Why can recounting past experiences be important in helping services Assignment

Why can recounting past experiences be important in helping services users have a sense of who they are Should care workers always encourage people to recall their pasts - Assignment Example 23-24). Some of these service users have undergone traumatic experiences or bad experiences that are either forgotten, repressed or others that happened when the service users were too young. The pertinent question then is, should remembrance of the past be used as an integral part of the reconstruction of the self identity of service users? As noted in the introduction, service users may have an abnormal or maladaptive self-identity. In the development of an individual, some steps are necessary and if developmental tasks are not successfully met, an individual may present immediate problems or have problems later in life (Berger, 2008, p. 34). This is supported by the psychodynamic theories of psychology i.e. Freud’s psychosexual approach and Erikson’s psychosocial approach. Freud’s theory is centered on sexual maturity and only focuses on the years before sexual maturity and how not accomplishing the tasks of a certain stage might later affect the development of an individual in a detrimental way. Erikson’s theory on the other hand is more expansive; covering the entire lifespan of an individual and is based on achievement of certain social tasks (Frager and Fadiman, 2005, p.49). The implication of not meeting some of the goals that one is supposed to meet in the developmental stages is dysfunction coupled with problems with one’s self identity. For instance, a child’s separation from the primary care-givers (mother and father) at the age of 0-2years can lead to general mistrust of the world around them (Aronson, Wilson and Arket, 2007, p. 56). Teenagers who do not have the proper support system are likely to develop an identity crisis; a false sense of self or a loss of perspective as regarding their abilities and the situation that they are in (Santrock, 2009, p. 50). Later stages of development like young adulthood and middle adulthood also present issues that might occur in