Methods Of Therapy Essay, Research Paper

METHODS OF THERAPY

Therapy, from a psychologist & # 8217 ; s point of view, has many different significances. It can be physical or psychological, or even both. In this paper, several different facets of therapy will be discussed. First the word therapy will be defined more clearly, and so psychotherapeutics and how it differs from other interactions yet is besides similar. Following therapy will be examined from the Psychodynamic, Cognitive and Humanistic-Existential points of position, every bit good as the differences in their methods and content. I will so turn to Behavior therapy and some of its utilizations, every bit good as the advantages and disadvantages of Group Therapy. Finally I will look at the function of medicine in intervention and when it is appropriate, every bit good as analyzing the helpfulness and public-service corporation of ECT, ( Electroconvulsive Therapy ) and Psychosurgery.

First of all it would be really helpful if there was a definition of what therapy is. Harmonizing to Webster & # 8217 ; s Dictionary the word therapy means a & # 8220 ; remedial intervention of bodily perturb & # 8221 ; . The upsets with which psychologists trade, are normally that of the encephalon although the jobs caused by this country are in no manner limited to mental countries ; mental jobs about ever do physical complaints. When we think of therapy after an accident of some kind such as an car hit, we by and large tend to term this physical therapy. Following a similar idea procedure so, would take us to believe that there is a term for mental therapy, and there is, Psychotherapy. The text book defines psychotherapeutics as & # 8220 ; a systematic interaction between a healer and a client that brings psychological rules to bear on act uponing the client & # 8217 ; s ideas, feelings or behaviour to assist that client overcome abnormal behaviour or adjust to jobs in populating & # 8221 ; . With this definition in head, we are now in a place to reply the first inquiry posed in the debut, which asks how psychotherapeutics and other interactions differ and how they are similar. Well foremost of all, what I meant by & # 8220 ; other interactions & # 8221 ; ? Some of these are Asylums, Mental Hospitals and Community Mental Health Centers. Asylums began 100s of old ages ago in mediaeval Europe. Originating in monasteries, they were the & # 8220 ; first establishments meant chiefly for individuals with psychological upsets & # 8221 ; . The large difference nevertheless between these and any psychotherapeutic thoughts is that no therapy was offered. The exclusive intent of these constitutions was to acquire the people off the streets and out of the public position. Some of the occupants were chained and many of them beaten. As they became more crowded the state of affairs became worse as did the conditions of those that lived there and so the psychological upsets rapidly became more acute. Refuges had nil in common with modern thoughts of psychotherapeutics.

The following signifier of interaction we will discourse is that of Mental Hospitals. Over the resulting old ages, these infirmaries became the more recognized pattern with after attempts for Human-centered Reform, which began in the 18th century, became the norm. They excessively were good filled, so by Rathus provinces that & # 8221 ; by the mid-1950 & # 8217 ; s, more than a million people resided in province, county, Veterans Administration, or private installations & # 8221 ; . The intents of these Hospitals were far different than those of the old refuges and similarities can be made between these constitutions and thoughts of psychotherapeutics. As has been antecedently noted, psychotherapeutics is a signifier of therapy. These infirmaries were designed non merely as mental prisons, but as topographic points where interventions were offered. There were still many jobs nevertheless. Unlike psychotherapeutics where there is existent communicating between the healer and the client, patients would hold been really lucky to hold received such one-on-one intervention. The infirmaries were overcrowded and it was non uncommon for there to be one physician or head-shrinker to be responsible for a two or three hundred people ( Ibid. ) . Although they were better than the refuges of old, they were still a far call from today & # 8217 ; s signifiers of psychotherapeutics.

The concluding signifier of interaction which I shall advert began in the 1960 & # 8217 ; s and was called the Community Mental Health Movement. The basic thought of this motion was that people with mental jobs be able to populate in the community. Community Mental Health Centers were set up. With authorities support, these centres made it possible for persons to go forth more normal lives and served as a passage point for those who were released from mental infirmaries. Harmonizing to the text, & # 8220 ; the bulk of the people with chronic psychological upsets live in the community ; non the infirmary & # 8221 ; . In my head, this is the closest of the three to psychotherapy.

Next we shall look at three other therapies to observe their differences. These would be the Psychodynamic, Cognitive and Humanistic-Existential therapies. We shall get down with psychodynamic therapy. The method used in this signifier of therapy is known as depth psychology. The end of depth psychology is to draw from person & # 8217 ; s memory a hidden, frequently traumatic and cheerless memory. It depends on the patient to & # 8220 ; express emotions and urges that & # 8230 ; ..have been damned up by the forces of repression & # 8221 ; . Some of the contents or facets of this therapy include free association- the uncensored uttering of all ideas that come to mind ( Ibid ) , dream analysis every bit good as the reading of a statement or dream. This is psychodynamic therapy.

In contrast to Freud & # 8217 ; s aforementioned thoughts, we find Cognitive Therapies. The thought behind these therapies is that people, in seeking to achieve their ain outlooks and follow their personal positions of right and incorrect, consciously do picks and develop consequently. Distress and depression hence are the consequences of one & # 8217 ; s failure to populate up to one & # 8217 ; s ain outlooks. In order to assist their clients so, Cognitive healers must & # 8220 ; concentrate on the beliefs and attitudes & # 8221 ; of the client. In order to diminish or extinguish negative ideas, healers employ several methods including rational-emotive therapy, which pinpoints negative attitudes or beliefs and encourages the client to & # 8220 ; rectify & # 8221 ; these attitudes. Another technique would be Cognitive Restructuring. Rathus explains, & # 8220 ; In cognitive restructuring, clients are shown how their readings of events can take to maladaptive responses & # 8221 ; . This helps the clients to see the effects of their beliefs and encourages them to alter their outlooks and attitudes so that a more preferred reaction is obtained.

The last of these three is the Human-Existential position. The chief thought of this signifier of therapy is to concentrate on the present and centre on the individual himself. Some of the methods include empathic apprehension, Transactional Analysis, or TA, and Gestalt Therapy. Empathic apprehension is one of the hallmarks of a good person-centered healer. To make this well, the healer must & # 8220 ; accurately reflect [ ing ] the client & # 8217 ; s experiences and feelings & # 8221 ; . They must set themselves in the places of their client. Transactional Analysis concerns itself with & # 8220 ; how people interact and how their interactions reinforce attitudes, outlooks, and life places & # 8217 ; & # 8221 ; ( Ibid. ) . The 3rd method mentioned was Gestalt Therapy which & # 8220 ; efforts to incorporate conflicting parts of the personalit

y through directing methods designed to assist clients comprehend their whole selves” ( Ibid. ) . It makes struggle more recognizable to the client.

In all three of these therapies, there are many differences so I will sketch the major 1s. As was noted antecedently, Freud & # 8217 ; s psychodynamic therapy with its psychanalysis concentrates non merely on the past, but on the forgotten and repressed, basically the unknown. On the other manus, cognitive therapy depends on the known, such as the clients personal attitudes beliefs and outlooks and so efforts to change them so as to alleviate concerns and frights. The Humanistic-Existential therapies, like psychodynamic therapies, besides concentrate on the unconscious. The difference is that unlike Freud and his followings, these healers concentrate on the present and non the past focussing on & # 8220 ; the here and now & # 8221 ; .

The 3rd country to be examined looks at the utilizations of Behavior Therapy. The writer of our text, Spencer Rathus, describes this signifier of therapy as & # 8220 ; the direct publicity of coveted behavioural alteration by agencies of systematic application of rules of larning & # 8221 ; . One usage of this sort of therapy would be in fear decrease. For illustration, it is non uncommon to be afraid of winging. In the telecasting series Cheers, one of the characters, Frasier Crane, a head-shrinker, held a category for such people. By utilizing several techniques, people in his category became more relaxed with the thought and finally took a plane trip to finalise the intervention. Although this peculiar illustration was fabricated, the thought is existent. Peoples can take such categories to get the better of the fright of animate beings, state of affairss and other people. Another usage of behavioural therapy would be interrupting dependences and wonts. There are many different ways of making this, even controversial 1s. Many a client has approached healer in an effort to discontinue smoke or lose weight, and many have succeeded. Many topographic points such as a Juvenile Detention Center, where a friend of mine one time worked, utilize what has been termed a Token Economy. Here the young person were encouraged to exhibit preferable behaviour with the promise of a wages which was normally in the signifier of a card. Different privileges such as telecasting or excursions, could be purchased with these cards. This excessively is a signifier of behavioural therapy.

The following subject mentioned in the debut was Group Therapy. This has its advantages and disadvantages. The thought behind group therapy is that by seting people with similar jobs in one group, they can assist each other to set and supply extra penetration into their ain personal state of affairs. This nevertheless has its advantages and disadvantages. Some of the advantages are as follows: First of wholly, it is economical. If a peculiar healer is busy or in changeless demand, group Sessionss provide easier entree and this frequently cuts costs for the both the healer and the client. It besides provides, as I stated earlier and as the writer reiterates, that their is a greater deepness of experience and apprehension, and this frequently provides for a more comfy atmosphere. It can besides be a good beginning of support. For illustration, if person has now had an alcoholic drink in three hebdomads, and belongs to a group where this end is common, so he is able to have far more support from his equals than he might hold been able to acquire from his hebdomadal visit to his healer. In bend, those who show this betterment supply an illustration to the others and give hope to encouragement to those who are fighting. So far everything sounds good, but this is non the instance. If I needed to seek aid for something, I would hold a difficult clip acknowledging it to a head-shrinker, allow entirely to a complete alien. Another disadvantage is more obvious if we think of twosome or household therapy. When aid is needed because of problem at place, I agree that in order to work out it, you must first speak it out. This is why we have such counsellors. One of the jobs that can originate is that members of the household might see it as abashing and as treachery when a member of the household opens up about their jobs to an & # 8220 ; outsider & # 8221 ; . This was decidedly the instance for a household I knew. One of the girls did non experience that the female parent had any right to state the healer what she had about the male parent, while the other girl thought the complete antonym. This household had a wholly negative experience and all except the female parent and one of the girls found it to be nil but a complete waste of clip and money. Therefore while the thought behind it is sound, the pattern is non ever perfect and depends greatly upon the clients themselves.

The concluding topics to be examined is the function of medicine in intervention, and when it is appropriate every bit good as the utility of ECT and psychosurgery. Medicine has plays an of import function in intervention. Many of the therapies which we have discussed up until now are non the terminal itself. In other words, there must be extra influence besides. For illustration, my father- in-law has bi-polar depression which healers have traced to Vietnam and his exposure to Agent Orange. So far the lone intervention which has been effectual, has been medicine. In the medical universe, physicians diagnose the unwellness and normally order a drug or a intervention to rectify it. In the universe of psychological science, the healer besides diagnoses the job and if intervention is non adequate so drugs or medicine can be used besides. When all other avenues have been explored, medicine is every bit appropriate as anything a medical physician might order.

When drugs and therapy Sessionss are non plenty there are other possibilities, such as ECT or Psychosurgery. ECT or Electroconvulsive therapy is the & # 8220 ; intervention of upsets & # 8230 ; like major depression by go throughing an electric current, ( that causes a paroxysm ) , through the caput & # 8221 ; . On the same page of the text we can happen the definition of psychosurgery. It states that it is & # 8220 ; intended to advance psychological alterations or to alleviate disordered behavior & # 8221 ; . One illustration of this would be a Prefrontal Lobotomy in which the nervousnesss in the frontal lobe of the encephalon are severed in an attempt to diminish violent and aggressive inclinations. Both of these interventions have many side-effects and so are non instantly desirable. The leukotomy has been for the most portion discontinued in the United States, because its side-effects are excessively serious and new drugs have better success rates and are hence more preferred. The ECT has been really effectual in cut downing depression and diminishing the self-destruction rate and so it can be a last resort when other drugs and signifiers of psychotherapeutics have non been successful.

In decision, psychotherapeutics in its many signifiers has been really successful and has helped 1000000s of people. The subjects which have been discussed have been psychotherapy and how differs from other interactions. Psychodynamic, Cognitive and Humanistic-Existential Therapies have been explained, compared and contrasted. Besides presented were some of the utilizations of Behavior Therapy every bit good as the advantages and disadvantages of Group Therapy. Then, the function of medicine in psychotherapeutics was examined and its rightness was discussed. Finally Electroconvulsive Therapy and Psychosurgery was explained and discussed. With all these countries, examined a greater apprehension of the many assorted methods of therapy was reached.