I was pleased to see some engagement with my proposed changes to Maslow’s model. This is how I would see it working.
CASE STUDY
T is experiencing low mood and lack of motivation but cannot understand why. His early life was difficult but today, everything is going well, he has a secure job, his own home, which he has just had renovated so it looks perfect, a loving family and a good set of mates. He should be happy, right?
Using the pie chart I ask T to graph how fulfilled he feels each of the needs are, by drawing a dot on each segment. The farther away from the centre it is, the more fully he feels it is fulfilled. The closer it is to the centre, the more he feels it is lacking. Then I ask him to join the dots. When he’s done the chart looks like this:
It’s very easy now to see what is lacking in T’s life. He’s achieved many of his goals, there is no struggle in the areas where he used to feel insecure. But he’s used to that uphill climb and now he feels bored. He never went to university — he did not have enough money back then — and today it’s affecting how he feels about himself. He needs intellectual and spiritual stimulation and accomplishment. T should probably use some of his funds to sign up for a course — something self-improving perhaps.
