mindfulness in action…
Implications at the practical level As mentioned before, the dialogue and integration between Buddhist and western psychology has been started for a rather long period of time. Many psychotherapeutic approaches have been developed and put into practice. Generally speaking, the approaches can be divided into two major groups: one is developed on the basis of…
Introduction This essay mainly consists of two parts. In the first part, I will briefly discuss the reasons why I agree to the rationale which suffering is necessary for leading a noble and satisfying life. Base on this understanding, “suffering” does deserve an in-depth discussion if we need to have a more comprehensive review on…
After six-year struggle, the Buddha is said to have realized enlightenment at the moment when the morning star first appeared in the sky. Interestingly, he tends to remain silent to keep his understanding to himself:
The Two Contending Traditions The karma-rebirth framework, as viewed as the cause and substratum of misery, was so unique and profound to be the major concern of different religious and philosophical traditions in ancient India. Being the two main streams at that moment, the Brahmanical and the samana traditions were dedicated to give their answers…
Self introduction I’ve been a social worker for more than twelve years. Other than working as a school social worker, I also worked as a family counselor in the first six years. As a social worker, my primary duty is to offer assistance to those people who are in needed by rendering counseling service and/or…
I am a school social worker, working in a secondary school for more than ten years. My initial encounter with Buddhism is from reading social work books and articles which mention about the basic concepts of Buddhism and its applications in counseling. It impresses that there are many practitioners employ meditation skills to help their clients regulate their emotions and release their inner strengths. Some developed holistic approaches in hospice care also apply concept about death in Buddhism. Those clinical experiences interest me a lot and show me how Buddhist teachings inform the development of western psychotherapy.
敘事治療(Narrative Therapy)註1是一套建基於後現代思潮的心理輔導及治療體系。簡而言之，敘事治療就是以故事(story)去進行輔導與治療(佛瑞德門及康姆斯, 2001)，那就是以故事為喻，也以故事為載體與手段，開拓生活的可能性，恢復個體的自主選擇，從而讓個體在生活中實踐其主體性 (subjectivity)。所以，故事在敘事治療中佔有核心的位置。因此，要了解敘事治療，就得先要了解故事，要了解故事就得先要了解語言註２，因為故事是透過語言去組織、生產及傳遞的。故事的本質(nature)是甚麼？在心理治療的發展中佔有一個怎麼樣的位置？又是甚麼使故事能發揮制宰或解放人的效能？敘事治療又是透過甚麼策略去為當事人帶來解放的呢？
「風險社會」，一個由德國學者烏爾里希‧貝克(Ulrish Beck)在其於1986年出版的著作《風險社會 – 朝向新的現代性》(Risk Society – Towards a New Modernity)中所引介的理論概念。無可置否，貝克的理論學說博大精深，實非筆者所能究極。然而，他們談論的既是當下社會發展的狀況，對於以社會理論為指導，以社會為實踐對象的社會工作，相信定能有所裨益。
「反省取向模式(reflective approach)」本身便是反省過程的產物。作者捨棄以理論框架(theoretical framework)，而就其原先發展的歷程介紹反省取向模式，註1 相信是為令讀者更了解當中進行反醒的過程。在本文，筆者會檢視促成作者發展反省取向模式的原因及那些原因背後的假設及價值系統，及它們是如何「支配」或指導社會工作者去理解理論、研究和實踐之間的關係。其後會集中討論反省取向模式的主要概念及對社會工作實踐帶來的啟示及其優點與限制。最後討論反省取向模式如何應用在筆者的社會工作實務中。
“ 百二萬港人活於貧窮線下” (星島日報, 2001/9/14 )、“失業大軍排隊「降薪求職」” (星島日報, 2001/10/7)、“一日十三宗自殺五入枉死城” (星島日報, 2002/04/18)、“失業率突破7%再創新高” (星島日報, 2002/5/20)……類似的報章標題，在這幾年的報章都不難找到。九七年亞洲金融風暴後，香港人困擾於經濟下滑、負資產、就業不足、失業、自殺成風、倫常悲劇增加等問題，加上不明朗的政經發展及難以預測的外圍因數，香港社會上瀰漫著相當濃烈的悲觀情緒，昔日締造香港經濟神話的「獅子山下」的精神也象隨風暴而逝，遺留的是不安、焦慮與無奈。特首、官員、議員、學者和市民等都象《千禧年之終結》的作者，曼威柯司特(Manuel Castells)一樣，問著同一個的問題：‘怎麼辦(waht is to be done)？’ (Castells 2001, p.398)。