Trreatment & Therapy (Chap 17) Third Lecture Outline: Group interventions Community-based approaches Effectiveness of therapy Psychotherapy videotape

Group therapy What group therapies are you aware of? Example: Parenting group Anger, Agoraphobia groups Advantages: Less expensive, group support, social pressure to change Disadvantages: Less intensive, conflicts within group, side-tracking Focus on teaching skills or support

Family Therapy Dad Looses job Dad Mom Looses job Gets depressed Julie Parent conflict Joe Trouble at School

Couples therapy Focus on interpersonal communication Empathy What does the other person think? How is your behavior actually seen by another? Concerns raised as “I feel” instead of “you should” Growth and change in relationship Empathy What does the other person feel? What kind of behavior is “sensitive”

Treatment Effectiveness Short-term treatment for common problems is usually sufficient Psychotherapy better than doing nothing Motivation, therapeutic alliance, and (lack of) severity are related to effectiveness Therapy can be harmful if therapist is out of realm of competence has biases against person is behaving unethically (e.g., sexual intimacies with clients used to be common, now seen as a most serious breech of professional responsibility) Problems are induced such as false memories for trauma

Effectiveness of an intervention Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Follow up Group of 150 similar clients Supportive counseling (Attention) Follow up Random assignment Wait-list control (Time) Follow up

Client-intervention interaction Different therapies are effective for different people If you are verbal, “talking” therapy is fine because insight is needed If intelligence is low, behavioral approach may be more appropriate Group/couple therapy only if you have a group Self-help: Motivation, organization

Community psychology Example: Dealing with teen depression Primary prevention Prevent disorders before they happen Teens could have self-esteem groups in school Secondary prevention Detect disorders early on Screen for depression in schools using BDI Tertiary prevention: Treat known problems and thus “prevent” ongoing problem

Other community-based approaches “Hotlines” such as suicide hotlines, 911 Trauma response teams in response to disasters Psychologists were at Peggy’s Cove Community mental health clinics Support groups for high risk clients Parents of chronically ill children Transition homes to deal with family violence

Self-help Bibliotherapy: Self-help books from the bookstore Surf the net: You can join “chat lines” of people with similar problems Videotapes: How to parent, how to communicate, how to be assertive are at “Blockbuster” Lifestyle: General health and fitness improves mental health