their psycho-somatic problems were reduced. Also, they found their own ways. They invented how to deal with their lives. It was so valuable for me to see it. Besides, I focused on their relationships with their mothers. They lost the chance to exchanging emotionally sometime physically with them during their early infancy. It occurred their psycho-somatic problem. Also, mothers had difficulties with connected emotionally with their children. The causes were, that they lost the chance when their children were babies by their situation, for example mother had the hard times with their works or that they lost the chances to have emotional relationships with their mothers or significant persons. They rarely had chance to enhance their emotional growth. It was serious. I tried to have PCA relationships with the mothers and I expressed the facts of the situations. It was the challenge for me.
What was the results? Most of them got deep awareness of themselves. And their situations ware improved. But also, some of them was not changed, self-awareness was less occurred. I had very valuable experiences.
As organizational clients I worked with the residential childcare facilities. I had the communications workshops with them, and I proposed my ideas that I ever learned at Play Mountain Place I mentioned before. We challenged to make the childcare facility with full of person-centered approach. They managed their treatments in participative way. It was excited. Especially one of the facilities was well achieved. They still treat children with the way. They already had that aim before encountered with me. They said, “We felt that there is the same person who have same philosophy and he also has it practically.” To me my dreams has come true.
I did it at the other three childcare facilities. One facility has kept my workshops. Amazingly it was kept in 26 years. My impression of the results was not much achieved in participative way, but the psychological atmosphere was changed. Their facility became at home and warm. I also was satisfied by working with them. The other two of them seemed not well achieved. I think the reason was why PCA did not suit directors’ visions.
9. Dharma-based person-centered approach(D-pca) –present and future
I also had learned Buddhism, especially Shin-Buddhism from my former teacher, Gisho Saiko. Recently I have been awakening both are living inseparably within me. It would be called, “Dharma-based person-centered approach (D-pca).” It would have a unique view of human nature, “Person as a whole in the deepest meaning,” 1. Actualizing tendency, 2. Tendency toward self-actualization, 2. Congruence, 3. Bio-psycho-behavioral-social, 4. Transpersonal aspect, 5. Buddha nature. And it would be deeper facilitative relationship integrated by both. I set up my center, “D-pca Center[5]” in 2017. In this year, a new workshop will be started. It is my work for future.
