Theories Flashcards
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
effective for depression, anxiety disorders, alcohol and drug use problems, marital problems, eating disorders, and severe mental illness
emphasis on helping individuals learn to be their own therapists.
Through exercises in the session as well as “homework” exercises outside of sessions, patients/clients are helped to develop coping skills, whereby they can learn to change their own thinking, problematic emotions, and behavior.
emphasize what is going on in the person’s current life, rather than what has led up to their difficulties.
CBT strategies to change behaviors
Facing one’s fears instead of avoiding them.
Using role playing to prepare for potentially problematic interactions with others.
Learning to calm one’s mind and relax one’s body.
Core principles of CB
Psychological problems are based, in part, on faulty or unhelpful ways of thinking.
Psychological problems are based, in part, on learned patterns of unhelpful behavior.
People suffering from psychological problems can learn better ways of coping with them, thereby relieving their symptoms and becoming more effective in their lives.
CBT strategies to change thinking patterns
Learning to recognize one’s distortions in thinking that are creating problems, and then to reevaluate them in light of reality.
Gaining a better understanding of the behavior and motivation of others.
Using problem-solving skills to cope with difficult situations.
Learning to develop a greater sense of confidence in one’s own abilities.
Trauma-informed therapy
no overarching definition
shifts focus from “whats wrong with you” to “what happened to you”
acknowledges that health care organizations and care teams need to have a complete picture of a patient’s life situation — past and present — in order to provide effective health care services with a healing orientation
Realize the widespread impact of trauma and understand paths for recovery
Recognize the signs and symptoms of trauma in patients, families, and staff
Integrate knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures, and practices
Actively avoid re-traumatization.
Humanistic
umbrella term for client centered, existential, gestalt, logotherapy, and narrative therapy.
focuses on a person’s individual nature, rather than assuming that groups of people with similar characteristics have the same concerns
emphasis in sessions is on a person’s positive traits and behaviors and developing their ability to use their instincts to find wisdom, growth, healing, and fulfillment
encompass a gestalt approach—exploring how a person feels in the here and now—rather than trying to identify past events that led to these feelings
since humanistic therapists may not focus on diagnosing a client, those with symptoms of certain personality disorders may not achieve success with this approach
Humanistic techniques
Congruence: being authentic, open, and genuine as they interact with the individual who is in therapy.
Empathetic understanding: not only understanding what the client is feeling and saying, but also communicating that understanding to the client. The individual should feel heard, seen, and understood.
Reflective listening: actively listening to the individual and then summarizing what the client has said in their own words. This strategy can help reinforce what the client is saying, allow them to reflect back on their own words, and clear up potential misunderstandings.
Unconditional positive regard: accepting the individual without judgment. It is characterized by a caring attitude that plays an important role in fostering self-worth, personal growth, and self-awareness.
Existential
Friedrich Nietzsche and Soren Kierkegaard
focuses on concepts that are universally applicable to human existence including death, freedom, responsibility, and the meaning of life
focus on individual not symptoms
All people have the capacity for self-awareness.
Each person has a unique identity that can be known only through relationships with others.
People must continually re-create themselves because life’s meaning constantly changes.
Anxiety is part of the human condition.
emphasizes a person’s capacity to make rational choices and to develop to their maximum potential
Who existential therapy is good for
treating psychological concerns that are thought to result from an inhibited ability to make authentic, meaningful, and self-directed choices
Interventions often aim to increase self-awareness and self-understanding.
Symptoms: excessive anxiety, apathy, alienation, nihilism, avoidance, shame, addiction, despair, depression, guilt, anger, rage, resentment, embitterment, purposelessness, psychosis, and violence
life-enhancing experiences: relationships, love, caring, commitment, courage, creativity, power, will, agency, presence, spirituality, individuation, self-actualization, authenticity, acceptance, transcendence, and awe.
Existential Approaches
responsibility and freedom focus
find meaning in the face of anxiety
confronting negative internal thoughts rather than focusing on external forces like societal pressures or luck.
Fostering creativity, love, authenticity, and free will
The goal: To make more willful decisions about how to live, drawing on creativity and love, instead of letting outside events determine one’s behavior.
Transpersonal Therapy
Abraham Maslow and associates in the 1960 - stemmed from Carl Jung
emphasis on role of healing spirit
spiritual traditions and rituals
positive influences and role models
focus on a broader conception of how a person achieves meaning, purpose, and happiness
increase sense of empowerees
“reaching beyond humanistic concerns.”
Transpersonal Approaches
honesty, open mindedness, self-awareness
draw from a variety of different religions and spiritual practices for tools and methods
Meditation
Guided visualization
Hypnotherapy
Dream work
Art-marking
Music therapy
Journaling
Holotropic breathwork
Spiritual Therapy
Psychodynamic
Sigmund Freud
less focused on the patient-therapist relationship and more focused on the patient’s relationship with their external world
Individuals who have the capacity to be self-reflective and are looking to obtain insight into themselves and their behavior are best suited to this type of therapy.
longer term than CBT
our behavior and feelings as adults are rooted in our childhood experiences
Psychodynamic Approaches
free association
dream analysis
focus on recognizing, acknowledging, understanding, expressing, and overcoming negative and contradictory feelings and repressed emotions
helping the patient understand how repressed emotions from the past affect current decision-making, behavior, and relationships.
help those who are aware of and understand the origins of their social difficulties but are not able to overcome problems on their own.
Patients learn to analyze and resolve their current difficulties and change their behavior in current relationships through deep exploration and analysis of earlier experiences and emotions.
Thanatos (psychodynamic)
aggressive drive
Psychodynamic effective for
depression
those who have lost meaning in their lives and have difficulty forming or maintaining personal relationships
social anxiety disorder
eating disorders
problems with pain
relationship difficulties
borderline personality disorder
*less used in instances of psychosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Family Systems
Dr. Murray Bowen.
Bowen believed that the personalities, emotions, and behaviors of grown individuals are a result of their birth order, their role within their family of origin and the coping mechanisms they have developed for dealing with emotional family difficulties
helps individuals resolve their problems in the context of their family units
work individual and together
8 interlocking concepts
societal emotional process (family systems)
Broader social and cultural forces can influence family relationships.
sibling position (family systems)
Birth order can affect the dynamics between children, siblings, and parents.
emotional cutoff (family systems)
Family conflict with no resolution may lead some people to sever a relationship entirely.
multigenerational transmission process (family systems)
Small differences in differentiation between children and parents can lead to large differences among extended family members over time.
family projection process (family systems)
Parents may displace their feelings or anxieties onto their children, who then may displace their own feelings or anxieties onto others.
nuclear family emotional process (family systems)
Relational patterns that occur in the family, including marital conflict, dysfunction in a spouse, impairment of one or more children, and emotional distance.
differentiation of self (family systems)
The sense of individuality a person develops, rather than relying on others in their family or social groups.
Triangles (family systems)
The relationship dynamic between three people, which may influence relationships with others in the family.
family systems effective for
family conflict
Substance use disorder
Alcohol use disorder
Depression
Anxiety
Bipolar disorder
Personality disorders
Eating disorders
Coping with physical disabilities and disorders
Positive Psychology
Martin Seligman
emphasizes traits, thought patterns, behaviors, and experiences that are forward-looking and can help improve the quality of a person’s day-to-day life
goal is to minimize negativity in one’s thinking and behavior and to develop a more optimistic and open attitude that will enhance rather than disrupt one’s social, professional, and spiritual life
optimism
spirituality
hopefulness
gratitude
happiness
creativity
perseverance
justice
meaning and purpose
free will
Seligman’s Perma model
P Is for Positive Emotions: The pursuit of positive emotions will not necessarily improve your well-being. However, the experience of positive emotions through savoring your day-to-day moments may well boost well-being.
E Is for Engagement: Being engaged with life is important for well-being. Otherwise, your mind and body will run on automatic and you may suffer tedium and little meaning.
R Is for Relationships (Positive Ones): We thrive when we are connected in meaningful relationships.
M Is for Meaning: A sense of meaning and purpose is essential to well-being.
A Is for Accomplishment and Achievement: We each need to succeed and accomplish the goals we set. This quest for self-improvement is essential.
Solution Focused
Insoo Kim Berg, Steve de Shazer, and their colleagues in the late 1970s
focus on clients present and future goals
finding solutions in the present and exploring one’s hope for the future in order to find a quick and pragmatic resolution of one’s problems
Solution focused techniques
Goal setting
positive, respectful, and hopeful outlook on the part of the clinician.
the solution to a problem is found in the “exceptions,” or those times when one is free of the problem or taking steps to manage the problem
specific questioning techniques
0-10 scale
empathic support
compliments to help a person recognize the virtues and strengths that have previously gotten the patient through hard times and are likely to work in the future
Attachment Theory
John Bowlby 1960s
brief, process-oriented form of counseling
client-therapist relationship is based on developing or rebuilding trust and centers on expressing emotions
looks at the connection between an infant’s early attachment experiences with primary caregivers, usually with parents, and the infant’s ability to develop normally and ultimately form healthy emotional and physical relationships as an adult
secure attachment
strong early attachment led to safety, security, and support, which then led children to develop healthy connections with others
anxious attachment
insecure, threatened, suspicious, and fearful of being rejected
