psychodynamic & behavioral therapy

what therapy can i get from studying this

exposure therapy

patients’ systematic and repeated confrontation with a feared stimulus, either in vivo (live) or imagination

works by habituation, disconfirming fearful predictions and increasing feelings of self-efficacy and mastery

flooding

used in behavior therapy
individual is exposed directly to a maximum-intensity anxiety-producing situation/stimulus, either described or real, without any attempt made to lessen or avoid anxiety or fear during the exposure
aim to diminish or extinguish the undesired response to a feared situation

free association

a basic process in psychoanalysis and other forms of psychodynamic psychotherapy
patient is encouraged to verbalize without censorship or selection whatever thoughts come to mind, no matter how embarrassing, illogical, or irrelevant
allows unconscious material, such as inhibited thoughts and emotions, traumatic experiences, or threatening impulses, to come to the surface where they can be interpreted

latent content

the hidden or disguised meanings, wishes, and ideas beneath the manifest content of any utterance or other form of communication
unconscious wishes seeking expression in dreams or fantasies

manifest content

explicitly expressed and communicated; images and events of a dream or fantasy as experienced and recalled by the dreamer or fantasist

psychoanalysis

focuses primarily on the influence of unconscious forces (eg. repressed impulses, internal conflicts, childhood trauma) on the mental life and adjustment of the individual
originally developed by Sigmund Freud

psychotherapy

any psychological service provided by a trained professional that primarily uses forms of communication and interaction to assess, diagnose, and treat dysfunctional emotional reactions, ways of thinking, and behavior patterns

systematic desensitization

form of behavior therapy in which counterconditioning is used to reduce anxiety associated with a particular stimulus
stages include:
1) deep-muscle relaxation training
2) various anxiety-provoking situations related to a particular problem (eg. specific phobia), are listed in order from weakest to strongest
1) each of these situations is presented in imagination or in reality, beginning with the weakest, while the client practices muscle relaxation

transference

patient projects/transfers unresolved conflicts and feelings onto therapist

resistance

patient’s conscious/unconscious attempts to block disturbing memories, motives and experiences

behavior therapy

a form of psychotherapy applying the principles of learning, operant conditioning, and classical conditioning to eliminate symptoms and modify ineffective or maladaptive patterns of behavior
focuses on the behavior itself and the contingencies and environmental factors that reinforce it, rather than underlying causes

token economy

a reward system used in institutions to reinforce desired behavior in patients
not effective for outpatient care

aversion therapy

procedure in which one is trained to produce a different response to the same stimulus that is incompatible with the original response
uses principles of classical condition to creat anxiety (opposite of systematic desentization that uses conditioning to reduce anxiety)
therapist deliberately pairs an unpleasant (aversion) stimulus with a maladaptive behavior 

similar to counterconditioning

dream analysis

a means of interpreting their unconscious conflicts, motives, and desires
based on Freud’s belief that dreams are symbolic representations of unconscious conflicts and repressed impulses

eclectic approach

any counseling theory or practice that incorporates and combines doctrines, findings, and techniques selected from diverse theoretical systems