Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik Module 24: Therapies Module 24 Therapies

Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod PlotnikModule 24: Therapies

Module 24

Therapies


HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

• Definition of Psychotherapy– three basic characteristics

1. verbal interaction between therapist and client

2. development of a supportive relationship in which a client can bring up and discuss traumatic or bothersome experiences that may have led to current problems

3. analysis of the client’s experiences and/or suggested ways for the client to deal with or overcome his or her problems


HISTORICAL BACKGROUND (CONT.)

• Early Treatments– 1400 to 1700, people who today would be

diagnosed as schizophrenics were considered insane and called lunatics

– late 100s, Dr. Benjamin Rush, (considered the father of American Psychiatry), developed the “tranquilizing chair”

– believed that mental disorders were caused by too much blood to the brain



• Reform movement– Moral therapy, popular in the early 1800s

• belief that mental patients could be helped to function better by providing humane treatment in a relaxed and decent environment

• late 1800s, moral therapy was abandoned• 1930s, Sigmund Freud had developed

psychoanalysis• early 1950s, wretched conditions and inhumane

treatment of patients persisted• mid 1950s, two dramatic changes happened:

discovery of antipsychotic drugs, and development of community mental health centers



• Phenothiazines and deinstitutionalization– Phenothiazines

• discovered in the early 1950s, block or reduce the effects of the neurotransmitter dopamine and reduce schizophrenic symptoms, such as delusions and hallucinations

• chlorpromazine (Thorazine)– Deinstitutionalization

• refers to the release of mental patients from mental hospitals and their return to the community to develop more independent and fulfilling lives



• Community mental health centers– offer low-cost or free mental health care to

members of the surrounding community, especially the underprivileged

– provide briefer forms of therapy that are needed in emergencies and focus on the early detection and prevention of psychological problems


QUESTIONS ABOUT PSYCHOTHERAPY

• Are there different kinds of therapists?– Psychiatrists

• go to medical school, receive an M.D. degree, and then take a psychiatric residency, which involves additional training in pharmacology, neurology, psychopathology, and psychotherapeutic techniques

– Clinical psychologists• go to graduate school in clinical psychology and earn

a doctorate degree (Ph.D., Psy.D., or Ed.D.)– Counseling psychologists

• go to graduate school in psychology or education and earn a doctorate degree (Ph.D., Psy.D., or ed.D)


QUESTIONS ABOUT PSYCHOTHERAPY (CONT.)

• Are there different approaches?– Insight therapy

• therapist and client talk about the client’s symptoms and problems with the goal of reaching or identifying the cause of the problem

– Cognitive-behavior therapy• involves the application of principles of learning • therapist focuses on the client’s problem,

identifies specific thoughts and behaviors that need to be changed and provides techniques based on learning principles to make desired changes


QUESTIONS ABOUT PSYCHOTHERAPY (CONT.)

• Are there different approaches?– Eclectic approach

• involves combining and using techniques and ideas from many different therapeutic approaches

– Medical therapy• involves the use of various psychoactive drugs

to treat mental disorders by changing biological factors, such as the levels of neurotransmitters


INSIGHT THERAPIES

• Psychoanalysis– focuses on the idea that each of us has an

unconscious part that contains ideas, memories, desires, or thoughts, that have been hidden or repressed because they are psychologically dangerous or threatening to our self-concept

• Unconscious conflicts – chief reason for the development of psychological

problems (paranoia) and physical symptoms (loss of feeling in a hand)


INSIGHT THERAPIES (CONT.)

• Psychoanalysis– Three techniques

• free association, dream interpretation, and analysis of slips of the tongue

– Transfer• patient reacts to the therapist as a

substitute parent, lover, sibling, or friend and projects strong emotions onto the therapist



• Techniques to reveal the unconscious– Neuroses

• maladaptive thoughts and actions that arise from some unconscious thought or conflict and indicate feelings of anxiety

– Free association• technique that encourages clients to talk about

any thoughts or images that enter their heads• assumption is that this kind of free-flowing,

uncensored talking will provide clues to unconscious material



• Techniques to reveal the unconscious– Dream interpretation

• psychoanalytic technique based on the assumption that dreams contain underlying, hidden meanings and symbols that provide clues to unconscious thoughts and desires



• Problems during therapy– Transference

• process by which a client expresses strong emotions toward the therapist because the therapist substitutes for someone important in the client’s life, such as the client’s mother or father

– Resistance• characterized by the client’s reluctance to work through

or deal with feelings or to recognize unconscious conflicts and repressed thoughts

– Short-term dynamic psychotherapy• emphasizes a limited time for treatment (3-20 sessions)

and focuses on limited goals, such as solving a relatively well-defined problem



• Client-centered therapy– also called person-centered therapy– assumes that each person has an actualizing tendency,

which is a tendency to develop one’s full potential • Therapist’s traits:

– Empathy• ability to understand what the client is saying and

feeling– Positive regard

• ability to communicate caring, respect, and regard for the client

– Genuineness• ability to be real and nondefensive in interactions

with the client



• Cognitive therapy– developed by Aaron Beck– assumes that we have automatic negative

thoughts that we typically say to ourselves without much notice

– repeating these automatic negative thoughts causes distortion in how we perceive and interpret our world and influences how we behave and feel


BEHAVIOR THERAPY

• Definition– Also called behavior modification

• uses the principles of classical and operant conditioning to change disruptive behaviors and improve human functioning

• focuses on changing particular behaviors rather than the underlying mental events or possible unconscious factors

– Systematic desensitization• technique of behavior therapy in which the

client is gradually exposed to the feared object while simultaneously practicing relaxation


BEHAVIOR THERAPY (CONT.)

• Cognitive-behavior therapy– combines the cognitive therapy technique of

changing negative, unhealthy, or distorted thought patterns, with behavior therapy

– technique of changing maladaptive or disruptive behaviors by learning and practicing new skills, to improve functioning

Documents

Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik Module 24: Therapies Module 24 Therapies