In this sense the therapist is non-directive because they are tracking and following the client. Metaphorically the therapist is walking alongside the client, sometimes a few paces behind and sometimes a few paces ahead, sometimes stopping to discuss where to go next, but always going wherever the client goes.
Martin Seligman developed the theory of learned helplessness, and defined it as the motivational and behavioral deficits displayed by humans when exposed to uncontrollable circumstances.
What turns students off to school and aborts learning in children of varying ability levels? Thirty years of research has yielded conclusive evidence that a learned response is at the root of the problem. This research points to a need for a different perspective to find the solution. good summary description is that they act as though they were helpless to do better.â The report further states that this sense of helplessness is affected in some subtle ways by parentsâ and teachersâ behavior. As educators and parents, we most often see these children as passive and afraid to try.