Ego Defense Mechanisms

Within this model the counselor can employ a wide range of techniques to achieve the behavioural objectives agreed, these include - challenging irrational beliefs, rehearsing different self statements, experimentation of self statements in real situations and systematic desensitization (Mcleod 2008). Behavioural therapist work on changing behaviour and it’s assumed that changes in feeling and thinking will follow.

Transference is often manifested as an erotic attraction towards a therapist, but can be seen in many other forms such as rage, hatred, mistrust, prettification, extreme dependence, or even placing the therapist in a god-like or guru status. When Freud initially encountered transference in his therapy with clients, he felt it was an obstacle to treatment success. But what he learned was that the analysis of the transference was actually the work that needed to be done. The focus in psychodynamic psychotherapy is, in large part, the therapist and client recognizing the transference relationship and exploring what the meaning of the relationship is. Because the transference between patient and therapist happens on an unconscious level, psychodynamic therapists who are largely concerned with a patient's unconscious material use the transference to reveal unresolved conflicts patients have with figures from their childhoods. Countertransference is defined as redirection of a therapist's feelings toward a client, or more generally as a therapist's emotional entanglement with a client. A therapist's atonement to his own countertransference is nearly as critical as his understanding of the transference. Not only does this help the therapist regulate his or her own emotions in the therapeutic relationship, but it also gives the therapist valuable insight into

The ego tells us we are invincible, or that we can achieve things that we may have not thought through. Along with shaping our personality healing will also begin when we pay attention to different transferences and the actual treatment of the relationship. Much of this type of therapy is used for those individuals that have somehow attached their emotions to the object of relationships. Hanging on to the favorite sweater, only listening to music that the other person loved. This can also involve, defense mechanisms, and a struggle between the ego(rationality), and super ego (mortality). “Such therapy usually involves once-weekly 50-minute sessions, the length of treatment varying between 3 months and 2 years.” Essentially this particular theory method deals with resolving childhood or early in life conflicts.

I have recently undertaken client work as part of the academic requirement of this course and have experienced first-hand the important role which self-reflection plays when a client’s description of their problems, struck a similar chord within my own life. The identification of this set of maladaptive behaviours and rules of thought have only been identified and addressed due to participation of this Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Postgraduate Diploma and my initial work as a Trainee Therapist.

As a result, the usefulness of any therapy depends on the client, the therapist, and the nature of their relationship. In behavioral therapy based on operational unconditional or operant conditioning, it’s important for both the client and the therapist to reach a clear understanding about positive and negative behaviors and their rewards or consequences. Behavioral therapy seeks to change the behaviors associated with psychological problems using exposure treatments, such as systematic desensitization, implosion therapy, and flooding. What makes psychotherapy an effective treatment? 1) Support, is the success, regarding to a number of identifiable factors. The identifiable factors, are about people struggling with depression and self-doubt. (Psychotherapy may provide a welcome dose of acceptance, empathy, and encouragement). Many therapists, think carefully by providing support. The therapists first and foremost decision is before and when to tackle a task, of clients. 2). In Hope, to develop a communicable, visual sight, the light, towards at the end of the tunnel. The expectation, things will get better. 3) A New perspective, therapists will give their clients the opportunities and ability to recognize alternative solution(s) of the situation, circumstance at hand. 4). Motivation, (Therapists sometimes explain a client’s lack of response to treatment by saying that the client was not “ready to do the work.”), The patient, as a client must and willing get motivated. For the reasons, willing to put efforts and time, as measures require. Therapy, isn’t a passive process, it does get better. My closest friend, Kristy Rudolph. owns phobia’s and has a panic disorder, called. Agoraphobia, a very intense fear(s) of herself, being in a situation, being in a circumstance(s), from which, she won’t be capable, as able to escape. She, developed these fears, will occur, any given moment, fears of it happening, to

A therapist also treats the clients by asking socratic questioning. For example, Will you feel different if you are active? Consequently, the therapist will have the client to complete an easy task that is on the same schedule; therefore, the client can cooperate constantly with their therapist versus doing nothing. Some therapist used therapeutic strategies to treat the client regarding their negative thinking along with asking the client to provide reasoning such as why he/she is bashing themselves. At times, the therapist will ask questions that will make the client think am I over criticizing myself for this event unlikely, if it was my friend would I think of the event being so critical. It is possible for a client to feel heavy emotions that can be very painful in a therapy session that the therapist asks him/her to talk more about the situation to help ease the pain this technique will lift a bit of pressure from the client until the symptoms are taking care of eventually. It has been told that behavior therapy has been effective in the population of color people.

When a client seeks treatment, they have a reason. Among those reasons are self-deprecating beliefs and maladaptive life views.

Psychodynamic therapy – geared to limted objectives than to restructuring personality. Therapist lesss likely to use couch, fewer sessions per week, frequent use of supportive interventions, more self disclosure by therapist, focus more on pressing practical concerns than on fantasy material.

In working with adolescent students at a Bronx middle/high school, I have discovered that client resistance is an expected part of therapy. In Brandell (2010), “Psychoanalytic psychotherapy is painful because it stirs up affects of unpleasure. The arousal of these feelings mobilizes resistance” (p. 246). The discomfort brought on by addressing issues in therapy promotes learning. Learning about the problem itself, as well as, history of the issue, and what defenses arise to avoid exploring the matter. As stated in Brandell (2010), the manifestation of defenses offers, if examined, comprehension of reasons for defensiveness. “Schematically rendered, the therapist must demonstrate to the client that he or she is resisting, how he or she is

‘Clients often are able to provide a theory or an idea of cause, blaming past experiences for behaviors of which they are ashamed. The therapist listens to their explanations however are concerned more with their willingness to accept responsibility for their future behavior and the achievement for their attainable goals’ (Milner & O Byrne, P162). Furthermore, by ‘Acknowledging the clients paradoxical strategies have the effect of empowering clients of their perfectly valid cautious, more fearful concerns about change and leaving them to operate out of their arguments as to why change should be attempted’ (Cade, B. p156).

Psychological egoism is the view that everyone always acts selfishly. It describes human nature as being wholly self-centered and self-motivated. Psychological egoism is different from ethical egoism in their “direction of fit” to the world. Psychological ego-ism is a factual theory. It aims to fit the world. In the world is not how psychological ego-ism says it is because someone acts unselfishly, then something is wrong with psycho-logical egoism. In my opinion this argument is completely wrong and unsound.

When individuals experience problems, they apply different methods of dealing with their pain. According to Sigmund Freud, these diverse methods of dealing with pain are referred to as ego defense mechanisms. These mechanisms, though originally conceived by Freud, it was his daughter, Anna Freud, who did much of their development. Freudian psychology postulates that ego defense mechanisms can either be healthy or unhealthy with regard to the prevailing circumstances and to what extent a person applies them (Kramer, 2009). For instance, if a husband at one time slams down his briefcase because he is mad at his wife, that may not be such a big deal. However, if the husband frequently takes his anger out by hurling and breaking things, he might need a better way of dealing with his anger, namely, ego defense mechanisms.

In the therapy interaction, these misconceptions must be heard by the therapist and given ample time in counseling to talk about and “unpacked,” for further qualification. This may take time and patients to hear these feelings and to process with the client.

Expressive arts therapy is the use of art modalities, creative process, and aesthetic experience in a therapeutic context. It is a therapy of the imagination (McNiff, 1992). Effective communication is an essential element in therapeutic relationships and, although verbal language is the most conventional means of conveying information, other forms can convey just as much as words. The arts are an alternative form of communication that has recently received recognition for their value in therapeutic settings. There is a long well-established connection between the arts and psychology. Expressive arts therapy builds on a natural, complimentary relationship between the two disciplines. As a formal therapy, this form is relatively new with its

The Cognitive Behavioural approach to therapy sees the client-therapist relationship as a collaborative effort to identify disturbances in the client’s cognitive processes and to then transform these processes to create beneficial changes in thought and behaviour (Corey, 2013). Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a structured therapy whereby the therapist may take a direct approach in collaborating with the client to set goals and create a therapeutic agenda (Josefowitz & Myran, 2005). Cognitive Behaviour Therapy makes use of an array of interventions which promote skills within the client to facilitate self-directed change (Josefowitz & Myran, 2005). Rational Emotive Behaviour