{"id":2871,"date":"2014-08-04T08:00:34","date_gmt":"2014-08-04T12:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/graftonblog.com\/?p=2871"},"modified":"2015-04-02T12:58:30","modified_gmt":"2015-04-02T16:58:30","slug":"philosophy-vs-belief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/philosophy-vs-belief\/","title":{"rendered":"Philosophy vs Belief"},"content":{"rendered":"

Change in an organization\u2019s philosophy of treatment is not an easy thing to implement. It requires a belief in the new philosophy at every level: administrative, clinical, managerial, and direct support. \u201cPhilosophy\u201d is a soft word; pleasing to the ear, and eloquent to speak.\u00a0 This word (though pleasing) doesn\u2019t quiet feel tangible. Before a new philosophy can be put into practice, it must evolve into a belief<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Emily Oliver, one of my college professors, first put me onto the idea many years ago, when she said something that has always stuck with me: Never say you \u2018think\u2019 a certain way. Always, say, \u2018I believe\u2026\u2019\u201d Her reasoning was that thoughts are mostly opinions, which are often easily swayed. A \u201cbelief,\u201d on the other hand, is something you hold onto strongly and isn\u2019t as easy to break.<\/p>\n

In thinking about her words as they apply to Grafton\u2019s philosophical change to a \u201cComfort vs Control\u201d approach in providing treatment, the biggest challenge, from my perspective, has been in transforming this philosophy from a thought into a belief for all of us.<\/p>\n

Personally, I already believe<\/em> in \u201cComfort vs Control.\u201d In my role at Grafton, I am, to a degree, an agent of change. Part of my job is to teach both the nonphysical and physical methods of this approach and do my best to facilitate the philosophy into a belief in each staff member I help train. However, this isn\u2019t always easy!<\/p>\n

Over the past seven years, I have heard some staff resistant to this change.\u00a0 Thankfully, with each year, the resistance has diminished. When I say \u201cresistance,\u201d I am referring mainly to this particular statement: \u201cThese kids don\u2019t have any consequences!\u201d Translation: our clients don\u2019t receive any punishment<\/em> for negative behavior.<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t entirely accurate, of course, to say that our clients don\u2019t experience consequences. But it is true we don\u2019t purposely punish negative behavior. Instead, we work to reward\/reinforce positive behaviors.<\/p>\n

When I meetthis kind of resistance, my first thought is that it comes out of a punitive, controlling mindset. But whenever the \u201cconsequences\u201d idea pops up, I try to listen closely and patiently, as the person vents their frustration.<\/p>\n

Because that\u2019s what is underneath the mindset: frustration. When a client is physically aggressive or blatantly defiant, it can be extremely frustrating to maintain composure and show patience and kindness. Offering comfort may not be our first impulse in these situations, but it needs to be, and it will be if we have a genuine, strongly held belief\u2014rather than simply an opinion\u2014that \u201cComfort vs. Control\u201d really works.<\/p>\n

We need to remind ourselves\u2014and at times have others remind us\u2014that our responsibility is to keep the individual safe and look for the reasons behind his or herbehavior. If all we do is take the negative behavior at face value, then it can indeed seem hopeless.<\/p>\n

No one simply has a behavior. He or she \u201cuses\u201d a behavior. It is our job to figure out it\u2019s happening.<\/p>\n

I like to address the statement of \u201cnot having any consequences\u201d with some ideas and stories to help change a skeptical staff member\u2019s perspective to belief:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. If we could offer a punishment (or reward) that would instantly stop the negative behavior, our clients wouldn\u2019t need to be in a treatment setting. They would be able to function successfully in a public school system and\/or home.<\/li>\n
  2. Many of our clients have already been through multiple placements and have received punishment based programming, but it hasn\u2019t worked. That\u2019s why a lot of them are referred to Grafton.<\/li>\n
  3. Some of our clients have already suffered some of the worst punishments imaginable at home, and that hasn\u2019t worked either. I offer the story of a former client who we once served. When the individual would act out at home, the parent burned the child with a hot clothing iron. But even this wouldn\u2019t stop the child from exhibiting negative behavior! So, if burning the person with a hot iron didn\u2019t<\/strong> stop their behavior, what punishment could we possibly hand out that would make a difference?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    As I said earlier, sometimes we need to be reminded of who we are to our clients, and why we do what we do\u2014why \u201cComfort vs Control\u201d needs to be our belief instead of simply our philosophy, or idea, about how things should be done. Despite our frustrations at the negative behaviors many clients exhibit, our data of our client\u2019s progress largely enforces my<\/em> belief in \u201cComfort vs Control,\u201d and I hope it does yours, as well.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Change in an organization\u2019s philosophy of treatment is not an easy thing to implement. It requires a belief in the new philosophy at every level: administrative, clinical, managerial, and direct support. \u201cPhilosophy\u201d is a soft word; pleasing to the ear, and eloquent to speak.\u00a0 This word (though pleasing) doesn\u2019t quiet feel tangible. Before a new […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,30,31,32],"tags":[51,60,114,124,27],"class_list":["post-2871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-autism","category-behavioral","category-behavioral-healthcare","category-evidence-based-best-practices","tag-belief","tag-comfort-versus-control","tag-philosopy","tag-restraint-reduction-practices","tag-ukeru"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPhilosophy vs Belief - Grafton<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/philosophy-vs-belief\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Philosophy vs Belief - Grafton\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Change in an organization\u2019s philosophy of treatment is not an easy thing to implement. It requires a belief in the new philosophy at every level: administrative, clinical, managerial, and direct support. \u201cPhilosophy\u201d is a soft word; pleasing to the ear, and eloquent to speak.\u00a0 This word (though pleasing) doesn\u2019t quiet feel tangible. 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