Psychotherapy

The Treatment of Psychological Disorders & Abnormal Behaviors

Therapy

Psychotherapy: emotionally charged, confiding interaction between a trained therapist & someone who suffers from psychological difficulties; the goal is relief of the pain of mental illness

Eclectic Approach: uses/integrates techniques from multiple forms of psychotherapy (a.k.a psychotherapy integration)

Who Does Therapy?

Psychiatrist Clinical Psychologists Clinical/Psychiatric Social Workers Counselors

Psychoanalysis

Freud believed patient’s free associations (replacing hypnosis), resistances, dreams, & transferences - & the therapist’s interpretation– released previously repressed feelings, allowing patient to gain self-insight, resolve internal conflicts & neurotic defenses that go with them

Use has rapidly decreased in recent years Interpretation: the therapist’s noting of supposed

dream meanings, resistances, & other significant behaviors of the patient to promote insight

Psychoanalysis cont.

Resistance: largely unconscious “defensive” efforts which block anxiety-laden material in an effort to hinder the progress of therapy

Transference: patient’s transfer to the analyst the emotions & thoughts linked with other critical relationships– E.g., love/hate for a parent– Sometimes encouraged, allows analyst to deal with

issues in the context of therapy

Humanist Therapy

“Person/Client-Centered Therapy” (Rogers)– Active listening (echo, restate, clarify) with a

genuine, accepting, empathetic environment to facilitate client’s personal growth

Unconditional positive regard; if the therapist cannot accept the client or be non-judgmental, then the client should be referred to another therapist

Very non-directive therapeutic technique; therapist is a “human mirror”, allow the client to help figure out the problem with therapist’s assistance

Humanist Therapy cont.

Gestalt Therapy: created by Frederick Peris– Gestalt therapy sees the individual with a psychological

disorder as “fragmented”—if they can bring together all the fragmented parts to become the “whole” they were meant to be, a whole greater than sum of the parts, integrated

– Very non-directive Transactional Analysis

– Analyzes the interactions between people & how they affect the individual (thus “transaction”), assumes people need positive “stroking”, a need to be recognized as valuable & worthwhile

– “I’m O.K., you’re O.K.” philosophy

Cognitive Therapy

Goal is to teach people new, more adaptive ways of thinking & acting

Based on the assumption that thoughts intervene between events & our emotional reactions

Attempts to correct “cognitive errors” that promote maladaptive thinking & behavior, very directive

Focus is on thinking today, not the past Assumes people are capable of becoming the person

they want to be if their thinking can be redirected

Cognitive Therapy cont.

Rational-Emotive Therapy: a confrontational therapy developed by Albert Ellis, vigorously challenges client’s illogical, self-defeating attitudes & assumptions– Sometimes called Rational-Emotive Behavior

Therapy, emphasizing an additional behavioral “homework” component

Lost JobInternal Beliefs: “I’m worthless” “It’s hopeless”

Depression

Lost JobInternal Beliefs:

“My boss is a jerk. I deserve better.”

No Depression

Cognitive Therapy cont.

Cognitive Perspective on Psychological Disorders