Humanistic, Existential, and Other Psychotherapies Terms

Humanistic, Existential, and Other Psychotherapies

What similarities do humanistic and existential therapies share?	Focus on the here-and-now, Prioritize the client’s subjective experience over objective reality, Reject the medical model and the use of clinical labels, Focus on a client’s internal qualities and perspective, not symptoms.
What does a phenomenological orientation emphasize?	emphasizes the client’s subjective experience over objective reality.
Humanistic therapies	Emphasize acceptance and growth; help clients become fully-functioning and self-actualizing.
Existential therapies	Emphasize freedom and responsibility; help clients confront existential anxieties and cultivate authentic engagement with their world.
What is the focus of humanistic therapies?	Acceptance and growth and Helping clients become fully-functioning and self-actualizing.
What is the focus of existential therapies?	Freedom and responsibility and Helping clients confront existential anxieties and cultivate authentic engagement with their world.
What is another name for Rogers's person-centered therapy?	client-centered therapy
What assumption is person-centered therapy based on?	all people have an innate drive toward self-actualization, which motivates them to achieve their full potential.
What can thwart the drive toward self-actualization?	Incongruence between a person’s self-concept and experience
What are conditions of worth, according to Rogers?	when a child receives love and acceptance from parents only when behaving in certain ways.
How do people typically react to incongruence?	react defensively by distorting or denying their experiences, which can lead to psychological maladjustment
What is the primary goal of person-centered therapy?	help clients become “fully functioning persons” who: Are not defensive, Are open to new experiences, Are engaged in the process of self-actualization.
What are the three facilitative (core) conditions provided by person-centered therapists?	Empathy, Unconditional positive regard, Congruence
What is empathy in person-centered therapy?	Understanding the client’s perspective and communicating that understanding to the client.
What is unconditional positive regard in person-centered therapy?	Valuing and accepting the client as a person, regardless of their behavior.
What is congruence in person-centered therapy?	Being genuine, authentic, and honest with the client.
What are the two main assumptions of Gestalt therapy?	Maintain homeostasis and restore homeostasis
What is neurosis (maladjustment) in Gestalt therapy?	a persistent disturbance in the boundary between the person and the environment, interfering with the person’s ability to fulfill needs.
What is introjection in Gestalt therapy?	occurs when people adopt the beliefs, standards, and values of others without evaluation or awareness.
What is projection in Gestalt therapy?	occurs when people attribute undesirable aspects of themselves to others
What is retroflection in Gestalt therapy?	occurs when people do to themselves what they’d like to do to others.
What is deflection in Gestalt therapy?	occurs when people avoid contact with the environment.
What is confluence in Gestalt therapy?	occurs when people blur the distinction between themselves and others.
What do Gestalt therapists consider the curative factor in therapy?	Gaining awareness of one’s current thoughts, feelings, and actions.
What are two strategies used in Gestalt therapy to increase awareness?	Dream work and Empty-chair technique
What is dream work in Gestalt therapy?	involves having the client role-play parts of their dream that represent disowned parts of their personality.
What is the empty-chair technique in Gestalt therapy?	Interact with opposing aspects of their personality and Resolve “unfinished business” with a significant person from their past or present.
How do Gestalt therapists differ from psychodynamic therapists regarding transference?	do not foster or interpret a client’s transference. Instead, they help the client distinguish between their “transference fantasy” and reality.
Who are three key figures associated with the development of existential therapies?	Irvin Yalom, Rollo May, Vicktor Frankl
Irvin Yalom	Existential therapy
Rollo May	Existential therapy
Viktor Frankl	Existential therapy
What are the core principles of existential therapies?	Emphasis on personal responsibility and choice and the belief that each person must define their own personal existence
What do existential therapists view as the source of psychological disturbances?	Four ultimate concerns of existence (Death, Freedom, Isolation, Meaninglessness)
What are the four ultimate concerns of existence?	Death, Freedom, Isolation, Meaninglessness
What is normal (existential) anxiety?	Proportionate to an objective threat. Does not involve repression. Can be used constructively to motivate positive change
What is neurotic anxiety?	Disproportionate to an objective threat. Involves repression.Prevents people from reaching their full potential.
What is the primary goal of existential therapy?	to help clients lead more authentic lives by: Taking charge of their life. Choosing values and purposes that define and guide their existence. Supporting actions that express their values and purposes.
What is considered the most important therapeutic tool in existential therapy?	authentic therapist-client relationship.
What techniques might existential therapists use in addition to the therapeutic relationship?	Questioning Interpretation Reframing
What is Reality Therapy based on?	Glasser’s (1965) Choice Theory, which proposes five basic innate needs: Love and Belonging, Power, Fun, Freedom and Survival
Success Identity	Fulfilling needs responsibly (positive, constructive ways that respect others’ rights).
Failure Identity	Fulfilling needs irresponsibly (negative, destructive ways that infringe on others’ rights)
What is the primary goal of Reality Therapy?	To help the client replace a failure identity with a success identity
What is Wubbolding’s (1998) WDEP system in Reality Therapy?	W: Explore wants and needs. D: Discuss what the client is currently doing. E: Encourage self-evaluation of behaviors. P: Help create a plan of action.
W in WDEP (reality therapy)	W: Explore wants and needs.
D in WDEP (reality therapy)	D: Discuss what the client is currently doing
E in WDEP (reality therapy)	E: Encourage self-evaluation of behaviors
P in WDEP (reality therapy)	P: Help create a plan of action
What does Positive Psychology focus on?	valued subjective experiences, such as: Well-being, contentment, and satisfaction (past)., Hope and optimism (future)., Flow and happiness (present).
What is “flow” in Positive Psychology?	A state of complete involvement in an activity where:Nothing else seems to matter and The experience is so enjoyable that it’s done for its own sake.
When are people most likely to experience flow?	When there’s a challenge-skill balance: People believe they have the skills to meet the challenge and Both the challenge and skill levels are relatively high.
What distinguishes Positive Psychology from other approaches?	Its emphasis on using the scientific method to evaluate theories, concepts, and interventions
What are two benefits of positive emotions and optimism supported by empirical research?	increased longevity. Improved physical health.
What is the focus of Kelly’s (1963) Personal Construct Therapy?	Helping people change the way they construe (perceive, interpret, and anticipate) events to alleviate undesirable behaviors and outcomes.
What are personal constructs?	Bipolar dimensions of meaning (e.g., fair/unfair, friend/enemy) that arise from a person’s experiences and may operate at a conscious or unconscious level.
What is the role of the therapist and client in Personal Construct Therapy?	They are partners who work together to: Identify maladaptive personal constructs. Replace them with adaptive ones.
What is Kelly’s fixed-role therapy in Personal Construct Therapy?	A technique where clients: Role-play a fictional character. Construe events in alternative ways.