Brief Therapy Focused on Giftedness – BTFG*

*Vasso Androutsou1, Georgia Nika 2, Vassiliki Fotopoulou 3, Maria Kashtanova4

1 Systemic Counselor, 2 Psychiatrist, 3 Social Worker – Systemic Counselor, 4 Schoolteacher 1,2,3,4Hellenic Association of Parents of Gifted Children, Greece

e-mail: vandrout@yahoo.gr

Giftedness: neither a disorder nor a label, just identity. It is necessary the gifted individuals be encouraged,  face challenges, and be inspired,  so they can realize who they really are,  recognize and accept their potential,  and find their identity.

Gifted individuals have unusual mental, perceptual and intellectual abilities make their lives very complicated. They often face endogenous and exogenous conflicts, and when they find themselves facing against school requirements, family and friends, social relationships and challenges in the workplace, their development may be blocked, their exceptional traits may change into difficulties, and they may suffer from anxiety, depression, relationships issues, or other serious psychiatric problems they may not realize that are related to their giftedness.

As a gifted person goes through the developmental stages -whether recognized, or never identified, or misdiagnosed-, they inevitably seek a clearer sense of identity, integration, and purpose in life.

The therapists have a unique opportunity to provide the gifted person with all the information about the traits and characteristics that giftedness is underlying of, what it really means to be gifted, and what happens in the life cycle of a gifted individual, and through the process of a brief intervention, the therapist may propose methods and techniques for exploration and (re-)union with their true gifted self. The gifted adults and parents of the gifted children and teens may need professional guidance, counseling and/or therapy in managing the challenges that come with giftedness.

Gifted individuals experience life in ways that are qualitatively different from the norm. Their advanced creative, perceptual and intellectual capacities and their sensitivities often give rise to emotional depth and intensity (Peterson and Moon, 2008). They not only think differently but also feel differently than others do. But, in a society that values “sameness,” gifted people might not feel that their curiosity, nonconformity, sensitivity, perfectionism, and their need for justice and meaning is understood. As a result, gifted individuals may doubt themselves and question their true nature: What is wrong with me? Why can’t I be like everybody else? Why don’t I feel happy? How can I be accepted? Will I ever feel normal”? (Yermish, 2010).

The gifted individuals live for years –often for their entire life- under dysfunctional frames of the world around them, and are forced to deny their giftedness, suppress their natural talents and needs for expression of creativity and intellectual potentials, and “sacrifice” their true nature in order to be accepted by others (Ανδρούτσου, κ.ά., 2015).

Often so, the certain traits that make someone gifted are the ones that others want the person to suppress or change. Certain gifted traits are often be mistaken for learning disabilities, ADHD, immaturity, autism or Asperger syndrome, emotional/mood disorder or behavior problems (Androutsou et al, 2015). The aftermath may be constant feelings of frustration, lack of fulfillment, loneliness, resentment, low self-esteem, anxiety, and/or depression, relationship problems or other serious psychiatric problems. (Amend and Peters, 2012).

Counseling that is specifically designed for gifted adults, teens and children and their families is different than typical counseling. The therapist who works with gifted people needs to have studied and know well the unique needs and challenges of gifted individuals and to understand and accept them as such, and be able to serve as a guide, advocate, or anchor point for clients seeking support (Silverman, 1993).

At the Hellenic Association  of Parents of Gifted Children, having lived in the world of giftedness for our entire life, having studied it and having conducted research on gifted children and gifted adults, we more than anyone else understand the "quirky: nature and the immense talents of the gifted, as well the many challenges associated with their giftedness.

We work on schematizing a semi-structured brief therapy model focused on giftedness, through a short intervention approach of ≈10 sessions, choosing effective methods and techniques working with the nature of the gifted individual.

Because of the short-term intervention, it is essential to fully understand the very nature of giftedness, in order to choose proper and effective techniques: different for an introvert gifted with linear logical mathematical thinking, focus on literalism, low emotional expression scale and difficulties in projection, and utterly different for an extrovert creative “chaotic” gifted, with a strong imagination, struggling with the procrastination and overwhelmed by their own thoughts and interests.

After the gifted be identified –using wide-shaped evaluation methods and tools, so that the assessment is reliable and valid– we provide a safe and caring environment that comes full of understanding and meets their needs, in order to talk openly, and become able to spot the circular relation between problems and giftedness.

We first provide to the gifted person with all the information about the traits and characteristics set up the giftedness, what really giftedness is and its aspects, what really means to be gifted, and what happens in the life cycle of a gifted individual. Then, in a safe, supportive and accepting environment, we provide to the gifted person the guidance is needed, so they can:

- understand the real and deeper nature of their problems and associate them with their giftedness, - explore their potential, their specific needs and their own traits, strengths, and challenges, - [re-]construct a new sense of self and re-narrate their whole being, free of negative [self-]assessments and [self-]labels - identify and express their feelings in substantial, healthy and safe ways, - learn and practice new functional ways of self-management and self-acceptance techniques and come to a better understanding of themselves fully and holistically - find new ways for communication, social interaction and integration preserving their real nature and build up positive coping skills - accept and feel free and safe to really be themselves, and integrate to their environments in a realistic way, so they can open up their world to greater self-assuredness and freedom to be who they really are.

We practiced this model on the gifted people who asked for counseling to the PAGT and we had very promising results, soon we will be able to present a more completed model for a short term semi-structured therapy focused on the characteristics of the gifted client.

Bibliography:

- Amend E.R., Peters D. B. (2012). Misdiagnosis, Dual diagnosis, and missed diagnosis of gifted children and adults. SENG Conference, CE Workshop, July 13, 2012.

- Ανδρούτσου Β., Τσάκωνα Ε., Μπαντέλη Ρ., Δήμου Α. (2015). Διπλή Διαφοροποίηση, Λανθασμένες Διαγνώσεις, και Εργαλεία Αξιολόγησης της Χαρισματικότητας. 3^ο Πανελλήνιο Συνέδριο ΨΕΒΕ “Ψυχολογία και Εκπαίδευση: Σύγχρονοι Προσανατολισμοί και Εφαρμογές”. Ιωάννινα, 9–11 Οκτωβρίου 2015.

- Peterson J.S. and Moon S.M. (2008). Counseling the Gifted, In Steven I. Pfeiffer (ed.) Handbook of Giftedness in Children. Springer, pp. 223-248.

- Silverman L. K. Counselling the gifted and talented. Denver: Love Publishing, 1993.

- Yermish, A. (2010). Cheetahs on the Couch: Issues Affecting the Therapeutic Working Alliance With Clients Who Are Cognitively Gifted : Thesis. Massachusetts School οf Professional Psychology.

Poster 9th European Conference of the European Family Therapy Association – EFTA, Athens, 2016 September 28th - October 1st .

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