Module 52: The Psychological Treatments Therapy Unit 14

Mental Health Practitioners Psychiatrists: medical doctors (M.D.) who can prescribe medication and perform surgery. – They take a biological approach. Clinical psychologists: have a doctoral degree. Use different therapeutic approaches. – Cannot prescribe medication.

Mental Health Practitioners Counseling Psychologists: Has a doctoral degree in counseling. Tend to deal with less severe mental health problems. – Work in colleges or marital/family therapy practices. – Try not to assign blame but to listen and help clarify feelings of everyone involved.

Mental Health Practitioners Psychoanalysts: may or may not be psychiatrists, but follow the teaching of Freud and practice psychodynamic therapy. Clinical or psychiatric social workers: have masters degree in social work (M.S.W.). Many use eclectic approach which blends various approaches.

Psychological Treatments Psychotherapy: a planned emotionally charged, confidential interaction between a trained healer and a sufferer. Many types of therapies, but we will look at: – Psychoanalytic, humanistic, behavioral, and cognitive approaches, as well as groups.

Psychoanalysis Psychoanalysis was the first of the psychological therapies. Based on Freud’s belief that abnormal behavior was the result of unconscious conflicts from early childhood trauma experienced during the psychosexual stages of development.

Psychoanalysis It requires the patient to go back and discover the roots of the problems and bring the conflict to the conscious mind. Once the patient is aware of the problem, then they can change behavior to resolve the problem.

Psychoanalysis Psychoanalysis usually takes a few years and uses free association so patients say whatever comes to mind. The key is to not censor what they say so that their unconscious conflicts may come out. Dream analysis may be a part of therapy.

Psychoanalysis Hypnosis and Freudian slips (say one thing, but mean another) may reveal hidden conflicts. Resistance: blocking of anxiety provoking feelings and experiences. Patients avoid issues by talking about trivial issues or coming late to sessions. These are signs of important issues.

Psychoanalysis Transference: the patient’s transfer to the analyst of emotions linked with other relationships. Results in love or hatred for the analyst, which was meant for someone else. Revealing these transferred emotions allows people a chance to work through issues.

Psychoanalysis Catharsis: the release of emotional tension after a session and results in relief of anxiety. Feeling of relief because you came to a conclusion about your issues! Unfortunately, psychoanalysis requires too much time and cost too much for most people. ($100 per hour for years = Over $30,000!)

Psychodynamic & Interpersonal Psychodynamic therapy is shorter and less frequent than psychoanalysis. Therapist is more active and will point out conflicts more directly to work through feelings. Interpersonal therapy is even shorter and focuses on current relations to relieve symptoms.

Humanistic Therapy Humanistic therapists focus on: – The present and future. – Conscious thoughts. – Promoting growth. Problems arise because the clients inherent goodness and potential to grow emotionally have been stifled by external psychosocial constraints.

Humanistic Therapy Client-Centered Therapy: focuses on person’s conscious self-perceptions instead of therapist’s analysis. Goal is to provide an atmosphere of acceptance, empathy, and sharing that permits the client’s inner strength to come out so that personal growth can occur. Developed by Carl Rogers.

Humanistic Therapy Rogers developed active listening to use in his client-centered therapy. Active Listening: listening in which the listener echoes, restates, and clarifies the patient’s responses. Therapist is non-judgmental! Goal is to develop a more positive self-concept.

Behavior Therapy Behavior therapy: applies learning principles of elimination of unwanted behaviors. Skinner says that abnormal behavior is a result of faulty rewards and punishments. Behaviorists attempt to extinguish unwanted behavior and replace it with constructive behaviors.

Behavior Therapy Pavlov showed we learned behavior through classical conditioning, so abnormal behavior is a result of conditioning. Counterconditioning: conditions new responses to stimuli that trigger unwanted behaviors. Ex. Pairing a fear of small spaces with relaxation in a small space.

Counterconditioning Techniques 1. Exposure therapy: expose people to things they normally avoid. This allows them to get use to it and not fear it. Systematic Desensitization: a type of exposure therapy that associates a pleasant relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli. Used to treat phobias.

Counterconditioning Techniques 2. Aversive Conditioning: associates an unpleasant state with an unwanted behavior. Ex. Pairing nausea and vomiting with alcohol. It conditions a person to avoid something they should avoid.

Operant Conditioning Rewards are used to target behaviors. Behavior modification: the client selects a goal and, with each step toward it, receives a small reward until the goal is finally achieved. Ex. Weight Watchers and other diet programs use this to keep clients motivated.

Operant Conditioning Token Economy: positive behaviors are rewarded with secondary reinforcers (tokens, points, etc.) which can eventually be exchanged for rewards, such as food. Ex. Jewel’s stamp saving programs for dishes, Titan bucks, etc. Parents use an allowance to reinforce household work habits.

Cognitive Therapy Cognitive therapists believe abnormal behavior is a result of faulty thought patterns. The person’s emotional reactions are produced not by the event, but by the person’s thoughts in response to the event. Goal is to teach people new, more constructive ways of thinking.

Cognitive Therapy Depressed people believe their failures are their fault and their successes are because of outside forces. Cognitive therapists seek to change this thinking into more positive thinking and thus change mood. Lydia: I’m going to fail this test! Mr. Ng: You never do! You’ll do well. Lydia: Ok. I feel better.

Group Therapy Group therapy allows a person to discover that they are not alone. Also allows feedback on trying new techniques of behaving. Ex. Alcoholics Anonymous Family therapy treats the family as a system. Therapists help build better communication amongst families.