Psychodynamic Approaches And Psychodynamic Therapy

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.

Many methods are used in CBT. One method is that called stoicism, which emerged from the Greek and Roman world and argued that the mind (or soul) must be something that obeys the laws of physics (Rubarth). Not all approaches to CBT emphasize stoicism though. Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, Rational Behavior Therapy, and Rational Living Therapy emphasizes aspects of stoicism. Beck 's Cognitive Therapy is not based on stoicism. Another method is the Socratic Method. This is when we as a therapist want to gain a very good understanding of our clients ' concerns and therefore ask many questions. Therapist also encourage their clients to ask questions of themselves as well. Yet another method used is an educational model. Most emotional and behavioral reactions are

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a mixture of both Cognitive Therapy (CT), which deals with a person’s thoughts and Behavioral Therapy (BT), which concentrates on an individual’s overt or outside personality. According to Barbara P. Early and Melissa D. Grady, CT specializes in the mental process that can affect an individual’s feelings and behavior, while BT is focusing on the external environment that can cause the behaviors, such as a stimulus (Early & Grady, 2016). The use of the two therapies together allows the

Over the past couple weeks of this course, I was able to learn about psychodynamic psychoanalytical, humanistic, and cognitive-behavioral theoretical orientations. Taking the questionnaire provided in the text, I could identify which treatment style I aligned with most. At this point in my development, I lean towards thought-focused and action-focused treatment styles. Specifically, the theoretical orientation I am drawn to is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). I am drawn to cognitive-behavioral therapy because I believe it is effective within the development of goals, therapeutic alliance, and I can easily apply it with my own life and even potential work setting.

Psychodynamic therapy has been around for ages, and has been very beneficial for clients who are suffering from an array of difficulties in life. This form of therapy has the client focus on the past and understand how it has positively or negatively affected his/her behavior and outlook on life. There are many advantages and disadvantages to taking this historical approach when working with families.

The client, Ms Iris, is a 38 years old female. She lives in the urban area of a non-specified capital city of Europe. She has been married for fifteen years and she used to work as a secretary. She quitted for unspecified reasons. Though her exact level of education is not given, she has succesfully finished high-school. She was attending a school, so to learn a secondary language. Both of her parents are alive, but she doesn't maintain a healthy realationship with them, especially with her father, although she tries.

Although, psychodynamic therapy seems legitimate when it states in depth that a person’s actions are based off his or her subconscious mind, a person’s free will or attitude towards change is always a factor. The psychodynamic therapy focuses on the patient’s past childhood experiences to discover the cause; yet, ultimately, the therapy will not discover the solution. Next, according to Scott M. Bea, PsyD, a Clinical associate, the biggest disadvantage of psychodynamic therapy is it “may be misapplied to patients whose symptoms are not based in unconscious conflict. It relies on hypothetical constructs that have not been evaluated empirically in systematic and controlled studies” (121). In addition, is it likely to even be able to scientifically and logically study conceptions such as the unconscious mind? As has been noted, Freud's theories are subjective and arbitrary; therefore, a clear disadvantage to psychodynamic therapy is the unscientific data and it’s impossible to test in the approach to human behavior through the unconscious mind. Clearly, in the midst of research, Freud grabbed hold of a genius idea which, in turn, created other therapies, but, unfortunately, lacked the diverse evidence for full proof.

CBT is a relatively young model and theory. What we know as CBT, began in the 1950's with Albert Ellis's Rational Emotive Behavioral approach to therapy (Dobson, 2001). Later in the 1960's, Aaron Beck began using Cognitive Therapy in treating depression. (Barlow, 2001. 230) The origins of what we now know as cognitive behavioral theory is said to come from earlier theories and concepts. Credit can be given to early philosophers such as Kant (1782), theorists such as Alfred Adler (Individual Psychology), and behaviorists such as Joseph Wolpe and George Kelly . Frued can also be mentioned, albeit indirectly, for his theory was quite distressing to Adler who stated, “I am convinced that a person's behaviors springs from his ideas.” (pg 306. Milkman and Sunderwirth, 2010). Pavlov and Skinner can also be acknowledged, for their work in learned behavior and conditioning, which directly correlates to the concepts of cognitive behavioral therapy. More recently, A.

Both person-centred and psychodynamic models therefore argue that the role of the therapist is to create an environment that feels safe to explore issues and has a strong focus on the therapeutic relationship (McLeod, 1998), as opposed to CBT which is to mutually agree a treatment plan and to teach the clients different problem solving models where they can explore the meaning they have attached to events in life (Neenan & Dryden, 2004).

An important difference between the two approaches is that CBT therapy may have a short duration, whereas in the psychodynamic approach the treatment period is expected to be long and may even last for years. Another difference between the two approaches is that CBT is a structured therapy with specific

Freud (1895) regarded anxiety as a result of repressed or non-discharged libido. According to this psychodynamic theory, repression leads to anxiety (Zerbe, 1990). Hence why, people with anxiety disorders tend to have difficulty managing their complex emotions, often responding with physical and mental symptoms or avoidant behavioral patterns (Abbass et al., 2014). Current trends in psychodynamic therapy have allowed for more focused, time-limited sessions that may prove beneficial for clients, like Steven, who experience anxiety. For this reason, short-term psychodynamic psychotherapies (STPP) have been recognized and thought to work by allowing an individual to become aware of his/her thoughts, emotions and problems with communication and/or

Today Cognitive behavioral Therapy has been influenced by two major therapeutic approaches: firstly, Behaviorism as developed by Skinner, Pavlov and others in the 1950s and 1960s, where the main research was related to rewards and punishments, or stimuli’ and their response. Second is Cognitive therapy which was introduced or made popular by Beck and Ellis in the 1960s. CBT by definition is a form of treatment that focuses on examining the relationships between thoughts, feelings and behaviors. By exploring the patterns of thinking that lead to negative actions and the beliefs that dictate these thoughts, families can identify and change the patterns in order to

CBT and Psychoanalysis have a different explanation about what factors can cause us have negative feelings and unwanted behaviours. So they both have a different therapy approach about how to help the client cope with their problem effectively.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) was created by Aaron Beck, a professor in psychiatry in the 1960’s (Beck, 2011). Initially, Beck sought out to prove the psychoanalytic idea that depression stemmed from anger towards oneself (Beck, 2011). However, during his research he found that misleading thoughts and beliefs were the reasoning behind depression. Beck theorized that one’s current feelings about something are derived from an initial encounter that gave meaning to that specific event. So, negative feelings about a particular occurrence can be a result of misinformation (Beck & Greenberg, 1984).