Psychodynamic and Humanistic Therapies

freudian psychoanalysis

deterministic and pessimistic view of human nature that views problems as unconscious unresolved conflicts that arose during childhood. the conflicts cause anxiety and result of the divergent demands of the id, ego, superego

id

present at birth; life (sexual) and death (aggression) instincts; operates on pleasure principle and seeks immediate gratification of instinctual needs

ego

develops at 6 mo; operates according to reality principal, seeks to at least partially satisfy the id but in realisitc ways

superego

last to develop, internalization of society’s values and standards - the conscience; attemtps to permanently block the id

repression

basis of all other defense mechanisms, involuntary; keeps undesirable thoughts out of awareness

denial

refusing to acknowledge distressing aspects of reality

reaction formation

defending against an unacceptable impulse by expressing its opposite

projection

attributing the undesirable impoulse to another person

sublimation

channeling the undesirable impulse into a socially desirable (and often admirable) bx

goal of freudian psychoanalysis

make the unconscious conscious, strengthen the ego so bx is more rational; use of free association, dreams, resistance, countertransference, analysis

steps of freudian psychoanalysis

confrontation (recognize bxs they are unaware of and cause)

clarification (bringing the cause into sharper focus)

interpretation (linking conscious bx to unconscious material)

working through (repeated interpretation (leading to catharsis, the experience of repressed emotions, and insight into the connection btw unconscious material and current bx; integrating new insights)

jung’s analyical psychology

bx is driven by psotive and negative forces, personality develops through the lifespan, bx is affected by the past and future. division of unconscious into the personal and collective unconscious

personal unconscious

a persons own forgotten or rperessed emmories

collective unconscious

archetypes, universal thoughts and images that predispose people to act in similar ways; expressed in myths, symbols, dreams (includes the persona, shadow, hero, and anima and animus

goal pf jung’s analytical psychology

bring unconscious to conscious; facilitate individuation, which occurs during the second half of life and is the process by which a person becomes a psychological in-dividual, that is, a separate, indivisible unity or whole; uses analysis of transference, dream interpretation

humanistic therapy

focus on here and now; adopt a phenomenological orientation (subjective exp > obj reality); reject medical model of clinical labels, focus on internal qualities

emphasize acceptance and growth, help clients become fully-functioning and self-actualizing

existential therapy

focus on here and now; adopt a phenomenological orientation (subjective exp > obj reality); reject medical model of clinical labels, focus on internal qualities

emphasize freedom and responsibility and help clients confront anxieties that arise from the awareness of one’s existential condition.

person centered therapy / client centered therapy (rogers)

all peopel have an innate drive toward self-actualization, which motivates them to achieve their full potential; can be thwarted when someone exp incongruence btw their self-concept and exp (ex: conditions of worth/conditional love from parents); people often react to incongruence defensively by distorting or denying their exp > psychological maladjustment

goals of person centered therapy

help client become a fully functioning person who is not defensive, open to new exp, and engaged in self actualization

steps of person centered therapy

provide clients with 3 facilitative (core) conditions:

empathy, unconditional positive regard, and congruence (genuineness)

gestalt therapy

assumptions:

people are motivated to maintain a state of homeostasis, which is repeatedly disrupted by unfulfilled physical and psychological needs

people seek to obtain something from the environment to satisfy their unfulfilled needs in order to restore homeostasis

neurosis (maladjustment)

when there’s a persistent disturbance in the boundary btw the person and the environment that interferes with the person’s ability to fulfill needs

examples of boundary disturbances

introjection, projection, retroflection, deflection, confluence

introjection

when people adopt the beleifs, standard, and values of others without evlauation or awareness

retroflection

when people do to themselves what they would like to do to others

deflection

when people avoid contact with the environment

confluence

when people blur the distinction btw themselves and others

goals of gestalt therapy

gaining awareness of one’s current thoughts, feelings, and actions; uses dream work and empty chair technique; help client distinguish btw their “transference fantasy” and reality

dream work

have the client role-play parts of their dream that represent disowned parts of the client’s personality

empty chair technique

requires the client to interact with opposing aspects of their personality (e.g., top dog and underdog) or to resolved “unfinished business” with a significant person in the client’s past or present

existential therapies (yalom, rollo may, viktor frankl)

emphasis on personal responsibility; each person must ultimately define their personal experience; psychological disturbances are a result of an inability to resolve conflicts that arise when facing the four ultimate concerns of existence

ultimate concerns of existence

death, freedom, isolation, meaningless

normal (existential) anxiety

proportionate to an objective threat, does not involve repression, can be used constructively to identify and confront the conditions that elicit it and motivate positive change

neurotic anxiety

disproportionate to an objective threat, involves repression, keeps people from reaching their full potential

goals of existential therapies

help clients lead more authentic lives by assisting them in taking charge of their lives, helping them choose for themselves the values and purposes that will define and guide their existence; most important tool is the therapist-client relationship; also uses questioning, interpretation, and reframing

reality therapy

choice theory (people have 5 basic innate needs - love and belonging, power, fun, freedom, survival) and how a person chooses to fulfill their needs determines a success or failure identity

success identity

person chooses to fulfill their needs responsibly

failure identity

person fulfills their needs irresponsibly (destructive, infringes on others)

goals of reality therapy

replace the failure identity with a success identity by helping the client assume responsibility for their actions and adopt more appropriate way to fulfill needs; uses WDEP (wants and needs, determine what the client is currently doing to foster awareness of their bxs, encourage the client evaluate their own bxs, help the client create a plan of action)

positive psychology

valued subjective exp: well-being, contentment, satisfaction (in the past); hope and optimism (for the future); flow and happiness (in the present); use of scientific method to evaluate its theories, concepts, and interventions

flow

a state in which people are so involved in qn activity that nothing else seems to matter; the exp is so enjoyable that people will continue to do it even at a great cost for the sheer sake of doing it; most likely to be experienced when there is a challenge-skill balance (they believe they have the adequate skill level and the challenge and skill level are relatively high)

personal construct therapy

focuses on how people construe events; proposes there are alternative ways of doing so and that people can change the way they construe events to alleviate undesirable bxs and outcomes; construing involves the use of personal constructs

personal constructs

bipolar dimensions of meaning (eg., fair/unfair, friend/enemy, relevant/irrelevant) that arise form a person’s experiences and may operate consciously or unconsciously

strategies of personal construct therapy

therapist and client are partners working to identify and replace maladaptive personal constricts; fixed role therapy - help clients try out alternative personal constructs