[Defense] Could it interfere with the consultation process?
Teacher Xiao Zhao answered naturally: "Yes. When [defense] arises, doesn’t that mean there’s a sense of repulsion towards one’s own narrative, which suggests the speaker has already detached from their current emotions and no longer ’invested’?"
Nan Zhubin suddenly said, "Then just now, when you pointed out you were in [defense], ’where’ were you?"
This question caught Teacher Xiao Zhao off guard.
She didn’t respond immediately.
Her answer was almost adorably naïve: "I... was sitting in front of you?"
Nan Zhubin chuckled softly, his expression carrying a hint of encouragement, like a mentor to a student.
"Your body is indeed sitting here, but where is your mind?" He guided her step by step.
Teacher Xiao Zhao blinked: "My thoughts... are in our conversation. I want to advance the consultation process."
The guidance was sufficient, as Nan Zhubin already saw confusion in Teacher Xiao Zhao’s eyes.
The problem had already been revealed.
"But when narrating past experiences, shouldn’t ’you’ be in the ’specific event’?"
"Even if you generate [defense], you remain in the scene you’re describing; even if you resist and conceal your intentions, you’re still recalling, experiencing, even growing."
"However, when you realize you’re in [defense], you’ve ’escaped’ from that specific scene and returned to our ’consultation’."
Nan Zhubin looked into Teacher Xiao Zhao’s eyes: "In other words, when you realize you’re in [defense] and express it to me, you’re [defending] your own [defense]."
The statement was slightly tangled, but Teacher Xiao Zhao fully understood it.
Though Teacher Xiao Zhao understood the statement,
She still felt like seeing flowers in the mist regarding the underlying principle.
So she instinctively sought help from Nan Zhubin in front of her.
"Mr. Nan... this is actually not a good thing, right?"
Nan Zhubin didn’t answer directly but instead turned to a seemingly irrelevant question.
"What specific major did you study as an undergraduate, Teacher Xiao Zhao?"
"... Applied Psychology."
"Did you lean towards the consultation direction? Which school of thought did you major in?"
"[Behaviorism], I studied under my mentor."
Alright, then everything makes sense.
Nan Zhubin thought for a moment, organizing his words: "Just now, the inclination you showed in the consultation indeed has some characteristics of ’a part’ of [Behaviorism]."
Psychology, especially in the field of psychological consultation, is currently in the stage of "a hundred schools of thought contending," with many ideological contradictions and value conflicts among different schools and streams; though occasional integration and creation occur, fierce fights are not uncommon.
Nan Zhubin specifically limited his wording to "Teacher Xiao Zhao’s [Behaviorism]" to avoid making the topic seem like sectarian mutual combat.
Nan Zhubin said, "We all know the most fundamental application of [Behaviorism] is to use [punishment] and [reinforcement] to establish [conditioned reflexes], eliminating useless behaviors while retaining target behaviors."
"This is a very clearly targeted orientation—just like what you showed in our conversation just now, you were very eager to advance the ’consultation process,’ skipping over [defense]."
"However." Nan Zhubin paused, "Aren’t those points that lead to [defense] quite intriguing? When they appear, instead of skipping them, we should stop in the ’moment’ to explore and dig into the reason for this [defense] arising, isn’t this also a major breakthrough in consultation?"
Teacher Xiao Zhao blinked: "Teacher, should we... now go back and focus on those [defenses]?"
Nan Zhubin nodded and shook his head: "Aside from [defense], the reason why you generate [defense] towards [defense] is also crucial—perhaps even more important."
For some reason, at this moment.
Teacher Xiao Zhao suddenly blurted out: "Mr. Nan, which school of thought do you belong to? [Split personality]?"
The concept of [defense] in psychology was indeed first proposed by the [psychoanalysis school].
But... seriously? I’ve tried so hard to avoid sectarian battles, and now you’re initiating a sect conflict?
Nan Zhubin gestured with his thumb and index finger: "I majored in [Cognitive Behavior], but I’ve also had a bit of brush with others like [split personality] and [humanism]."
Teacher Xiao Zhao nodded thoughtfully.
Then she softly exclaimed: "Teacher, am I... [defending] again now?"
Nan Zhubin nodded: "So where are you ’now’?"
"I..." Teacher Xiao Zhao opened her mouth, unsure how to answer for a while.
"Mr. Nan, why is this happening? Why do I have this subconscious reaction?"
The answer actually lies in the experiences Teacher Xiao Zhao just described.
Nan Zhubin said, "The experiences you’ve just shared focus on the difficulties encountered in your current work."
"You care about the students’ mental health, but almost got caught up in the organization;"
"You can’t teach well because trivial matters occupy professional work time, and you can’t even perform the basic task of relieving students’ pressure..."
Nan Zhubin listed them one by one, slowly guiding, "These things make you feel [frightened], [helpless], [frustrated], etc. But since they are all discussed together, there must be some commonality among them that brings a cognition, an emotion to you."
Nan Zhubin looked encouragingly at Teacher Xiao Zhao: "Can you now feel what emotion that is?"
The young female teacher licked her lips, suddenly feeling a classroom-like tension. In front of her, Nan Zhubin seemed to be facing a PPT, holding a laser pointer, giving her earnest guidance.
From [peer supervision] to true [supervision].
However, compared to former mentors and teachers, Nan Zhubin’s voice carried an additional soothing effect.
Though they were two arm’s length apart, Teacher Xiao Zhao felt as if an invisible big hand was gently stroking her head like patting a cat.
She inexplicably enjoyed it, quickly calming down.
Also, she immediately concentrated down to feel.
"I... feel very [frustrated]."
"My work doesn’t provide any positive feedback to me, and I can’t even accomplish my tasks..."
"So I feel very [frustrated]."
"Mr. Nan, facing this situation, what should I do?"
Nan Zhubin smiled slightly: "Have you studied [Existentialism]?"