I haven’t been doing too much in the way of creative writing lately. But I have had to write some papers for school, so I figured I might as well share one of them with you here. The prompt was to address a developmental issue from the perspective of its relevance to the counseling profession.
Sensitivity – sometimes also found in the literature as “environmental sensitivity” or “sensory processing sensitivity” – is a normal, innate trait that exists as a continuum of human responsiveness. A minority of the population (15-30%, by different estimates; Lionetti et al., 2018) exhibits high sensitivity, a trait which confers increased perception of sensory inputs (like sights, sounds, and smells) as well as increased cognitive processing of that input. Elaine Aron, an expert in the field, uses the acronym “D.O.E.S.” to describe the main features of high sensitivity (Aron, 2016): depth of processing (taking in many levels of information from a given input), overstimulation (being easily overwhelmed by chaotic environments), emotional responsivity or empathy (feeling deeply and possessing a well-developed intuition about people and relationships), and sensitivity to subtleties (noticing details and small cues that others might miss). High sensitivity is not to be confused with shyness, introversion, or neuroticism, although it may coexist with these qualities in some individuals (Aron & Aron, 1997).
In general, highly sensitive persons (HSPs) are more sensitive to – or more strongly impacted by – the everyday events of life. They are more negatively affected by adverse experiences than less sensitive persons, but they are also more likely to benefit from positive experiences (Belsky & Pluess, 2009). Because HSPs navigate the world with a unique set of sensory and emotional sensitivities, they are best served by professionals who understand the vulnerabilities and strengths that their trait bestows. Counselors, in particular, are apt to encounter many highly sensitive clients in the course of their work, and should take care to understand the nuances of working with this population.
Read More“A Developmental Approach to Understanding High Sensitivity”