PSYCHOTHERAPY

Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is an intentional
interpersonal relationship used by trained
psychotherapists to aid a client in problems of
living. It aims to increase the individual's sense
of well-being and reduce their subjective sense
of discomfort. Psychotherapists employ a range
of techniques based on experiential relationship
building, dialogue, communication and behavior
change and that are designed to improve the
mental health of a client or patient, or to improve
group relationships (such as in a family).

Goals of Psychotherapy

Relief from distressing symptoms of anxiety or depression

Better ways of handling the stress of difficult situations like a major medical illness,

the death of a loved one, the break-up of a romantic relationship, or some other stressful event
The ability to make wiser, more satisfying choices about work and personal issues
The emotional peace that can come from a fuller, more balanced and more accurate view of
your own strengths, needs, style, vulnerabilities, values, and resources
A greater ability to build and maintain relationships that bring out the best in you and others
Freedom from paralyzing doubts and uncertainties
Greater ability to take responsibility for your own decisions and actions and hold others
accountable for theirs
A way out of repetitive, destructive cycles of behavior that cause you or others needless
pain
A sense of being both more grounded and more alive

History of Psychotherapy

1.
2.
3.

People have tried to explain and control abnormal behavior for

thousands of years.
Historically, there have been three main approaches to abnormal
behavior:
the supernatural
biological
psychological traditions

 In the supernatural tradition, abnormal behaviors are attributed

to agents outside human bodies. According to this model,
abnormal behaviors are caused by demons, spirits, or the
influences of moon, planets, and stars. During the Stone Age,
trepanning was performed on those who had mental illness to
literally cut the evil spirits out of the victim's head. The Ancient
Chinese, Egyptians, and Hebrews, on the other hand, believed
that these evil demons were punishments from God, and
advocated exorcism. By the time of the Greeks and Romans,
mental illnesses were thought to be caused by an imbalance of
the four humors, leading to draining of fluids from the brain.
During the Dark Ages, many Europeans believed that the power
of witches, demons, and spirits caused abnormal behaviors.
People with psychological disorders were thought to be
possessed by evil spirits that had to be exorcised through
religious rituals. If exorcism failed, some authorities advocated
steps such as confinement, beating, and other types of torture to
make the body uninhabitable by witches, demons, and spirits.

 In the biological tradition, psychological

disorders are attributed to biological
causes and in the psychological tradition,
disorders are attributed to faulty
psychological development and to social
context.

PSYCHOANALYSIS

 Psychoanalysis is a
body of ideas
developed by Austrian
physician Sigmund
Freud and his
followers, which is
devoted to the study of
human psychological
functioning and
behavior.

 Freudian psychoanalysis refers to a specific type of treatment

in which the "anal sand" (analytic patient) verbalizes thoughts,
including free associations, fantasies, and dreams, from which
the analyst formulates the unconscious conflicts causing the
patient's symptoms and character problems, and interprets
them for the patient to create insight for resolution of the
problems.

Techniques of Psychoanalysis

Free Associations Method - This method

replaced hypnosis in Freud's therapy. It
consists in gathering the free
associations produced by the patient during the
cure. These associations points to the inner
conflicts and repressed drives included in
neurotic symptoms.

 The Interpretation of Dreams - The royal road to

the (knowledge) of the unconscious, dream interpretation
is developed by Freud as an irreplaceable means to access
the unconscious. The dreams are divided into two parts,
manifest (open) and latent (hidden) content

Resistance; Patient effort to avoid or change topic by

rejecting the analyst interpretation

CATHARSIS:
Is the sudden and dramatic outpouring of emotion that
occurs when the trauma is resurrected

Transference occurs when a client projects feelings

toward the therapist that more legitimately belong with
certain important others. Freud felt that transference was
necessary in therapy in order to bring the repressed
emotions that have been plaguing the client for so long,
to the surface. You can't feel really angry, for example,
without a real person to be angry at.

Counter-transference, may occur when the therapist

develops feelings towards the client.

HUMINISTIC THERAPY
Humanistic therapy is used to focus on
clients' subjective, conscious experiences.
Just as behavior therapists, humanistic
therapists focus more on what clients are
experiencing in the present. Its an insight
therapy known as client centered CCT or
Person centered therapy

Client-centered therapy
Client-centered therapy or Rogerian
Psychotherapy, was developed by the
humanist psychologist Carl Rogers. The
basic elements of Rogerian therapy
involve showing congruence
(genuineness), empathy, and
unconditional positive regard toward a
client.

 Therapist Congruence, or Genuineness: the therapist

is congruent within the therapeutic relationship. The
therapist is deeply his or herself - they are not "acting" and they can draw on their own experiences (selfdisclosure) to facilitate the relationship.
Therapist Unconditional Positive Regard (UPR): the
therapist accepts the client unconditionally, without
judgment, disapproval or approval. This facilitates
increased self-regard in the client, as they can begin to
become aware of experiences in which their view of selfworth was distorted by others.
Therapist Empathic understanding: the therapist
experiences an empathic understanding of the client's
internal frame of reference. Accurate empathy on the part
of the therapist helps the client believe the therapist's
unconditional love for them.

Gestalt Therapy
Gestalt therapy focuses on the
individual's experience in the present
moment, the therapist-client relationship,
the environmental and social contexts in
which these things take place, and the
self-regulating adjustments people make
as a result of the overall situation. It
emphasizes personal responsibility.

Behavior Therapy
Behavior therapy is a form of
psychotherapy used to treat depression,
anxiety disorders, phobias, and other
forms of psychopathology. Its philosophical
roots can be found in the school of
behaviorism, which states that
psychological matters can be studied
scientifically by observing overt behavior,
without discussing internal mental states.

Methods Of Behavior therapy

Systematic desensitization is a type of
behavioral therapy used in the field of
psychology to help effectively overcome
phobias and other anxiety disorders. The
goal of this process is that an individual will
learn to cope and overcome the fear in
each step of the hierarchy, which will lead
to overcoming the last step of the fear in
the hierarchy. Systematic desensitization is
sometimes called graduated exposure
therapy.

Aversive Therapy
Also referred to as aversion therapy, a technique
used in behavior therapy to reduce the appeal of
behaviors one wants to eliminate by associating
them with physical or psychological discomfort.
In adults, aversive conditioning is often used to
combat addictions such as smoking or
alcoholism. One common method is the
administration of a nausea-producing drug while
the client is smoking or drinking so that
unpleasant associations are paired with the
addictive behavior.

Cognitive behavioral therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy is a
psychotherapeutic approach that aims to
influence dysfunctional emotions,
behaviors and cognitions through a goaloriented, systematic procedure.

Rational emotive behavior

therapy
Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), is
a comprehensive, active-directive,
philosophically and empirically based
psychotherapy which focuses on resolving
emotional and behavioral problems and
disturbances and enabling people to lead
happier and more fulfilling lives.
According to Ellis the main problem is Musts
and Should

 The ABC Model

Albert Ellis and REBT believe that our reaction
to having our goals blocked (or even the
possibility of having them blocked) is determined
by our beliefs. To illustrate this, Dr. Ellis
developed a simple ABC format to teach people
how their beliefs cause their emotional and
behavioral responses:
A. Something happens.
B. You have a belief about the situation.
C. You have an emotional reaction to the belief.

Group Therapy
Group psychotherapy or group therapy is a
form of psychotherapy in which one or more
therapists treat a small group of clients together
as a group. The term can legitimately refer to
any form of psychotherapy when delivered in a
group format, including Cognitive behavioural
therapy or Interpersonal therapy, but it is usually
applied to psychodynamic group therapy where
the group context and group process is explicitly
utilised as a mechanism of change by
developing, exploring and examining
interpersonal relationships within the group.

FAMILY THERAPY
Family therapy, also referred to as couple
and family therapy and family systems
therapy, is a branch of psychotherapy that
works with families and couples in intimate
relationships to nurture change and
development. It tends to view change in
terms of the systems of interaction
between family members. It emphasizes
family relationships as an important factor
in psychological health.

Biomedical Therapy
Biomedical therapy includes
Psychopharmacology, Electroconvulsive
Treatment (ECT), and Psychosurgery.

Drug Therapy
In drug therapy different drugs are used to
treat the patient.