Lenses Applying Lifespan Development Theories In Counseling -

Perhaps no theory is more directly useful to counselors than Erik Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development. Unlike Freud’s psychosexual stages, Erikson focused on social conflict resolution across the entire lifespan, from infancy to old age.

| Attachment Style | IWM of Self | IWM of Other | Counseling Presentation | Therapeutic Pitfall | |----------------|-------------|--------------|------------------------|----------------------| | Secure | Worthy | Trustworthy | Coherent narrative, seeks help appropriately | Underestimating distress | | Anxious-preoccupied | Unworthy | Unpredictably good | Over-disclosure, demands for contact, crisis of the week | Becoming enmeshed, boundary erosion | | Dismissing-avoidant | Worthy (defensive) | Untrustworthy | Intellectualizes, minimizes, rejects help | Pushing too hard for emotion; client flees | | Fearful-avoidant (disorganized) | Unworthy | Dangerous | Chaotic relationships, self-harm, dissociation | Getting pulled into rescue-reject cycles | Lenses Applying Lifespan Development Theories In Counseling

Presenting: 16-year-old male, oppositional, failing school, marijuana use. Developmental reading: Perhaps no theory is more directly useful to

Intervention: Not behavioral modification first. Provide identity workspace (moratorium) with clear boundaries. Use concrete contracts (“If X, then Y”), not abstract values. Address father-son attachment via collateral work. Intervention: Not behavioral modification first