Counseling Theories Master Flashcards (WIP)

Psychoanalytic therapy

Unconscious motives and conflicts are central in present behavior. Early development is of critical importance because later personality problems have their roots in repressed childhood conflicts

Adlerian therapy

Humans are motivated by social interest, by striving toward goals, by inferiority and superiority, and by dealing with the tasks of life. People have the capacity to interpret, influence, and create events. Each person at an early age creates a unique style of life, which tends to remain relatively constant throughout life

Existential therapy

The central focus is on the nature of the human condition, which includes a capacity for self-awareness, freedom of choice to decide one’s fate, responsibility, anxiety, the search for meaning, being alone and being in relation with others, striving for authenticity, and facing living and dying.

Person-centered therapy

Positive view of people; we have an inclination toward becoming fully functioning. In the context of the therapeutic relationship, the client experiences feelings that were previously denied to awareness. The client moves toward increased awareness, spontaneity, trust in self, and inner-directedness.

Gestalt therapy

The person strives for wholeness and integration of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Some key concepts include contact with self and others, contact boundaries, and awareness. As an experiential approach, it is grounded in the here and now and emphasizes awareness, personal choice, and responsibility.

Behavior therapy

Behavior is the product of learning. We are both the product and the producer of the environment. Contemporary behavior therapy has branched out in many directions, including mindfulness and acceptance approaches.

Cognitive behavior therapy

Individuals tend to incorporate faulty thinking, which leads to emotional and behavioral disturbances. Cognitions are the major determinants of how we feel and act. Therapy is primarily oriented toward cognition and behavior, and it stresses the role of thinking, deciding, questioning, doing, and redeciding. This is a psychoeducational model, which emphasizes therapy as a learning process and acquiring more effective ways of coping with problems

Choice theory/Reality therapy

Based on choice theory, this approach assumes that we need quality relationships to be happy. Choice theory is an explanation of human nature and how to best achieve satisfying interpersonal relationships

Feminist therapy

Feminists criticize many traditional theories to the degree that they are based on genderbiased concepts. The constructs of feminist therapy include being gender fair, flexible, interactionist, and life-span-oriented. Gender and power are at the heart of feminist therapy. This is a systems approach that recognizes the cultural, social, and political factors that contribute to an individual’s problems.

Postmodern approaches

Based on the premise that there are multiple realities and multiple truths, postmodern therapies reject the idea that reality is external and can be grasped. People create meaning in their lives through conversations with others. The postmodern approaches avoid pathologizing clients, take a dim view of diagnosis, avoid searching for underlying causes of problems, and place a high value on discovering clients’ strengths and resources. Rather than talking about problems, the focus of therapy is on creating solutions in the present and the future.

Family systems therapy

The family is viewed from an interactive and systemic perspective. The family provides the context for understanding how individuals function in relationship to others and how they behave. Treatment deals with the family unit.

Psychoanalytic therapy Key Concept

Normal personality development is based on successful resolution and integration of psychosexual stages of development

Psychoanalytic therapy Key Concept

Faulty personality development is the result of inadequate resolution of some specific stage.

Psychoanalytic therapy Key Concept

Anxiety is a result of repression of basic conflicts

Psychoanalytic therapy Key Concept

Unconscious processes are centrally related to current behavior

Adlerian Therapy Key Concept

Include the unity of personality, the need to view people from their subjective perspective, and the importance of life goals that give direction to behavior

Adlerian Therapy Key Concept

People are motivated by social interest and by finding goals to give life meaning.

Adlerian Therapy Key Concept

Striving for significance and superiority, developing a unique lifestyle, and understanding the family constellation.

Adlerian Therapy Key Concept

Therapy is a matter of providing encouragement and assisting clients in changing their cognitive perspective and behavior

Existential Therapy Key Concepts

Essentially an experiential approach to counseling rather than a firm theoretical model, it stresses core human conditions

Existential Therapy Key Concepts

Interest is on the present and on what one is becoming. The approach has a future orientation and stresses self-awareness before action.

Person-centered Therapy Key Concept

The client has the potential to become aware of problems and the means to resolve them. Faith is placed in the client’s capacity for self-direction.

Person-centered Therapy Key Concept

In therapy attention is given to the present moment and on experiencing and expressing feelings

Gestalt Therapy Key Concepts

Emphasis is on the “what” and “how” of experiencing in the here and now to help clients accept all aspects of themselves

Gestalt Therapy Key Concepts

include holism, awareness, unfinished business and avoidance, contact, and energy.

Behavior Therapy Key Concept

Focus is on overt behavior, precision in specifying goals of treatment, development of specific treatment plans, and objective evaluation of therapy outcomes.

Behavior Therapy Key Concept

Therapy is based on the principles of learning theory. Normal behavior is learned through reinforcement and imitation. Abnormal behavior is the result of faulty learning

Cognitive Behavior Therapy Key Concept

Although psychological problems may be rooted in childhood, they are reinforced by present ways of thinking.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy Key Concept

A person’s belief system and thinking is the primary cause of disorders. Internal dialogue plays a central role in one’s behavior.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy Key Concept

Clients focus on examining faulty assumptions and misconceptions and on replacing these with effective beliefs

Choice Theory/Reality Therapy Key Concept

The basic focus is on what clients are doing and how to get them to evaluate whether their present actions are working for them

Choice Theory/Reality Therapy Key Concept

The approach rejects the medical model, the notion of transference, the unconscious, and dwelling on one’s past.

Feminist Therapy Key Concept

The personal is political, therapists have a commitment to social change, women’s voices and ways of knowing are valued and women’s experiences are honored, the counseling relationship is egalitarian, therapy focuses on strengths, and all types of oppression are recognized

Postmodern Approaches Key Concept

Therapy tends to be brief and addresses the present and the future. The person is not the problem; the problem is the problem. The emphasis is on externalizing the problem and looking for exceptions to the problem

Postmodern Approaches Key Concept

Therapy consists of a collaborative dialogue in which therapist and client co-create solutions. By identifying instances when the problem did not exist, clients can create new meanings for themselves and fashion a new life story

Family Systems Therapy

Problems in relationships are likely to be passed on from generation to generation. Key concepts vary depending on specific orientation but include family-of-origin dynamics, functional versus dysfunctional interaction patterns, and dealing with here-and-now interactions. The present is more important than exploring past experiences