Therapy and Treatment
Compare psychoanalytic, humanistic, behavioral, cognitive, group, family, biomedical, and community approaches to treatment.
A lesson of AP Psychology, in Clinical and Social Psychology, about 10 minutes.
Therapy and Treatment of Psychological Disorders
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to describe major psychotherapy approaches, explain how psychotropic medications work, and evaluate research on treatment effectiveness.
Psychodynamic Therapy
Roots: Freudian psychoanalysis; bring unconscious conflicts into conscious awareness.
Techniques:
- Free association: say whatever comes to mind without censorship
- Dream analysis: explore manifest (surface) vs. latent (hidden) content
- Analysis of resistance: the client's reluctance to discuss certain topics often points toward important material
- Transference: the client's feelings toward the therapist reflect past relationships; analyzed as a window into the past
Modern psychodynamic therapy: shorter; less focused on early childhood; more on current relationships and interpersonal patterns.
Humanistic Therapy
Core: the client has the capacity for growth and self-actualization; the therapist creates conditions for growth.
Carl Rogers' Person-Centered Therapy:
- Unconditional positive regard: accepting the client without judgment
- Empathy: deeply understanding the client's perspective
- Genuineness (congruence): the therapist is authentic, not playing a role
Non-directive: the therapist doesn't give advice or prescribe solutions — the client leads.
Behavioral Therapies
Based on learning principles: if behaviors are learned, they can be unlearned.
Systematic desensitization: for phobias; gradually expose the client to the feared stimulus while maintaining relaxation.
- Relaxation training
- Create an anxiety hierarchy (least to most feared)
- Pair each level with relaxation (classical conditioning — relaxation replaces fear response)
Exposure therapy (flooding): intense, immediate exposure to the feared stimulus; no gradual approach.
Token economy: operant conditioning; tokens earned for desired behaviors; exchanged for rewards.
Aversion therapy: pair unwanted behavior with an aversive stimulus.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
The most empirically supported psychotherapy. Combines cognitive therapy (changing thought patterns) with behavioral techniques.