Psychoanalysis - one psychological therapy for depression (A01) Flashcards
WHAT IS THE AIM OF PSYCHOTHERAPY AS A TREATMENT FOR DEPRESSION?
The aim of psychotherapy is to uncover unconscious, hidden conflicts which are causing the client to experience the symptoms of depression so that these conflicts can be resolved.
IS PSYCHOTHERAPY A RELATIVELY QUICK OR RELATIVELY LENGTHY PROCESS? EXPLAIN WHY.
Psycotherapy is a lengthy process - for 3 reasons: 1. it takes time for the therapist and client to build up a rapport sufficient for the client to feel comfortable and open to the therapy; 2. the source of depression is hidden deep in the unconscious and therefore it takes to find it; the reason the source of depression is hidden in the unconscious is because it causes anxiety, so the therapist will take things slowly so as not to traumatise the client with ‘too much too soon’.
HOW FREQUENT ARE PSYCHOTHERAPY SESSIONS? WHY?
Psychotherapy sessions are usually weekly. This is because the sessions can be very stressful and anxiety provoking, so the client needs time to accept what he/she learns during the sessions.
IDENTIFY SOME TECHNIQUES THAT A PSYCHOTHERAPIST MAY USE TO HELP SOMEONE WITH DEPRESSION.
- Dream analysis; 2. Free association; 3. Hypnosis and regression; 4. Word association.
WHY DOES THE PSYCHOTHERAPIST USE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES?
A number of different techniques are used because the the contents of the unconscious mind are not obvious - so the different techniques allow the psychotherapist to uncover patterns or themes which when viewed together can reveal symbolic meanings.
HOW DOES DREAM ANALYSIS WORK?
In dream analysis, the psychotherapist will ask the client to describe the content of their dreams - literally to describe what they can remember about people, places, events, etc - this is known as the latent content. Taken together, the latent content of several dreams (added to any themes that have emerged from other techniques) may reveal the symbolic meaning and hence the content of the unconscious mind.
HOW DOES WORD ASSOCIATION WORK?
In word association, the psychotherapist will either show the client a series of unrelated words, one at a time, or state them out loud. The client has to respond by saying the first thing that comes into their mind. The idea is that by not allowing the client time to think about the response, this limits the effect of the super-ego on restricting what is verbalised - hence any anxiety provoking desires which are usually repressed or denied have a chance to be revealed.
WHICH TECHNIQUE ARE RORSCHACH INK BLOTS USED IN?
Free association. The ink blots, which are totally meaningless in the sense that they are randomly produced, are intended to prompt the client to say what comes into their mind when they see it; as it is meaningless, any ‘meaning’ that the client ascribes to it will reveal what is in the unconscious mind - hidden, unconscious desires or feelings which are usually repressed because they cause anxiety.
HOW DOES HYPNOSIS AND REGRESSION WORK?
Hypnosis is a technique which alters the client’s state of consciousness. Whilst under hypnosis, the client can still hear what the psychotherapist is saying and will follow instructions. The idea is that in this altered state, the unconscious mind becomes accessible to the client - so they are able to ‘remember’ memories which, when they are conscious, are repressed or denied. Under hypnosis, the client can regress back to an earlier stage of their childhood and ‘remember’ events which they are not able to remember when fully conscious. Hence, repressed memories can reveal the source of conflict so that it can be resolved.
WHAT DOES PSYCHOTHERAPY REQUIRE A GREAT DEAL OF FROM THE CLIENT?
Psychotherapy requires a great deal of personal investment from the client - in terns of time and emotional energy.
WHAT THEMES WOULD A PSYCHOTHERAPIST EXPECT PSYCHOTHERAPY TO REVEAL IN SOMEONE SUFFERING FROM DEPRESSION?
The psychotherapist would expect to find that themes of loss and anger and resentment towards parents emerge during psychotherapy.
WHICH STAGE OF PSYCHOSEXUAL DEVELOPMENT WOULD A PSYCHOTHERAPIST REGRESS THE CLIENT TO IF THE CLIENT WAS SUFFERING FROM DEPRESSION? WHY?
A depressed client would be regressed to the oral stage of psychosexual development - to very early infancy - to the time when they may have been breast-feeding. This is because it is at this time that beliefs about self-worth and how others value us are developed. An infant whose mother sticks rigidly to a four-hourly feeding cycle, for example, rather than responding to his cries of hunger, will develop a belief that his needs do not matter to others, hence low self-worth develops.
<p>WHAT IS THE NAME GIVEN TO THE PROCESS OF ACCESSING AND ACCEPTING THE SOURCE OF CONFLICT WHICH THEN LEADS TO A RELEASE FROM THE POWER THE CONFLICT HOLDS OVER OUR CONSCIOUS BELIEFS AND BEHAVIOURS?</p>
<p>Catharsis.</p>
WHY MIGHT A PSYCHOTHERAPIST ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CLIENTS’ RECENT PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE EARLY SESSIONS?
The psychotherapist will want to establish whether the client has experienced a recent loss of some kind (moving home, grown-up children leaving home, etc). This loss may have caused the client to regress to the oral stage of psychosexual development where a too strict parent would have caused a belief in the client that they are unworthy of love.
WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE TEST THAT USES RORSCHACH’S INK BLOTS?
Projective tests.
