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 Job Internal Beliefs: “I’m worthless” “It’s hopeless” Depression Lost Job Internal Beliefs: “My boss is a jerk. I deserve better.” No Depression Cognitive Therapy cont. Cognitive Perspective on Psychological Disorders