PSY 3511 Exam 2 Study Guide

SP 23, Liza Meredith, Made with given study guide

What are theories?

Frameworks that provide explanations through repeated testing and experimentation.

How can therapies be helpful in psychotherapy?

Helps counselors understand issues, give them guides on how to treat, have evidence, and produce outcomes

Who is Freud?

An Austrian neurologist who pioneered psychoanalysis and talk therapy

How does Freudian theory view human nature?

1. Deterministic
2. Stage based

What does Freud mean by deterministic?

Humans are driven by irrational forces, unconscious motivations, and biological drives

What does Freud mean by stage based?

He believed that there are certain stages of development that everyone goes through, and an incomplete resolution and integration of those stages causes issues

What are the stages of Freudian development?

* Oral
* Anal
* Phallic
* Latent
* Genital

When does one develop defense mechanisms in the Freudian model?

They develop in the latent stage, ages 6-12

According to Freud, what is the structure of personality?

One is comprised of the Id, Super Ego, and Ego

What is the Id?

It is the pleasure principle

What is the super ego?

The moral principle, the parental voice

What is the ego?

The mediator principle, the reality principle

According to Freud, what is evidence of the unconscious?

* Dreams
* Freudian slips
* Posthypnotic suggestions
* Free association

According to the Freudian theory, how does distress develop?

* Failure to complete and integrate the stages of development
* Conflict between the id, super ego, and ego
* Repressed feelings, memories, desires
* Overused defense mechanisms

What are defense mechanisms?

They are normal, unconscious behaviors that help the ego from being overwhelmed

What is repression?

Pushing thoughts or feelings to the back of your mind

What is denial?

Flat out refusing to acknowledge or accepts problems

What is reaction formation?

Expressing the opposite of one’s true impulse

Ex: When talking to Dirty Uncle Sal, you act super nice to him when you actually hate him

What is projection?

Putting your unacceptable desires unto others

What is displacement?

Directing energy towards a “safe target”

Ex: you’ve had a hard day at work and you pick a fight with your partner at home

What is sublimation?

Modifying a drive into a socially acceptable behavior

Ex: Doing a bunch of home DIYs after a breakup. Channeling that energy towards something “productive”

What is regression?

Reverting back to an earlier phase of development due to fear

Ex: a college student calling their parents more often than they normally would when faced with change

What is rationalization?

Justifying your actions by intellectual reasoning

How does change occur in psychoanalysis/dynamics?

* Restructure personality (the id, ego, and superego)
* Develop new insights by gaining knowledge and conscious awareness of the unconscious

What are some psychoanalytic techniques?

* Maintaining the analytic framework
* Maintaining relative anonymity from the clei
* Analysis of Resistance
* Analysis of Transference
* Free association
* Interpretation
* Dream analysis

How does one maintain the analytic framework?

The counselor goes to great lengths to maintain regularity, such as maintaining relative anonymity, cleanliness, and very few instances of self disclosure

What is Analysis of Resistance?

When the counselor helps the client become aware of their reasons for resistance so that they can move past it

What is analysis of transference?

Therapist uses this as a route to elucidate the client’s internal process

What is free association?

The client responds without any filtering

What is Interpretation?

The therapist points out, explains, and teaches the meanings of whatever is revealed. It is used to gain insight

What is dream analysis?

The therapist discusses the client’s dreams to bring the unconscious material to light

What is the therapist’s role in psychoanalysis?

They are experts who understand, identify, and interpret problems. Then they help clients work through unresolved conflicts. They are neutral and anonymous.

What are the pros to psychoanalysis theory?

* It was the first comprehensive theory to personality and paved the way for many other kinds of treatment
* It coined the term unconscious
* It recognizes the importance of family relationships

What are the cons to psychoanalysis?

* It is difficult to support empirically
* Less useful for crisis counseling

What are the largest differences between classical and contemporary psychoanalytic theories?

* Dynamics have far fewer sessions because they specifically target interpersonal problems
* Less of a clinical/neutral stance
* Active approach in showing clients their issues

Is there empirical support for psychoanalytic theories?

Yes

* Sheldon’s 2010 meta analysis primarily showed that is just as effective as other theories, but more in the long term
* Brigg’s 2019 showed it decreases rates of suicide

What is an insight oriented approach?

It is built on self awareness using verbal interventions

What is an action oriented approach?

It is focuses on relieving systems and solving problems using action with verbal processing

What are the principles that underlie behavioral therapies?

It is built on the belief that behavior is the product of learning and one does not necessarily need to gain insight in order to change

What is operant conditioning?

Cementing a behavior with things that come after the behavior.

Ex: gold star stickers

What is classical conditioning?

Associating two unrelated stimuli together to elicit a specific behavior

Ex: Hearing a door knob turn means it is time for the dog to go out. This is not an inate response.

How do problems develop in the behavioral model?

Bad behaviors are learned through learning processings and when the old systems are taxed. They are a product of one’s environment and oneself

What is a functional assessment?

Attempting to determine the contingencies maintaining problematic behavior

> What function does the behavior serve? How is it useful?

What is the ABC model?

It is a model used to conceptualize problematic behaviors

What do the letters mean in the ABC model?

* Antecedent (stimulus)
* Behavior
* Consequence

According to behavioral therapy, how does change occur?

Clients take an active role in learning more about the behavior and then eliminating it

According to behavioral therapy, what is the therapist’s role?

Their role is to be an educator and a problem solver. They model healthy behavior

What techniques might a behavioral therapist use?

* Progressive muscle relaxation
* Skills training in whatever area they need help from. It gives them more tools and agency
* Token economies
* Exposure therapies
* Flooding
* Desensitization

What are the common elements of behavioral approaches?

* Targeting specific and observable dysfunctional behaviors


* Emphasis on the present
* Setting goals
* The relationship is necessary, but not enough. They have to take the lead

What are some pros to behavioral therapies?

* Helps create concrete plans of action
* Strong empirical support for exposure therapies

What are some limitations to behavioral therapies?

* Little focus on the emotional aspects and clients may feel alienated

What is the main take away from the research on behavioral therapies?

It is well supported to have treat anxiety related disorders

Who is the founder of PCT?

Carl Rogers, a UW professor who created PCT as a reaction against psychoanalytic therapy

How is human nature viewed in PCT?

Humans have a positive goodness and the desire to become fully functioning. They have the ability to create change for the better.

How do problems arise according to PCT?

Problems arise when people live by others’ expectations and the real self and the ideal self are incongruent

What are the goals of PCT?

To enable clients to trust themselves and develop an internal source of evaluation. The therapist does not choose the goals, but guides their chosen journey.

What is the role of the therapist in PCT?

The therapists serves as a role model how a fully functioning individual relates with others. They provide empathy, unconditional, genuineness, and a space for self discovery.

What techniques are used in PCT?

NOT technique heavy, but they focus on the present moment.

What are the pros of PCT?

* Creating a greater emphasis on the therapeutic relationship
* Promote client responsibility
* Empirically supported to help with a wide range of people and problems

What are the cons to PCT?

* Sometimes too much responsibility is given to the client
* More suitable for well-functioning clients, not for people with like developmental disorders
* Overemphasis on individualism and Western culture

What are the basic assumptions of CBT?

Everyone has different perceptions of reality that shapes our responses

What are the parts of the cognitive model?

Situation→Thought→Emotion→Behavior

According to CBT, what aspects of someone should a therapist be focused on?

Therapists focus on someone’s automatic and problematic thoughts

Who was Albert Ellis?

He was a therapist who was highly directive, confrontational, and persuasive. He created Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy.

Who was Aaron Beck?

He was a therapist who thought to create Cognitive Therapy where a therapist and client collaborate to investigate the client’s thoughts.

According to CBT, how do problems arise?

Cognitive distortions alter a person’s view of reality into something unhelpful

What are cognitive distortions?

They are systematic errors in thinking that are automatic and relatively fixed

What are some examples of common core beliefs?

* Unlovable
* Responsibility
* Helplessness
* Abandonment
* Entitlement
* Defectiveness

What is arbitrary inference?

Drawing conclusions with no supporting evidence

What is selective abstraction?

Paying attention to the negative more than the positive

What is overgeneralizing?

Taking a localized or specific negative event and applying it globally

Ex: Because I did poorly on my first test, I would never make a good engineer.

What is magnification/minimization?

Over/under emphasizing the importance of an event

What is personalization?

Attributing external events to oneself without evidence, supporting a causal connection

What is labeling/mislabeling?

Allowing mistakes or negative events to define you/your identity

What is polarization?

Having no grey area

Ex: If my friend doesn’t call me tonight, I’m over this friendship

According to CBT, how does change occur?

Changing thoughts thought contribute to presenting problems. Altering your schema to a healthy standard.

What are some cognitive techniques?

* Socratic dialogue
* Decentering
* Decatastrophizing
* Dysfunctional thought record

What is decentering?

Moving the focus away from oneself

What is decatastrophizing?

Thinking through a hypothetical situation to see it is less than one may have feared

What is the role of the therapist in CBT?

The therapist takes an active role to target specific goals and to build a collaborative relationship

What is the role of the client in CBT?

The client must be motivated to change and take ownership of the process

What are the strengths of CBT?

* Discourages relying too much on the counselor
* Teaches methods that the client can continue after therapy ends
* Brief and cost effective

What are the weakness of CBT?

* Cannot effectively be used with clients who have severe mental problems
* Focused on thoughts, emotions are secondary
* Difficult to implement when clients are not motivated

What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

It is a short term, goal oriented therapy that takes a hands on approach to change patterns of thinking or behavior.

Who is the key figure to associate with Gestalt therapy?

Fritz Perls

What is the Gestalt view of human nature?

In this view, humans have self control to determine who we are, and that the whole/becoming whole is more important than the parts

What are the major beliefs of Gestalt therapy?

* Stresses individual responsibility
* Believes in the power of the present
* Promotes direct experiences, like encouraging the client to act out like the hurt child rather than talking about it

According to Gestalt therapy, how do problems arise?

Problems arise when…

* One has lack of awareness of their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
* Being disconnected from the present (unfinished business)
* Resistance to contact with the present

What is introjection?

Accepting others’ views without fully reviewing them

What is retroflexion?

We do to ourselves what we would like to do to someone else?

What is unfinished business?

When one has feelings about the past that are unexpressed and linger in the background

What are the goals of Gestalt therapy?

The goals are

* Awareness
* Contact
* Greater choice
* Acceptance

What is greater choice?

Helping clients assume ownership of their experiences, increasing internal coping strategies

What are the roles of the therapist in Gestalt therapy?

Their roles include…

* Creating a space for exploration
* Using immediacy skills
* Identifying patterns, especially avoidance
* Increasing the client’s awareness
* Strives for a person to person relationship

What are some techniques used in Gestalt therapy?

* Empty chair
* Exaggeration
* Staying with feeling
* Rehearsal
* Reversal
* Internal dialogue

What is staying with the feeling?

Asking the client to stay with the feeling, where it is showing up in their body

What are the strengths of Gestalt therapy?

* Encourages the focus of the present
* Values emotional experience and awareness
* The research has been positive

What are the weaknesses of Gestalt therapy?

* Special potential for abuse by bad therapists
* May be hard for clients who have trouble abstracting their thoughts and emotions
* Perhaps too strong of a focus on separating oneself from their social circel
* Fewer studies on this approach

What are the roots of existential therapy?

This framework is rooted in philosophy and the questions that cause existential angst

Who is Viktor Frankl?

He was a neurologist, psychiatrist, philosopher, and holocaust survivor