- Describe psychoanalysis as a treatment approach
- Describe cognitive and cognitive-behavioral therapy as treatment methods
- Explain the basic process and uses of behavior therapy
- Describe systematic desensitization
Two types main categories of therapy are psychotherapy and biomedical therapy. Both types of treatment help people with psychological disorders, such as depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia.
psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a psychological treatment that employs various methods to help someone overcome personal problems, or to attain personal growth.
biomedical therapy
Biomedical therapy involves medication and/or medical procedures to treat psychological disorders.
First, we will explore the various psychotherapeutic orientations outlined in Table 1. In addition to psychotherapy and the biomedical approach, there is also a social approach to treatment, which focuses on family or group therapies.
| Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Psychodynamic psychotherapy | Talk therapy based on belief that the unconscious and childhood conflicts impact behavior | Patient talks about their past |
| Play therapy | Psychoanalytical therapy wherein interaction with toys is used instead of talk; used in child therapy | Patient (child) acts out family scenes with dolls |
| Behavior therapy | Principles of learning applied to change undesirable behaviors | Patient learns to overcome fear of elevators through several stages of relaxation techniques |
| Cognitive therapy | Awareness of cognitive process helps patients eliminate thought patterns that lead to distress | Patient learns not to overgeneralize failure based on single failure |
| Cognitive-behavioral therapy | Work to change cognitive distortions and self-defeating behaviors | Patient learns to identify self-defeating behaviors to overcome an eating disorder |
| Humanistic therapy | Increase self-awareness and acceptance through focus on conscious thoughts | Patient learns to articulate thoughts that keep them from achieving their goals |
Psychotherapy Techniques: Psychoanalysis
psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis was developed by Sigmund Freud and was the first form of psychotherapy. It was the dominant therapeutic technique in the early 20th century, but it has since waned significantly in popularity. Freud believed most of our psychological problems are the result of repressed impulses and trauma experienced in childhood, and he believed psychoanalysis would help uncover long-buried feelings.
In a psychoanalyst’s office, you might see a patient lying on a couch speaking of dreams or childhood memories, and the therapist using various Freudian methods such as free association and dream analysis (Figure 1). In free association, the patient relaxes and then says whatever comes to mind at the moment. However, Freud felt that the ego would at times try to block, or repress, unacceptable urges or painful conflicts during free association. Consequently, a patient would demonstrate resistance to recalling these thoughts or situations. In dream analysis, a therapist interprets the underlying meaning of dreams.
Psychoanalysis is a therapy approach that typically takes years. Over the course of time, the patient reveals a great deal about himself to the therapist. Freud suggested that during this patient-therapist relationship, the patient comes to develop strong feelings for the therapist—maybe positive feelings, maybe negative feelings. Freud called this transference: the patient transfers all the positive or negative emotions associated with the patient’s other relationships to the psychoanalyst. For example, Crystal is seeing a psychoanalyst. During the years of therapy, she comes to see her therapist as a father figure. She transfers her feelings about her father onto her therapist, perhaps in an effort to gain the love and attention she did not receive from her own father.
Today, Freud’s psychoanalytical perspective has been expanded upon by the developments of subsequent theories and methodologies: the psychodynamic perspective. This approach to therapy remains centered on the role of people’s internal drives and forces, but treatment is less intensive than Freud’s original model.
Psychodynamic Approaches to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
Psychodynamic approaches can help to combat discrimination by considering how unconscious biases contribute to discrimination and inequality. People may hold unconscious prejudices against certain groups based on race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation—these biases may then manifest into discrimination in workplace settings as well as schools and other environments.
Psychodynamic approaches to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) include considering how early experiences influence people’s attitudes and beliefs regarding diversity. For example, individuals raised in environments in which diversity wasn’t valued may develop more negative feelings toward people from backgrounds different than their own. Or those who have experienced trauma or discrimination may struggle to interact with other people due to anxiety, anger, or fear.
The psychodynamic perspective can assist people in understanding these difficulties and overcoming them more successfully. Psychodynamic coaching may help employees understand and overcome unconscious biases. It can also provide support for students who have been victimized by discrimination.
Psychotherapy: Play Therapy
Play therapy is often used with children since they are not likely to sit on a couch and recall their dreams or engage in traditional talk therapy. This technique uses a therapeutic process of play to “help clients prevent or resolve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal growth” (O’Connor, 2000, p. 7). The idea is that children play out their hopes, fantasies, and traumas while using dolls, stuffed animals, and sandbox figurines.
Play therapy can also be used to help a therapist make a diagnosis. The therapist observes how the child interacts with toys (e.g., dolls, animals, and home settings) in an effort to understand the roots of the child’s disturbed behavior. Play therapy can be non-directive or directive. In nondirective play therapy, children are encouraged to work through their problems by playing freely while the therapist observes (LeBlanc & Ritchie, 2001). In directive play therapy, the therapist provides more structure and guidance in the play session by suggesting topics, asking questions, and even playing with the child (Harter, 1977).