Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs & Motivation

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

To become a successful counselor, one must be able to fully understand themselves. They must understand their strengths, weaknesses, values/beliefs, behaviour, thinking etc. The underlying question is how can a counselor understand their client, without understanding themselves? 

CONCEPT

Maslow outlined a theory that explains an individual’s motivation to reach self-actualization. He proposed that lower needs were prepotent over higher needs when all the needs were deprived (Lester, 1990). Maslow’s developed a classification of human needs: physiological, safety and security belongingness, esteem and self-actualization and argued that psychopathology was developed when an individual was deprived of these basic needs. Self actualization can be defined as an evolving process of being a mature, fully human person where the potentialities have been realized and actualized (Kiel, 1999).

MY STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES

Attuned relationships are one of the most vital aspects of an individual’s life. Systems and connections are made as a way to feel like we belong. In Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs relationships and belongingness are listed as a motive, however when not achieved an individual experiences psychopathology.

One of the biggest strengths that I have are the strong bonds with the important people in my life and the ability to create new relationships with ease. The innate need to belong and connect with others is what makes humans social beings. The relationship that I have with my mother is the most important and I realized that it has a huge influence on my experiences. For instance, my need to meet her high standards has made me an overachiever in all aspects of my life. High grades, scholarships, doing well in a number of sports. My mother had high expectations to reach these goals that she wanted for me, and I was motivated to achieve all of these goals. My mother’s success at being a psychotherapist motivated me to achieve that similar goal. The ability to create new bonds and connections are one of my strengths. I realized that I create these systems through the use of humour.

Although, I have many strong characteristics, my weakness is managing stress. I learned that I need to meditate more, and focus on the areas of the health pyramid. My inability to control stress sometimes restricts my motivation to reach the esteem level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs because I have a lack of confidence in those moments. Hence, to meditate will inevitably help with my health overall and not let stress take a negative toll on my body.  

INTERESTS IN PSYCHOLOGY & VALUES 

There are several interests I have in psychology, values, life purposes and self care that are motivating factors in my life experiences. Early recollections are a fascinating technique used on clients to uncover deep meanings behind memories of childhood. Further, it depicts an individual’s unique beliefs, motives, patterns and involves analytical thinking in a unique manner. My own memory revealed that the relationships I have with my cousins are based upon loyalty and playfulness, which are my top characteristics. Moreover, I learned that I do not like surprises because I do not like to be unprepared for things. Similar to Maslow’s theory, I believe in the idea of reaching self-actualization. Motivation to reach understanding of our own thinking, feeling and behaviour helps us avoid psychopathology. Understanding the inner self helps us maintain a healthy life and resolve conflicts in a healthy manner. Moreover, keeping a healthy body with physiological needs (eating, sleeping and moving) is important to keep a healthy mind.

IMPACT ON DIVERSE CLIENTS

The concept of the hierarchy of needs is significant in working with diverse clients. Pinpointing the need that is lacking in a clients life, can be significant to understand their motivating factor in their lives. Each component, physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem and self-actualization are important to meet (Kiel, 1999). To look at different point of views and learn about each area of oneself and of a client will lead to successful outcome in therapy. A counselor must understand the client in both an ideographic and nomothetic view. In the ideographic sense, the unique experiences that I have faced in my lifetime will help clients that face same challenges. For instance, an example of my struggle with attaining the esteem level in the hierarchy of needs, I faced many instances of discrimination that lead to lack of confidence and hate for my own identity. However, I challenged my own thinking and found a strong support group and explored my inner self that resulted in self love.
In all, learning about your own identity and motivations helps one become a better person and counselor. Our experiences influence who we are as individuals. Maslow’s theory revealed that self actualization is when an individual has become a fully human being (Kiel, 1999). Ultimately, this is when we fully understand ourselves. 

 References

Kiel, J. M. (1999). Reshaping maslow's hierarchy of needs to reflect today's educational and management philosophies. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 26(3), 167. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/docview/1416363046?accountid=15182

Lester, D. (1990). Maslow's hierarchy of needs and personality. Personality and Individual Differences, 11(11), 1187-1188. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/docview/617912130?accountid=15182