Chapter 17: Clinical Psychology: Treatment

**Insight**

the cause of the problem, according to this theory, is the primary key to eliminating the problem.

**Psychoanalysis**

psychoanalytic therapy, as it is sometimes called, was first developed by Freud and focuses on probing past defense mechanisms of repression and rationalization to understand the unconscious cause of a problem

**Countertransference**

may occur if the therapist transfers his or her own feelings onto the patient.

**Client-centered therapy**

was invented by **Carl Rogers** and involves the assumption that clients can be understood only in terms of their own realities.

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**accurate empathic understanding**

The final key to successful therapy is

**Gestalt therapy**

which combines both physical and mental therapies.

**Fritz Perls**

developed this approach to blend an awareness of unconscious tensions with the belief that one must become aware of and deal with those tensions by taking personal responsibility.

**Behavioral therapy**

stands in dramatic contrast to the insight therapies.

**Counterconditioning**

is a technique in which a response to a given stimulus is replaced by a different response.

**aversion therapy**

in which an aversive stimulus is repeatedly paired with the behavior that the client wishes to stop.

**systematic desensitization**

Another method used for counterconditioning is

**extinction procedures**

which are designed to weaken maladaptive responses.

**Flooding**

involves exposing a client to the stimulus that causes the undesirable response.

**Implosion**

is a similar technique, in which the client imagines the disruptive stimuli rather than actually confronting them.

**Operant conditioning**

is a behavior-control technique that we discussed in the chapter on learning.

**behavioral contracting**

in which the therapist and the client draw up a contract by which they both agree to abide.

**Modeling**

is a therapeutic approach based on Bandura’s social learning theory.

**rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT)**

sometimes called simply **RET**

**cognitive therapy**

formulated by **Aaron Beck,** in which the focus is on maladaptive schemas.

**arbitrary inference**

in which a person draws conclusions without evidence

**dichotomous thinking**

which involves all-or-none conceptions of situations.

**Biological Therapies**

are typically used in conjunction with one of the previously mentioned forms of treatment.

**Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)**

is a form of treatment in which fairly high voltages of electricity are passed across a patient’s head.

**prefrontal lobotomy**

in which parts of the frontal lobes are cut off from the rest of the brain.

**Psychopharmacology**

is the treatment of psychological and behavioral maladaptations with drugs.

**Antipsychotics**

like Clozapine, Thorazine, and Haldol reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia by blocking the neural receptors for dopamine.

**Antidepressants**

can be grouped into three types: monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors, tricyclics, and selective reuptake inhibitors.

**MAO inhibitors**

like Eutron, work by increasing the amount of serotonin and norepinephrine in the synaptic cleft.

**Tricyclics**

like Norpramin, Amitriptyline, and Imipramine increase the amount of serotonin and norepinephrine.

**elective reuptake inhibitors**

(often called the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or **SSRIs,** for the neurotransmitter most affected by them) also work by increasing the amount of neurotransmitter at the synaptic cleft, in this case by blocking the reuptake mechanism of the cell that released the neurotransmitters.

**Anxiolytics**

depress the central nervous system and reduce anxiety while increasing feelings of well-being and reducing insomnia.

**Benzodiazepines**

which also include Valium (Diazepam) and Librium (Chlordiazepoxide), cause muscle relaxation and a feeling of tranquility.

**Lithium carbonate**

a salt, is effective in the treatment of bipolar disorder.

**Group therapy**

in which clients meet together with a therapist as an interactive group, has some advantages over individual therapy.

**Twelve-step programs**

are one form of group therapy, although they are usually not moderated by professional psychotherapists.

**couples** or **family therapy**

This type of treatment arose out of the simple observation that some dysfunctional behavior affects the afflicted person’s loved ones.