Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

One of the approaches I have been utilizing in my clinical work has been simplicity and exploring the basics. To me the basics of human behavior and what motivates much of what we do is either the fulfillment or lack of fulfillment of our needs.

I have begun working with clients on identifying what their needs are, identifying a time in their life when their needs weren’t met and uncovering how this might be connected to their present day experiences to then assist them in working towards a growth mindset or towards their higher level needs, to build a better relationship with themselves and then others. In essence going backwards to move forward.

As babies and young children we depend on our caregivers for our survival and to have our
lower level/deficiency needs met so then as we get older we can focus
on fulfilling our higher level/growth needs. In this way our life is guided by growth, purpose, fulfillment instead of lack, scarcity, trauma and just surviving.

However, if we do not have emotionally healthy caregivers, experience abuse, neglect and/or do not have a safe and loving environment then our lower level needs cannot be met and we live our lives motivated by fulfilling these lower needs. Basically living in a survival mode state, in a constant search to feel safe and secure.

We look to fulfill these needs in many ways such as relationships, careers, addictions, money, bosses, mentors, etc. we turn to external factors to feel safe and secure.

I will be sharing more on this in the coming weeks leading to the connection with survival mode to bring awareness to the importance of understanding what needs are motivating us as adults.

If you know your triggers, wounds, needs, and where there is a deficiency better than others do , then fear-based approaches will not dictate your decisions.

This is not a substitution for talk therapy or any other form of treatment modality you choose. This is to bring awareness and hopefully spark someone to begin their process of understanding themselves better. 💚