Therapies

Psychotherapy

Treatment provided by a trained professional using psychological techniques to improve overall functioning and achieve personal growth

5 Main Goals of Psychotherapy

1. To know yourself better

2. Alleviate emotional pain or confusion

3. Develop a more complete understanding of psychological issues

4. Establish more effective coping mechanisms

5. Develop a more accurate understanding with your past and decide what you want from your future

Important statement

I will not allow my desire for a better past to prevent my from creating a successful future

SMART: Therapy Acronym

1. Specific goal(s)

2. Measurable

3. Achievable

4. Realistic

5. Time oriented

Insight Therapy

Treatment from a trained professional designed to increase awareness of underlying motives and past and present experiences that block personal growth (“talk therapy”)

Behavioral Therapy

Treatment from a train professional that applies principles of learning to modify ineffective or maladaptive patterns of behavior

Biomedical Therapy

Treatment from a trained professional designed to improve psychological functioning by altering physiological processes of the body and brain

Eclectic Approach

A perspective that combines elements of various therapies to find the most appropriate treatment (integrative therapy)

Myths

1. Only seriously disturbed or weak people go to therapy

2. Therapists can read your mind

3. Only the rich can afford therapy

4. If i’m taking meds, I don’t need therapy

Psychoanalytic Therapy (Freud)

A type of insight/talk therapy that emphasizes bringing previously repressed, unconscious issues into conscious awareness so the patient can gain self-insight (free association, dream analysis, analysis of resistance, analysis of transference, interpretation)

1. Theory of abnormal behavior: caused by unconscious and unresolved conflicts, typically rooted in childhood

2. Theory of cure: bring unconscious conflicts to the surface and understand that the conditions no longer exist = the cure

Psychodynamic Therapies

A newer group of talk therapies that focus on developing insight into unconscious processes and analyzing transference in order to develop self-understanding

Humanistic Therapies

A group of insight or talk therapies that emphasize maximizing a client’s inherent capacity for self-actualization, free will, and self-awareness by providing a nonjudgmental, accepting atmosphere

Client-centered Therapies (Rogers)

A form of talk therapy that provides a warm, supportive atmosphere that encourages self-actualization and improves the client’s self-concept (listening, empathy, genuineness, unconditional positive regard)

Cognitive Therapies

A group of talk therapies that focus on changing faulty thought processes based on the assumption that thoughts intervene between events and reactions

Cognitive Restructuring

A therapeutic process of learning to identify and dispute irrational or maladaptive thought patterns

Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT, Ellis)

A form of talk therapy that focuses on eliminating negative emotional reactions through logic, confrontation, and examination of irrational beliefs

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT, Beck)

A type of therapy that combines cognitive therapy with behavior therapy

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)

A therapy based on nonjudgmental awareness of current events (blend of cognitive therapy and meditation)

Exposure Therapies

Behavior therapies designed to reduce fears by exposing individuals directly to what they fear under carefully controlled conditions to promote new, more adaptive learning

Systematic Desensitization

A type of classical conditioning exposure therapy that begins with relaxation training followed by gradual, stepwise exposure to increasingly anxiety-producing stimuli or situations while the client remains relaxed (commonly used to treat phobias)

Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy

A type of classical conditioning exposure therapy that uses computer-generated images to expose clients to feared stimuli or situations in the therapist’s office

Aversion Therapy

A type of classically conditioned behavior therapy that pairs an undesirable, maladaptive behavior with an aversion (unpleasant) stimulus to reduce the frequency of the behavior