CEP 260 1nd Edition Lecture 9 Outline of Last Lecture I. Psychological Disorders Outline of Current Lecture II. PsychotherapyIII. Types of Treatment Current LecturePsychotherapy– All psychotherapies involve “a helping relationship (the treatment) between a professional (the therapist) and another person in need of help (the client)”.– There are three main categories of therapy:1. Insight therapies.2. Behavior therapies.3. Biomedical therapies.– Approximately 15% of Americans seek mental health services each year.– The most common problems are excessive anxiety and depression.– People seek treatment for milder problems, such as making a career decision, as well.– Women, people with medical insurance, and people with more education are all more likely to seek treatment.– Unfortunately, many who need therapy do not receive it (see Figure 15.2).– Common barriers to seeking treatment include:• Lack of health insurance.These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.• The “stigma” associated with receiving mental health services.– Psychologists and psychiatrists are the most common providers of treatment.– However, therapy is also provided by other professionals, including• Psychiatric social workers.• Psychiatric nurses.• Counselors.Types of Therapy- Insight therapies “involve verbal interactions intended to enhance clients’ self-knowledge and thus promote healthful changes in personality and behavior”.– Insight therapies include:• Psychoanalysis.• Client-centered therapy.• Positive psychology.• Group therapy.• Psychoanalysis was developed by Sigmund Freud, and “emphasizes the recovery of unconscious conflicts, motives, and defenses through techniques such as free association, dream analysis and transference”.– Probing the unconscious• Therapists use two techniques to probe the unconscious in an attempt to identify unresolved conflicts causing the client’s neurotic behavior.– In free association, “clients spontaneously express their thoughts and feelings exactly as they occur, with as little censorship as possible”.– In dream analysis, “the therapist interprets the symbolic meaning of the client’s dreams”.– Both techniques require the therapist to interpret the clues that these methods provide about unconscious conflicts.– Interpretation “involves the therapist’s attempts to explain the inner significance of the client’s thoughts, feelings, memories, and behaviors”.– Resistance “involves largely unconscious defensive maneuvers intended to hinder the progress of therapy”.• Clients may resist by “forgetting” appointments or being hostile toward the therapist.– Transference “occurs when clients start relating to their therapists in ways that mimic critical relationships in their lives”.– Although classical psychoanalysis (as performed by Freud) is rare today, newer versions of the therapy are used and are referred to as psychodynamic approaches.• Client-centered therapy “is an insight therapy that emphasizes providing a supportive emotional climate for clients, who play a major role in determining the pace and direction of their therapy”.– This approach is rooted in the humanistic perspective and the work of Carl Rogers.– Therapists try to foster self-acceptance and personal growth in their clients.– Therapists also help clients restructure their self-concept to better correspond with reality.Therapeutic climate• Rogers believed three elements were necessary to promote positive changes in therapy:1. Genuineness (honest communication).2. Unconditional positive regard (therapist remains supportive, non-judgmental).3. Empathy (therapist understands issues from client’s point of view).– Therapeutic process• With this approach, the client and therapist work together almost as equals.• The therapist’s key task is clarification – “reflecting the client’s statements with enhanced clarity”.• The main goal of therapy is to help clients become more aware of, and comfortable with, their “genuine selves”.• Therapies inspired by positive psychology– Well-being therapy, developed by Giovanni Fava, focuses on “self-acceptance, purpose in life, autonomy, and personal growth”.– Positive psychotherapy – “attempts to get clients to recognize their strengths, appreciate their blessings, savor positive experiences, forgive those who have wronged them, and to find meaning in their lives”.• Group therapy “is the simultaneous treatment of several or more clients (typically five to ten people) in a group”.– Participants’ roles• In group therapy, participants function like “therapists” for each other.• The most important role is that of providing emotional support for fellow members of the group.– Advantages of the group experience1. Clients realize their problems are not unique.2. It provides an opportunity to practice and enhance social skills.3. Certain problems are well-suited for group therapy. In “peer self-help groups”, all members share the same kind of problem (e.g., Alcoholics Anonymous) and can provide support for each other.• Therapy and the recovered memories controversy– Much debate has centered around clients’ “recovery” of forgotten memories of traumatic events, including abuse by parents.– This is controversial because it is not possible to be absolutely certain whether ornot the memory is real.– Critics cite research showing that false memories can be “implanted” in experimental conditions.– Critics also argue that clients, confused about the source of their troubles, are persuaded by therapists who are overly eager to attribute problems to childhood abuse.• Insight therapists believe that behaviors are symptoms of underlying psychological issues.• In contrast, behavior therapists argue that the behaviors themselves are the problem.• Thus, behavior therapies “involve the application of the principles of learning to direct efforts to change clients’ maladaptive behaviors”.• Behavior Therapies, continued • Behavior therapy is based on two assumptions:1. Behavior is a product of learning.2. What has been learned can be unlearned.• Clients’ vague complaints are redefined in terms of concrete, specific goals.• Specific procedures are then used for specific