1. Sarah Chen, Michelle Yang, Heather Devlin, Xin Yin Fan
Module 70: Introduction to Therapy, and Psychodynamic and Humanistic Therapies
Sarah Chen, Michelle Yang,
Heather Devlin, Xin Yin Fan
Focusing specifically on the psychodynamic and humanistic aspects of therapy

2. History
Before therapy reforms, there was no standard way to treat the mentally ill
There was a mix of harsh and gentle methods
In the 1950s, reformers Philippe Pinel and Dorothea Dix advocated for more humane treatments of the mentally ill and constructed mental hospitals
Variety of methods to treat the mentally ill: drilling holes into skulls (devil), blood-letting (bad blood), placing the ill in sunny environments
These hospitals actually tried to treat the patients, whereas before then, asylums were just a way to isolate the mentally ill from the rest of their families

3. Therapy Categories 2 main categories:
Psychotherapy: treatment involving psychological techniques; consists of interactions between a trained therapist and someone (client) seeking to overcome psychological difficulties or achieve personal growth
Aka “talk therapy”
Built on psychology’s major theories: psychodynamic, humanistic, cognitive, and behavioral
Biomedical Therapy: prescribed medications or procedures that act directly on a person’s physiology
Effective drug therapies were introduced in the 1950s
Most therapies are combinations of the two categories
Eclectic Approach: an approach to therapy that, depending on the client’s problems, uses techniques from various types of therapy
Patients can receive both psychotherapy and medication
Before effective drug therapies, typical “biomedical” therapies consisted of administering electric shocks
Psychodynamic: Adler, Horney, and Jung
Humanistic: Carl Rogers
Social - Cognitive: Bandura
Behavioral: Watson
Someone whos depressed may take antidepressants (ex: Prozac → reduces dopamine reuptake) at home, while also undergoing psychotherapy in the day

5. Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis: Sigmund Freud’s therapeutic technique. He believed the patient’s free associations, resistances, dreams, and transferences - and the therapist’s interpretations of them - released previously repressed feelings, allowing the patient to gain self-insight
Resistance: in psychoanalysis, the blocking from consciousness of anxiety-laden material
Transference: in psychoanalysis, the patient’s transfer to the analyst of emotions linked with other relationships
The first psychological therapy
Few still use it

6. Psychoanalysis (cont.)
Techniques:
Free association- exploring the unconscious by having the client relax and say whatever comes to mind.
You tend take out embarrassing, shameful, or seemingly irrelevant parts of your stories. Sometimes your mind goes blank or cannot remember details.
Interpretation: in psychoanalysis, the analyst’s noting supposed dream meanings, resistances, and other significant behaviors and events in order to promote insight.
Takes lots of time and money (years of several sessions per week).
Not scientifically proven & interpretations cannot be proved nor disproved.

7. Psychodynamic Therapy
Psychodynamic therapy: therapy deriving from the psychoanalytic tradition that views individuals as responding to the unconscious forces and childhood experiences, and that seeks to enhance self-insight
Takes place once or twice a week, lasts for only several weeks or months
Focus on themes across important relationships; it includes childhood experiences and therapist relationship
Meets with the therapist face-to-face and stays in their line of sight
Tries to help patients understand current symptoms, explore defended-against thoughts and feelings, and introduce patients to themselves
May also help reveal past relationship troubles as the origin of current difficulties

8. Interpersonal Psychotherapy
Interpersonal therapy: a 12-to-16 session variation of psychodynamic therapy; has effectively treated depression
Aims to relieve symptoms for the present, rather than undoing past hurts and offering interpretations
The therapist concentrates mainly on current relationships and on helping patient improve relationship skills

9. Humanistic Therapies
The humanistic perspective emphasizes people’s potential for self-fulfillment
Insight therapies: a variety of therapies that aim to improve psychological functioning by increasing a person’s awareness of underlying motives and defenses
Unlike psychodynamic therapies, humanistic therapies:
Aim to boost people’s self-fulfillment by helping them grow in self-awareness and self-fulfillment
Promoting growth, not curing illness is the goal
The path to growth is taking immediate responsibility for one’s feelings and actions, rather that uncovering hidden determinants
Conscious thoughts are more important than the unconscious
The present and future are more important than the past

10. Client-centered therapy: a humanistic therapy; developed by Carl Rogers, in which the therapist uses techniques such as active listening within a genuine, accepting, empathetic environment to facilitate clients’ growth
Person-centered therapy
When clients feel accepted, they tend to genuinely express their true feelings
Active listening: empathetic listening in which the listener echoes, restates, and clarifies
Unconditional positive regard: a caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients to develop self-awareness and self-acceptance
Paraphrase, invite clarification, and reflect feelings

11. CRASH COURSE
Link: