Module 53: Introduction to Therapy and the Psychological Therapies

_______ therapies are designed to help individuals discover the thoughts and feelings that guide their motivation and behavior

insight

Some maladaptive behaviors are learned. What hope does this fact provide?

If a behavior can be learned, it can be unlearned, and replaced by other more adaptive responses.

Aaron Beck

pioneer in Cognitive Therapy. Suggested negative beliefs cause depression.

biomedical therapy

prescribed medications or medical procedures that act directly on the person's physiology

Catastrophizing

- relentless, overgeneralized, self-blaming behavior

integrative therapy

A combination of techniques from different therapies based on the therapist's judgment of which particular methods will provide the greatest benefit for the client.

What might a psychodynamic therapist say about Mowrer's therapy for bed-wetting? How might a behavior therapist defend it?

A psychodynamic therapist might be more interested in helping the child develop insight about the underlying problems that have caused the bed-wetting response. A behavior therapist would be more likely to agree with Mowrer that the bed-wetting symptom is the problem, and that counterconditioning the unwanted behavior would indeed bring emotional relief.

systematic desensitization

A type of exposure therapy that associates a pleasant relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli. Commonly used to treat phobias.

After a near-fatal car accident, Rico developed such an intense fear of driving on the freeway that he takes lengthy alternative routes to work each day. Which psychological therapy might best help Rico overcome his phobia, and why?

Behavior therapies are often the best choice for treating phobias. Viewing Rico's fear of the freeway as a learned response, a behavior therapist might help Rico learn to replace his anxious response to freeway driving with a relaxation response

How do humanistic and cognitive therapies differ?

By reflecting clients' feelings in a nondirective setting, the humanistic therapies attempt to foster personal growth by helping clients become more self-aware and self-accepting. By making clients aware of self-defeating patterns of thinking, cognitive therapies guide people toward more adaptive ways of thinking about themselves and their world.

psychodynamic therapy

therapy deriving from the psychoanalytic tradition that views individuals as responding to unconscious forces and childhood experiences, and that seeks to enhance self-insight

Exposure therapies and aversive conditioning are applications of ___________ conditioning. Token economies are an application of _____________ conditioning.

Classical; operant

O.H. Mowrer

Developed conditioning therapy for chronic bed-wetters

active listening

Empathic listening in which the listener echoes, restates, and clarifies. A feature of Rogers' client-centered therapy.

A therapist who helps patients search for the unconscious roots of their problem and offers interpretations of their behaviors, feelings, and dreams, is drawing from - psychoanalysis - humanistic therapies - client-centered therapy - behavior therapy

Psychoanalysis

What are the insight therapies, and how do they differ from behavior therapies?

The insight therapies-- psychodynamic and humanistic therapies-- seek to relieve problems by providing a understanding of their origins. Behavior therapies assume the problem behavior is the problem and treat it directly, paying less attention to its origins.

Behavior therapy

therapy that applies learning principles to the elimination of unwanted behaviors

Cognitive Revolution

The shift away from strict behaviorism, begun in the 1950s, characterized by renewed interest in fundamental problems of consciousness and internal mental processes.

What is cognitive-behavioral therapy, and what sorts of problems does this therapy best address?

This integrative therapy helps people change self-defeating thinking and behavior. It has been shown to be effective for those with anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, depressive disorders, bipolar disorder, and eating disorders

counterconditioning

a behavior therapy procedure that uses classical conditioning to evoke new responses to stimuli that are triggering unwanted behaviors; includes exposure therapies and aversive conditioning

unconditional positive regard

a caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients to develop self-awareness and self-acceptance

virtual reality exposure therapy

a counterconditioning technique that treats anxiety by creative electronic simulations in which people can safely face their greatest fears, such as airplane flying, spiders, or public speaking

dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)

a form of therapy used to treat borderline personality disorder

client-centered therapy

a humanistic therapy, developed by Carl Rogers, in which the therapist uses techniques such as active listening within a genuine, accepting, empathic environment to facilitate clients' growth. (Also called person-centered therapy.)

free association (psychoanalysis)

a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing

cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)

a popular integrative therapy that combines cognitive therapy (changing self-defeating thinking) with behavior therapy (changing behavior)

progressive relaxation

a technique of learning to relax by focusing on relaxing each of the body's muscle groups in turn

A therapist who restates and clarifies the client's statements is practicing the technique of ____________ ______________

active listening

eclectic approach

an approach to psychotherapy that, depending on the client's problems, uses techniques from various forms of therapy

token economy

an operant conditioning procedure in which people earn a token of some sort for exhibiting a desired behavior and can later exchange the tokens for various privileges or treats

aversive conditioning

associates an unpleasant state with an unwanted behavior

exposure therapies

behavioral techniques, such as systematic desensitization, that treat anxieties by exposing people (in imagination or actuality) to the things they fear and avoid

A critical attribute of the ____________ ______________ developed by Aaron Beck focuses on the belief that changing people's thinking can change their functioning.

cognitive therapy

__________- ____________ therapy helps people to change their self-defeating ways of thinking and to act out those changes in their daily behavior

cognitive-behavioral

Behavior therapists often use ____________ techniques such as systematic desensitization and aversive conditioning to encourage clients to produce new responses to old stimuli

counterconditioning

Cognitive therapy has been especially effective in treating -nail biting - phobias - alcohol use disorder - depression

depression

In family therapy, the therapist assumes that - only one family member needs to change - each person's actions trigger reactions from other family members - dysfunctional family behaviors are based largely on genetic factors - therapy is most effective when clients are treated apart from the family unit

each person's actions trigger reactions from other family members

the goal of behavior therapy is to - identify and treat the underlying causes of the problem - improve learning and insight - eliminate the unwanted behavior - improve communication and social sensitivity

eliminate unwanted behavior

interpretation

in psychoanalysis, the analyst's noting supposed dream meanings, resistances, and other significant behaviors and events in order to promote insight

Resistance

in psychoanalysis, the blocking from consciousness of anxiety-laden material

transference

in psychoanalysis, the patient's transfer to the analyst of emotions linked with other relationships (such as love or hatred for a parent)

Ways to improve communication

paraphrase, invite clarification, reflect feelings

Compared with psychoanalysts, humanistic therapists are more likely to emphasize -hidden or repressed feelings -childhood experiences -psychological disorders -self-fulfillment and growth

self-fulfillment and growth

behavior modification

the use of operant conditioning techniques to bring about desired changes in behavior

insight therapies

therapies that aim to improve psychological functioning by increasing a person's awareness of underlying motives and defenses

The technique of _________ ___________ teaches people to relax in the presence of progressively more anxiety-provoking stimuli

systematic desensitization

stress inoculation training

teaching people to restructure their thinking in stressful situations

Humanistic Perspective

the psychological view that assumes the existence of the self and emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and the freedom to make choices

cognitive therapies

therapy that teaches people new, more adaptive ways of thinking and acting; based on the assumption that thoughts intervene between events and our emotional reactions

family therapy

therapy that treats the family as a system. Views an individual's unwanted behaviors as influenced by, or directed at, other family members

At a treatment center, people who display a desired behavior receive coins that they can later exchange for other rewards. This is an example of a(n) ______________ _____________.

token economy

In psychoanalysis, when patients experience strong feelings for their therapist, this is called ________________. Patients are said to demonstrate anxiety when they put up mental blocks around sensitive memories, indicating _______________. The therapist will attempt to provide insight into the underlying anxiety by offering an _____________ of the mental blocks.

transference, resistance, interpretation

Psychotherapy

treatment involving psychological techniques; consists of interactions between a trained therapist and someone seeking to overcome psychological difficulties or achieve personal growth