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

2. 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

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

4. 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”

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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