Psychotherapy Essays (Examples)

Psychotherapy

Skills in Existential Counselling and Psychotherapy by Martin Adams and Emmy Van Deurzen is the first book that can be considered as the first convenient and matter-of-fact introduction to an Existential approach that is skills-based. Those who are not acquainted with philosophy can easily access this boos as it provides several genuine and substantial skills, tasks and connections required in Existential practice. The book is an actual guide for enabling clients to grow to be more philosophical and thoughtful about life. It also guides them to become more capable of taking responsibility for their life.

The main features of this book are several in numbers. Firstly, it provides a hypothetical and speculative background of Existential Therapy along with its history. Secondly, the authors have focused on the nucleus of Existential Therapy by examining the phenomenological practice. In addition, it clearly describes the essential characteristics that must be present in…

Psychotherapy

Psychology is a science that engages the mind of a person in understanding the behavior of the individual. The human behavior, particularly, is peculiar at times when confronted with certain situations or events. Consequently, like any other body system, the mind is subject to reactions to external influence that impair its normal functioning. This constitutes the basis for a need to develop a technique of treatment; that curbs these health developments that can cause a person to be considered, not of sound mind, or to commit acts that are inhuman.

The field of study that is charged with the mandate to attend to these mental distress disorders is what is professionally referred to as psychotherapy (Corsini & Wedding 2005). It is a technique that relies on social approach to treat the emotional, personality, behavioral and psychiatric disorders. It relies on verbal and non-verbal interventions and communication with the patient.…

Psychotherapy

Theories and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy

The cognitive behavioral and person-centered approaches regarding counseling and psychotherapy come from a much different developmental history and theoretical underpinnings. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is a psychological approach that addresses problematic behaviors that occur from the recurrence of bad thoughts and has shown useful to treat anxiety, depression, and substance abuse disorders among others. However, there are also many psychotherapy practices that can integrated with the counseling strategies to provide a more comprehensive approach to treatment. This analysis will provide a theoretical background of cognitive behavioral therapy and psychotherapy. These foundations will be applied to the treatment of depression as well as try to pinpoint opportunities in which they could be used in conjunction.

Background

Psychoanalysis

The psychoanalytical approach began with Sigmund Freud's and his theories of human psychology. He identified three primary drivers of an individual's personality: the id, the ego…

The instillation and the maintaining of hope is one of the most important factors in any type of psychotherapy (Yalom 2005). Yalom (2005) notes that hope is needed to keep the patient going to therapy in order for the other factors to take place, and "faith in treatment mode can in itself be therapeutically effective" (2005). Yalom (2005) compares the importance of the instillation of hope to the efficacy of faith healing and placebo treatment in order to show just how powerful it can be. When a therapist uses this knowledge to their advantage, increasing patients' belief and confidence in the efficacy of the group therapy, great results can take place for the patient.

Yalom (2005) states in group therapy, there are individuals -- often who have the same problem -- at different points in their healing or recovery process; however, Yalom, attests that when individuals can watch others grow…

3).

Many Jungians believe that in order to facilitate a patient with access to their unconscious and thus advance the individuation process, they themselves must access their own depths when treating a patient. This entails being aware of emotions, memories, symbols, and dreams that come out when treating a patient. This will often shed light on something of the patient's experience and the exclusive relationship created between therapist and patient. If devises and spoken to in an appropriate way by the therapist, patients can gain as they expand their understanding of themselves and their experience in relationship to one another (Simmons, 2010).

According to Jung, it is a power of the archetypes to impact people's lives in the most powerful feeling ways that lead one to feel linked with experiences of a spiritually moving nature. The most durable experiences of a persons life is, for the most part, created in…

As our research demonstrates, there is a close correlation between the presence of emotional disorder and the encounter of negative life circumstances. These are circumstances which can place an individual in a social work context, where he or she must address both personality disorder and practical living obstacles.

Sensitivity to Cultural Differences:

Cultural differences are also significant in the way that a social worker channels specific aspects of the treatment. For instance, Cognitive Therapy is a constructive way to address the likelihood of unique individual realities based on characteristics such as race, gender, sexual orientation or income. These individualities mean that no one treatment course is right for all individuals. Cognitive Therapy respects this condition, proceeding from the logic that "the way people feel is associated with the way in which they interpret and think about a situation. The situation itself does not directly determine how they feel; their emotional…

He prefers to assess in overall terms before analyzing mechanisms like defences and resistances. He held the view that it is not the parts that explain the meaning and importance of the whole, but the whole that explains the meaning and importance of the parts. This view is same as Jung's view on the totality of the psyche. Jung and Freud differ in the concept of reality. While Jung says that the reality of psyche is the only real; however, Freud says that there is a real external world called truth. Jung's method is to help the client to reach depths of his own psyche by means of his dreams, fantasies and imaginations. Once the depths are reached, the client will cure his problem by himself by the contact with the unconscious. Then, the role of a guide or psychotherapist is not at all required. (Kohut and Jung: A comparison…

There may be issues dealt with while on deployment that need to be worked through that may not be appropriate in a family setting -- at least at first. The main goals for this family are to open the lines of communication. Communication needs to be restored between Harold and Shirley, Shirley and the kids, Harold and Ben, and Shirley and Barbara. The focus -- or the triangulation -- that Ben seems to be facing also needs to be stopped. A very clear sign that family therapy was helping this family would be Harold and Shirley taking control of the family once again -- gaining control of the household and allowing their children to feel safe enough to communicate with them. Harold has his own issues going on with being laid off and worrying about money, however, these are not things that he needs to "swallow" on his own. One…

Psychotherapy

Suggest several ways the therapist can guide the client from an external to an internal focus. Be specific.

In order to help a client shift their focus from external sources, such as historical events, past relationships, and the problematic behavior of other people, to an internal focus, where the client examines his or her own thoughts, feelings, and reactions to situations, there are several steps that can be taken. First, the therapist should help the client focus on identifying, understanding, and changing him or herself, rather than just complaining about other people. The therapist must use careful language that does not make the client feel invalidated or guilty. Then, the client must become active in the therapy, realizing that he or she can change personal reactions and behaviors, which is enabled by the therapist providing a supportive and secure relationship and environment for the client. The therapist can establish…

Psychotherapy

An important guideline in assessing a client's affective response in facing a problem is to expand and elaborate on his/her affect. This means that the therapist should give the client an opportunity to explore their feelings further. This strategy allows the client to understand his/her previous behavior, and adopt a new one, which will enable him/her to recover from feelings of pain and disappointment concerning a particular undertaking s/he had experienced. Taking away the pain must adopt a similar strategy explained earlier, wherein the client allows various feelings be felt within him/her, letting these emotions be the channels through which s/he can start shifting from having negative to positive emotions/feelings. Responding in an empathic manner is a complicated task to undertake, which is why it is important for the therapist to take control of the client and firmly encourage the client to make a decision or take an action…

The therapist can use this writing to understand more about their client's emotional status, and to research specific behavioral problems demonstrated by the client, by comparing notes taken to case precedent or field research.

Psychotherapists may also encourage patients to write down their experience of traumatic events by first recording their thoughts and then writing a narrative about their experiences (Bolton, et al., 2004, p. 11). In this type of therapy, the psychotherapist will usually provide the patient with guided direction and instructions about the way the patient should write or the exact subject matter the patient should concentrate on. In session, the therapist my then also record his or her own narrative and allow the patient to read this information, as a form of mutually beneficial writing where the goal is improving the trust and relationship between the client and the psychotherapist (Bolton, et al., 2004). In such cases…

As you can not take a one size fits all approach when it comes to the problem, by believing that CT therapy will cure a host of conditions. Instead, it must be applied with other techniques and take into account the effect that it could be having upon the patient. These two elements are important, because they will ensure that when this therapy is applied, it is used in a way that takes legal and ethical ramifications into account. As a result, ensuring that the patient is receiving the best treatment options (which are reducing the overall amounts of suffering) is the ultimate of objective from: an ethical and legal standpoint. (Roth, 2010, pp. 235 -- 252)

Discuss how this theory aligns with your own philosophy, values, and views of the therapeutic process

This theory aligns with my personal beliefs and values, as it is requiring the patient to play…

Moreover, Jung's view is that knowledge of the psyche should lead the individual to a place where he or she realizes "God" is within us; "God-image" is indeed the self.

Meanwhile, depth psychotherapy, according to Edward Edinger, can be described as having four aspects: it is a science and an art, and it is theoretical as well as a practice. The goal, from the art perspective, is understanding. Indeed, the art application, for the therapist, is to use a one-on-one dynamic with one person and have a positive effect on that person's "life and development" (Edinger, 1997, p. 8). Looking at depth psychotherapy from a scientific perspective, it can produce "objective knowledge of the nature of the human psyche"; this knowledge, Edinger continues, can be abstract and objective (p. 8). Edinger (p. 10) further advises though that "objective knowledge" (science) has an application to the human psyche "in general" but…

Psychotherapy's Claims, Skeptics Demand Proof By BENEDICT CAREY (NYT).

Published: August 10, 2004

Insurance companies are pushing psychotherapists to prove that what they do produces results. Insurance companies pay for therapies selectively, with the result that people who receive psychotherapy, an estimated 20 million, often have to pay for it themselves. Insurance companies and some others argue that the therapists should be able to show scientific studies demonstrating what patients benefit from what they do. Others say that it's not possible to quantify talk therapy to the point that research can prove its effectiveness. Some think the future of talk therapy may depend on the outcome of this disagreement. Some experts claim the process is too intuitive to be measurable by quantified methods.

There are some disorders for which clear methods exist, with research showing their effectiveness. They include cognitive therapy and exposure therapy to deal with fears and phobias.…

Because these women are older and more set in the ways that they do things they are often fearful of these changes and resistant to them because they feel that they have no control over anything anymore (Priel & Besser, 1999). They are working towards a transition that marks the middle of their life and they are used to having everything that they need (indridge & Berryman, 1999). They need only a child to complete than and once they get pregnant and have the baby they realize that there are many changes that they must deal with in their lives that they were not actually expecting when they decided on a child (Chaudron, Klein, Remington, Palta, Allen, & Essex, 2001).

This is especially true for women of this age who do not have it all and are looking for the self-sufficiency and autonomy that they feel that they need, are…

positive psychotherapy and integrative psychotherapies offer multidisciplinary and multimodal interventions for clients, and both are grounded in empirical evidence. Moreover, there is significant crossover between these two psychotherapeutic approaches especially because integrative therapies may include positive psychotherapy within the treatment rubric. There are also some key differences in theory and practice between positive psychotherapy and integrative psychotherapies. Thus, it may be helpful to delineate the theoretical foundations and proposed treatment strategies of positive psychotherapy and the integrative psychotherapies in order to determine what best suits the philosophical alignment of the therapist as well as the unique needs of the client.

The firmest common ground between positive psychotherapy and integrative therapies is their mutual interest in "the process of change," stressing the future more than the past (Norcross & Beutler, 2014, p. 508). Moreover, both positive psychotherapy and integrative psychotherapies are essentially "ecclectic" in that they draw from various theoretical and…

Dr. Keshen feels that the reason for this is that most of the literature that is available on the subject is extremely convoluted. Even the foremost authors on the subject disagree on it verities making most existential psychotherapists' ideas heterogeneous. However, the author feel that if a more precise and well-defined model of existential psychotherapy could be developed that would be amenable to some kind of empirical validation it may be more accepted by the psychotherapeutic community. The author's purpose for this article is to crate a more clinically oriented version of existential psychology and crate a template for a "manualized" approach into the field of existential psychotherapy.

The author goes on to explore the main principles of existential psychotherapy and create an excellent diagram to exampling the overall components of the process (this is reproduced in the appendix). The main tenant of existential psychology is that all human beings…

Cognitive Psychotherapy Approach in Treatment

Scenario

A young man was admitted in the morning hours and appears calm and even-tempered. In the afternoon, upon being awakened from a nap the man becomes agitated and angry. The man is found on the floor and the nurses cannot calm him enough to return him to bed. The nurses discover that the man views his leg as being that of someone else and in an attempt to throw the foreign leg out of his bed the man throws himself upon the floor. The nurses point out to the man that the leg is his own leg. The patient has complete loss of awareness of his hemiplegic limb but interestingly enough he is unable to tell whether his own leg on that side was in bed with him because he is so caught up with the unpleasant foreign leg that was there.

Introduction

Cognitive…

To counteract these dissimilarities, effectual counselors must examine their clients' cultural setting and be open to supple definitions of suitable behavior (Bolton-Brownlee, 1987).

An additional counseling barrier is language. Language differentiations may be possibly the most significant faltering block to effectual multicultural counseling and evaluation. Language barriers obstruct the counseling process when clients cannot articulate the difficulty of their thoughts and feelings or resist talking about affectively emotional issues. Counselors, too, may become irritated by their lack of bilingual capacity. At the worst, language barriers may lead to misdiagnosis and improper placement (Bolton-Brownlee, 1987).

A lot of mental health professionals have distinguished that racial and ethnic factors may act as obstacles to counseling. Misunderstandings that come about from cultural variations in verbal and nonverbal communication may lead to estrangement or incapacity to expand trust and rapport. An examination of the generic characteristics of counseling reveals three variables that interrelate in…

Counseling & Psychotherapy

Therapist: Hello, Freddie. Is there anything in particular that you wanted to start off talking about today?

Freddie: I guess. Lately I've been having a lot of difficulty at my job.

You said you were employed as a retail manager, correct?

F: For the time, yes.

What sort of difficulties have you encountered?

F: I'm just not into it anymore. It's getting harder and harder for me to get to work on time, or to come back from my breaks and lunches punctually. Sometimes, I'll see employees neglecting to do things that they should and I won't even reprimand them or tell others about it…I just, don't seem to care.

How long have you been feeling this way?

F: Ever since my car accident. After my friend died in my arms on the freeway when he wrecked, I've realize that what I do with my daily life…

Psychotherapies

If ape were legal

This is a story about a cancer patient who objectifies women and his life changes drastically for the better after his therapist takes an aggressive stance in one of the personal therapy sessions after a disturbing incident in his group therapy session. This paper reviews the relationship between the patient and the therapist by analyzing their dynamic through the following psychotherapies: Dynamic, Person-Centered, EBT and Alderian.

Dynamic

Psychodynamic psychologists research human habits by trying to find the unseen meanings in things that individuals think, do or state. This needs them to collect huge quantities of qualitative information about individuals, which is typically done with using the specific case-study technique. The topic of the case history is typically an individual who is dealing with a mental ailment and who is being treated with psychoanalysis. The professional gathers details from things the individual states or finishes treatment…

Psychotherapy

Resistance to therapy is said to occur when clients consistently have difficulty participating in treatment. Since resistance varies in form or strategies (depending on the individual), the author identifies instances in which resistance is most likely to occur or have occurred: (1) client misses an appointment or comes in late; (2) client reschedules appointments frequently; (3) client has very limited hours available for therapy; and/or (4) client cannot make a firm commitment to attend the next session.

It is difficult for therapists to approach their client's resistance because: (1) client may arouse feelings of humiliation; (2) feelings of sadness may be evoked when client feels that the need for caring is unfulfilled; and (3) client may feel guilty over the therapist not having a right to one's own feelings.

In order to effectively deal with client resistance, therapists may adopt three strategies, questions that seek to address this problem.…

Jen is a 19-year-old female of mixed ethnic background. When asked what her therapeutic goals are, Jen states that she wants to "get over" the physical abuse she was subjected to her from her mother's ex-husband (her stepfather). In the third therapy session with Jen, she abruptly claims that she may not be continuing with therapy because she is just "therapist shopping."

Also in this session, Jen mentioned for the first time that she works as an exotic dancer. She asks with a belligerent tone, "You don't have a problem with that, do you?" Even though there was no response, Jen quickly defends herself, saying, "I love my work. I make so much money. There is nothing else I can do to make this much money. All my friends work harder than I do but they make less than me! I mean, I not only pull in what I make…

Behavior therapy uses rewards or reinforcements to create positive behaviors in order to replace destructive behaviors. Desensitizing is an important part of this type of therapy, where the patient confronts something they have been unable to deal with, such as a fear or anxiety, and gradually learns to become desensitized to the problem, which eliminates the negative behavior (Editors, 2006).

Basically, both therapies give the patient ways to deal with problems in their lives. The basic different between the two therapies is how they address and handle these problems. Psychotherapy attempts to give the patient ideas and tools to help them master their problems and reactions to problems, while behavioral therapy attempts to fully eliminate unwanted behaviors by desensitizing and behavior modification.

eferences

Editors. (2006). Psychotherapy: An overview of the types of therapy. etrieved from the Mayo Clinic Web site: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/psychotherapy/MH0000912 March 2007.

Little, N. (2006). Techniques in psychotherapy. etrieved…

Interpersonal Psychotherapy

It appears that there is a significant amount of utility in interpersonal psychotherapy. This utility extends beyond that of the patient and also includes a degree of usefulness for the therapist and for afflictions involving both mood disorders and non-mood disorders. Interpersonal psychotherapy seems like a viable option for helping patients to assert themselves and their control over their own lives and happiness. In consideration of these reasons, I would advocate utilizing this methodology for a variety of therapeutic applications and am all but convinced at the sort of good it can produce in the process.

Perhaps the principle reason that I am in favor of interpersonal psychotherapy is that many of its core tenets are aligned with my personal worldview. For instance, one of the fundamental principles of this psychological approach is that there is a direct correlation between one's environment and the forces that it asserts…

Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) and its theory, techniques, application, strengths, weaknesses or other related topics are: the article by Souza et al. (2016) that examines the effects of IPT on treatment-resistant depression in adults, and the article by Markowitz, Lipsitz and Milrod (2014) that examines the relevant literature available on the impact of IPT on anxiety disorders.

Both articles provide assessments of the theory of IPT, which is that IPT provides a short-term treatment for individuals in need of psychological treatment. Its aim is to assist the individual in regaining functioning day-to-day abilities. The application typically takes between twelve and sixteen weeks and the theory upon which it is based is the idea that how the individual relates to others has a significant impact on his mental health. Thus, the concept that guides Interpersonal Psychotherapy is that relationships and how they are perceived, interpreted, developed and maintained is of critical importance…

Jung's instrumental role in affirming psychology as a science is downplayed by modern researchers. Yet as the author notes, much of what Jung unearthed in his research and clinical work has bled through to modern clinical psychology. The most obvious implication that Jungian psychology has become part of the mainstream social sciences is the Myers-Briggs test.

However, the concept of the archetype is Jung's. So, too, are issues like extraversion and introversion. Jung is renowned for detailed personality typing, a process that is integral to healing. Typing indicates the quest for self-awareness. Like going backwards, the process of being more aware of the self is often akin to diving into a dark pool.

We Jungian therapists might sometimes be called upon to delve into primitive landscapes ourselves, searching for cultural emblems and icons that match a client's budding self-awareness. The Cambridge Companion to Jung, which contains a plethora of useful…

Counseling Psychotherapy

Why Counseling?

Life can be shattering. Deception, lies, and tremendous heartache can derail the most prodigious, honest, and sincere individual. Devastation can acquiescent a beautiful and wonderful spirit into a horrendous downward spiral to where there appears to be no hope. When our 'bubble' of a world is popped, we often become disoriented, unable to ascertain the fact from fiction, and can then start having negative and harmful thoughts.

Given the circumstances to which I have had to overcome, a tremendous amount of resolve was required, which enabled me to persevere through my darkest moments. Betrayal and heartache can ruin one's perception of what life is about. Indeed, there are many who never enjoy the love or reach a pinnacle of happiness that I've enjoyed. To these individuals, I feel my empathy given my triumphs and set backs will undoubtedly enable a clear perspective, rich with insight to…

Multi-Cultural Theories of Psychotherapy

A majority of therapeutic approaches realize that clients' individual differences should be appreciated and recognized. ut major psychotherapy theories, which have originated from Western society, are inclined to be built in a perspective that is mono-cultural. They foster conventional cultural values, while ignoring multicultural philosophies of life. Unfortunately, this mono-cultural approach to psychotherapy often fosters ethnocentrism, an idea that one's culture is intrinsically desirable and better than that of others. Those who espouse multicultural psychotherapies encourage cultural sensitivity, are aware of, respect, and understand cultural diversity. Appreciating diversity fosters a critical analysis of conventional psychotherapeutic norms and practices, as definitions of disease, health, treatment, abnormality, and normality are culturally rooted. Therefore, multicultural psychotherapies study worldviews of both clients and themselves. 'Worldview' denotes individuals' traumatized beliefs and ideas regarding the world. The use of multicultural psychotherapies in self-analysis leads to assessment of potential bias and professional socialization.…

Of course, this is necessary for psychology to try and understand human behavior, but metabletics sees the change in human behavior over time, and explains it, also. To think that time does not change the most elemental of properties that a people interact with is ridiculous to metabletics. The people change because the world around them goes through fundamental changes. omanyshyn (1989) may put it best when he says "history is a psychological matter and that humanity's psychological life, its hopes and its dreams, its fantasies and fears, its images and inspirations, are shaped as a cultural world" (12).

The prism of history is not flat because different people have walked through different periods of time, and culture changed with that passage. The present developed from the past in some ways, but not because of a growth of knowledge throughout history (Sipiors, 2008). The evolution of ideas has happened because…

BP Disorder

Bipolar disorder, originally called manic depressive disorder, is a severe mood disorder that vacillates between extreme "ups" (mania, hypomania) and "downs" (depression). The effects of having bipolar disorder can be observed across the patients social and occupational functioning. Often the patient is left isolated from work, friends, and family. Medications have become the first-line treatments for bipolar disorder; however, psychotherapy can offer additional benefits in the ongoing treatment of patients with bipolar disorder. This paper discusses the symptoms and treatment of bipolar disorder focusing on cognitive behavioral therapy and emotion focused therapy.

Bipolar Disorder

Description and differentiation

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders -- Fourth Edition -- Text evision (DSM-IV-T) one's mood is an all-encompassing and sustained feeling tone experienced internally by the person and influences the person's behavior and perception of the world. Affect is the external or outward expression of this inner…

Multicultural Theories of Psychology

Multicultural Theories of Psychotherapy

Diagnosis, treatment and care of patient and their conditions are greatly influenced by cultural considerations. These actors determine beliefs and values related to health. Yet, these widespread claims about the real value of cultural role in healthcare do not come with sufficient research basis. Psychotherapists have, for a long time emphasized the need to provide multicultural psychotherapy so as to manage and reduce the ethnic and racial disparities in dealing with mental health issues. How multicultural competencies relate with other clinical process measures and treatment results has demonstrated heterogeneity it effect, though (Karen W. Tao & Jesse Owen, 2015). A famous quote by Slavoj Zizek on multi-culturalism deserves a mention here. "For the multiculturalist, white Anglo-Saxon Protestants are prohibited, Italians and Irish get a little respect, blacks are good, native Americans are even better. The further away we go, the more they…

Integrative Psychotherapies

Psychotherapy Integration

Psychotherapy integration is distinguished by dissatisfaction with single school advances and a related longing to look across boundaries to view how patients could gain from other means of carrying out psychotherapy. Even though certain labels are implemented to this movement, treatment adaptation, prescriptive therapy, integration eclecticism, responsiveness, and matching, the objectives are the same. The ultimate objective is to improve the efficiency as well as the applicability of psychotherapy. Given the maturity of the psychotherapy field, integration has surfaced as a stronghold. oth a drop in ideological struggle and movement toward rapprochement has been witnessed. Clinicians now recognize the insufficiencies and potential value in all theoretical systems. Actually, majority of the young psychotherapy students display astonishment when they learn about the ideological cold war of the earlier generations (Norcross & eutler, 2014).

Integrative Psychotherapy and Theory of Personality

Stating that integrative therapies do not respond to…

Contemplative Psychotherapies

My thoughts and feelings about contemplative psychology are somewhat conflicted. On the one hand, there are several tenets with this particular approach to psychology that I think are valid. However, I am not sure that many of them have a place in true psychology. Psychology is a science and a discipline -- it is based on empirical evidence and fact. Many of the Eastern philosophical concepts that are incorporated into contemplative psychology are not based on empirical evidence or fact. Therefore, my view on this particular aspect of psychology remains conflicted (if not outright contradictory) -- I see some boons of this methodology, yet am not sure that I could validate them from a purely scientific perspective.

From a personal standpoint, there are numerous aspects of contemplative psychology that I intuitively can relate to and which I utilize as focal points for my own life. One of the…

Contemplative Psychotherapies

Some ancient contemplative customs of meditation are the Christian meditation, Jewish Tzeruf, Buddhist and Confucian meditation, Islamic Sufi Zikr and Taoist and Hindu yoga. In several settings, the practices are believed to be conventional and a part of the everyday lives of the people. All of these practices were either used for spiritual or religious purposes in the ancient days; however, they are now also used for emotional and mental benefits. There are professional academies for training and providing relief to the people through meditation and yoga. Yoga and meditation are the main two types of Contemplative customs. Yoga is a set of beliefs, obligations and knowledge that has almost the same aims as of meditation. It includes a set of diet, ethics, intellectual exploration, breath control, and lifestyle and body postures. Meditation is complete peace of mind, which helps to improve health, growth and intellectual space intentionally…

1. The term “depth psychology” is appropriate for referring to psychoanalysis, but not for all types of psychotherapy. Any psychotherapy that involves in-depth self-assessments through the exploration of unconscious or subconscious urges, dreams, or childhood memories can be considered depth psychology. As the term suggests, depth psychology presumes that psychological issues have deep roots, requiring a process of systematic digging. Self-awareness is only possible through an understanding of all psychic content that has been and still is being repressed or suppressed (Axelrod, 2012). Depth psychology is therefore important for persons who experienced childhood traumas, or people seeking to understand the causes of their lingering anxiety or depression. Other therapeutic models like cognitive-behavioral therapy or positive psychology do not focus on the subconscious or unconscious but mainly on manifest behaviors.

According to Firestone (2009), depth psychology has its detractors because of the long periods of time required to complete the therapeutic…

Treating the Patient Using Jungian Psychotherapy

The theory that would be best suited for treating the client is the Jungian theory. This is because the theory would allow the analyst and the client to work together in order for the client to increase their consciousness, which would enable them to move towards achieving psychological wholeness and balance. The concepts that make the Jungian theory most appropriate include conscious, unconscious, archetypes, and individuation (Jung, 2014). These concepts would assist the client to attain relief and meaning to their psychological suffering. Since the client is evidently suffering from depression and anxiety, making use of this theory would ensure the client attains psychological growth. The Jungian theory is a well-rounded theory, and it offers the client an opportunity to access their unconscious thoughts and relate them to their current situation (Jung, 2014). The client has some reservations that are mainly related to her…

Psychoanalytic therapy, also sometimes called insight-oriented therapy, centers around the manner in which unconscious processes are manifested within the individual's behavior. The overall goals of such therapy are to help the client become more self-aware and to understand the influence of past issues and attitudes upon their present behavior. This tends to allow the client to look inward in a more critical manner to look at unresolved issues and the symptoms those have (perhaps from past dysfunctional relationships, etc.) and how those tend to manifest in the present time with issues like substance abuse, abusive or negative behavior, or other ways that contribute to a repetitive negative pattern (Corey, 2009).

Situational Overview

John is a 33-year-old male. John has an MBA and has been working for Loadstar Bank for 5 years, and has been frustrated because he has not advanced his career at the level he wished. We have been…

Diversity as a Barrier to Group Psychotherapy

According to the Center for Collegiate Mental Health, the psychopathology of college students, and their demand for counseling services in university college centers (UCCs) has risen substantially over the last decade (Center for Collegiate Mental Health, 2014). Well, there are number of reasons why this is so. The most significant of these perhaps is that the modern-day college student faces significant psychological concerns in the form of anxiety, depression, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, and history of hospitalization resulting from lifestyle factors. It is reported, for instance, that between 15 and 20% of college students today suffer from depressive symptoms, compared to between 5 and 6% ten years ago (Center for Collegiate Mental Health, 2014). For this reason, most UCCs have adopted and expanded the use of group psychotherapy platforms as an alternative to the traditional individual psychotherapy in a bid to address the…

Frankl proposes that "he who can cling to no end point, to no time in the future, to no point of support, is in danger of allowing himself to collapse inwardly." [15]

However that point might alter as the person grows. It happens and should happen in the process of living because no one can cling to just one meaning all his life. Meaning when realized alters and take on another shape and that forms the crux of Logotherapy. The role of the therapist in this regard is only to facilitate the process. he/she cannot give a person meaning to a life that is lived by the patient. The therapist must help resolve any past issues which are retarding the personal growth of the individual. He should try to untie the spiritual or philosophical 'knots' that have developed to help the patient become healthier.

What is needed here is to…

Mark Tarlow and the Role of Play And Disclosure in Psychiatry

Self-disclosure and therapy sessions

Self-disclosure generally refers to the concept of the therapist disclosing to the patient he is handling his own personal experiences that they have gone through and how they handled them. This is often done in an attempt to win the trust of the patient and the confidence in you that you hold a common ground with them. It is also an attempt to let the patient know that the therapist is one who can be trusted with the information they are giving since they too have been in a similar situation. My persona opinion on self-disclosure is that it should be the last device in the options of the therapist. The therapist should not disclose the content of their lives and psyche to the patient as this may amount to the therapist attempting to influence…

Psychodynamic and Humanistic Theory

Psychodynamic & Humanistic Theory

A seminal study on the personality trait differences of therapists practicing with different theoretical orientations is an interesting place to begin this compare and contrast discussion. Tremblay, et al. (1986) administered the Personality Orientation Inventory to 90 male and 90 female psychotherapists who self-designated and were equally distributed in groups designated as behavioral (BEH), psychodynamic (PSY), and humanistic (HUM). Interestingly, the study suggested that a core therapist personality exists and that further distinction can be achieved through consideration of the patterns of personality that were associated with theoretical orientation. The caveat was that the patterns associated with theoretical orientations were characterized more by overlapping traits than unique traits. Of the three theoretical categories, the HUM group exhibited the most unique traits: they were more flexible, more accepting of personal aggression and expressing feelings in action, and differed in their development of intimate…

Counseling naturally entails a high degree of intuition. Therapy is a human-centered occupation. Therapists are not robots or computers; they are human beings working with other human beings on issues that often have a high degree of emotional content. Building a strong relationship with clients often depends on empathy and other intangible skills that require intuition and not simply academic expertise. Intuition can be viewed as a skill to be developed over time, which is why effective therapists pay attention to their intuition and how they can capitalize on it during therapy sessions.

Intuition is not about blindly reacting to emotional impulses. On the contrary, intuition fuses rational thought with emotional intelligence. The article shows that intuition is especially helpful when working with clients in the long-term, as intuition improves as the relationship between therapist and client deepens and becomes more authentic. Therapists who fear intuition do their clients a…

Threats of Violence in Counseling and Psychotherapy

There is an urban legend about an incident at a mental hospital caught on video: a psychotic patient at a hospital, who has a history of threatening violent acts, manages to smuggle a screwdriver from a workman. This patient, armed with said screwdriver, barricades himself into a room, takes a nurse hostage, and does not respond well to the attempts made by psychiatrists and police officers alike. n the end, the mental patient stabs the nurse hostage fatally in the neck with the screw driver. Of course, the supposed incident on tape that has circulated the semi-underground video circuit for decades (included on "Faces of Death Volume V") is actually a poorly staged reenactment of an event which probably never occurred in the first place. However, tales such as these have inevitably become a part of the universal subconscious of a modern society…

Psychosocial Development Theory

In the history of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud was the first to delve into the unknown recesses of the human mind to identify reasons for neuroses. As such, he identified infantile sexuality to lie at the heart of most problems in the relationship with the self and others and used the three-dimensional model of the id, the ego, and superego to describe the various ways in which these neuroses manifested themselves. Today, many theorists use Freud's theories to build their own derivative theories. Even though many today reject some or most of the early philosopher's ideas, it is thanks to him that these theories have a reason for existence in themselves. Today, the theory known as psychosocial development bases many of its concepts on the early ideas conceptualized by Freud. As such, theorists like Erik Erikson, Alfred Adler, and Karen Horney have developed their own concepts of what…

Psychotherapy

Corey's ultimate recommendation, when it comes to the different schools of psychotherapy, is to pursue an integrative approach, in which the different methods are combined and individually tailored to suit the client. This seems ultimately very sensible, but the goals for my own practice are highly specific, and I think it is worth considering the ways in which I might be able to integrate different techniques in a practice that focuses on life coaching and career counseling.

The chief advantage of traditional Freudian psychoanalysis is that it encourages the patient to talk as much as possible with very little intervention by the therapist. I still consider this to be a useful technique to start. A therapist can only work with what he or she is given. But when the therapist's specific area of professional expertise is life coaching, a certain number of assumptions can be made about what sort…

Hypothetical Session: Family Systems Therapy

In the last session with the adolescent Abigail, her mother Grace, and her father Don, all three members of the family were encouraged to talk to me as the therapist, not to one another. This was designed to allow them to speak honestly and to reduce direct confrontation. Abigail and her parents had come to participate in family therapy because Abigail had, according to her parents, been 'acting out' in various ways such as cutting school and acting defiant. I engaged largely with the two parents to discern what conflicts were occurring between the two of them. In keeping with Bowen's techniques I interviewed family members separately, allowing them to listen to the speeches of the other members individually. Grace said that she felt that her daughter was disrespectful to her and was worried about Abigail's future if Abigail did not get better grades. When…

Social Work Practice Within Aboriginal

Building attached case study Lisa, describe discuss social work practice approach aboriginal innovative practice modalities a cultural context. This assignment refining approach practice integrating theories practices learned required readings.

ABOIGINAL AND INNOVATIVE SOCIAL WOK PACTICE APPOACH

Concepts in Social Work Practice within Aboriginal and Cultural Framework

In trying to attend to a client's challenges in psychology, it is imperative to provide an environment that is sufficiently safe where a client can talk and explore their problems (Brave Heart, 2004). This measure is adequate for many clients but not sufficient for all especially so when it comes to cases involving aboriginal persons. For the aboriginal clients, an understanding of adaptation difficulties and the inter-generation aspects is necessary to provide a wholesome resolution to the challenges at hand. This paper presents a discussion on the ideal approach in social work for the case of Lisa, who had…

Her cancer and disfigurement distinguish the subject as being in a specific cultural group due for counseling, with many of the strategies used to engage her centering the culture of sickness and its attendant modes of recovery, rehabilitation and return to normalcy. Current logic supports group-based treatment imperatives for those who may be characterized accordingly. For the subject through, as with most any counseling subject, a number of specific cultural and personal features have made this sickness and its consequences a unique experience. e can also see that her perspective and needs have been formed by dimensions such as the subject's unstable economic upbringing; the sense of difference from wealthy suburban children; and an internal portrayal within the family suggesting a retention of the identity of foreigners in a strange land.

The interplay of these multiple dimensions is discussed in the article by Croteau et al. The article quotes several…

100). Much of the focus of personnel selection using psychological testing was on new troops enlisting in the military during two world wars and the explosive growth of the private sector thereafter (Scroggins et al., 2008). Psychological testing for personnel selection purposes, though, faded into disfavor during the 1960s, but it continues to be used by human resource practitioners today. In this regard, Scroggins and his colleagues advise, "Many H practitioners, however, have continued to use personality testing with an optimistic and enduring faith in its ability to discriminate between good and poor job candidates" (p. 101).

In cases where cheating is suspected (such as in the case of an teen applicant possibly using a smartphone or consulting crib notes during testing by visiting the restroom), psychologists have a professional responsibility to conform to relevant privacy laws with respect to the results of such tests, including following the decision-making model…

Existential Psychotherapy

Imperialism

he class text makes mention in one of its chapters about existential psychotherapy. his treatment style seems to be yet another tool in the proverbial toolbox that psychiatrists and therapists can use or advocate along the same lines as cognitive behavioral therapy, EDMR and so forth. he author of this report will review how it came to be, what it is comprised of and how/why it may work for many or at least some people. he author will also offer thoughts and feelings about how promising and relevant this topic seems to be. While some therapeutic techniques are more widely known and/or ostensibly effective than others, it is also true that any method that garners good results for even a subset of patients is worth exploring or leaving aside as an option should the need arise.

Analysis

As was made clear by the text, the people behind…

Psychoanalysis

The opening phase of dynamic psychotherapy helps the therapist to understand why the patient is seeking treatment; what kind of triggers to current problems are present; and house troubled the patient is in terms of both physical and psychological health (text p. 41). Yalom (1989) allows for several sessions of introductory therapy, also in keeping with the psychodynamic model. At this introductory phase, the therapist gets an idea of what treatment options to present and how to proceed. Yalom (1989) also determines the frequency of the treatment in the introductory phase (text p. 41). The core way that the relationship between Yalom (1989) and Carlos exemplifies psychodynamic therapy is in regards to the transference neurosis, which intensifies in therapy (text p. 53). However, transference is worked through as a core element of the therapeutic process. In the case with Carlos, neurotic transference is exemplified most clearly in the way…

Discussion -- Textbook approach gives a great deal of theory; value of the article is in taking the material and applying it to situations that are relevant to one's current profession and/or understanding different approaches to conflict.

Review -- the Million Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI) - the MCMI is a psychological assessment tool that was written to provide information on psychopathology including specifics outlined in the DSM-IV. It is intended for adults over 18 who have at least an 8th grade reading level and who are seeking mental health services. The test was actually developed and standardizes on clinical populations in psychiatric hospitals or individuals with current existing mental health issues. The authors are quite specific about it not being used with the general population or with adolescents, as values will likely not be appropriate for extrapolation (Pearson, 2012).

History -- Published in 1977 by Theodore Millon based on his…

The boy just stood there staring at the pile of clothes and cat food and bows. I went over and asked him if I could do anything but he told me that he was used to it. I wasn't actually all that surprised by his answer.

And so I ask myself: Which story of the family are these two telling themselves? Does the boy know that he is Horus and Apollo? Or does he know that he is Bluebeard in the making? And does the woman yearn to be Demeter? Or is she still aching to be Persephone? Persephone is for Jung a symbol of completeness, for she encompasses opposites -- life and death, mother and daughter, even male and female. The whole eternal cycle of birth through to rebirth.

(http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.heavenandearthessentials.com/images/Persephone.jpg&imgrefurl)

Then there were two women, well dressed, nice jewelry, standing in the candle aisle. I was there because --…

Developmental Processes Across the Life Span With Diverse Sociocultural Contexts

The objective of this study is to identify development processes across the life span with diverse sociocultural contexts and to demonstrate theoretical comprehension and application in psychotherapy in order to identify theoretical strengths and weaknesses based on the setting and/or client population specific to child behavior. Finally, this work will demonstrate basic knowledge of the range of normal an abnormal behaviors and child developmental processes. The work of Havighurst (1971) entitled 'Characteristics of Development Task' reports that living is a process beginning with birth and ending with death, which is, comprised of people "working their way through from stage of development to another, by solving their problems in each stage.") When the individual does not complete a task, which results in unhappiness as well as "disapproval by society and problems in later tasks." (1971, p.1) Six primary stages of the…

Epstein Book Summary

I interpreted this reading as Buddhist philosophy as being a novel way to address the difficult condition of narcissism that seems to be misunderstood by more conventional and modern methods. For me, Buddhist thought is about putting the ego into its proper perspective and this chapter introduced the author's ideas on how the ego and its different aspects influence metaphysics and how the deconstruction efforts targeted towards the ego within the Buddhist approach is aligned as an acceptable way to solve the problems of the modern mind in a self-realized manner that does not require medicine only mediation.

I have learned from this chapter that the components of the mind can be dissected and manipulated to put the individual at the forefront of creation. The Buddhist approach is one that requires looking at yourself in a new way without becoming too involved or narcissistic.

Chapter 2

I…

relationship and development of child's personality -- developmental theories in Integrative psychotherapy and their use by working with clients

The foundation of our daily lives is created on the relationships that we have with other people. This contact with others, a feeling of reverence it produces and the relational needs it satisfies are all the requirements for us. Our capability to make complete contact with others is frequently disturbed as we confront the unavoidable sufferings of life, either large or small. Psychological dysfunction will result if contact decreases and relational needs get curtailed. Through a method called Integrative Psychotherapy, people can revive their capability to uphold real relationships and improved psychological health. The integrative psychotherapy is based on oger's client-centered therapy, Berne's transactional analysis, Perls Gestalt therapy, Kohut's self-psychology, and also the contributions of British object-relations theorists. (Erskine; Moursund; Trautmann, 1999)

Integrative Psychotherapy:

Integrative psychotherapy involves a practice of psychotherapy…

Kellogg & Young in Schema Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder offer a comprehensive explanation of the use of Schema Therapy for patients with BPD, by first explaining the disorder and how it is particularly prime for the use of schema therapy as the disorder itself and the behavior and emotions exhibited from it can be seen as an individual traversing through a short list of schemas and are reflective of the childhood origins of BPD. The modes of BPD are described by the authors as consisting of the angry and impulsive child mode, the detached protector mode, the punitive parent mode and lastly the healthy adult mode. According to the authors if these modes are lacking in integration and emotions cannot be traversed across each, or if the modes are significantly unbalanced they become schemas that override normal adult behavior. The particulars of Schema Therapy are then described after a…

Predicting Patient Investment Into Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy Investment

Prediction Patient Investment in Psychotherapy

Predicting Patient Investment into Psychotherapy

The factors that cause an individual to terminate psychotherapy have been of interest since this form of therapy was developed. Some researchers and theorists have argued that the need to relieve personal isolation and habits of dependency may motivate patients to remain in psychotherapy (reviewed by Ackerman, Hilsenroth, Clemence, Weatherill, and Fowler, 2000, p. 387). This does not imply that patients who remain in psychotherapy are docile though. Quite the contrary, studies have shown that these patients are often aggressive, contrary, have turbulent negative emotions, and high levels of interpersonal distress.

The research data that produced the above findings were based primarily on orschach examinations. Whether these findings would be validated by non-orschach instruments is unknown. Towards this goal, Ackerman and colleagues (2000) examined the utility of the Westen's Social Cognition and Object…

The psychotherapist's role is then to enhance the already existing tools to help those who need it develop their intelligence and problem-solving abilities in order to promote the healing process.

Question 2

1:

Both the cognitive and affective domains are important considerations within psychotherapy. Indeed, the two often function within a causal relationship to each other. In the Communicative Theory of emotion, as expounded by Brett et al. (2003), for example, emotions are directly related to conscious or unconscious cognitive evaluations. These cognitive evaluations then cause an emotional response, which might include happiness, sadness, or anger. The subconscious internalization of the original cognitive evaluation and accompanying emotion could then result in behavior-related problems such as prejudice. Sometimes such behavior problems are so deeply seated that they need to be treated by means of psychotherapy.

Cognitive therapy, as explained by Michael Herkov (2010), acknowledges the relationship between thought (the cognitive aspect)…