1. What is Therapy?

2. Psychotherapy
Verbal interaction between and trained professional and a person.
Patient is usually seeking help for a psychological problem.

3. Goals of Psychotherapy
Help troubled individuals gain recovery and insight or new perspectives for various problems.
Provide caring and trusting relationships with mental health professionals.
Providing hope for recovery.

4. Commonly used Methods of Psychotherapy and their goals.
Psychoanalysis – replace avoidant behavior with coping behavior; to reduce inappropriate feelings of anxiety and guilt.
Humanistic Therapy – Remove obstacles in the path of self-actualization.
Cognitive Therapy – Replace irrational, self-defeating attitudes and beliefs with rational, self-enhancing ones.
Behavior Therapy – Replace maladaptive, self-defeating behavior with adaptive, self-enhancing behavior.

5. Commonly used Methods of Psychotherapy and their techniques
Psychoanalysis – Free association; dream analysis; analysis of the transference relationship
Humanistic Therapy – Active listening, unconditional positive regard
Cognitive Therapy – Encouraging clients to challenge irrational beliefs and replace them with rational ones; teaching clients to evaluate their beliefs and attitudes rationally.
Behavior Therapy – Systemic desensitization, modeling, aversive conditioning, operant conditioning.

6. Types of Professionals involved in Psychotherapy Treatments
Counseling Psychologist – usually work in educational institutes
Clinical Psychologist – Works in hospitals and clinics; treats people with psychological problems.
Psychiatrist – Able to prescribe medicine and perform some operations.
Psychiatric social worker – counsels people with everyday personal and family problems.
Psychiatric nurse – Dispenses medicine and acts as a contact person between sessions.

7. Selecting the Right Professional
What is the professionals field? You don’t want a counseling psychologist for dealing with depression!
What degrees does the professional hold?
Is the professional licensed by the state?
What are their plans for treatment?
How much does their treatment cost?

8. Individual Therapy Personal; one on one interaction with psychologist.
Comfortable atmosphere
More likely to be open about problems

9. Group Therapy Helps individuals realize they are not alone.
Benefit from the insights of others going through same/similar problems.
Support from other members as well as therapist.
Chance to practice coping/social skills.
For the therapist, it enables them to work with multiple patients at one time and allows them to immediately see people who might have been put on a waiting list.

10. Types of Group Therapy
Couples Therapy – tries to help 2 people improve/find satisfaction in their relationship with each other.
Family Therapy – aims to help troubled families by improving the flow of communication and relationships between family members. Promotes the families emotional growth.
Self-help Groups – groups of people who share the same problem such as overeating, drug addiction or compulsive gambling. Help members find coping mechanisms and support from people with similar problems.
Encounter Groups – Composed of strangers who do not necessarily share the same or similar problems. Designed to help people grow emotionally.