Introduction to Psychological Intervention 4+5 Flashcards
4 Does psychotherapy work? 5 What are the common features of most psychotherapies?
What is psychotherapy? 2 definition: one as treatment and one as an intervention.
- A form of treatment for problems of an emotional nature.
- Interpersonal, relational intervention by trained therapists to aid in life problems.
What is the goal of psychotherapy?
increase sense of well-being, reduce discomfort/existing symptoms
What are the techniques used in psychotherapy?
- Employs range of techniques based on professional relationship building, dialogue, communication and behavior change designed to improve the mental health of individual client or group
- Some therapies focus on changing current behavior patterns (Behavioral Therapy)
- Others emphasize understanding past issues, gaining insight (Psychodynamic)
- Some therapies combine changing behaviors with understanding motivation
How long is psychotherapy?
Can be short-term with few sessions (less than 15 sessions), or with many sessions over years (long-term therapy)
Who can go psychotherapy?
Can be conducted with individual, couple, family or group of unrelated members who share common issues (Ex. eating disorder group)
psychotherapy is also know as……
talk therapy, counseling, or, therapy
Can be combined with ………
other types of treatment, such as medications
What can psychotherapy accomplish?
- Learn to identify and change behaviors or thoughts that adversely affect life
- Explore and improve relationships
- Find better ways to cope and solve problems
- Learn to set realistic goals
All psychotherapies provide:
- A working or therapeutic alliance between client and therapist
- An emotionally safe setting where the client can feel accepted, supported, un-criticized
- A therapeutic approach that may either be strictly adhered to or modified according to client needs (according to a treatment plan)
- Confidentiality as integral to therapeutic relationship except with safety issues
Therapeutic Alliance: Therapist-Client Agreement on Three Components of the Relationship:
1 Tasks: Behaviors and processes within the therapy session that constitute the actual work of therapy
…confident that the therapist and I were working well together (task oriented)
2 Bonds: The positive interpersonal attachment between therapist and client of mutual trust, confidence, and acceptance
…like the therapist/doctor understood me
…that the therapist/doctor was honest and sincere
(bond oriented)
3 Goals: Objectives of therapy that both client and therapist endorse
…that we talked about the things that were important to me (goal oriented)
Why Therapeutic Alliance is therefore very important?
According toResearch, quality of therapist/client relationship effects outcome more than specific therapy
What Lambert (1992) estimates that client changes due to? Include the avarage
o 40% client changes due to motivation or severity of problem;
o 30% due to quality of therapeutic relationship;
o 15% due to expectancy (placebo) effects, and
o 15% due to specific techniques.
Tallman (1999) compared between therapy and personal relationship talk. What he found out?
Outside therapy people rarely have friends who listen for more than 20 minutes.
People close often involved in problem and can’t provide safe neutral/objective perspective
Waht are the common features of most forms of psychotherapy
- Therapist expertise (training, knowledge, and experience= competence)
- Therapeutic alliance, supportive relationship, non- judgmental, accepting, mutual respect.
- Insight, explanation of problems
- Competence, self-efficacy, sense of mastery (Bandura, 1989)
- Positive expectancies
What is the Course of Psychotherapy?
- Initial contact
- Assessment
- Establish goals of treatment
- Implementation of treatment
- Termination, Evaluation, Follow-up
