Counselling Psychotherapy Theories Applied | Case Study

Counselling Psychotherapy Theories Applied | Case Study Case Study: Vignette II Bella. H. T. Lam Theories Systems in Counselling Psychotherapy My client Scott, who is a 19 years old male, have lost his father for nine months because of the lung cancer. The major problem revealed by his mum was he had become quite and stayed aloof when he is at home. During the previous sessions, he was just looking downward and fidgeting with his figures. Brief answers are always appeared when I am asking some open questions. However, he thought he need help and agreed to have change when I told to close the session. To begin with, I may like to analyze some of his behaviors so as to develop an effective section for him. From his mother, I knew that he has become quite and aloof after his father died this maybe one of the action, which he was trying to avoid his real feeling. Also, it might have a chance that Scoff does not know how to cope with his own feeling about his father’s death. Moreover, in between our conversation he usually gives me brief answers or sometimes remains silent in account to the mistrust of people or some energy blockage suggested by Gestalt, this turned out he does not want to answer question, sharing his feeling or he does not know how to answer. Without eye contact and fidgeting finger were also the gestures related to his mistrust or lose of love and belongingness needs. Therefore, in the coming session I hope to build a trust-worthy relationship with Scott so as to allow him to share the real feeling with me. Furthermore, helping Scott to face, express, aware a nd cope with his feeling are also my targets. Progressive Muscle Relaxation I would choose the progressive muscle relaxation to start with the counselling session. As Scott mentioned that he got headache sometimes since his father was died on the previous session. I think temporary headache was one of the psychosomatic symptom. The process of relaxing muscle and mental tension in the progressive muscle relaxation may help client to cope with chronic pain and the frequency of migraine attacks which is related to the stress or anxiety.(Ferguson Sgambati , 2008) Despite, Scott does not feel stress or anxiety, he behaves silent and aloof when he is at home might in account to his stress or anxiety. In the section, I may give instructions to Scott to teach him relax. Then, ask Scott to breathe deeply and regularly so as to relax his muscle. Try to feel the muscle when they are tensioned. Then he would asked to relax his muscle from the head then neck and shoulder to the back until the lower limbs. During the time of relaxation he is asked to try getting rid of the mental problem and feel the contrast between relax mode and tension mode. He could learn to become relax if he keep practicing this action daily. And this would become the habitual behavior in his daily life. Progressive muscle relaxation could be use with any other approach easily and can practice daily by the client. This might help Scott to learn how to relax and improve his daily living when he is feeling stress or anxiety. This practice not only relaxing his muscle but also his mental. ( Davis,1980) Expressive Art Therapy The next stage I would like to use expressive art therapy so as to help Scott to express his feeling. Since Scott can only answer brief answer when I asked open question I suggest that he did not know how to express his owns thing verbally or it might because he did not aware his owns’ problems so he cannot express himself when I am asking him questions. While expressive art therapy is found by Natalie Rogers, it uses various artistic forms, for example, creating movement, writing a journal, playing music as a media to help people to express his emotion. N, Roger explained that â€Å"This is a multimodal approach integrating mind, body, emotion and inner spiritual resources.†(N, Rogers, 1993,) Thereby, expressive art therapy let people to look at its unconscious mind and express some unknown or new information. â€Å"This is also a self-discovery and healing process.† (N, Rogers, 1993)This may allowed Scott to express his emotion in order to have more understandi ng about his unconscious mind. In this section, I would prepare some percussion instruments to Scott, allowing him to express his feeling by music improvisation. I would ask him to think of some scenarios and try to use different instruments to represent or reflect that scenario. This may help him to aware and express his emotion himself and give me further information about his emotion. I think this is a suitable way for Scott as he did not answer a open question easily, using a different way like playing music maybe give him another way to express himself. Nevertheless, Person-Centered therapy is the key features of Expressive Art therapy while they are also emphasis the relationships between the client and therapist. (N, Rogers, 1993) Therefore, I would like to build a trust -worthy relationship with my client using the knowledge of Person-centered therapy before I started the Expressive Art Therapy. Person-Centred Therapy Other than not knowing how to express his own emotion, Scott answering question in a very brief way might also because he does not want to share his real feeling. According to the Carl Roger’s Person-centered Therapy, relationship between client and therapist was very significant for the treatment. As if the clients feel that his feelings are understood by the counselor might support the clients’ desire to change. (Roger, 1961) The Person-centered Therapy suggested the three main ways to develop a good relationships with the client. Including Congruence, Unconditional Positive Regard and Empathic Understanding. (Cain, 2010 ) Being congruence means that the therapist should express truly with his emotion, attitudes, thoughts when they are interacting with the client. Providing unconditional positive regard means is caring the client as a true person, while the caring without any criteria or judgments. (Koldon, Klein, Wang, Austin,2011) According to Rogers’s (1961) research, the more caring the clients got, the more success of the therapy would be. While empathic understanding is to share the subjective view by the experience’s that the client’s mentioned. After this Scott can identify his own goal by himself. So as to provide these three conditions, I would like to chat with Scott with more caring, sometimes give some restatements of what he just said to show my empathic understanding, express my true feeling and attitude when we are chatting. Also, giving a sense to him that I would support him no matter what he decide or think. After this kind of interaction I might build a better or trust-worthy relationship with Scott and give the love and belongingness needs that enable him to share his real feeling to me and he will tell me more rather than just answer me a short answer or refuses to answer me. Moreover, the rarely eye contact with counselor may deal to his unsafety feeling. During this Personal centered therapy, I would provide him a safe environment which can let him feel safe and willing to have eye contact with other and less fidgeting. The final aim of this treatment is to allow him to express himself, trust himself by providing him concern and care, I could act as a facilitato r to allow him to be independent and integration which leads him able to cope with his life’s issue like the dilemma of his father’s death. In addition, this therapy is suitable for people who is open and ready for change since Scott agree to see the counselor and admitted he need helps reflect that he is ready and open to have some changes.(Corey, 2013) However, Person-centered therapy was an unstructured therapy which is difficult to estimate the duration needs for this treatment. The only way is to recognize how the client’s know about himself and helping him to come up with his own plan. Therefore I would like to spend more time in this treatment before moving to the next part. Gestalt Therapy The next treatment I would like to use is the Gestalt therapy. Although we have used the Expressive Art therapy so as to bring up Scott awareness to himself, it might not enough because the art therapy more focuses on expressing the emotion and feeling. To further bring up his awareness of his own feeling I would like to assist him to attain greater awareness which includes knowing the environment, oneself also make contact with their awareness by using the Gestalt therapy.(Ploster Ploster, 1973) Apart from expressing his emotion, aware and face his own emotion is also my concern. In Gestalt therapy, it mainly focuses on where the energy used or blocked, the here and now which allow client to fully experience the â€Å"now† also the unfinished business which the figure is lined inside the ground and not completely solved and come with some unexpressed feeling.(Ploster, 1973) While blocking energy is another form of defense behavior suggested by Gestalt. In Scott cases, looking away from counselor when they are chatting, mention only a few is also the behavior of blocking energy. (Corey, 2013)When Scott staying at home quietly and aloof are examples of that he cannot express his own feeling and cause unfinished business. His father has died for nine months but he changed his behavior started from his father death to now that represent Scott is still struggling with the past experiences as Gestalt therapist recognized that the past would come to the present’s moment is usually the lack of completion of the past experience.(Corey, 2013 ) While in this treatment I would encourage Scott to experiences his own blocking energy gesture and allow him to know what is he struggling and accept it. Also trying to bring his feeling from the past to present and know that he can make a change of situation. I would choose the Reversal exercise and Exaggeration exercise for Scott. For reversal exercise, I would ask him try to look at me and stop fidgeting with his figure for a minute when we are chatting, to let him to accept what he is doing. After that, I would ask him to stay silent for longer time which to exaggerate his behavior. (Feder Frew, 2008) From this behavior he can try to interpret his inner feeling when he is keeping silent. The gestalt therapy have much explanation about the importance human’s gesture and language which would be suitable for Scott which have more gesture and less words to aware his feeling via body languages. Conclusion In this session there might be used four treatment, The progressive muscle relaxation, Person-centred therapy, Expressive art therapy and the Gestalt therapy. The progressive muscle relaxation might want to help the client improve his psychosomatic illness like headache. While the person-centred therapy is aim at building a trust-worthy relationship with the client in order to let him to share me more with his own’s emotion and my caring may let him to identify his own goal and the willing of changes. Expressive art therapy may like to cope with his difficulties of expressing his own feeling when I am asking some open question. Furthermore, the gestalt therapy would like to help client to aware with his gesture like refuse having eye contact with other so as to relate his gesture to his feeling and let him to pay attention to. References Cain, D. (2010). Person-centered psychotherapies. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Corey, G. (2013). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage. Davis, J. (1980). Progressive Muscle Relaxation. In The effects of progressive muscle relaxation upon breathing and anxiety in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Madison: University of Wisconsin. Feder, B., Frew, J. (Eds.).(2008).Beyond the hot seat revisited: Gestalt approaches to group. New Orleans: Gestalt institute Press. Ferguson, K.E., Sgambati, R. E. (2008) Relaxation. In W.O’Donohue J.E.Fisher (Eds.), Cognitive behavior therapy: Applying empirically supported techniques in your practice(2nd ed.,pp.434-444). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Koldon,G.G., Klein, M. H.,Wang, C., Austin, S.B.(2011). Congruence/genuineness. In J.C. Norcross (Ed.), Psychotherapy relationships that work: Evidence-based responsiveness (2nd ed., pp. 187-202). New York: Oxford University Press. Polster,E., Polster, M. (1973). Gestalt therapy integrated: Contours of theory and practice. New York : Brunner/Mazel. Rogers, C. (1961). A therapists view of psychotherapy. In On becoming a person. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Rogers, N. (1993). The creative connection. In The creative connection: Expressive arts as healing. Palo Alto, Calif.: Science Behavior Books.

Interracial Marriage in Shakespeare’s Othello Essay

Racial prejudice against the outsiders existed during the Elizabethan Age and Shakespeare attempted to create a parallel world in his tragedy Othello, The Moor of Venice where he captures a wide array of reactions towards a Black Muslim by the white majority Christians in Venice. The racial discrimination has been latent in their minds for a long period and the interracial marriage of Othello and Desdemona acts as a catalyst resulting in a volcanic eruption like calamity in the society through a prototype villain Iago. The institution of marriage is often looked at as a means of enhancing the bond within a community and when an outsider attempts to become a part of a closed community then he is perceived as an intruder. This essay explores the tumultuous reaction of the society through Iago towards the interracial marriage of Othello and Desdemona. Human beings, once accustomed to a particular pattern, will find it extremely difficult to alter the same. Othello, the Black Moor with physical and cultural difference in the state of Venice has risen to the position of the army general through his meticulous and painstaking hard work. Iago, the vicious villain has developed an aversion towards Othello because of his Moorish background and it is intensified when Cassio is promoted to the position of lieutenant, overlooking Iago. Iago also suspects an illicit relation between his wife Emilia and Othello. So he vows to bring the downfall of Othello and takes the interracial marriage as the ripe opportunity to avenge Othello. He instigates Brabantio, father of Desdemona to bring Othello under trial for luring his daughter. Brabantio openly condemns Othello’s marriage with his daughter and accuses that the marriage is â€Å"maimed and most imperfect† (1. 3, 99) and â€Å"Against all rules of nature† (1. 3, 101). Further he strongly suspects that Othello has used magic potions on Desdemona and exploited her innocence by pushing her to run from her home to â€Å"to the sooty bosom / Of such a thing as thou – to fear, not to delight† (1. 2, 70-71). Brabantio thus overtly expresses his racist views before the Duke because he is basically a Venetian who is obsessed with racial prejudice and it is so blatantly displayed because he learns that his daughter has fallen for the Moor from Roderigo, the half-wit consumed by lust for Desdemona and Iago, where the later has hidden his identity and has expressed their love affair in the most obscene language as possible. Iago states, â€Å"†¦you’ll / Have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse† (1. 1, 111-112) and â€Å"I am one, sir, that comes to tell you your daughter / And the Moor are now making the beast with two backs. 1. 1, 116-117). As Elizabeth Beaudin notes, â€Å"The language Iago and Roderigo use to incite the senator’s anger is clearly prejudiced; they refer to Othello as ‘an old black ram,’ a ‘Barbary horse,’ and a ‘lascivious Moor’ (13). The racist remarks of Iago and Roderigo against Othello reflect the prejudice that existed in the society when a Black Moor holds a better position in the society be it in military, society or the heart of a woman. Both Iago and Roderigo refer to Othello as an animal, thick-lipped, uneducated, and crude, and never call him by his name in private. Othello is enquired about the charges levied by Brabantio and the Moor responds that their love is mutual which has been nurtured through conversation. He states that â€Å"She loved me for the dangers I had pass’d, / And I loved her that she did pity them† (1. 3, 167-168). The Duke is one of the few characters in the play who trusts that the love affair is beyond the narrow lanes of racism and approves their marriage. When both the lovers are found to be in a state of complete bliss Iago remarks, â€Å"O, you are well tuned now! / But I’ll set down the pegs that make this music, / As honest as I am. (2. 1, 199-201). Iago swears to loosen the pegs in order to bring about a disharmony in their relationship. Mussari rightly states, â€Å"From the opening scene the interracial marriage between Othello and Desdemona colors all aspects of the play. Race also provides further motivation for the resentful Iago to destroy the general’s happiness. † (40-41). Iago strongly believes that Desdemona’s love for the Moor is nothing but an unnatural sexual desire and schemes in the most scrupulous manner to infuse jealousy in place of love in the mind of Othello. Earlier Othello believed that Desdemona loved him for his adventures and he not being a chamberer. But under the poisonous influence of Iago Othello believes that it is the very same quality that has made her leave him. â€Å"†¦ for I am black / And have not those soft parts of conversation / That chamberers have, or for I am declined† (3. 3, 263-265) Iago is extremely sly and a master puppeteer who brings almost everyone under his dominion. He convinces Roderigo that h can win Desdemona’s love only by procuring gifts for her and gains monetary benefits from him. Cassio also blindly believes him and thinks that Iago is striving hard to regain Cassio’s lost position. The seeds of jealousy are sown in the minds of Othello and it has deep-rooted in him. He has made a thorough analysis of Othello’s nature and produces the ocular proof for his wife’s infidelity. Iago is unable to stomach the fact that Othello is not only the supreme commander of the arms but has won the heart of a white Venetian woman. He is absolutely hostile to this interracial marriage and longs to dissolve the marriage at any cost. Roderigo, Cassio and his wife Emilia are made as pawns who unknowingly play a crucial role in disrupting the harmonious relationship between Othello and Desdemona. Iago goes to the extent of inventing an accusation that his wife is committing adultery with Othello. â€Å"†¦ Twixt my sheets / he’s done my office† (1. 3, 380-381). Othello and Desdemona unlike many other lovers establish a mature relationship in the beginning and are convinced that they share a mutual bond of love and affection. But it is not just the jealousy of Othello that plays a spoilsport. The racial incompatibility is internalized in every human being because humans are essentially social beings and hence are used to living in a homogeneous environment. The sudden intrusion may shock a majority section of the society like Brabantio, Iago and Roderigo. But a few may develop an initial fascination towards this heterogeneity like Desdemona. Desdemona herself is convinced that there is something unnatural about her love for Othello. She fails to understand Othello completely because of the cultural and racial differences that existed between them. She had once remarked that she fears looking at such blackness as in Othello which is reaffirmed by Othello when Iago states, â€Å"seem’d to shake and fear your looks† (3. 3, 207). Both Desdemona and Othello are initially drawn to each other because of their physical appearance but later this difference of Black and White creates a gap between them. Othello is appalled â€Å"not only because Desdemona corrupts herself ut because her ‘blackness’ confirms his† (Berry, 328). The interracial marriage, no doubt, intensifies the race-related social tensions and the society is completely turned into a chaotic environment. The reaction of the racially prejudiced society has been extremely intense because, the interracial relationship has matured to the level of married. If Iago had carried out such frenzied beastly act before Othello and Desdemona had married, it would have lead to the separation of the lovers. But the interracial marriage has mounted such an apprehension both in the society and the couple. Hence every other Venetian was easily exploited by Iago and Othello himself easily succumbed to the pressures of Iago. Being married, Othello is convinced that he could restore his honor only by killing his wife who is believed to have cuckolded him. To conclude, Shakespeare has illustrated that the dearth of a society is certain when a racial incompatibility exists in the society. The interracial marriage of Othello and Desdemona may have survived a little longer if Iago has not intervened because Iago has just acted as a catalyst and speedup the dissolution of the marriage. The love affair between Othello and Desdemona was purely emotional but the moment they enter into the institution of marriage, it definitely has to withstand the whirlwinds of the society. An interracial marriage is perceived as a threat to the integrity of the society and hence it is rarely welcomed. Within such a hostile environment, it is truly a challenge for the couple to uphold their marital relationship in which both Othello and Desdemona fail miserably as they easily yield to the pressures of the society in the guise of Iago.

Adults with Learning Difficulties Essay

â€Å"People with Learning Difficulties are unique individuals with their own likes and dislikes, history and opinions. They have the same rights as everybody else† To begin my assignment I will be discussing the history of social exclusion in relation to people with l’earning difficulties/disabilities . I will then outline process of Social work and in particular I will be focusing on intervention and how intervention has been used in relation to my chosen case study. In addition to this I will pay attention to a number of key issues in relation to society’s views on people with Learning Difficulties. I will also be discussing what Laws, Policies and Practices have been implemented to protect people with learning difficulties from oppression and discrimination and how effective these Laws have actually been in assisting people with Learning Difficulties to live the life they choose to live. During the late 19th century in particular, socially excluding people with learning disabilities was particularly inherent. At the time, those with ‘mental deficiencies’ were regarded as degenerates, and would often be blamed for social problems such as crime and poverty. This in turn led to the removal and institutionalisation of people thought to be ‘feeble minded’ and those referred to as ‘idiots’. Wolf Wolfensberger first published his thoughts about normalisation in 1972, through his works ‘The principle of Normalization in human service’. Wolfensberger argued that many of the problems with the institutions arose from the way in which they were designed and run. The residents of these institutions were treated like numbers rather than individuals, losing their identity and also their dignity. They were often regarded as primitive, uncontrollable and unable to be educated. The basic ideas and aims of the principles of normalisation have aimed to advocate community-based support for people with learning disabilities, whilst moving away from institutionalisation. But one of the most apparent obstacles in achieving this has been the attitude of those in the ‘community’ towards people with learning disabilities. Up to this point Social workers were still using the â€Å"tick box format† when conducting assessments and the medical model of practice was used which resulted in oppression of the service user. It was not until the NHS and community care Act and the community care (Direct Payments) Act was implemented in 1990’s that the attitudes towards people with Learning Difficulties began to improve along with the balance in power between Social Workers and Service Users. Further implementations of legal frameworks, policies and practices such as Valuing People 2001 and the Mental Capacity Act have helped to improve Social Work practice and in turn protect the rights of vulnerable people whilst promoting Anti-Discriminator practice, Social role valorisation and normalisation. Today’s process of Social Work consists of five key stages. These are Assessment, Deciding on outcomes, Planning, Intervention and Evaluation. Inter professional working should be placed centrally throughout all stages of the social work process in order to achieve the best possible outcome for the service user. Once the service users initial assessment has been carried out, decisions can then be made regarding the individuals overall needs and also their eligibility to receive funding for care packages and/or direct payments. Intervention can differ according to setting, but when looking at the intervention process for people with learning difficulties working in partnership and respecting the service user’s expertise is vital when putting agreed plans into action. This aspect of the intervention process can be linked to the exchange model as this approach promotes Anti Discriminatory Practice by empowering the service user to help make decisions about their future wellbeing. It also meets the expectations of the service user that social workers are respecting their expertise. Milner and Obrien 2002) During the intervention process it is the duty of the care manager/social worker to ensure that services provided are meeting the required standards and that the care is co-ordinated successfully to prevent deterioration due to gaps or lapses in care. It is also the responsibility of the care manager to ensure that services users are not excluded from services or receiving care that is of poor quality by constantly checking for discrimination stereotypes and assumptions made during the social work process. It is at this point that the intervention process can be linked with the objectives of Social role Valorisation; the objectives being to prevent people from attaining negative social roles and to promote positive valued roles in the first place. Work to reverse, or at least reduce the impact of existing negative roles and promote positive valued roles. The two key processes od social role valorisation are to enhance the social image of vulnerable people and to enhance their competencies. Social workers are expected to monitor and review intervention lans on a regular basis. Because of this it is vital that these plans can be changed at any time to suit the needs of the individual. When changes are made it is important that other organisations involved are kept up to date with these changes to ensure that the plan remains co-ordinated and effective. Although this theory of intervention illustrates a person centred approach, there is evidence to suggest that people with learning difficulties are still being failed by society due to standardisation and computerisation which can also be known as the â€Å"tick box format†. There are also many instances where there is an incorrect assessment of finances during the initial assessment process, due to the focus on resources available rather than needs. This can lead to the service user being denied access to services that they are entitled to. When looking at my case study Gemma, she has successfully been integrated into society after a comprehensive process of assessment, planning and intervention has been completed to form a person centred care package that suits her needs as an individual with profound and multiple learning difficulties, but also as a young woman who is a human being. The implementation of policies such as Valuing People 2001 and Valuing People Now promotes personalisation within society and has given people with Learning Disabilities like Gemma the right to their own independence, choice and inclusion. Also to have the option of appointing an advocate. However, I cannot help but feel that her story of success was down to the sheer determination of her mother, who had to fight for her daughters individual needs to be met. Social Workers and other multi professionals who were involved in assessment of Gemma’s needs obviously felt that she would have benefited from institutionalisation, as it is stated that this was suggested as a future plan on numerous occasions. I cannot help but wonder whether this has been due to professionals focusing on Gemma’s disability rather than focusing on her as a person. Valuing people 2001 states that the role of services is to help people no matter how complexed their disability, to live full and equal lives in their local communities. Although the article states that ideas for Gemma to live as independently as possible were well received and finally implemented, It is also obvious that there have been constant struggles to obtain funding such as direct payments to accommodate Gemma’s visions to live a normal life within her community. Following Wolfensbergers development of Social Role Valorisation, Obrien developed the five service accomplishments, which provided a practical framework to work towards Social Role Valorisation. Obrien suggests â€Å"Each accomplishment supports a vital dimension of human experience which common practice limits for people with severe Learning Disabilities. They challenge and strengthen the relationship between people with disabilities and other community members. (Obrien 1989) Recent articles published on the community care website have suggested that social workers themselves are witnessing the target-driven culture of bureaucracy within councils (just like Gemmas mum experienced ),and are aware that this has created numerous barriers to people with mental health problems gaining access to direct payments. It has been reported that a Social Work Team Manager within Adults with Learning Disabilities actually left her role at Doncaster Council in 2010 because she had encountered these problems and felt that it hindered the intervention process. She has since started up her own Personalisation Forum Group to bring these service users together. The weekly meetings at a community centre now attract 30 regulars, providing support and regular socialising opportunities. I utilise my social work skills to help the group solve the problems that they face; this involves reducing dependency on professionals by highlighting people’s strengths, and encouraging them to think through solutions on their own and with other group members. People describe feeling part of something, like they have some power over their own future and many for the first time can see something positive,† Hicks says. Michelle Lefevre, senior lecturer in social work at the University of Sussex, says it is a â€Å"sad indictment† that Hicks felt she had to leave local authority social work to build such meaningful relationships with users. Not only is local government overly focused on administration rather than spending time with children and families, she says, but problems in social work degree programmes and supervision mean practitioners are not equipped to deal with the emotional dimensions of the job. Overall it is very refreshing to read success stories like Gemma’s as it seems that she is living her live as independently as possible, whilst being supported by a dedicated team of people who are constantly ensuring that she is receiving person centred care and that her wishes remain central. It is my only hope that in the future it will not require a loving parent to fight the rights of a service user and to overcome hurdle after hurdle to receive the funding and care package they are rightful entitled to, but that the service user will be granted access to the services and funding they are eligible for with ease.

Samuel Johnsons Dictionary of the English Language

On April 15, 1755, Samuel Johnson published his two-volume Dictionary of the English Language. It wasnt the first English dictionary (more than 20 had appeared over the preceding two centuries), but in many ways, it was the most remarkable. As modern lexicographer Robert Burchfield has observed, In the whole tradition of English language and literature the only dictionary compiled by a writer of the first rank is that of Dr. Johnson. Unsuccessful as a schoolmaster in his hometown of Lichfield, Staffordshire (the few students he had were put off by his oddities of manner and uncouth gesticulations--most likely the effects of Tourette syndrome), Johnson moved to London in 1737 to make a living as an author and editor. After a decade spent writing for magazines and struggling with debt, he accepted an invitation from bookseller Robert Dodsley to compile a definitive dictionary of the English language. Dodsley solicited the patronage of the Earl of Chesterfield, offered to publicize the dictionary in his various periodicals, and agreed to pay Johnson the considerable sum of 1,500 guineas in installments. What should every logophile know about Johnsons Dictionary? Here are a few starting points. Johnson's Ambitions In his Plan of a Dictionary of the English Language, published in August 1747, Johnson announced his ambition to rationalize spellings, trace etymologies, offer guidance on pronunciation, and preserve the purity, and ascertain the meaning of our English idiom. Preservation and standardization were primary goals: [O]ne great end of this undertaking, Johnson wrote, is to fix the English language.As Henry Hitchings notes in his book Defining the World (2006), With time, Johnsons conservatism—the desire to fix the language—gave way to a radical awareness of languages mutability. But from the outset, the impulse to standardize and straighten English out was in competition with the belief that one should chronicle whats there, and not just what one would like to see. Johnson's Labors In other European countries around this time, dictionaries had been assembled by large committees. The 40 immortals who made up the Acadà ©mie franà §aise took 55 years to produce their French  Dictionnaire. The Florentine Accademia della Crusca labored 30 years on its Vocabolario. In contrast, working with just six assistants (and never more than four at a time), Johnson completed his dictionary in about eight years. Unabridged and Abridged Editions Weighing in at roughly 20 pounds, the first edition of Johnsons Dictionary ran to 2,300 pages and contained 42,773 entries. Extravagantly priced at 4 pounds, 10 shillings, it sold only a few thousand copies in its first decade. Far more successful was the 10-shilling abridged version published in 1756, which was superseded in the 1790s by a best-selling miniature version (the equivalent of a modern paperback). Its this miniature edition of Johnsons Dictionary that Becky Sharpe tossed out of a carriage window in Thackerays Vanity Fair (1847). The Quotations Johnsons most significant innovation was to include quotations (well over 100,000 of them from more than 500 authors) to illustrate the words he defined as well as provide tidbits of wisdom along the way. Textual accuracy, it appears, was never a major concern: if a quotation lacked felicity or didnt quite serve Johnsons purpose, hed alter it. The Definitions The most commonly cited definitions in Johnsons Dictionary tend to be quirky and polysyllabic: rust is defined as the red desquamation of old iron; cough is a convulsion of the lungs, vellicated by some sharp serosity; network is any thing reticulated or decussated, at equal distances, with interstices between the intersections. In truth, many of Johnsons definitions are admirably straightforward and succinct. Rant, for instance, is defined as high sounding language unsupported by dignity of thought, and hope is an expectation indulged with pleasure. Rude Words Though Johnson omitted certain words for reasons of propriety, he did admit a number of vulgar phrases, including  bum, fart, piss, and turd. (When Johnson was complimented by two ladies for having left out naughty words, he is alleged to have replied, What, my dears! Then you have been looking for them?) He also provided a delightful selection of verbal curios (such as belly-god, one who makes a god of his belly, and amatorculist, a little insignificant lover) as well as insults, including fopdoodle (a fool; an insignificant wretch), bedpresser (a heavy lazy fellow), and pricklouse (a word of contempt for a tailor). Barbarisms Johnson didnt hesitate to pass judgment on words he considered socially unacceptable. On his list of  barbarisms were such familiar words as budge, con, gambler, ignoramus, shabby, trait, and volunteer (used as a verb). And Johnson could be opinionated in other ways, as in his famous (though not original) definition of oats: a grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people. Meanings Not surprisingly, some of the words in Johnsons Dictionary have undergone a change in meaning since the 18th century. For example, in Johnsons time a cruise was a small cup, a high-flier was someone who carries his opinions to extravagance, a recipe was a medical prescription, and a urinator was a diver; one who searches under water. Lessons Learned In the preface to A Dictionary of the English Language, Johnson acknowledged that his optimistic plan to fix the language had been thwarted by the ever-changing nature of language itself: Those who have been persuaded to think well of my design, require that it should fix our language, and put a stop to those alterations which time and chance have hitherto been suffered to make in it without opposition. With this consequence I will confess that I flattered myself for a while; but now begin to fear that I have indulged expectation which neither reason nor experience can justify. When we see men grow old and die at a certain time one after another, from century to century, we laugh at the elixir that promises to prolong life to a thousand years; and with equal justice may the lexicographer be derided, who being able to produce no example of a nation that has preserved their words and phrases from mutability, shall imagine that his dictionary can embalm his language, and secure it from corruption and decay, that it is in his power to change sublunary nature, or clear the world at once from folly, vanity, and affectation. Ultimately Johnson concluded that his early aspirations reflected the dreams of a poet doomed at last to wake a lexicographer. But of course Samuel Johnson was more than a dictionary maker; he was, as Burchfield noted, a writer and editor of the first rank. Among his other notable works are a travel book, A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland; an eight-volume edition of The Plays of William Shakespeare; the fable Rasselas (written in a week to help pay his mothers medical expenses); The Lives of the English Poets; and hundreds of essays and poems. Nonetheless, Johnsons Dictionary stands as an enduring achievement. More than any other dictionary, Hitching says, it abounds with stories, arcane information, home truths, snippets of trivia, and lost myths. It is, in short, a treasure house. Fortunately, we can now visit this treasure house online. Graduate student Brandi Besalke has begun uploading a searchable version of the first edition of Johnsons Dictionary at johnsonsdictionaryonline.com. Also, the sixth edition (1785) is available in a variety of formats at the Internet Archive. To learn more about Samuel Johnson and his Dictionary, pick up a copy of Defining the World: The Extraordinary Story of Dr. Johnsons Dictionary by Henry Hitchings (Picador, 2006). Other books of interest include Jonathon Greens Chasing the Sun: Dictionary Makers and the Dictionaries They Made (Henry Holt, 1996); The Making of Johnsons Dictionary, 1746-1773 by Allen Reddick (Cambridge University Press, 1990); and Samuel Johnson: A Life by David Nokes (Henry Holt, 2009).