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Compare Role Bowenian Therapist Psychodynamic Therapist Recently Years Thank

Last reviewed: April 5, 2013 ~8 min read
Abstract

This paper is about psychodynamic and bowenian therapist. The psychodynamic therapist makes sure that the sessions are less intense and briefer and are more focused on the interpersonal relationship between the patient and the therapist. The therapist focuses on developing a friendly relationship with the patient so that the patient feels comfortable to share the feelings and emotions which are hidden deep inside them. With the help of the therapist, the patients find a way to talk about the feeling that have been troubling them for a long time and which have not been recognized by the patient in the past.

Psychodynamic Therapy vs Bowenian Therapy

Psychodynamic Vs Bowenian Therapist

Psychodynamic and Bowenian Therapist

Role of Psychodynamic Therapist to that of the Bowenian Therapist

Psychodynamic Therapy

Psychodynamic Sessions

Role of the Psychodynamic therapist

Bowenian Therapist

Family Systems Theory

Goals of the Therapy

Role of the Therapist

Advantages

Psychodynamic Therapy

Psychodynamic therapy focuses on helping the patients to explore the feelings and emotions that are deep inside them. These are the emotions that they might not be aware of. Psychodynamic therapy helps the people to understand how these hidden feelings and emotions are effecting there moods and behavior without them knowing about it.

Psychodynamic therapy is also known as Insight-oriented therapy, which makes the people understand the reasons for their current behavior and mood swings which might be the outcome of some past relationships that have been a cause of constant pain for them.

Psychodynamic therapy is the oldest of all the modern form of therapies. It came out of several theories and approaches of the Freudian Psychoanalysis. The basic idea behind the Psychoanalysis is that a person's unusual behavior is due to some past events and experiences. Psychoanalysis deals with sessions that focus on exploring a person's feelings and emotions from deep inside. The session might take place twice in a week. Before the beginning ofthe therapy, this session takes place to examine those feelings that the patient is aware of and those which the patient is not aware of. On the other hand, the Psychodynamic therapy is not so intense and its sessions take place once in a week. The psychodynamic sessions are open-ended and provide a relaxed atmosphere to the patient. One difference that Psychotherapy has from other therapies is that it is not a short-termed therapy. It might take 6 to 7 weeks to complete the therapy.

Psychodynamic Sessions

In the psychodynamic session, the patient is encouraged to talk freely about whatever is going on inside his or her mind. It helps the patient to talk about the past relationships and any issues about these relationships that might be bothering them in order to understand the reason for the patient's current mental condition. As the patient talks, the invisible feelings and emotions related to the past experiences of the patient are exposed. Then the patient is introduced to these unconscious feelings and emotions that have been inside them for so long and how they are related to the past events.

Role of the Psychodynamic therapist

The role of the therapist during the therapy session is to give as much time and space to the patient as possible in order to get best possible results out of the therapy. The therapist becomes a blank image for the patient by keeping his own opinion and feelings to himself in order to make the patient reveal the feelings deep inside about themselves and their relationships. The therapist makes sure that the patient is provided a comfortable environment.

The psychodynamic therapist makes sure that the sessions are less intense and briefer and are more focused on the interpersonal relationship between the patient and the therapist. The therapist focuses on developing a friendly relationship with the patient so that the patient feels comfortable to share the feelings and emotions which are hidden deep inside them. With the help of the therapist, the patients find a way to talk about the feeling that have been troubling them for a long time and which have not been recognized by the patient in the past. This explosion to the hidden feelings and emotions and the reasons for these feelings does not make the patient capable of dealing with them. So the goal of the therapy is to help the patient recognize these feelings make them capable to fight with them. (Haggerty, 2013)

Bowenian Therapist

The Bowenian Therapy which is also known as the Family System theory was developed by Murray Bowen in 1974. This family system theory is considered as the pillar of the modern theories and is the main bridge from the psychodynamic perspectives. According to the Bowenian theory it is the family which shapes the behavior, thoughts, manners and experiences of each generation and these behavior and experiences are passed on to the next generation. Thus any conflict or disturbance in a family is reflected in the behavior and thoughts of the next generation and this continues until these issues are resolved successfully.

Family Systems Theory

Bowen moved on from the concept of the previous theories which emphasized that problems in an individual were caused by that person himself instead he focused on the point that the emotional family system which is passed on to next generation is the cause of the individual's problems. He believed that the emotional behavior of one person ina family will affect the other person until this chain is broken by the self-differentiation between the individuals. He was of the opinion that members of a family do not function individually rather than they are linked together in their behavior, thinking and feelings.

The Bowenian theory helps the therapist to understand the reason for past events, provide reasons for the events that are taking place and how to control the future events. The Bowenian family therapy basically provides the potential for controlling these events. Bowen introduced eight concepts to explain the system and development of the family:

Emotional fusion and Differentiation of self

Triangles

Nuclear Family Emotional System

Couple Conflicts

Symptoms in a Spouse

Family Projection Process

Emotional Cutoffs

Multi-generational Transmission process

Sibling Positions

Bowen's family Systems therapy takes place in a number of stages. In the first stage the therapist tries to analyze the family's past and present emotional system through interviews and different techniques. Initially the interview takes place on the telephone. The therapists should know how to convince the family to trust him without getting emotionally involved with the family. The therapist's goal is to remain objective. For the evaluation, any two members of the family can be chosen for the interview, which goes on for a few sessions. The therapist focuses on the view of each person about the problem. The therapist tries to find out the root of the problem through questions. (Galica, 2013)

Goals of the Therapy

The basic goals of the Bowenian therapy include:

To present the problem as being caused by the past events and relationships and not by a particular individual.

Decreasing the family's tension and anxiety in order to make them speak about their problem.

The formula applied by the therapist to teach the couple of the family to manage their relationship in a healthy way.

Forming friendly relationship with the family so that to separate them emotionally from the family and away from the problem.

Getting closer to the family members which have been cut off for some time.

Giving preference to the happiness of the family rather than focusing on the problem.

Focusing on how the family is dealing with the present situation and how they will adapt to the changes taking place in the future.

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References
2 sources cited in this paper
  • Galica, J. (2013). Theravive . Bowenian Family Systems Theory and Therapy.
  • Haggerty, J. (2013, april 3). Psych Central. Psychodynamic Therapy.
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PaperDue. (2013). Compare Role Bowenian Therapist Psychodynamic Therapist Recently Years Thank. PaperDue. https://www.paperdue.com/essay/compare-role-bowenian-therapist-psychodynamic-101878

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