Module 33 Psychological Treatments

Evolution of Psychological Treatments Historical view: Severe mental illnesses result of possession by demons or evil spirits Patients subject to inhumane treatment Establishment of Bethlehem hospital as asylum for mentally ill by mid-16th century Subjects chained to bed; treatment included bloodletting, beating, and purging in ice baths Emergence of moral treatment In 1793, Philippe Pinel personally unchained the inmates at an asylum in Paris demanding humane treatment

herapy Treatment to make people feel better and function more effectively Mastering13.4

Two Kinds of Modern Therapy Psychotherapy: Involves a person talking to a professional about the person’s problems Insight: gain personal understanding to behavior Action: change behavior directly Two types of therapy: Biomedical therapy: Uses a medical procedure to bring about changes in behavior Drugs Surgical methods Electric shock treatments Psychotherapy for the purpose of gaining understanding into one’s motives and actions is called insight therapy, whereas psychotherapy aimed at changing disordered behavior directly is called action therapy.   Most modern treatments use a combination of both, called eclectic treatment

Types of Psychotherapy Today’s Focus: Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamic Therapy Humanistic Therapy Behavioral Therapy Cognitive Therapy Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Psychotherapy: Involves a person talking to a professional about the person’s problems Insight: gain personal understanding to behavior Action: change behavior directly Types of Psychotherapy Biomedical therapy: Uses a medical procedure to bring about changes in behavior Drugs Surgical methods Electric shock treatments Psychotherapy for the purpose of gaining understanding into one’s motives and actions is called insight therapy, whereas psychotherapy aimed at changing disordered behavior directly is called action therapy.  

Psychoanalysis Psychoanalysis: Therapy to reveal unconscious conflicts Dream interpretation Manifest content Latent content Free association Resistance Transference Sigmund Freud developed a treatment called psychoanalysis that focused on releasing a person’s hidden, repressed urges and concerns from the unconscious mind.    Freud believed that repressed material often surfaced in dreams, although in symbolic form. The manifest content of the dream was the actual dream and its events, but the latent content was the hidden, symbolic meaning of those events that would, if correctly interpreted, reveal the unconscious conflicts that were creating the nervous disorder. Free association was a psychoanalytic technique in which a patient was encouraged to talk about anything that came to mind without fear of negative evaluations. Other components of Freud’s original psychoanalytic method were resistance (the point at which the patient becomes unwilling to talk about certain topics) and transference (when the therapist becomes a symbol of a parental authority figure from the past). Mastering13.5

Psychodynamic Therapy Criticism: Freud’s of original theory Lack of scientific research to support claims Ignoring patient revelations that do not fit the theory Assumption that problems with sex and sexuality were responsible for nearly every nervous disorder

Psychodynamic Therapy Modern psychodynamic approach: Shift to a more directive approach: therapist actively gives interpretations of a client’s statements; suggests certain behavior or actions Faster therapeutic process Focus on ego rather than id as the behavior motivator

Humanistic Therapy

Humanistic Therapy An insight-oriented psychotherapy; conscious thoughts are more important than unconscious Believes people are basically good with self- actualizing tendencies Boost people’s self-awareness and self-acceptance and personal growth

Humanistic Therapy Carl Rogers developed client-centered therapy, using acceptance, genuineness and empathy to help clients drop facades and express true feelings. This grace-filled environment provides unconditional positive regard. General ideology: Everyone has a real self and ideal self; the closer the match-up, the happier the person

Ideal self: What one should or would like to be Humanistic Therapy Real self: One’s perception of actual characteristics, traits, and abilities Ideal self: What one should or would like to be REAL SELF IDEAL SELF REAL SELF IDEAL SELF According to Rogers, the self-concept includes the real self and the ideal self. The real self is a person’s actual perception of traits and abilities, whereas the ideal self is the perception of what a person would like to be or thinks he or she should be. When the ideal self and the real self are very similar (matching), the person experiences harmony and contentment. When there is a mismatch between the two selves, the person experiences anxiety and may engage in neurotic behavior. Match = Harmony Mismatch = Anxiety

Humanistic Therapy Rogers’s person-centered therapy: Methodology: Therapist to provide the unconditional positive regard during treatment Nondirective therapy: Client talks out problems and concerns; therapist acts as a sounding board Recognition of discrepancies between the real and ideal selves

Humanistic Therapy Evaluation of humanistic therapies: “Hands-off” form of therapy; the therapist runs a lower risk of misinterpretation Little experimental research to support therapy’s ideology Use of case studies to build theories

Learning One’s Way to Better Behavior Behavior therapies: Action therapies focused on behavior not causes Classical and operant conditioning Behavior modification or applied behavior analysis: Change behaviors via learning techniques

Behavior Therapies Classical conditioning techniques

Classical conditioning applications Behavior Therapies Classical conditioning applications Bedwetting Claustrophobia Counterconditioning: pairing the trigger stimulus with a new response that is incompatible with the fear “Boggart in the Wardrobe” clip Exposure Therapy: Buckbeak the Hippogriff

Therapies Based on Classical Conditioning Exposure therapy of Systematic desensitization: For treating phobias Step 1: Relaxation training Step 2: Progressive exposure

Professor Gallagher and his controversial technique of simultaneously confronting the fear of heights, snakes, and the dark.

Therapies Based on Operant Conditioning Reinforcement: Strengthening of response by following it with a pleasurable consequence (positive) or the removal of an unpleasant stimulus (negative) Token economy: Reinforcers earned and exchanged for desired things Contingency contract: Formal agreement on behavior change, reinforcements, penalties

Therapies Based on Operant Conditioning Extinction: Remove reinforcer, reduce undesirable behavior Time Out: Removal from situation that reinforces undesirable behavior

One-Page Assignment Directions: With a partner, look over section 33.4 on pages 442-449. Chose an approach: Psychoanalysis/Psychodynamic Humanistic Behavioral Cognitive therapy Create a one-page analysis based on your handout