TREATMENT OF ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR

THREE APPROACHES TO THERAPY

INSIGHT THERAPIES Designed to give insight (understanding) into cause(s) of problem Will help client to gain control of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors Psychoanalytical, cognitive, and humanistic are leading approaches in insight

BEHAVIOR THERAPY Focuses on problem itself Based on CC, OC, and ObL

BIOMEDICAL THERAPY Focuses on chemical imbalances, disturbed nervous system functions, and abnormal brain chemistry Uses drugs (psychopharmacology) and electroconvulsive therapy

FREUD AND PSYCHOANALYSIS

INTRODUCTION Psychoanalysis rests on idea that unconscious conflicts and repressed memories are underlying causes of abnormal behavior Therapist will focus on how childhood conditions created the conflicts

5 MAJOR PSYCHOANALYTIC TECHNIQUES 1. Free association: client spontaneously reports thoughts feelings, and mental images --therapist asks questions to encourage flow 2. Analyzing dreams: dreams are symbolic of unconscious conflicts and repressed impulses

5 TECHNIQUES CONTINUED 3. Analyzing resistance: the attempt to conceal disturbing memories, motives and experiences 4. Analyzing transference: when a patient transfers conflicts and feelings onto the therapist 5. Offering interpretation: wait for the right opportunity to offer interpretation

EVALUATION OF PSYCHOANALYSIS Seems to work best for articulate, highly motivated patients who suffer from anxiety disorders Time-consuming and expensive

COGNITIVE THERAPIES

ALBERT ELLIS Most people believe emotions and behaviors are a direct result of specific events Ellis argued that feelings are actually produced by irrational beliefs we use to interpret events Ellis devised a 4 step rational emotive therapy (RET)

RATIONAL EMOTIVE THERAPY 1. Identifying activating events: what events trigger the mental processes and behaviors 2. Identifying belief systems: the irrational beliefs and negative self- talk 3. Examining emotional consequences: argue irrational beliefs lead to self-defeating behaviors, anxiety disorders, and depression Disputing erroneous belief: dispute client’s faulty logic

AARON BECK’S COGNITIVE THERAPY Effective for depression Help clients come to grips with negative beliefs about themselves Depression-prone ppl focus on: negative events and engage in all-or- none thinking

EVALUATION OF COGNITIVE THERAPIES Highly effective in treating anxiety disorders, depression, addiction, anger management, and bulimia nervosa Relies too heavily on rationality (ignores unconscious drives)

HUMANIST THERAPY

CARL ROGERS AND CLIENT-CENTERED THERAPY AKA: Person-centered therapy One of most widely used models Therapist creates a comfortable, non-judgmental environment Demonstrates empathy and unconditional positive regard Clients are encouraged to seek out solutions to problems

EVALUATION Has helped to remove the stigma attached to therapy It is unstructured and highly subjective—difficult to objectively measure self-actualization and self-awareness

GROUP, FAMILY, AND MARITAL THERAPIES

GROUP THERAPY A number of people meet and work toward therapeutic goals Based on principles of Carl Rogers Self-help groups are a popular variation (AA)

FAMILY AND MARITAL THERAPIES Strive to identify and change maladaptive family interactions When one family member has a problem, the others are affected

EVALUATION Less expensive Insight gained through shared experience Successful in alcoholism, drug addiction, teenage delinquency, and marital infidelity

BEHAVIOR THERAPIES

WHAT IS IT? Therapists seek to modify specific behaviors (don’t look for cause) Assumes that all behavior is learned

MARY COVER JONES The “Mother of behavior therapy” Used counterconditioning (associate something pleasant with the stressful stimuli)

JOSEPH WOLPE—SYSTEMATIC DESENSITIZATION A technique for treating anxiety-producing phobias Uses CC 3 steps: 1. Teach deep relaxation 2. Create a hierarchy of anxiety-arousing images and situations 3. Begin process with least threatening experience

AVERSION THERAPY Uses CC to create anxiety Deliberately pair an aversive stimulus with a maladaptive behavior (Antabuse)

EVALUATION Effective with phobias, eating disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorders Newly acquired behaviors may disappear if not consistently reinforced

BIOMEDICAL THERAPIES

PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY The study of how drugs affect mental processes and behavior Antianxiety drugs: reduce anxiety and produce relaxation by lowering sympathetic activity in the brain Antipsychotic drugs: diminish hallucinations, delusions—known as neuroleptics or major tranquilizers—decrease activity at the dopamine synapses

PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY CONTINUED Mood-stabilizing drugs: treat the combination of manic episodes and depression characteristic of bipolar disorder (lithium) Antidepressant drugs: treat depression by inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor—SSRI)

ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY 2 electrodes placed on the outside of a patient’s head Moderated electrical current is passed through the brain Used to treat serious cases of depression (suicidal patients)

EVALUATION Very effective for bipolar disorders and depression Has enabled “deinstitutionalization” (good or bad?) Does not cure, only treats