Counseling - theories and techniques Flashcards
counseling theory breakdown
psychoanalytic - psychoanalysis -psychodynamic humanistic/experiential - existential - person centered - gestalt - alderian - EFT learning/cognitive - behavioral - CBT - cognitive
alderian (founder and goal)
Alfred Adler
challenge clients lifestyle and selfish goals toward social interest (be a productive part of society)
alderian (success is…)
- well developed social interest, contributes to society
- positive outlook on life and concern for others welfare
alderian (dysfunction arises…)
- when persons private logic set to view life as negative
- causes lifestyle of only caring for self, no social interest
alderian (techniques)
- gathering life history data
- family constellations
- early memories
- goals
- value clients subjective experience
- offer interpretations
- search for new goals
- examine birth order
- superiority/inferiority complex
alderian (strengths)
- influenced other theories and traditions
- power of individual
- power of goals
alderian (limitations)
- too simple
- difficult to measure constructs
- supported by limited research
person-centered (founder and goal)
Carl Rogers
align actual and ideal self through therapeutic relationship - congruence
person-centered (success is…)
alignment of actual and ideal self to have congruence
person-centered (beliefs)
- change occurs through therapy with core conditions (empathy, unconditional positive regard, congruence)
- clients role in change is to attend therapy, explore past and actual/ideal self, self actualize, desire to work on problems, co-lead with the counselor
- humans have innate drive to self actualize
person-centered (dysfunction arises…)
- from incongruence
- caused by hearing and internalizing conditions of worth
person-centered (techniques)
- active listening
- reflecting
- being there
- understanding
- empathy
person-centered (strengths)
- good core conditions helpful in therapy
- gives power and autonomy to clients
- strong empirical support
- receptive to research
- good foundation for therapeutic relationship
person-centered (limitations)
therapist could be too passive
many clients need more direction, interventions
existential (founder and goals)
Yalom and Frankl
client accept death, freedom, isolation, meaninglessness, and become authentic
existential (success is…)
- authentic living
- awareness of own freedom to make choices
- removal of things that block freedom/personal choice
existential (beliefs)
- humans need to find meaning
- central problems people face are embedded in anxiety over loneliness, isolation, despair, and death
- each individual is responsible for making meaning out of life
existential (dysfunction arises…)
problems come from not exercise choice or judgment well enough to forge meaning
existential (techniques)
none - must be flexible to use techniques when necessary to address givens of existence
existential (strengths)
- flexible
- could be used with a diverse range of clients all facing same dilemmas of life
- focus on meaning of life/what it means to be a person
existential (limitations)
- abstract
- limited specific interventions
- limited applicability to clients that are less responsive to abstract concepts/in crisis
gestalt (founder and goals)
Fritz and Perls
become more aware of moment to moment experiencing and expand clients capacity to make choices
gestalt (success is…)
- authentic self
- attending to needs
gestalt (beliefs)
- clients will increase awareness of needs and behaviors they engage in to meet those needs
- behavior is governed by unmet needs
- the whole is better than the sum of parts
- approach is phenomenological - focuses on clients perceptions of reality
- existential - grounded in the notion that people are always in the process of becoming, remaking, rediscovering themselves
gestalt (dysfunction arises…)
- when client needs are not met and result in unfinished business
- this causes both a change in behavior and perception
- dysfunction viewed as disease
gestalt (techniques)
- incomplete gestalts = unfinished business
- here and now
- satisfying needs
- empty chair technique
- two chair technique
gestalt (strengths)
- focus on in the moment experience is very active
- focus on non-verbal behavior
gestalt (limitations)
- if focus is only on experience in the moment without cognitive work, they can be left feeling undone/ not integrated in to their whole self
- requires imagination
eft (founder and goals)
Johnson and Greenberg
assist clients to experience emotions as they arise to help them process and understand their emotions
eft (beliefs)
- hope to transform maladaptive reactions to emotion
- change occurs through increasing emotional awareness and enhancing emotion regulation
eft (techniques)
- shift awareness to emotions
- use exploratory questions
- cognitively create a new meaning about emotional experiences
eft (strengths)
- lots of research support
- emphasis on emotions
eft (limitations)
- might not work for cultures/individuals that do not favor emotional expression
psychoanalysis (founder and goals)
Freud
make the unconscious conscious, strengthen the ego
psychoanalysis (beliefs)
- people are not inherently trustworthy, motivated by instincts
- deterministic - behavior determined by instincts, unconscious, early experiences
- defense mechanisms protect from anxiety
psychoanalysis (dysfunction arises…)
- unresolved unconscious conflict from youth
- unresolved progression through sexual phase
- oedipal complex
psychoanalysis (techniques)
- free association
- interpretation
- analysis of resistance
- dream analysis
- analysis of transference
psychoanalysis (strengths)
- first to construct theory of personality
- created of practice of psychotherapy
- importance of childhood/trauma
- transference
- countertransference
- resistance
- anxiety
- defense mechanisms
psychoanalysis (limitations)
- lengthy training
- lasts many years
- costly
- narrow focus on biology and instincts
- ignores cultural and social issues
- not adequate for treating specific daily concerns
behavioral (founder and goals)
Skinner, Bandura, Watson, Pavlov
eliminate maladaptive behaviors and learn more effective behaviors
behavioral (success is…)
- identify factors that influence behavior and change those factors
behavioral (beliefs)
- human behavior is learned
- we are products of producers of our environment
behavioral (dysfunction arises…)
- maladaptive behaviors
behavioral (techniques)
- progressive muscle relaxation
- mindfulness
- reinforcement
- shaping
- modeling
- systematic desensitization
- social skills training
- assertiveness skills
- behavioral rehearsal
behavioral (strengths)
- many practice applications
- easy to test
behavioral (limitations)
- takes time to modify behavior
- doesn’t address underlying problems
- reductionistic
cognitive (founder and goals)
Beck and Ellis
change faulty thoughts and beliefs
cognitive (beliefs)
- man is brighter trustworthy or untrustworthy inherently
- learning is what creates trustworthiness
cognitive (dysfunctions arises…)
- faulty thinking
- failing to distinguish between fantasy and reality
- automatic thoughts and cognitive distortions
cognitive (techniques)
- cognitive restructuring
- questioning
- socratic questioning
- downward arrow
- thought recording
cognitive (strengths)
- continually evaluated, modified, advanced
- outcome research supports with many clients
cognitive (limitations)
- too simple and mechanistic
- testability debated
- possibly not better than other treatments
solution focused (overview)
focus on present and future finding solutions
solution focused (techniques)
- goal setting
solution focused (beliefs)
- clients are competent to make the best choices for themselves
- if its not broken, don’t fix it
- do what works, don’t do what doesn’t
- problem is assumed to NOT be a symptom of the larger problem
narrative therapy (overview)
views lives as stories with many difference meanings and experiences
narrative therapy (techniques)
- name the problem
- externalize the problem
- find unique alternatives/ solutions
- deconstructing - reshaping the story with a different lens/perspective
positive psychology (overview)
focus on psychological strengths and positive emotions
positive psychology (techniques)
- focus on strengths and positive affect rather than problems
- flow
- broaden and build
- emotional intelligence
- self efficacy
- gratitude
- hope
positive psychology (beliefs)
- believes in reality negotiations and social construction
feminist therapy (overview)
effects of stereotypes, biases, institutional discrimination on mental health
feminist therapy (techniques)
- egalitarian therapeutic relationship
- honor womens experiences and ways of knowing
- all types of oppression are recognized and explored
- power analysis
feminist therapy (beliefs)
PERSONAL IS POLITICAL ✊
family systems (overview)
individual is part of a whole functioning together
family systems (techniques)
- focus on communication patterns within families
- identify problematic patterns and practice new ones
family systems (beliefs)
problematic relationship problems are passed down generations
transference
redirection to a substitute of emotions that were previously felt in past relationships
e.g. individual interacts with therapist based on relationship with mom
countertransference
therapists unresolved issues in past relationships that they project on a client
e.g. annoyed with client because they act like your mother
resistance
anything that works against the process of therapy, serves to protect the client against anxiety and change or painful repressed memories
e.g. client often shows up late
interpretation
observations that go beyond what a client has overtly states and present a new meaning/reason/explanation for behaviors, thoughts, feelings so clients see problems in a new way
e.g. “i wonder if your reaction is related to something in your past…”
cognitive restructuring
teaches client how to replace irrational beliefs with rational ones, monitor self-talk, challenge the irrational/problematic thoughts
e.g. identify problematic cognitions, cognitive distortions, rational disputations, develop rational rebuttal
attending
orienting physically to a client
e.g. turning toward client
listening
capturing and understanding the messages that clients communicate
e.g. hear and understand what clients are saying
non-verbals
things that we don’t say but still communicate with our client
e.g. eye contact, facial expressions, head nods, body posture, bodily movements, space, tone of voice, silence
minimal verbals
things we communicate through our voice but that aren’t exactly words
e.g. minimal encourages, non language sounds, nonword, simple words
restatements
repeating or paraphrasing of the content or meaning of what a client has said
e.g. summaries, fewer but similar words as clients
disclosure of feelings
revealing a feeling that counselor has or had (could by hypothetical)
e.g. if i was in that position i imagine feeling…
challenges
points out maladaptive thoughts, discrepancies, contradictions of which the client is unaware, unwilling, or unable to change
e.g. i hear you saying this, but it looks like you’re feeling that
interpretations
interventions that go beyond what the client has overtly stated or recognized, presents new meaning, reasoning, or explanation of thoughts feelings, etc.
e.g. im wondering if this is related to your relationship with your mother
immediacy
inquiring about or disclosing immediate feelings about the client, relationship to the client, therapeutic relationship
e.g. right now i feel tense because you seem angry at me
self disclosure
telling the client information about yourself
e.g. when i get sad, i cry
counselor responses -> negative outcomes
- inappropriate self disclosure
- lack of rapport before challenging/interpreting
- advice giving
- judgments
- placing values on client
- multicultural incompetence
