Treatment of Disorders 2: Insight-focused therapies

What are the two main families of psychotherapy?

1. Insight-focused therapies – Help clients gain insight into the cause/origin of their disorder. →

   • Psychodynamic, humanistic, existential

2. Intervention-focused therapies – Help clients change their thinking and behavior to cope with symptoms or address the disorder directly. → not concerned with understanding the cause of the problem

   • Behavioural, cognitive

What is the main goal of psychodynamic therapy/psychoanalysis?

To identify and resolve unconscious conflicts, leading to personality change.

• people’s disorders, negative feelings, etc. are due to unconscious conflicts (below the surface) → goal is to bring these conflicts up to consciousness and solving with therapist interactions

Insight psychotherapy

What are some disorders psychodynamic therapy is used for?

Depression, anxiety, and personality disorders.

What are the four unique features of psychodynamic therapy?

• Interpretation – Therapist helps reveal unconscious issues. → therapist acts like a detective

• Transference – Client projects unconscious desires onto the therapist. → projection defense mechanism

• Removing Interference – Client must be free from distractions.

• Long Time Commitment – Takes about 2 years, with frequent sessions.

What are common techniques used in psychodynamic therapy?

• Unstructured talk – No predetermined topic.

• Free association – Client speaks freely to reveal patterns.

• Dream analysis – Interpretation of dream journals.

• Resistance – Client avoidance or distress seen as signs of progress.

What is the focus of the techniques used in psychodynamic therapy?

• Focused on uncomfortable things → actual source of conflict and suffering

• Emphasis on past → early patterns of interactions and attachments (early childhood experiences)

• Sources of trauma → conscious and unconscious but more focused on unconscious trauma (repressed trauma, reframed by mind, etc.)

• Talking about fantasies, dreams, hopes, and fears.

• Reading “between the lines” in what the client is saying, and building a narrative for what is really going on.

How effective is psychodynamic therapy?

Mixed effectiveness; works best for high-functioning clients and disorders like panic disorder and borderline personality disorder.

What is the main goal of person-centered therapy?

To help the client reach insight and become their authentic self.

• opposite of psychoanalysis → therapist does not take a stance because they might be biased; ultimately the patient makes decisions and therapist helps patient explore possibilities

What type of psychotherapy is person-centered therapy and psychodynamic therapy?

Insight psychotherapy.

What is the mechanism of person-centered therapy?

Empathy and radical acceptance allow clients to accept themselves and find solutions.

What disorders is PCT primarily used for?

Depression, anxiety, and addiction.

How does PCT differ from psychodynamic therapy?

• Insight comes from the patient (not therapist).

• Therapist provides judgment-free support.

• Therapist self-discloses experiences and models authenticity.

What are key techniques used in person-centered therapy?

• Unconditional Positive Regard – Accepting and caring for the client regardless of what they say/do.

• Active Listening/Mirroring – Echoing and restating the client’s thoughts without interpreting them.

• Motivational Interviewing – Highlighting contradictions in client’s statements and seeking clarification.

How effective is person-centered therapy?

• Increases self-esteem and openness to experience (helpful for depression and anxiety).

• Long-term effects for those who stay in therapy.

• More influential in counseling psychology than widely practiced today.

Transference crucially depends on the presence of:

a) The oral stage being completed

b) The id

c) The superego

d) Defense mechanisms

d) is correct → transference involves projection

Which of the following terms is FALSE of Person-Centered Therapy (PCT)?

a) It is nondirective.

b) It is focused on finding meaning in life.

c) It examines resistance to change.

d) All of the above are true of PCT.

• b) is correct → focuses on self-actualization (humanistic)

• c) → does examine resistance of why you are not willing to change