Transcript Psychotherapy - Barrington 220

Chapter 17: Therapy
Overview of
Modern Therapy
Psychoanalysis
 Assumptions:
Psychological problems are fueled by
repressed impulses and conflicts
– Analysis brings these thoughts to the
surface which relieves the sufferer of
anxiety
–
Psychoanalysis

Methods:
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Historical reconstruction
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Free association
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
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Unearth the cause of conflict by reconstructing the past
Say whatever comes to mind on a given topic
Therapist looks for “resistance” in the form of hesitation,
jokes, self-editing, or embarrassment
Therapist interprets the underlying meaning of the
resistance
Transference

Directing your hidden feelings and wishes towards your
therapist
Psychoanalysis
 Criticisms:
Based on the assumption that
repressed memories exist
– Interpretations are hard to refute
– Takes a lot of time and money
–
Psychodynamic therapy
 Less
time and money than
traditional psychoanalysis
 Focuses more on the present while
giving attention to the past
Humanistic Therapy
Humanistic Therapy
 Assumptions:
People have an inherent potential for
self-fulfillment
– Helping people grow in selfawareness is the key to mental
health
–
Humanistic Therapy
 Differs
from psychoanalysis by
focusing on
–
–
–
–
The present and the future more than the past
Conscious rather than unconscious thoughts
Taking immediate responsibility for one’s feelings
and actions
Promoting growth instead of curing illness
Humanistic Therapy
 Methods:
–
Client Centered Therapy
 Non-directive
 Genuineness,
acceptance, empathy
 Active listening
Humanistic Therapy
 Criticisms:
One cannot be totally nondirective
– Overly optimistic about human nature
– Cannot help in severe cases
–
Cognitive Therapy
 Assumptions:
–
Thinking greatly colors feelings and
actions

Between stimulus and
response there is a space.
In that space is our power
to choose our response. In
our response lies our
growth and our freedom.
Viktor E. Frankl

Everything can be taken from
a man or a woman but one
thing: the last of human
freedoms to choose one's
attitude in any given set of
circumstances, to choose
one's own way.
Viktor E. Frankl
Cognitive Therapy
Cognitive-behavior
interatction
Belief: “I’m not a
good test taker”
Causes
Reinforces
Action: Anxietyinduced poor
test
performance
Cognitive Therapy
 Methods:
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Rational-emotive therapy
 Works
to uncover
irrationalities in thought
–
Cognitive-behavior therapy
 Addresses
destructive cycle
of thoughts and actions
Cognitive Therapy
 Criticisms:
Not effective for severe cases
– Lack of patient buy-in could cause
progress to fail after therapy
–
Behavior Therapies
 Assumptions:
The behavior is the problem
– Doubt the healing power of selfawareness
–
Behavior Therapies
 Methods:
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Classical Conditioning
 Systematic
desensitization
 Aversive conditioning
–
Operant Conditioning
 Token
economy
Behavior Therapies

Criticisms:
–
–
–
Does not get to the root of
the problem
“Cure” only effective during
treatment, when
reinforcement stops so will
appropriate behavior
Ethical concerns of behavior
modification?
Psychotherapies provide:
 Hope
for demoralized people
 A new perspective
 An empathetic, trusting, caring
relationship
Do psychotherapies work?
 Research
is split but tends to
indicate that therapy is generally
better than no treatment
 Different therapies are better for
different problems
 Don’t discount the power of
suggestion