Analyzing Kaysen's Therapy

Hospitals are meant to help some people heal physically and others mentally. In the novel One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey published in 1962, readers are introduced to a mental hospital that has goals that do not align with helping people. Within the hospital, characters with varied personalities and opinions are intermixed with three main characters playing specific roles with supporting characters close by. With the characters’ motivations, themes develop such as the emasculation of the men in the hospital by an oppressive nurse. Symbols, such as laughter and the “combine”, are also pertinent to themes as the readers watch the men transitioning from being oppressed to being able to stand up for themselves causing change in hospital policy.

The therapist would use techniques such as free association and dream analysis. Free association is when the therapist attempts to unearth thoughts from Ellen’s unconscious in order to lend insight into her distress. Overall, the therapist would use techniques to interpret Ellen’s dreams and memories in order to reduce Ellen’s anxiety.

In Treatment’s Dr. Paul Weston appears to largely use psychodynamic theory during his sessions with Sophie, the teenaged gymnast who is seeing him after an accident which is believed to have been a potential suicide attempt. However, as is the case with most therapists, Paul does not focus solely on psychodynamics when treating Sophie, drawing on the universal qualities of all therapists as well as some cognitive techniques. There are several instances of this unique blend of techniques throughout Sophie’s episodes, as well as the continual theme of psychodynamics that seems to be Paul’s main practicing theory.

The antagonists in this book are his patient from whom he elicits permission before using them. The author uses scenarios from some of his therapy sessions to evoke alertness in his audience as well as to provide a practical framework with which they can relate or be guided as therapists or future therapists.

In the counseling world today understanding psychodynamic approaches is more crucial than ever in the assessment and treatment of any psychological issue. Psychodynamic approaches such as Individual therapy, analytical therapy and psychoanalysis are similar in many ways but also differ based on the individuals own perception and circumstances. I will discuss the similarities as well difference’s and why these forms of therapy are critical in the assessment and treatment of clients.

Kesey uses Nurse Ratched to embody the emphasis American culture at the time put on conformity. When Nurse Ratched has the most control over the ward she concentrates on keeping the patients on a strict schedule and preparing them to go back into society. Chief Bromden claims Nurse Ratched dreams of a world of precision, efficiency and tidiness (Kesey 29). The Chief is convinced the mental ward is a factory for the Combine (Kesey 40). He believes the Combine is society as a whole and the ward is the place where people are sent if they are not fitting in to be fixed. Chief believes Nurse Ratched’s goal is to fix the mistakes made in the everyday lives of the patients and send them back out into the world better than they were before (Kesey 40). He

In the book Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen, Susanna Kaysen was only 18 years old when she agreed to enter a medium security psychiatric facility in Boston, McLean hospital in April 1967, after a failed suicide attempt. She insisted that her over dose on aspirin was not a suicide attempt, but after a 20 minute interview the doctor decided she needed to be admitted to a hospital. During her prolonged two-year stay at the hospital Kaysen describes the issues that most of the patients in her ward have to deal with and how they all differently deal with the amount of time they must stay in the hospital for. While in the hospital Kaysen experienced a case of depersonalization where she tried to pull the skin of her hands to see if there were bones underneath, after a failed escape attempt. Soon, after going to therapy and analysis she was labeled as having recovered from borderline personality disorder. After her release she realizes that McLean Hospital provided patients with more freedom than the outside world, by being free responsibility of parental pressure, free from school and job responsibilities, and being free from the “social norms” that society comes up with. Ultimately, being in captivity gave the patients more freedom then in society and created a safe environment in which patients wanted to stay in.

I believe the intervention will work for Kevin because based on the information provided Kevin seems open to new experiences and is ok will small group setting. The CTRS can build on this notion and show Kevin large group setting are nothing to fear just like the smaller group setting he is comfortable with. In the clinical summary it states that Kevin is involved in the right activities, so he is less shy in leisure activities. I believe this is a skill the CTRS can utilize because it shows Kevin is willing to try new things. Slowing increasing the group size and involving activities Kevin already enjoys will definitely help Kevin meet his treatment goal. I also believe this will be successful because the CTRS is taking into account

Freud believed that people could be cured by making conscious their unconscious thoughts and motivating, thus gaining insight. The aim of psychoanalysis therapy is to relate repressed emotions and experiences, by making the unconscious conscious. It is only having a cathartic or healing experience can the Person helped and “cured” (McLeod, 2007). Some psychoanalysis Assumptions are that psychoanalytic psychologist see psychological problems as rooted in the unconscious, which is the case for Dexter. Also according to McLeod (2007) Manifest psychologist are caused by hidden disturbances as well as typical causes include unsolved issues during development or repressed trauma, and the treatment focuses on bringing the repressed conflict to consciousness where a person can deal with

In her first journal entry Kaysen tells how the decision for her to go to McLean Hospital was based on a twenty minute conversation with a psychiatrist. Kaysen had been picking at her acne and been acting out in ways which would not be considered unusual for teens today, but at the time it was a sufficient excuse for commitment to an institution. In an interview, Kaysen further develops the idea that her illness was influenced by outside factors saying, “ [Her] retrospective account of her confinement at McLean Hospital makes a cultural intervention that challenges the notion that mental illness is rooted solely in the individual.” (Kaysan, 18). Being surrounded by girls with serious illnesses forced Kaysen to assume the role of a girl with a real mental illness. Society forced her to find something wrong with herself in an attempt to fit in. Kaysen questions what mental illness truly is. She asks,“Was everybody seeing this stuff and acting as though they weren't? Was insanity just a matter of dropping the act?” (Kaysen 41). Because Kaysen was labeled as being mentally ill although she was not, it became hard for her to tell what truly pronounced someone as mentally ill. Was everyone slightly crazy or were just some better at hiding it then others? Living in such an uptight society, people had no choice but to put on an act of perfection. When someone began to “drop the

Psychoanalysis was the name given by Sigmund Freud to a system of interpretation and therapeutic treatment of psychological disorders. (McLeod, 2007) In particular, we present five key concepts on psychoanalytic therapy: structure of personality, psychosexual stages, defense mechanism, anxiety, and the unconscious mind.

In the 1950s, Ellis grew dissatisfied with the effect of analytic forms of therapy since he discovered that his clients progressed as well when saw them bi-weekly, weekly, or daily. At that point, Ellis took a more active role counseling people with family or sex problems. Furthermore, Ellis discovered his clients seemed to progress more rapidly than when he used passive psychoanalytic procedures. By 1955, Ellis had abandoned psychoanalysis entirely with his clients. Moreover, Ellis concentrated on altering client’s behavior by challenging them with their irrational beliefs and influencing them to apply rational ones. This new method was more suited to Ellis’ personality since he could be more himself (Corey, 2013).

Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is a story revolving around “Chief” Bromden, a schizophrenic patient in a ward who pretends to be deaf and stupid. The ward is controlled by a nurse named Nurse Ratched. Nurse Ratched has a strict system of control over the ward and her patients, choosing staff members whom follow her loyally. In the ward we have two types of patients; the Acutes and the Chronics, the Acutes are those whom can still be treated and can become ‘model citizens’ while the Chronics are those who the staff believe are long past saving. Chief, the narrator is a Chronic and looks at the happenings within the ward from a passive point of view.

To begin with, Firth (2015) describes the Psychoanalytical approach (Freud) as focusing on the unconscious mind where events in childhood shape the potentially developed adult. For this reason, therapy aims to uncover past conflicts created in the unconscious mind and surface these (catharsis). Freud likened the mind to an iceberg. Additionally, within this approach is theory Firth (2015) also suggests Freud