Effective Psychotherapy: Understanding Different Approaches and Techniques, Study notes of Psychology

Download Effective Psychotherapy: Understanding Different Approaches and Techniques and more Study notes Psychology in PDF only on Docsity! Chapter 15: Therapy Psychotherapy Treatment designed to assist people with their mental, emotional, and behavioral problems Eclecticism: Tailoring treatment of individuals to meet their particular needs. Using various type of therapy depending on factors such as Specific type of disorder Personality of the person being treated Goals of the Chapter Understand the most effective ways to treat biologically based psychological problems Understand how irrational beliefs and faulty attributions be changed Understand environmental factors can be altered to reduce or eliminate abnormal behaviors Understand how effectiveness of psychotherapy can be evaluated Biomedical Therapies Hippocrates Believed psychological distress (depression & mania) should be treated as products of the body Subscribed to medical model (disorders as diseases) Opinion that abnormal behavior is related to biology gained scientific validity in 1800’s Victims of syphilis deteriorated into psychosis Biomedical Therapies: Medications Biomedical Therapy: Biologically based treatment for reducing or eliminating the symptoms of psychological disorders Chlorpromazine: Fist success with antipsychotic drugs reduced positive symptoms of schizophrenia Used in 1950s to treat delusions, hallucinations Currently many psychological disorders are treated with medications Contributed to reducing the number of patients who used to live out their lives in hospitals Chapter 15 2 Unfortunately, some medications have unpleasant and potentially harmful side-effects Side effects include involuntary movements of tongue, jaw, face, heart conditions, disorientation, suicidality Antipsychotic Drugs Medications that effectively treat positive symptoms of schizophrenia Act as antagonist, blocking and slowing the action of dopamine in the brain Do not work well on negative symptoms Produce unwanted & unpleasant side-effects Drowsiness, difficulty concentrating, blurry vision Tardive Dyskenesia: uncontrollable facial tics Over past decades new medications (clozapine & resperidone) have come onto the market Reduce negative side-effects Help with negative symptoms Work on variety of receptors (dopamine, seratonin & others) indicating complex of disease Anti-Depressant Drugs Tricyclics: first successful med to treat depression Effects production of nor-epinephrine to remain in synapse thus modulating its effects Prozac: advanced med that effects serotonin reuptake The true reason for medication effects is unknown Example: Aspirin It takes several weeks for medication to stabilize levels of neurotransmitters in the brain Side-effects including restlessness, insomnia, and reduced sexual drive Lithium Carbonate: effective for bipolar disorders Prevents recurrence of manic episodes Must be monitored closely due to its toxicity Anti-Anxiety Drugs Benzodiazepines: Tranquilizer meds (Valium & Xanax) that reduce tension and anxiety Very popular in 1970’s with declining use as doctors realize the med’s addictive properties Increase effectiveness of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain Enhance ability to inhibit emotions & lowers levels of arousal Chapter 15 5 Psychoanalysis is very time consuming Requires extensive training on the part of the therapist Time is money so therapy is expensive Its also difficult to measure gains the patient makes Brief psychoanalysis moves process along faster Therapist takes a more active role Transference can be “forced” through role play Target & deal with most stubborn & maladaptive defenses Insight Therapies: Cognitive Changing Maladaptive Beliefs Therapy designed to remove a patient’s irrational beliefs & negative thoughts Maladaptive thinking coupled with every-day events is seen as the cause of psychological distress & abnormal behavior Example: Being dumped by your significant other coupled with an irrational belief “I’m never going to find someone else” leads to depression & anxiety Examples of Maladaptive Beliefs Catastrophizing: “There is no hope for me.” Dichotomous Thinking: “Either you are happy or your are miserable, there is no middle ground.” Personalizing: “I’m personally responsible for everything that has gone wrong in my life.” Arbitrary Inference: “People are only happy when they are wealthy, I will never be happy” Rational-Emotive Therapy Goal is to remove irrational beliefs through active & aggressive confrontation. Pioneered by Albert Ellis Client’s maladaptive thoughts are verbally challenged with great vigor until the client gives up the beliefs Beck’s Approach Takes the subtle road towards changing irrational beliefs by letting clients realize their own mal-adaptive tendencies Therapist acts as advisor & guide Patient is asked to become a psychological detective & keep records of their automatic thoughts & feelings Experiential “homework” is frequently assigned Chapter 15 6 Insight Therapies: Humanistic Treating the Human Spirit Goal is to help patient gain insight into their own inherent self-worth & value as a human being Patient is already in possession of everything they need to get well but have lost sight of this potential Process of discovery is geared towards finding one’s own unique potential & fundamental capacity to better oneself Client Centered Therapy An attempt is made to let the patient find the key to their own health & happiness Therapist acts as a guide, sounding board & source of unconditional positive regard The client is encouraged to resolve their sense of incongruence Therapist is encouraged to gain true understanding of a client’s level of affective functioning Through empathy the therapist learn to reflect, and redirect emotions towards the client until they get clear understanding of their own feelings If the therapist provides the proper supportive environment, the client will recognize their own self-worth Insight Therapies: Group Therapy Allows several patients to be treated simultaneously Advantages to Group Approach: Groups are more cost effective Hearing how others deal with their psychological distress is educational Hearing others talk about similar problems makes problems seem less “freakish” & people feel less alone Group settings teach trust & other social skills Family Therapy Goal is to provide treatment to the family as whole social system One family member’s suffering effects all others Family members can collaborate & pool resources in aiding the recovery of other members Chapter 15 7 Educating family members about the details of a mental illness will create a more understanding environment for the patient Treating the Environment Behavioral Therapies Designed to change behavior through use of established learning techniques Idea is that maladaptive behavior is learned & can be unlearned through changes in the environment Take the mind (beliefs, thoughts & feelings) out of the equation to focus specifically on behavior Three main types: Conditioning techniques Applying rewards and punishments Social skills training Treating the Environment: Conditioning Systematic Desensitization Use counter-conditioning & extinction to reduce fear, anxiety associated with an object or event Patients works through an “anxiety hierarchy” of situations that lead to fearful reactions Patient beings by imagine a fearful situations while working to stay remaining relaxed Patient can eventually face the real situation Aversion Therapy Goal is to replace a positive reaction to a harmful stimulus with something negative & unpleasant Effective as long as you continue the exposure to the aversive stimulus Ethically questionable as well Example: Give a drug (Antabuse) that causes severe nausea when alcohol is ingested Treating Environment: Reward & Punishment