PSYCOTERAPHY OR TALK THERAPHY FOR

DEPRESSION

Psychotherapy or talk therapy offers people the opportunity to identify the factors that contribute to

their depression and to deal effectively with the psychological, behavioral, interpersonal and

situational causes. "Talking" therapies help patients gain insight into and resolve their problems

through verbal exchange with the therapist, sometimes combined with "homework" assignments

between sessions

It involves verbal and nonverbal communication about thoughts, feelings, emotions and behaviors

in individual, group or family sessions in order to change unhealthy patterns of coping, relieve

emotional distress and encourage personality growth and improved interpersonal relations.

For people with mild to moderate depression, it may be effective on its own. But many people with

major depression do better with treatment that combines psychotherapy and antidepressant

medication.

Common factors in psycotherapy:

Listening - by listening intently, the therapist shows concern for the patient's problem and

begins to develop the helping relationship in which the patient feels understood.

The theapeutic relationship - this is generally thought to be the most important of the

common factors in psycotherapy. However, it may become too intense with resulting

problems.

Release of emotion - Emotional release can be helpful at the begining of treatment, but

repeated release is seldom useful. Intense and rapid emotional release is caled abreaction.

Advice and guidance - these are part of all psychotherapy. In brief therapies, the advice and

guidance is given directly; in long-term treatments the patient is made to seek the answers,

but may still be guided - less obviously - in deciding which are right.

Providing information - Distressed patient's may remember little of what they have been told

about their condition because their concentration is poor. Information should be as simple

as possible and expressed clearly. It may be necessary to explain important points more

than once, or write them down.

Psychotherapy can be a very useful way of resolving emotional and interpersonal problems but it

does requires a commitment of your time and energy:

depression,

mood disorders,

anxiety disorders,

eating disorders,

problems associated with abuse of alcohol or drugs

problems related to life circumstances and events, such as loss and grief, marital

difficulties, abuse or traumatic events, or dealing with aging parents or adolescent children,

sexual disorders,

sleep disorders,

difficulties in developing intimate relationships,

disorders involving disruptions in the functions of consciousness, identity, and memory,

personality disorders.

In the case of severe mental illness such as schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders,

psychotherapy is frequently used to help patients understand and manage their illness. Armed with

this understanding, the patient is more likely to remain in treatment and thus to avoid relapse.

There are a wide number of different types of effective therapeutic approaches utilized for the

treatment of depression today. Many forms of psychotherapy, including some short-term (10-20

week) therapies, can help depressed individuals.

Both individual and group modalities are commonly used, depending upon the severity of the

depressive episode and the local resources within an individual's community. Professional

Psychotherapy/Counselling utilises Counselling, Psychotherapeutic, and Psychological theories,

and a set of advanced interpersonal skills which emphasise processes of facilitation. Such

processes are based on an ethos of respect for clients, their values, their beliefs, their uniqueness

and the right to self-determination.

Various methods of psychotherapy can help depression, including:

Rational Emotive Therapy

Our thoughts and the way we think influence our feelings. Lets take some examples:

If you feel you are stupid and incompetent, you grew with the feel of worthlessness and

become indecisive and self-critical.

If you think people doesn't like you, you feel depressed and socially withdrawn. You are

disappointed.

If you think you should have help to do something, you might feel inadequate and become

dependent.

If you feel nothing will work out for you, you feel sad or passive and you stop trying.

No doubt there are connections between thoughts and feelings and/or actions.

Introduction on Rational Emotive Therapy:

Rational-Emotive therapy (RET) is built on the belief that how we respond emotionally at any

moment depends on our interpretations, views, beliefs, thoughts, etc. of the situation. To phrase it

differently, the things we think and say to ourselves, cause our positive or negative emotions.

The principle of this Rational-Emotional therapy is the relationship between thinking, feeling and

action. It is an analysis model: what is going on? It has self-control procedures. This helps you in

becoming able to easily influence the situation. You can gain insight in certain way of thinking.

Belief against which Rational Emotive Therapy (RET) works.

Some of the beliefs which cause the trouble are as follows:

It is necessary for an adult to be loved or approved by everyone for everything he does.

Certain acts are wrong, wicked and that people who perform them should be severely

punished.

One needs one stronger than oneself on which to rely instead of standing on one's own two

feet.

One should be thoroughly competent, adequate, intelligent, and achieving in all respects

instead of looking at oneself as an imperfect being.

If something once affected one's life it should always affect it instead of learning from

experiences.

It is important to our existence what other people do instead of realizing people's

deficiencies are their own problems.

One has no control over his emotions and can not help feeling certain things instead of

accepting the control we can have over our lives.

Unhappiness is externally caused and forced on one by outside people and events.

If something is fearsome or dangerous one should be terribly concerned about it instead of

facing it head on.

It is easier to avoid than face life difficulties and self responsibilities instead of looking

directly at the problem.

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is a cognitive-behavioral approach for treatment of

stress, depression, hostility, anxiety etc. developed by Dr. Albert Ellis in 1955.

According to this therapy, emotional and behavioral ailments are the result of irrational thoughts,

assumptions and beliefs. This therapy identifies those problematic and erroneous ideas and

replace them with more rational, reality-based thoughts and perspectives.

REBT- Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy since its inception, has flourished and spawned a

variety of other cognitive-behavior therapies. Its effectiveness, short-term nature, and low cost are

major reasons for its wide acceptance and popularity.

Information on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT).

REBT's (Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy) overall approach works for individuals who desire a

scientific, present-focused and effective treatment for coping with life's problems, rather than one

which is mystical and largely passive.

People who take REBT are taught and encouraged to accept personal responsibility for their own

thoughts, feelings and behavior. They are empowered to change reactions and beliefs that are

mal-adaptive, distorted, interfere with their goals and effect their enjoyment of life. Gradually with

practice, the new ideas become part of the person and it integrates into their way of living.

Simple Principles of Rational Emotive Behavior (REBT) Therapy.

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is based on the following simple principles having

profound implications:

You yourself are responsible for your emotions and actions.

These harmful emotions and dysfunctional behaviors are the after effects of your irrational

thinking.

You can imbibe the realistic view in yourself and then practice them to make it your life's

part.

You can experience more satisfactions in life by developing and following a reality-based

perspective. By this you will tend to accept yourself more

How Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) Works?

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) distinguishes between practical problems and

emotional problems. Practical problems are actual events and situations that are problematic,

whereas emotional problems are reactions to such events and situations that are inappropriate,

inaccurate (over-reactions or under-reactions), and actually or potentially harmful. While one

cannot always control things that happen in life, one is responsible for what one makes of it and

how one handles it. REBT addresses the emotional suffering by helping you in the ways as

mentioned in the simple principles above.

A number of techniques are used in this active approach, such as rational-emotive imagery (in

which people imagine themselves thinking, feeling and behaving in ways they would like to think,

feel and behave in real life), role-playing, homework assignments, desensitization, and

assertiveness exercises. The goal is freedom from emotional upheaval and a more authentic and

joyful engagement in life.

Does Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) devoid you of Feelings?

Lets assume that you take the above suggestions to heart and you greatly reduce your anxiety,

hostility, depression, and addictions, what is left now?

Will you exist robot-like, devoid of human feeling and motivation?

No! Without your turmoil, you'll more easily experience love, involvement, and joy. Without your

addictions, you'll be more free to engage in gratifying experiences of spontaneity, commitment, and

self-actualization.

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) Bottomline

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) technique will help you if you relish quickly taking

control of your own life, rather than depending upon a therapist for years. By giving you tools for

identifying and overcoming the real cause of your difficulties, it will enable you to act in many ways

as your own therapist. And by helping you to enhance realistic, self-benefiting beliefs, it will help

you to eliminate present emotional and behavioral problems, and to avoid future ones.

Adlerian Play Therapy

Adlerian Psychotherapy is both humanistic and goal-oriented.

Adlerian Therapy is a growth model. It stresses a positive view of human nature and that we are in

control of our own fate and not a victim of it. It places an emphasis on the individual's strivings for

success, connectedness with others, and contributions to society as being hallmarks of mental

health.

We start at an early age in creating our own unique style of life and that style stays relatively

constant through the remained of our life. That we are motivated by our setting of goals, how we

deal with the tasks we face in life, and our social interest.

Adlerian psychotherapy or counselling is derived from the so-called individual psychology of

Alfred Adler (1870-1937), one of the early disciples of Freud. In contrast to the latter, Adler

attributed less importance to infantile sexual development in the psychogenesis of neuroses and

more to the child's experiences with power and powerlessness.

The therapist will focus on and examine the clients' lifestyle and the therapist will try to form a

mutual respect and trust for each other. They will then mutually set goals and the therapist will

provided encouragement and make suggestions on how the client can reach these goals.

The therapist also provides encouragement for making changes that will assist the person in

attaining his or her goals.

Adlerian Therapy Focus

Importance of the feelings of self (ego) that arise form interactions & conflicts

Sense of self (ego) central core of personality

Ego = core individuality of person

Start from Psychoanalysis

Emphasis on motivation & social interaction

How Adlerian Therapy works?

The goal of Adlerian Therapy is to challenge and encourage the clients' premises and goals, to

encourage goals that are useful socially and to help them feel equal. These goals may be from any

component of life including, parenting skills, marital skills, ending substance abuse, and most

anything else.

Th Adlerian therapist provides a supportive, accepting environment that can help you build trust,

hope and confidence. This can be achieved in a non-judgemental, non-labeling context where the

client is stimulated (or irritated) into thoughts and actions which strive for a postive, balanced,

connected, competent and creative approach to self and others. The therapist may also assign

homework, setup contracts between them and the client, and make suggestions on how the client

can reach their goals.

Existential Therapy

The existential approach is first and foremost philosophical. It is concerned with the understanding

of people's position in the world and with the clarification of what it means to be alive. The

existential therapeutic approach emphasizes "free will," the ability to make choices that are not

dictated by heredity or past conditioning, through which an individual can become the person that

he or she wants to be.

Existential therapy is also committed to exploring these questions with a receptive attitude, rather

than a dogmatic one: the search for truth with an open mind and an attitude of wonder is the aim,

not the fitting of the client into pre-established categories and interpretations.

Following his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp, Victor Frankl developed a kind of

existential therapy he called logotherapy. Logotherapy is directed towards helping clients

reappraise what is really important (most meaningful) in their life. Existential thinkers avoid

restrictive models that categorise or label people. Instead they look for the universals that can be

observed transculturally. There is no existential personality theory which divides humanity up into

types or reduces people to part components. Instead there is a description of the different levels of

experience and existence that people are inevitably confronted with.

Existential therapy by different thinkers or psychotherapists

Existential therapy stems from a branch of philosophy known as existentialism, which examines

the meaning of existence. It can be traced back to the last century and the work of philosophers

Kierkegaard and Nietzche. Other famous existentialists include Viktor Frankl, Rollo May, Jean Paul

Sarte, and Irvin Yalom.

According to Emmy van Deursen (Dryden 2002) existential therapy deals with how therapists

enable individuals to become truthful to themselves by widening their perspectives on themselves

and on the world around them.

Irvin Yalom (1989, p. 127) is another thinker who thinks that there are four existence which include

the freedom to make our lives as we will, finding the meaning of life, how aloneness can affect us

and how existential therapy can enable us to comprehend these.

Another aspect of Ellis' existential therapy is that it is an evolving theory and a revolution in the

field of therapy. According to Ellis, existential therapy is still a relatively new concept and not

accepted by many. One of the reasons being that the field deals with both cognitive as well as

behavioral; especially Ellis' RET which allows one to explore individual behaviors and emotions to

various cause and effect. The dynamic nature of the concept therefore tends to evolve the concept

as more and more individuals are exposed to it.

Albert Ellis is unique in the sense that he's furthered the concept of existential psychotherapy

which in essence works in the interest of the individuals from the dynamic point of view that takes

into account of all aspects of life and the emotional response individuals elicit.

What are the goals of Existential Therapy?

Living in the present

Increasing self-awareness and authentic living

Finding personal meaning

Coping with anxiety

Taking responsibility for decisions

There is no precisely defined existential therapy. In one sense, all therapists, regardless of their

orientations (behaviorist, psychodynamic) can be said to be practicing "existentially" if they pay

attention to the themes in their work. More usually, however, existential therapists are also

humanistically oriented and often person/client-centered.

Gestalt Therapy

Gestalt Therapy is a powerful experiential psychotherapy focusing on contact and awareness in

the here and now. Gestalt Therapy provides a system of concepts describing the structure and

organization of living in terms of aware relations.  In gestalt psychology terms, this means the

application of the phenomenological method: looking at 'what is', not at some abstract theoretical

explanation. The crucial therapeutic tool used by Perls in his reworking of gestalt theory is just this

ability of the person to contact his on-going presentness.

Gestalt Therapy is based on the fact:

that psychosis also occurs in connection with organic brain disturbances as the reduced

function of this important organ means an impasse situation for the individual

that psychosis also develops in healthy persons who are subjected to severe deprivation

(thirst, prison etc.).

Gestalt therapists believe their approach is uniquely capable of responding to the difficulties and

challenges of living, both in its ability to relieve us of some measure of our misery and by showing

the way to some of the best we can achieve. These academic gestalt theoreticians made available

contributions to perception and cognitive psychology, but they neglected the wider realms of

personality, psychopathology, psychotherapy (except for some of the social-psychological work of

field theorist Kurt Lewin).

Origin and development of Gestalt therapy

The theory of Gestalt therapy has three major sources. First is psychoanalysis, which contributed

some of its major principles concerned with the inner life. Humanistic, holistic, phenomenological

and existential writings, which center on personal experience and everyday life, constitute a

second source. Gestalt psychology, the third source, gave to Gestalt therapy much more than its

name. Though Gestalt therapy is not directly an application or extension of it, Gestalt psychology's

thoroughgoing concentration on interaction and process, many of its important experimental

observations and conclusions, and its insistence that a psychology about humans include human

experience have inspired and informed Gestalt therapy.

Gestalt therapy was founded in the socio-cultural context of humanistic psychotherapies. It was

Friedrich (Fritz) Perls (1893-1970), whose intuition gave rise to this form of therapy together with

his wife, Laura (Lore) Perls (1905-1990), née Posner. They were both German Jews, trained in

psychoanalysis and Gestalt psychology. Together they fled from National Socialism in 1933, first to

Amsterdam, then to South Africa and subsequently to the United States, where their theoretical

and practical insights were further developed by a group of American intellectuals with a deep

knowledge of psychoanalysis. Of these the most outstanding were Paul Goodman, Isadore From,

Paul Weisz, Lotte Weisz, Elliot Shapiro, Alison Montague and Sylvester Eastman. The theoretical

foundation of this new school of psychotherapy, which originally was named "concentration

therapy", had emerged originally as a revision of drive theory. Fritz and Laura Perls' new approach,

stimulated by Paul Goodman's (1911-1972) social philosophy in New York, developed further as

Gestalt Therapy.

What is special about gestalt therapy is its stress on the structure of the experimental moment. By

here and now we mean concrete actuality, how the person contacts his existence at this very

instant - his awareness, posture, breathing, tone of voice, gestures, facial expressions, etc..

Although many therapists talk about treating the whole person, in actuality they seemed to be

concerned primarily with verbal material, or in some cases biographical data or psychodiagnostic

classification of test protocols. In gestalt therapy, the face to face encounter fosters this working

with the whole person. Focusing on the 'gestalt' - how the person forms his figures and grounds.

And helping him become more aware of it.

Person Centered Therapy

Person-Centered Therapy created by Carl Rogers, this form of humanistic therapy deals with the

ways in which people perceive themselves consciously rather than having a therapist try to

interpret unconscious thoughts or ideas. There are many different components and tools used in

person-centered therapy including active listening, genuineness, paraphrasing, and more. But the

real point is that the client already has the answers to the problems and the job of the therapist is

to listen without making any judgements, without giving advice, and simply help the client feel

accepted and understand their own feelings.

Person-centered therapy gives more responsibility to the client in their own treatment and views

humans in a positive manner.

Carl Rogers stated: Practice, theory and research make it clear that the person-centered approach

is built on a basic trust in the person depends on the actualizing tendency present in every living

organism's tendency to grow, to develop, to realize its full potential. This way of being trusts the

constructive directional flow of the human being toward a more complex and complete

development. It is this directional flow that we aim to release.

The statement by Rogers that "our relationship transcends itself and becomes part of the

something larger" is similar to the description of the reality which LeShan described as the one in

which healing can take place, "healer and healee become one entity in a larger context without

either of the two losing their individuality"

Most researchers would agree that Rogers person-centered therapy evolved throughthree

developmental phases. The following phases are as follows:

1. PHASE I (1940-50): NONDIRECTIVE PSYCHOTHERAPY

2. PHASE II (1950-57): REFLECTIVE PSYCHOTHERAPY

3. PHASE III (1957-70): EXPERIENTIAL THERAPY

Person Centered Therapy and therapist

The therapist is free to be his or her own genuine self rather than having to respond in a specific

manner. Thus, the therapist can be who he or she is, including who he or she is while being totally

attentive to the client's world.

The therapist will move the client towards self awareness, helping the client to experience

previously denied feelings. They will teach the client to trust in themselves and to use this trust to

find their direction in life. The person-centered therapist makes the client aware of their problems

and then guilds them to a means of resolve them. They motivate the client in experiencing and

expressing feelings. The person-centered therapist believes that good mental health is a balance

between the ideal self and real self. This is where the problem lies, the result of difference between

what we are and what we wish to be causes maladjusted behavior.

The therapist and client must have faith that the client can and will find self-direction. The therapist

focus on the here and how.

The three critical attitudes or values in Person or Client-Centered Therapy are:

1. Unconditional Positive Regard (Nonpossessive Warmth):

2. Empathy

3. Genuineness (Congruence)

Cognitive therapy or cognitive behavior therapy

Cognitive/behavioral therapists help patients to change some of the patient's habitual modes of

thinking about herself, her situation, and her future, change the negative styles of thinking and

behaving often associated with depression.

Cognitive therapy or cognitive behavior therapy is a kind of psychotherapy used to treat

depression, anxiety disorders, phobias, and other forms of psychological disorder. It involves

recognising distorted thinking and learning to replace it with more realistic substitute ideas. Its

practitioners hold that the cause of many (though not all) depressions are irrational thoughts.

Cognitive therapy is often used in conjunction with mood stabilizing medications to treat bipolar

disorder.

According to the U.S-based National Association of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists:

"There are several approaches to cognitive-behavioral therapy, including Rational Emotive

Behavior Therapy, Rational Behavior Therapy, Rational Living Therapy, Cognitive Therapy, and

Dialectic Behavior Therapy."

Cognitive behavior therapy combines two very effective kinds of psychotherapy - cognitive therapy

and behavior therapy.

Behavior therapy helps you weaken the connections between troublesome situations and your

habitual reactions to them. Reactions such as fear, depression or rage, and self-defeating or self-

damaging behavior. It also teaches you how to calm your mind and body, so you can feel better,

think more clearly, and make better decisions.

Cognitive therapy teaches you how certain thinking patterns are causing your symptoms - by

giving you a distorted picture of what's going on in your life, and making you feel anxious,

depressed or angry for no good reason, or provoking you into ill-chosen actions. Cognitive

behavior therapy* combines two very effective kinds of psychotherapy - cognitive therapy and

behavior therapy.

"Behavioral" therapists help patients learn how to obtain more satisfaction and rewards through

their own actions and how to unlearn the behavioral patterns that contribute to or result from their

depression.

Cognitive Therapy (CBT) for Depression

The first step in cognitive therapy is to learn to recognise cognitive distortions . At first you feel like

your whole mind is a hypertext document and every thought you click on reveals some cognitive

distortion. In cognitive therapy, depression is broken down into its symptom categories so that the

tangible aspects can be identified.

Cognitive Factors in Depression

Self-evaluation

Identification of Skill Deficits

Evaluation of Life Experiences

Self-talk

Automatic thoughts

Irrational Ideas and Beliefs

Overgeneralizing or Catastrophizing

Cognitive Distortions

Pessimistic Thinking

Negative thinking in depression can result from biological sources (i.e., endogenous depression),

modeling from parents, or other sources. The depressed person experiences negative thoughts as

being beyond their control. The cognitive therapist provides techniques to give the client a greater

degree of control over negative thinking by correcting "cognitive distortions" or thinking errors that

abet them in a process called cognitive restructuring.

Negative thoughts in depression are generally about one of three areas - negative view of self,

negative view of the world, and negative view of the future. These comprise the cognitive triad.

Therapeutic Approach of Cognitive or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

A major technique in cognitive therapy is the four column technique. It consists of a four step

process. The first three steps analyze the process by which a person has become depressed or

distressed. The first column records the objective situation. In the second column, the client writes

down the negative thoughts which occurred to them. The third column is for the negative feelings

and dysfunctional behaviors which ensued. The negative thoughts of the second column are seen

as a connecting bridge between the situation and the distressing feelings. Finally, the fourth

column is used for challenging the negative thoughts on the basis of evidence from the client's

experience.

Cognitive therapy aims to help the client to become aware of thought distortions which are causing

psychological distress, and of behavioural patterns which are reinforcing it, and to correct them.

The objective is not to correct every distortion in a client's entire outlook - and after all, virtually

everyone distorts reality in many ways - just those which may be at the root of distress. The

therapist will make every effort to understand experiences from the client's point of view, and the

client and therapist will work collaboratively with an empirical spirit, like scientists, exploring the

client's thoughts, assumptions and inferences. The therapist helps the client learn to test these by

checking them against reality and against other assumptions.

Throughout this process of learning, exploring and testing, the client acquires coping strategies as

well as improved skills of awareness, introspection and evaluation. This enables them to manaage

the process on their own in the future, reducing their reliance on the therapist and reducing the

likelihood of experiencing a relapse.

Family therapy (FT)- Experiential Family Therapy

Family therapy dates from the 1950s.

Indication and contraindications for family therapy

Family therapy is used mainly in the treatment of problems presented by young people living with

their parents. These problems are often related to difficulties in communication between members

of the family or to role problems. In the practice of adult psychiatric, family therapy is often

combined with other treatment eg antidepressant medication for a depressive disorder, Family

therapy is used in treating some young people with anorexia nervosa after weight has been

restored by other means. Special kinds of family treatment have been developed to reduce

relapses in schizophrenia.

Carl Whitaker's deviced the symbolic-experiential family therapy. Experiential Family Therapy

emerged during 1960. It Emphasis on immediate, here-and-now experience. Experiential Family

Therapy is a criterion for psychological health and focus of therapeutic intervention: quality of

ongoing experience.

Emotional expression is thought to be the medium of shared experience and the means to

fulfillment (personal and family).

Basic Premises of Experiential Family Therapy

Commitment to individual awareness, expression, and self- fulfillment.

Whitaker suggested that self-fulfillment depended on family cohesiveness.

Satir suggested that good family communication was important, but emphasized individual

growth.

Goal: reduce defensiveness and unlock deeper levels of experiencing by liberating people

from impulses.

What are the goals of Family Therapy?

The aim of treatment is to improve family functioning and so to help the identified patient. Since

success depends on the collaboration of several people, drop-out rates are high. Whatever their

method, family therapists have the following goals for the family:

improved communication

reduced conflict

growth, not stability: symptom reduction is secondary to greater freedom of choice,

increased personal integrity (congruence between inner experience and outer behavior),

less dependence,

expanded experiencing.

emphasis on the feeling side of human nature.

improved autonomy for each member

improved agreement about roles

merger of needs for individual growth and strengthening the family unit. “Belongingness and

individuation go hand in hand”

reduced distress in the member who is the patient.

Family therapy (or family systems therapy ) is a branch of psychotherapy that treats family

problems. Family therapists consider the family as a system of interacting members; as such, the

problems in the family are seen to arise as an emergent property of the interactions in the system,

rather than be ascribed exclusively to the faults or psychological problems of individual members.

A family therapist usually sees several members of the family at the same time in therapy

sessions. This setting has the advantage of making differences between the ways different family

members perceive mutual relations as well as interaction patterns in the session apparent both for

the therapist and the family. These patterns frequently mirror habitual interaction patterns at home,

even though now the therapist himself is incorporated into the family system. Therapy

interventions usually focus on these patterns of interaction rather than on analyzing subconscious

impulses or early childhood traumas of individuals as a Freudian therapist would do.

Depending on circumstances, the therapist may then point out to the family these interaction

patterns that the family might have not noticed; or suggest to individuals a different way of

responding to other family members. These changes in the way of responding may then trigger

repercussions in the whole system, leading sometimes to a more satisfactory system state.

Humanistic Theory and Therapy

Humanistic psychology acknowledges that an individual's mind is strongly influenced by ongoing

determining forces in both their unconscious and in the world around them, specifically the society

in which they live.

Humanistic Therapy overlaps considerably with existential approaches and emphasizes the growth

and fulfillment of the self (self-actualization) through self-mastery, self-examination and creative

expression. Although the influences of the unconscious and society are taken into account,

freedom of choice in creating one's experience is at the core, and is often referred to as self

determination.

The focus of the humanistic perspective is on the self, which translates into "YOU", and "your"

perception of "your" experiences. This veiw argues that you are free to choose your own behavior,

rather than reacting to environmental stimuli and reinforcers. Issues dealing with self-esteem, self-

fulfillment, and needs are paramount. The major focus is to facilitate personal development. Two

major theorists associated with this view are Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow.

Humanistic psychology emerged in the 1950s in reaction to both behaviorism and psychoanalysis.

It is concerned with the subjective experience of human beings, and views using quantitative

methods in the study of the human mind and behaviour as misguided. This is in direct contrast to

cognitivism (which aims to apply the scientific method to the study of psychology), an approach of

which humanistic psychology has been strongly critical. Instead, the discipline stresses a

phenomenological view of human experience, seeking to understand human beings and their

behavior by conducting qualitative research.

The humanistic approach has its roots in existentialist thought. The founding theorists behind this

school of thought are Abraham Maslow, who presented a "hierarchy of needs"; Carl Rogers, who

created and developed 'Person centred psychotherapy' and Fritz and Laura Perls who helped

create and develop Gestalt therapy. Gestalt psychologists claim to consider behaviour holistically

—"the whole is greater than the sum of its parts"—although critics such as Karl Popper have

presented forceful arguments against the proposition that entities can be apprehended as wholes.

Humanistic therapy holds a hopeful, constructive view of human beings and the individual's

substantial capacity to be self-determining. The ideal description of a humanistic therapist is

genuine, non-judgemental, and empathic, and uses open-ended responses, reflective listening and

tentative interpretations to promote client self-understanding, acceptance and actualization.

Humanism Approach - a variety of approaches that emphasize personal growth, self-esteem, and

the achievement of human potential more than the scientific understanding, prediction, and control

of behavior.

So when we say that humanistic psychology is concerned with the whole person, we really do

mean it in a very particular way. We have developed a number of direct and effective ways of

working, most particularly in the ways suggested by the second column. We assume that people

are whole, and we treat them as if they are whole, and we encourage them to act as if they are

whole. And in the pages which follow, we shall see exactly how this works out in practice.

Postmodern Therapy

Postmodern psychotherapists believe that it is difficult at best, and often impossible, for a mental

health "expert" to be able to determine what is "psychologically healthy," since there is no truly

objective measurement of mental health. As in postmodern philosophy, art, architecture, and

music, "deconstruction" is a dominant theme in postmodern psychotherapy. In psychological terms,

"deconstructing" means to regard the "givens" we take for granted as true (for example,

"adolescence is a time for teens to separate from their parents," or "if you don't earn a good living

you're not successful") and carefully examine their usefulness/appropriateness from the client's

point of view. Practitioners of postmodern therapy even question the "givens" of their own

profession (e.g. the concept of transference and its relevance to working with clients), and try to

pay particular attention to minimizing the unavoidable power of authority granted to the therapist by

the client who comes seeking "expert" advice. This is done through working hard to be as

collaborative with the client as possible.

Postmodern Dynamic Neurocognitive psychotherapy is typically expected to bring about at least

one of the following outcomes:

cure of a mental disorder

symptoms reduction (i.e. decrease in their intensity, frequency, range or scope of

interference with functioning)

reduction of subjectively experienced distress or suffering

insight, improved understanding of oneself and others

conflict(s) resolution

wellness , improved psychological and interpersonal functioning

improved performance / efficacy of actions

ability to work, play and love

greater capacity for happiness and compassion. 

In postmodern Dynamic Neurocognitive psychotherapy, a unique kind of a dialogue or a

conversation between the therapist and the patient emerges, whereby spoken language, ranging

from simple words and instructions to intensely personal, infinitely complex narratives and

dialogues, becomes the main medium of change.

Postmodern psychotherapy engages three great traditions within which Truth and subjectivity of

the Mind have been explored throughout history:

Science - the truth and philosophy of knowledge

Art - the truth of beauty and aesthetics

Mysticism - the truth of religion, God and spirituality

What are types of Postmodern Therapy?

The are three main types of postmodern therapies

Narrative Therapy rests on two underlying principles: a) all human thought and behavior

exist in cultural contexts that give them particular meaning and significance, and b) people's

view of the world is shaped through a complex, generally unconscious process of sifting

through experiences and selecting those that are most consistent with the story one holds

of oneself.

Solution-Focused Therapy emphasizes the construction of solutions to problems, rather

than an examination of their causes or how they are maintained. This approach is

inherently brief compared with "traditional" psychotherapy, and rests on the belief that

clients can solve their problems by doing more of what has been successful for them in the

past.

Collaborative Language Systems is a type of postmodern therapy that "dis-solves"

problems through conversation and emphasizes a collaborative conversational partnership

between therapist and client.

Freuds Psychoanalytic theory

Psychoanalytic theory describes work that applies the work of psychoanalyists to work within

critical theory. Major psychoanalysts referenced in psychoanalytic theory include Sigmund Freud,

Melanie Klein, and Jacques Lacan. Major current thinkers within psychoanalytic theory include

Julia Kristeva and Slavoj Zizek. Psychoanalytic theory also heavily influences the work of Franz

Fanon and Louis Althusser.

Much psychoanalytic theory applies psychoanalytic thought to cultures at large instead of to

individuals. It endeavors to analyze and interpret ideas and fantasies by observing the manner in

which they are being expressed and acted out in culture.

Freuds Psychoanalytic theory heavily informs gender studies and queer theory.

The treatment process can, at times, become blocked by the client's resistance (their unwillingness

to provide information). Transference is a condition in which the client begins to consider their

therapist in the same emotional way they would consider a person in their lives, such as a parent

or sibling. Working with interpretation, resistance, and transference is sometimes called "working

through," a therapeutic technique in which the therapist helps the client better understand their

conflicts and how to resolve them.

Psychoanalysis is:

A therapeutic technique for the treatment of neurosis.

A technique used to train psychoanalysts. A basic requirement of psychoanalytic training is

to undergo a successful analysis.

A scientific technique of critical observation. The successors and contemporaries of Freud -

Carl Jung, Alfred Adle , Wilhelm Reich, Melanie Klein, Wilfred Bion, Jacques Lacan, and

many others - have refined Freud's theories and advanced new theories using the basic

method of quiet critical observation and study of individual patients and other events.

A body of knowledge so acquired.

A clinical theory

A movement, particularly as led by Freud, to secure and defend acceptance of the theories

and techniques .

The Psychoanalytic Tradition

Sigmund Freud was the first psychoanalyst. Many of his insights into the human mind, which

seemed so revolutionary at the turn of the century, are now widely accepted by most schools of

psychological thought. Although others before and during his time had begun to recognize the role

of unconscious mental activity, Freud was the preeminent pioneer in understanding its importance.

Through his extensive work with patients and through his theory building, he showed that factors

which influence thought and action exist outside of awareness, that unconscious conflict plays a

part in determining both normal and abnormal behavior, and that the past shapes the present.

Although his ideas met with antagonism and resistance, Freud believed deeply in the value of his

discoveries and rarely simplified or exaggerated them for the sake of popular acceptance. He saw

that those who sought to change themselves or others must face realistic difficulties. But he also

showed us that, while the dark and blind forces in human nature sometimes seem overwhelming,

psychological understanding, by enlarging the realm of reason and responsibility, can make a

substantial difference to troubled individuals and even to civilization as a whole.

Building on such ideas and ideals, psychoanalysis has continued to grow and develop as a general

theory of human mental functioning, while always maintaining a profound respect for the

uniqueness of each individual life. Ferment, change, and new ideas have enriched the field, and

psychoanalytic practice has adapted and expanded. But psychoanalysts today still appreciate the

persistent power of the irrational in shaping or limiting human lives, and they therefore remain

skeptical of the quick cure, the deceptively easy answer, the trendy or sensationalistic. Like Freud,

they believe that psychoanalysis is the strongest and most sophisticated tool for obtaining further

knowledge of the mind, and that by using this knowledge for greater self-awareness, patients free

themselves from incapacitating suffering, and improve and deepen human relationships.

Is Psychoanalysis only a Therapy?

Although psychoanalysis began as a tool for ameliorating emotional suffering, it is not only a

therapy. It is, in addition, a method for learning about the mind, and also a theory, a way of

understanding the processes of normal everyday mental functioning and the stages of normal

development from infancy to old age. Furthermore, since psychoanalysis seeks to explain how the

human mind works, it contributes insight into whatever the human mind produces. In so doing, it

has had a profound influence on many aspects of twentieth-century culture.

As a general theory of individual human behavior and experience, psychoanalytic ideas enrich and

are enriched by the study of the biological and social sciences, group behavior, history, philosophy,

art, and literature. As a developmental theory, psychoanalysis contributes to child psychology,

education, law, and family studies. Through its examination of the complex relationship between

body and mind, psychoanalysis also furthers our understanding of the role of emotions in health as

well as in medical illness.

In addition, psychoanalytic knowledge is the basis of all other dynamic approaches to therapy.

Whatever the modifications, the insights of psychoanalysis form the underpinnings of much of the

psychotherapy employed in general psychiatric practice, in child psychiatry, and in most other

individual, family, and group therapies.

Psychodynamic Theory

Psychodynamic psychotherapy is derived from psychoanalysis and is based on a number of key

analytical concepts. These include Freud's ideas about psychosexual development, defence

mechanisms, free association as the method of recall, and the therapeutic techniques of

interpretation, including that of transference, defences and dreams. Such therapy usually involves

once-weekly 50-minute sessions, the length of treatment varying between 3 months and 2 years.

The long-term aim of such therapy is twofold: symptom relief and personality change.

Psychodynamic psychotherapy is classically indicated in the treatment of unresolved conflicts in

early life, as might be found in non-psychotic and personality disorders, but to date there is a lack

of convincing evidence concerning its superiority over other forms of treatment.

Psychodynamic Theory is based on the premise that human behavior and relationships are shaped

by conscious and unconscious influences.

Psychodynamic therapies, which are sometimes used to treat depressed persons, focus on

resolving the patient's conflicted feelings. These therapies are often reserved until the depressive

symptoms are significantly improved.

Psychodynamic counselling places more emphasis on the influence of past experience on the

development of current behaviour, mediated in part through unconscious processes. It is

influenced by object relations theory, that is, by the idea that previous relationships leave lasting

traces which affect self-esteem and may result in maladaptive patterns of behaviour.

In psychodynamic therapy, the patient (as opposed to the client in other types of therapy) talks,

and the therapist makes interpretations about the patient's words and behaviors. Dream

interpretation may be a part of psychodynamic therapy. As with other types of therapy, some

psychodynamic therapists may utilize other methods of therapy such as cognitive-behavioral

techniques for specific problems.

Key Concepts of Freuds Psychodynamic Theory

1. Primarily concerned with internal psychological processes

2. Importance of early childhood experiences

3. Existence of unconscious motivation

4. Existence of ego (rationality) & superego (morality)

5. Existence of defense mechanisms

The Psychodynamic Perspective

The term psychodynamic refers to a wide group of theories that emphasize the overriding influence

of instinctive drives and forces, and the importance of developmental experiences in shaping

personality. Early in their development, these theories focused solely on the influence of

unconscious drives and forces, but they received much criticism and subsequent revision. Most

recent psychodynamic theory places greater emphasis on conscious experience and its interaction

with the unconscious, in addition to the role that social factors play in development.

Psychodynamic theories are in basic agreement that the study of human behaviour should include

factors such as internal processes, personality, motivation and drives, and the importance of

childhood experiences. Classic theories about the role of the unconscious sexual and aggressive

drives have been re-evaluated to focus on conscious experience, resulting in, for example, the

birth of ego psychology.

In this unit, students will study the historical development of this perspective and become aware of

the revisions of classical psychodynamic theory.

Psychodynamic Treatment

Two pioneers of psychodynamic treatment were Joseph Breuer and, of course, Sigmund Freud.

Breuer was a proponent of using hypnosis in order to help the patient to reach a catharsis. Freud,

who collaborated with Breuer in developing this school of treatment, did not believe that hypnosis

was necessary in order to reach the stage of catharsis. Freud instead relied on a method of talk

therapy known as free association.

For Freud, whose methods of treatment became known as psychoanalysis, catharsis was neither

the only nor the ultimate goal of therapy. Rather, through such methods as free association and

dreams, one could garner great insight into aspects of the unconscious. Insight, which Freud

believed sufficient for curing the disorder, was reached through the tool of interpretation. Through

interpretation, the analyst is able to bring hidden meaning to past events in order to enlighten the

patient but must face resistance produced by the defense mechanisms of the individual.

The goal of the analyst, however, is not to eliminate these defense mechanisms, which are

essential for normal functioning, but to replace unhealthy ones with more adaptive, functional

systems. Psychoanalysis also attempts to help the patient become aware of his or her basic

psychological needs and drives, and devise healthy ways to achieve them.

Other Psychodynamic Theorists

Psychodynamic Theory has many forms which are beyond those discussed. Some of these are

described as neo-Freudians which retained many of the concepts as conceptualized by Freud.

Among these are:

The Ego psychology school pioneered by Freud's daughter Anna, which focusses on the

strategies used to preserve the ego, especially defense mechanisms.

Object relations school which emphasizes the importance of relationships, especially to the

mother in early childhood includes a number of theorists, including Melanie Klein, Donald

Winicott, and John Bowlby.

Other psychodynamic theorists diverged significantly from the Freudian tradition even some

who were trained originally in psychoanalysis, like Karen Horney, Erik Erikson and Erich

Fromm.

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing Therapy - EMDR

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) integrates elements of many effective

psychotherapies in structured protocols that are designed to maximize treatment effects. These

include psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral, interpersonal, experiential, and body-centered

therapies. EMDR is an information processing therapy and uses an eight phase approach.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR, is a powerful new psychotherapy

technique which has been very successful in helping people who suffer from trauma, anxiety,

panic, disturbing memories, post traumatic stress and many other emotional problems. Until

recently, these conditions were difficult and time-consuming to treat. EMDR is considered a

breakthrough therapy because of its simplicity and the fact that it can bring quick and lasting relief

for most types of emotional distress.

Eye movement and desensitization reprocessing

This treatment was developed for post-traumatic stress disorder. There are 3 components:

1. exposure using imagined images of the traumatic events;

2. a cognitive components in which patients attempts to replace negative thoughts associated

with the images, with positive ones; and

3. saccadic eye movements induced by asking the patient to follow rapid side to side

movements of the therapist's finger.

EMDR is a relatively new therapy which has been found to help people recover from trauma.

EMDR is unusual because with something as simple as eye movements or tapping and

accompanying free-association, it can achieve in relatively few sessions what other therapies

would take years to achieve, if at all. Not only has that, brain scans indicated that it stimulates

positive change in the brain. Needless to say, this is causing quite a stir.

EMDR- Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing Theory

The theory behind EMDR is that stimulated rapid eye movement may help in the psychological

processing of trauma. It is thought that the day's events and our reactions to them are processed

during REM sleep. In a controlled EMDR session, moving light is used to induce rapid eye

movement.

Because it is a new method of treatment, only a relatively small number of patients have been

treated with EMDR for PTSD. However, the EMDR Institute reports that there are more controlled

studies of EMDR and its effects than of any other trauma treatment. The EMDR Institute states that

an estimated 1,000,000 people had been treated by 1995, with varying degrees of improvement.

Some, but not all, studies document improvement after relatively few interventions.

Who discovered EMDR

It was invented by American Francine Shapiro in 1987. She observed the way she had been able

to banish disturbing thoughts from her own mind. She developed and refined these observations

and published a paper in 1989 describing beneficial results in a number of case studies. The

therapy originally consisted of the patient being guided by the therapist in moving their eyes in a

random way whilst thinking about their 'problem'. In the relatively short time of a few minutes the

feelings may begin to shift and resolve themselves.

The speed of the therapy and lack of necessary skilled input from the practitioner has led to strong

criticism of the approach from some in the psychotherapeutic and psychiatric establishment. The

practice also lacks a convincing explanation as to how it works.

Nevertheless extensive studies have repeatedly shown it to be as good as any existing therapy at

bringing about improvements in the subjects.

Later developments have removed the focus on the eyes and used a number of other bilateral

stimuli such as sound and touch to bring about the effect. Its use has also been extended to

include a wide range of conditions.

In recognition of the benefits of the technique Dr. Shapiro has been given an award for

Distinguished Scientific Achievement in Psychology by the California Psychological Association

and in 2002 the International Sigmund Freud Award for Psychotherapy presented by the City of

Vienna in conjunction with the World Council for Psychotherapy.

How does EMDR - Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing Therapy work?

When disturbing experiences happen, they are stored in the brain with all the sights, sounds,

thoughts and feelings that accompany them. When a person is very upset, the brain seems to be

unable to process the experience as it would normally. Therefore, the negative thoughts and

feelings of the traumatic event get "trapped" in the nervous system. Since the brain cannot process

these emotions, the experience and/or their accompanying feelings, are often suppressed from

consciousness. However, the distress lives on in the nervous system where it causes

disturbances in the normal emotional functioning of the person. The EMDR Technique does two

very important things. First, it "unlocks" the negative memories and emotions stored in the nervous

system, and second, it helps the brain successfully process the experience. The therapist works

gently with the client, guiding him or her to revisit the traumatic incident. As images and feelings

arise, the client's eye movements are "matched" with the remembered events and then re-directed

into particular movements that cause the release of the memories. When the memory is brought to

mind, the feelings are re-experienced in a new way. EMDR makes it possible to gain the self-

knowledge and perspective that will enable the client to choose their actions, rather than feeling

powerless over their re-actions. This process can be a complex if there are many experiences

connected to the negative feelings. The EMDR therapy sessions continue until the traumatic

memories and emotions are relieved.

What are the advantages of EMDR?

Help for PTSD, Post-traumatic stress disorder & Trauma Recovery

Help for Anxiety

Help for depression, anxiety, panic attacks

Help for Adult Survivors of Child Abuse

Help for Couples/Relationship/Marriage Counseling

Help for Sexual Problems - Sex Therapy

Reality Therapy and Virtual Reality Therapy

Dr. William Glasser, MD, a psychiatrist and author of numerous books on counseling and the

improvement of schools and teaching, founded the William Glasser Institute in Chatsworth,

California. His first book Reality Therapy, published in the 1960s, established the principles from

which his subsequent theory evolved.

By the 1970s Dr. Glasser called his body of work "Control Theory" and by the mid-1990s the

theoretical structure evolved into a comprehensive body of work that is called Choice Theory. The

successful application of Reality Therapy is dependent on the counselor's familiarity with, and

knowledge of, Choice Theory. In fact, teaching Choice Theory to counselees is now part of Reality

Therapy.

In 1967 William Glasser founded the Institute for Reality Therapy and in 1996 this has been

renamed as The William Glasser Institute.

The focus of Reality Therapy is to help counselees take ownership of their behavior and

responsibility for the direction their lives take. Reality Therapy holds as its basic premise the notion

that regardless of what has happened to us in our lives, or what we have done in the past, we are

living and making choices here and now.

The core of Reality Therapy is the idea that regardless of what has "happened" in our lives, or

what we have done in the past, we can choose behaviours that will help us meet our needs more

effectively in the future.

In Reality Therapy they are classified under five headings:

Power - which includes achievement and feeling worthwhile as well as winning.

Love & Belonging - this includes groups as well as families or loved ones.

Freedom - includes independence, autonomy, your own 'space'.

Fun - includes pleasure and enjoyment.

Survival - includes nourishment, shelter, sex.

Reality Therapy Technique

The practice of Reality Therapy is an ongoing process made up of two major components:

1. Creating a trusting environment; and

2. Using techniques which help a person discover what they really want , reflect on what they

are doing now, and create a new plan for fulfilling that 'want' more effectively in the future.

Virtual Reality Therapy (VRT)

The first research for VRT was done in the early 1990s. Virtually Better, the company Zimand

works for, was founded in 1995. VRT was first used for people who had a fear of heights.

VRT is becoming increasingly popular for those who are willing to invest the time and money into

the process.

The treatment costs between $100 and $300 an hour. Typical treatments are completed in eight

one-hour sessions.

"Virtual Reality Therapy is only part of cognitive behavioral therapy," said Elana Zimand, director

of clinical services at Virtually Better, Inc., a start-up company co-founded by Rothbaum that

markets VRT.

Zimand said the treatment is generally used for anxiety disorders. The length of treatment is

based on the severity of the phobia.

The therapy consists of a few sessions with a psychologist to determine the origin of the fear.

Zimand said the VRT portion of the therapy begins after she has a sufficient understanding of the

phobia.

Using a platform and a headset, a patient is immersed in a computer-generated environment

designed to reproduce a real-world setting. Real digital video is incorporated into the virtual

environment to promote a sense of reality. In the public speaking scene, the speaker can elicit

different reactions from the audience, such as hostility or interest, in order to make the situation

seem more real.

Transactional Analysis

Transactional analysis is a social psychology developed by Eric Berne, MD (d.1970). Over the past

four decades Eric Berne's theory has evolved to include applications to psychotherapy,

counseling, education, and organizational development.

Transactional Analysis (or TA as it is often called) is a model of people and relationships that was

developed during the 1960s by Dr. Eric Berne. It is based on two notions: first that we have three

parts or 'ego-states' to our 'personality. The other assumption is that these converse with one

another in 'transactions' (hence the name). TA is is a very common model used in therapy and

there is a great deal written about it.

Psychiatrist Berne's

Originally treated as "pop psychology" due to ( a) Berne's preference for layman's language rather

than academic terminology, and ( b) Berne's launch of TA to the mass market via popular books,

TA has long outgrown its pop roots. It generates several subtle models for human interaction

directed at answering "why does it go that way and how can people free themselves from it".

Many of Berne's more subtle observations have been simplified and trivialised in common TA

literature, as some writers took advantage of its surface simplicity to remove the full richness of the

underlying subject and re-present it as a very superficial model. Psychiatrist Berne's definition:

(1) a system of psychotherapy based on the analysis of transactions and chains of transactions

which occur during treatment sessions;

(2) a theory of personality based on the study of specific ego-states;

(3) a theory of social action based on the rigorous analysis of transactions into an exhaustive and

finite number of classes based on the specific ego-states involved;

(4) the analysis of single transactions by means of transactional diagrams (this is transactional

analysis proper).

Outline of Transactional analysis (TA) theory

TA is a theory of personality and a systematic psychotherapy for personal growth and personal

change.

As a theory of personality, TA describes how people are structured psychologically. It uses

what is perhaps its best known model, the ego-state (Parent-Adult-Child) model to do this.

This same model helps understand how people function and express themselves in their

behaviour.

As a theory of communication it extends to a method of analysing systems and

organisations.

it offers a theory for child development.

It introduces the idea of a "Life (or Childhood) Script", that is, a story one perceives about

ones own life, to answer questions such as "What matters", "How do I get along in life" and

"What kind of person am I". This story, TA says, is often stuck to no matter the

consequences, to "prove" one is right, even at the cost of pain, compulsion, self-defeating

behaviour and other dysfunction. Thus TA offers a theory of a broad range of

psychopathology.

In practical application, it can be used in the diagnosis and treatment of many types of

psychological disorders, and provides a method of therapy for individuals, couples, families

and groups.

Outside the therapeutic field, it has been used in education, to help teachers remain in clear

communication at an appropriate level, in counselling and consultancy, in management

and communications training, and by other bodies.

Key Ideas in Transactional Analysis

1. Ego States - Eric Berne made complex interpersonal transactions understandable when he

recognized that the human personality is made up of three "ego states"; each of which is an

entire system of thought, feeling, and behavior from which we interact with each other. The

Parent, Adult and Child ego states and the interaction between them form the foundation of

transactional analysis theory. These concepts have spread into many areas of therapy,

education, and consulting as practiced today.

2. Transactions - Transactions refer to the communication exchanges between people.

Transactional analysts are trained to recognize which ego states people are transacting

from and to follow the transactional sequences so they can intervene and improve the

quality and effectiveness of communication.

3. Strokes - Berne observed that people need strokes, the units of interpersonal recognition,

to survive and thrive. Understanding how people give and receive positive and negative

strokes and changing unhealthy patterns of stroking are powerful aspects of work in

transactional analysis.

4. Games People Play - Berne defined certain socially dysfunctional behavioral patterns as

"games." These repetitive, devious transactions are intended to obtain strokes but instead

they reinforce negative feelings and self-concepts, and mask the direct expression of

thoughts and emotions. Berne tagged these games with such instantly recognizable names

as "Why Don't You, Yes But," "Now I've Got You, You SOB," and "I'm Only Trying to Help

You." Berne's book Games People Play achieved wide popular success in the early 60's.

5. Life Script - Eric Berne proposed that dysfunctional behavior is the result of self-limiting

decisions made in childhood in the interest of survival. Such decisions culminate in what

Berne called the "life script," the pre-conscious life plan that governs the way life is lived

out. Changing the life script is the aim of transactional analysis psychotherapy. Replacing

violent organizational or societal scripting with cooperative non-violent behavior is the aim

of other applications of transactional analysis.

6. I'm OK - You're OK - "I'm OK - You're OK" is probably the best-known expression of the

purpose of transactional analysis: to establish and reinforce the position that recognizes the

value and worth of every person. Transactional analysts regard people as basically "OK"

and thus capable of change, growth, and healthy interactions.

7. Contracts - Transactional analysis practice is based upon mutual contracting for change.

Transactional analysts view people as capable of deciding what they want for their lives.

Accordingly transactional analysis does its work on a contractual basis between the client

and the therapist, educator, or consultant.

Thought Field Therapy

Thought Field Therapy (TFT) is a alternative and currently non-validated psychotherapy treatment. 

The procedure is claimed to work by tapping various parts of the body in order to rebalance its

natural energy system. The tapping is thought to correct "perturbations" in the energy fields, called

thought fields, that cause psychological disturbances. Different "algorithms" or tapping sequences

are employed by the therapist to treat different problems. Once these energy disturbances are

corrected, it is claimed that the psychological problem will dissipate.

According to TFT, neither a traumatic event nor the person's thoughts about that event are the

fundamental cause of negative emotions. Instead, perturbations (disturbances) in the thought field

contain active information which triggers the neurological, chemical, hormonal, and cognitive

changes in the person which result in the experience of negative emotions.

These perturbations exert their influence by causing imbalances in the body's energy system. This

is the same energy system used in acupuncture but without the needles.

Who invented TFT - Thought Field Therapy?

TFT, originally called Callahan Techniques, was invented by Roger Callahan, Ph.D.  Dr. Roger

Callahan PhD, a Californian clinical psychologist with over 40 years of experience, Thought Field

Therapy (TFT) is a totally unique form of meridian therapy. It is best described as a natural, drug-

free, non-invasive system to eliminate the cause of negative emotions. Quite simply the addressing

of specific energy meridian points on the body in a precise and defined sequence, TFT has been

shown to have an unprecedented success rate of up to 98%.

Thought Field Therapy ( TFT) Theory ?

TFT is based on concepts from Chinese medicine relating to the existence of invisible energy

field's in the body, named "thought fields". In general, one can think of TFT as psychological

acupuncture. The theory behind TFT is that negative emotions cause energy blockage and if the

energy is unblocked then the fears will disappear. Tapping acupressure points is thought to be the

means of unblocking the energy. Allegedly, it only takes five to six minutes to elicit a cure. Dr.

Callahan claims an 85% success rate. He even does cures over the phone using "Voice

Technology" on infants and animals; by analyzing the voice he claims he can determine what

points on the body the patient should tap for treatment.

How Can TFT Benefit You?

Low moods and mood swings

Anxiety and Stress

Cravings

Travel anxiety including fear of flying or driving on the freeways

Social or public speaking fears

Personal fears or your children's fears

Anger and Frustration

Eating or smoking or drinking problems

Loss of loved ones

Sexual or intimacy problems

Nail biting

Research on Thought Field Therapy (TFT)

Thought Field Therapy has been used in clinical settings to to successfully treat a wide variety of

psychological problems. Most research has been in the area of first hand clinical observation and

the personal reports coming from therapists and clients have been impressive. One formal

investigation, conducted in early 1995, by Charles R. Figley, Ph.D. and Joyce Carbonell, Ph.D. of

the Psychological Stress Research Program and Clinical Laboratory at Florida State University

yielded impressive results in the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. For this study,

four new treatment approaches were selected on the basis of previous merit. These methods were:

Traumatic Incident Reduction (TRI) Visual Kinesthetic Dissociation (NLP) Eye Movement

Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Thought Field Therapy ( TFT).

Psychologist, Dr. Roger Callahan, founded and developed TFT over the last 16 years based on his

discovery that the same energy meridian system identified by the Chinese approximately 5,000

years ago and used in acupuncture for centuries could also be used to successfully treat most

psychological problems.

The consistent and repeatable results using TFT, which impacts the electromagnetic energy

system, strongly support that this energy system is vital in controlling the generation and healing of

negative emotions. If the basic problem of negative emotions were simply neural,

chemical/hormonal, and/or cognitive, then TFT would not work at all.

How does EFT differ from Thought Field Therapy (TFT)?

TFT uses similar principles as EFT but asks the student to learn 10 or 15 different tapping routines

(called algorithms), each of which is designed to cover a specific issue such as trauma, phobias,

depression, etc . Anything not covered by those individual routines (e.g. insomnia, TMJ, dyslexia,

etc.) requires a diagnostic process. EFT, by contrast, uses only one comprehensive tapping

routine to cover all issues (not just 10 or 15) and doesn't require diagnosis.

Interpersonal Therapy

Interpersonal therapists focus on the patient's disturbed personal relationships that both cause and

exacerbate (or increase) the depression.

Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) is one of the short term therapies that have been proven to be

effective for the treatment of depression. Short term psychotherapy usually involves up to 20

sessions (usually weekly meetings, 1 hour per session) and maintains a focus on 1-2 key issues

that seem to be most closely related to the depression.

Interpersonal psychotherapy

The treatment is highly structured. The number and content of treatment sessions are planned

carefully. The initial assessment period lasts 1 to 2 sessions. Interpersonal problems are

considered under 4 heading:

bereavement and other loss

role disputes

role transitions

interpersonal deficits such as loneliness

Problems are considered by reference to specific situations and alternative ways of coping are

evaluated. Clear goals are set and progress towards them is monitored. New coping strategies are

tried out in homework assignments.

Fairburn (1997) described IPT like this: "Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) is a short term focal

psychotherapy in which the goal is to help patients identify and modify current interpersonal

problems. It was developed in the late 1960s as a treatment for clinical depression, the premise

being that since interpersonal difficulties contribute to the onset and maintenance of depression,

their resolution is likely to hasten recovery".

It's based on the idea that depression is often linked to things like a fight with your partner or a

problem with a workmate. Sometimes the event triggers your depression. But sometimes the

depression comes first, and your mood makes fights or work problems more likely. Either way,

during interpersonal therapy, your therapist encourages you to learn new and better ways of

relating to people.

In trials at Oxford University IPT has been found to be an effective short term alternative to CBT

(Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) in Bulimia. IPT for Bulimia such as that practised in the Oxford

trials is similar to IPT for depression: it is a non interpretative, non prescriptive therapy, and works

through a number of phases.

In the first phase of IPT, the therapist and client identify which problems in the clients interpersonal

relationships need exploration. This phase is led by the therapist, who builds a "history" of the

client in order to help the client identify interpersonal problems. The next phase is driven by the

client; the therapist helps maintain focus and encourages change. Finally, in the last phase, both

the therapist and client explore what has been achieved and what has not, and focus on the future

and what changes the client can make to promote continuing improvement.

Although IPT is a programmed treatment, it is flexible enough to address patients' individual

problems and situations. Treatment begins by taking a history of the problem. The therapist then

suggests which of the four problem areas is most relevant and then asks the patient what he or

she wishes to accomplish. Since IPT is time-limited (usually only 16 session long), Ms. Clougherty

emphasized working on no more than two problems.

The IPT therapist begins each session by asking, "how have you been since our last visit?"

Patients usually answer by describing recent dysphoric moods or recent upsetting events. The

therapist attempts to link moods to recent events in the problem area.

One very interesting point about IPT is that this model works from the assumption that patients

suffer from chronic (mental) illness. At the beginning of treatment, the therapist may tell a patient

he or she is too "sick" to accomplish certain tasks, although later the therapist will strongly

encourage the patient to take on the same or other tasks.

Since depression is a recurrent illness, it is recommended that successful short term treatment be

combined with ongoing, maintenance therapy. Maintenance IPT (IPT-M) can be administered once

per month following termination of the short term phase. Preliminary results from ongoing studies

suggest that IPT-M may prolong time to recurrence of depression.

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is a type of therapy which was designed for those with

borderline personality disorder. It is aimed at changing the typical behaviour patterns of

borderlines such as the suicidal tendencies which are fairly common to those with BPD.

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) is a form of cognitive-behavioral therapy, which was

developed by Dr. Marsha Linehan, a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University

of Washington and is becoming more popular now and more therapists are being trained to use

this style of therapy with their borderline clients.

Patient learn problem-solving techniques for dealing with stressful events, including ways of

improving social skills and od controlling anger and other emotions. Treatment is intensive with

individual and group sessions and access by telephone to the therapist between sessions and

lasts for up to a year.

DBT also has a number of distinctive defining characteristics. As its name suggests, its overriding

characteristic is an emphasis on "dialectics" - that is, the reconciliation of opposites in a continual

process of synthesis. The most fundamental dialectic is the necessity of accepting patients just as

they are within a context of trying to teach them to change. This emphasis on acceptance as a

balance to change flows directly from the integration of a prespective drawn from Eastern (Zen)

practice with Western psychological practice.

The treatment itself is based largely in behaviorist theory with a sprinkling of cognitive therapy

thrown in for good measure. There are two essential parts of the treatment, and without either of

these parts the therapy is not considered "DBT adherent."

1. An individual component in which the therapist and client discuss issues that come up

during the week following a treatment target hierarchy. Self-injurious and suicidal behaviors

take first priority, followed by therapy interfering behaviors. Then there are quality of life

issues and finally working towards improving one's life generally. During the individual

therapy, the therapist and client work towards improving skill use. Often, skills group is

discussed and obstacles to acting skillfully are addressed.

2. The group, which ordinarily meets once weekly for about two hours, in which clients learn to

use specific skills that are broken down into 4 modules: core mindfulness skills, emotion

regulation skills, interpersonal effectiveness skills and distress tolerance skills.

What are the Modes and modules of Treatment in DBT - Dialectical Behaviour Therap?

There are four modules focusing in turn on four groups of skills:

1. Mindfulness -The mindfulness skills are derived from certain techniques of Buddhist

meditation, although they are essentially psychological techniques and no religious

allegiance is involved in their application. Essentially they are techniques to enable one to

become more clearly aware of the contents of experience and to develop the ability to stay

with that experience in the present moment.

2. Interpersonal Effectiveness - Interpersonal response patterns taught in DBT skills training

are very similar to those taught in many assertiveness and interpersonal problem-solving

classes. They include effective strategies for asking for what one needs, saying no, and

coping with interpersonal conflict.

3. Distress Tolerance - Distress tolerance behaviors are concerned with tolerating and

surviving crises and with accepting life as it is in the moment. Four sets of crisis survival

strategies are taught: distracting, self-soothing, improving the moment, and thinking of pros

and cons. Acceptance skills include radical acceptance, turning the mind toward

acceptance, and willingness versus willfulness.

4. Emotion Regulation - Emotion modulation skills are ways of changing distressing emotional

states and 'distress tolerance skills' include techniques for putting up with these emotional

states if they can not be changed for the time being.

There are four primary modes of treatment in DBT :

1. Individual therapy

2. Group skills training

3. Telephone contact

4. Therapist consultation

Guidelines for Therapists -Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)

In order to deal with these demanding, narcissistic patients, therapists are required to be in either

group or individual supervision. Supervision accepts that each therapist sets rules and limits that

are appropriate for that therapist, without interpreting therapists' limits as neurotically reflecting

either a fear of intimacy or a need to be nurturant.

Therapists are expected to make mistakes and to be accepting of their own mistakes. Therapists

are vulnerable to the pattern of appeasing these demanding patients, then becoming angry and

punitive, then guilty and appeasing again.

Therapists must modify the treatment to suit each patient without undermining the principles of

DBT. Therapists must maintain a balance between giving nurturance and demanding change,

giving patients needed help and guidance, without doing for patients what patients can do for

themselves. Therapists must maintain and communicate optimism that the therapy will cure each

patient.

Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)

The Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) is a group of powerful processes that can help just

about anyone to achieve genuine freedom from the emotions that have created problems in their

lives. These techniques have been described by some as one of the most important breakthroughs

in the area of psychology in this century. They have been used successfully with thousands of

people with a broad range of difficulties.

EFT is a form of psychological acupressure, based on the same energy meridians used in

traditional acupuncture to treat physical and emotional ailments for over five thousand years, but

without the invasiveness of needles. Instead, simple tapping with the fingertips is used to input

kinetic energy onto specific meridians on the head and chest while you think about your specific

problem - whether it is a traumatic event, an addiction, pain, etc. -- and voice positive affirmations.

Who discovered EFT - Emotional Freedom Techniques?

The Emotional Freedom Technique was developed by Gary Craig. He was a student of Dr. Roger

Callahan who devised TFT (Thought Field Training). Craig refined and developed his own

Emotional Healing Technique known as EFT. Both of these Emotional healings systems are

trademarked by those who created them.

The Chinese use acupuncture, which is a medical practice. Needles are inserted into certain

meridians where energy flows through the body. The needles, once inserted, can stimulate the

acupuncture points. The Chinese have had remarkable success using this practice. EFT

(Emotional Freedom Technique) works on the same principals as acupuncture without any use of

needles.

How EFT - Emotional Freedom Techniques Works?

EFT is based on a revolutionary new discovery that violates most of the beliefs within conventional

psychology. It contends that the cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body's energy

system. With remarkable consistency, EFT relieves symptoms by an unusual (but scientific) routine

of tapping with the fingertips on a short series of points on the body that correspond to acupuncture

points on the energy meridians. Where there is an imbalance, there is a corresponding blockage in

the flow of energy through the meridian system. 

The tapping serves to release the blockages that are created when a person thinks about or

becomes involved in an emotionally disturbing circumstance. When this blockage is released, the

emotions come into balance. Once balanced, the person cannot get upset about the circumstance

no matter how hard they try. The memory remains but the charge is gone. Typically, the result is

lasting and the person's awareness usually changes in a positive way as a natural result of the

healing.

How can Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) be helpful?

EFT is capable of dramatically relieving emotional disturbances along with many physical

symptoms. EFT is helpful in various areas:

PTSD

Insomnia

Fears and Phobias

Allergies

Sexual Abuse Issues

Anxiety and Panic Attacks

Traumatic Memories

Pain Management

Compulsions and Obsessions

Concentration

Physical Conditions and Healing

Depression and Sadness

Dyslexia

Grief and Loss

Negative Memories

Peak Performance

Self Image

Nightmares

How does EFT differ from Thought Field Therapy (TFT)?

TFT uses similar principles as EFT but asks the student to learn 10 or 15 different tapping routines

(called algorithms), each of which is designed to cover a specific issue such as trauma, phobias,

depression, etc . Anything not covered by those individual routines (e.g. insomnia, TMJ, dyslexia,

etc.) requires a diagnostic process. EFT, by contrast, uses only one comprehensive tapping routine

to cover all issues (not just 10 or 15) and doesn't require diagnosis.

EFT is a form of psychological acupressure, based on the same energy meridians used in

traditional acupuncture, to treat emotional disorders. Focusing on the issue and stimulating the

major neural pathways initiates a memory process causing change by unblocking the emotional

short-circuit. This process results in substituting positive emotions for the negative emotions, which

were previously learned and associated with the issue. The process initially requires the person to

think about the event or issue. Simple tapping with the fingertips is used to input kinetic energy

onto specific meridians on the hand, head, and chest. This combination of tapping the energy

meridians and voicing specific phrases works to clear the emotional block from the body's bio-

energetic system. This restores the mind and body's balance, which is essential for optimal

learning and mental health. EFT can dramatically enhance intellectual performance simply by

eliminating the emotional lids on our intellectual potential.

Neuro-Linguistic Programming

Neuro-Linguistic Programming is the science of how the brain codes learning and experience. This

coding affects all communication and behavior. It affects how you learn and how you experience

the world around you. It is a key to reaching goals and achieving excellence.

Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) began as a model of how we communicate to ourselves and

others. This model explains how we process the information that comes into us from the outside.

The belief is that "The map is not the territory." And so the internal representations that we make

about an outside event are not necessarily the event itself. Typically, what happens is that there is

an external event and we run that event through our internal processing. We make an Internal

Representation (I/R) of that event. That I/R of the event combines with a physiology and creates a

state. "State" refers to the internal emotional state of the individual - a happy state, a sad state, a

motivated state, and so on. Our I/R includes our internal pictures, sounds and dialogue, and our

feelings (for example, whether we feel motivated, challenged, pleased, excited, and so on). A given

state is the result of the combination of an internal representation and a physiology.

NLP explores the relationship between how we think (neuro), how we communicate both verbally

and non-verbally (linguistic) and our patterns of behaviour and emotion (programmes).

Who discovered NLP - Neuro-Lingusitic Programming?

NLP was begun in the mid-seventies by a linguist (Grinder) and a mathematician (Bandler) who

had strong interests in successful people, psychology, language and computer programming.

Dr Richard Bandler, a Gestalt therapist, and John Grinder (Bandler and Grindler), a respected

linguist, jointly developed the techniques in the 1970s. These two innovative researchers studied

highly successful therapists such as Dr Milton Erikson, the gifted hypnotherapist, and Virginia Satir,

an exceptional family therapist, and their findings led them to develop a set of strategies which

became known as NLP.

NLP, consciously or unconsciously, relies heavily upon

(1) the notion of the unconscious mind as constantly influencing conscious thought and action,

(2) metaphorical behavior and speech, especially building upon the methods used in Freud's

Interpretation of Dreams, and

(3) hypnotherapy as developed by Milton Erickson. NLP is also heavily influenced by the work of

Gregory Bateson and Noam Chomsky.

What will NLP- Neuro-Linguistic Programming do for me?

NLP is the most well defined and reliable approach to 'running your own mind' for greater

satisfaction and ease with far more rapid results.

As NLP offers a window (through modelling) into the way we function (our neuro-linguistic

programmes), it offers (as an application of NLP methodology) a technology for creating change.

If you want to have more choices about your behaviour and emotions, to enhance your

communication and relationships and develop new abilities in your thinking, then NLP can provide

you with the technology for accomplishing that. It generates lasting life skills (one of the

consequences of quality NLP training).

NLP will also enable you to understand you partner's and children's needs and communication

styles more fully. Enhance rapport and communication with others. Recognize how others are

using language to influence you.You'll find it easier to achieve your personal and professional

goals, because you'll gain greater access to your internal resources.

Today NLP training strategies are used around the world by therapists, business executives and

leading sports people to cope with pressure and to perform at their best when they need to. Neuro-

linguistic Programming is all about producing results and often very quickly. If the technology has

an attitude then that attitude is all about producing measurable results that enhance the quality of

peoples lives without a lengthy and painful journey into the past. The application of NLP is directed

towards quickly attaining a desired outcome, i.e. what do you want and how soon can you have it?

NLP is said to be the study of the structure of subjective experience, but a great deal of attention

seems to be paid to observing behavior and teaching people how to read "body language." But

there is no common structure to non-verbal communication, any more than there is a common

structure to dream symbolism.

Finally, NLP claims that each of us has a Primary Representational System (PRS), a tendency to

think in specific modes: visual, auditory, kinaesthetic, olfactory or gustatory. A person's PRS can

be determined by words the person tends to use or by the direction of one's eye movements.

Transpersonal psychotherapy

Transpersonal psychotherapy is both an approach as well as a psychological theory. A

transpersonal psychotherapist holds that psychological development continues and our ability to

stay open and enquire contemplatively with our experiences allows a deeper investigation into the

nature of ourselves.

Transpersonal psychotherapy has a foundational belief in the sacredness and innate goodness of

people, people's inherent desire for wholeness and desire to connect with other human beings.

There is a trust in each person's innate will and capacity to grow to self-actualization and further to

self-transcendence and realize their true self.

Transpersonal Psychology embraces both the language of Self (the non-dual - knowing our

interconnectedness at the level of being) and self (the personality or personal sense of self in its

suffering separateness) once the preconceptions of doctrinal words and didactic language are

overcome. Transpersonal psychology broadens the traditional theories about the psyche to include

the spiritual dimensions of our being. Incorporating both empirical and esoteric perspectives from

global traditions, it provides a powerful model of personal growth, human development, and

individual healing.

Transpersonal Therapy provides a sense or glimpse of what we may become and Self Help

techniques for those struggling for a sense of Self Love (or spirituality) in the pre-personal,

personal or material life experience.

Transpersonal is a perspective or point of perception which allows one to see the concept of

'individual' within its relationship to a much larger 'whole'. What is published on these pages is the

meeting point of all the healing modalities, religions, spiritualities and philosophies of East and

West, ancient and modern.

What is Transpersonal Counseling ?

It sees the meaning and value of all things and the sacredness of the life journey.

It stands for the re-enchantment of Psychotherapy and Counselling in combination with the

highest levels of spiritual, theoretical and clinical perception and skill.

Without discounting suffering - psychological, social, political, environmental -

Transpersonal Counselling finds delight, comfort, and a sense of Home in the primal and

profound interconnection of all existence.

It advocates freedom and full self-realisation.

Transpersonal Psychology is a spiritual perspective in therapy, which concerns itself with the

qualities of the soul as they manifest through the personality. It's not directive, where the therapist

knows the journey in advance. It believes that the client's deepest self knows where it is going and

how to get there. Although Transpersonal Psychology is a school of therapeutic thought in its own

right, there are a number of psychotherapies which embrace the trans-personal.

http://www.depression-guide.com/psychotherapy.htm