Therapy Chapter 16 Two Kinds of Modern Therapy Psychotherapy: Involves a person talking to a psychological professional about the person’s problems Two types of therapy: • Insight • Action • Goals Biomedical therapy: Uses a medical procedure to bring about changes in behavior • Drugs • Surgical methods • Electric shock treatments Psychoanalysis Psychoanalysis: Therapy to reveal unconscious conflicts • Dream interpretation • Manifest content • Latent content • Free association • Resistance • Transference Rogers’s Person-Centered Therapy Person-centered therapy • Nondirective, insight therapy • Based on work of Carl Rogers • Client talks, therapist listens and reflects Therapies Based on Classical Conditioning • Systematic desensitization: For treating phobias • Step 1: Relaxation training • Step 2: Fear hierarchy • Step 3: Progressive exposure • Aversion therapy: Undesirable behavior paired with aversive stimulus • Exposure therapy: Introduces clients to situations related to their anxieties under controlled conditions • Gradual Exposure (e.g., OCD) • Flooding: Rapid, intense exposure • Exposure Therapy--revisit from the phobia video Therapies Based on Observational Learning •Modeling: Learning via observation and imitation • Participant modeling: Model takes client through step-by-step process for desired behavior Therapies Based on Operant Conditioning •Reinforcement: Strengthening of response by following it with a pleasurable consequence (positive) or the removal of an unpleasant stimulus (negative) • Token economy: Reinforcers earned and exchanged for desired things • Contingency contract: Formal agreement on behavior change, reinforcements, penalties Therapies Based on Operant Conditioning •Extinction: Remove reinforcer, reduce undesirable behavior • Time Out: Removal from situation that reinforces undesirable behavior The Cognitive Behavioral Model Effectiveness of Therapy • Most people who receive psychotherapy report improvement • Some therapy is often better than no therapy at all • Common factors of effective therapy include: • Allegiance effects (the therapists’ belief in the effectiveness of the treatment they are providing) • Therapeutic alliance (the bond between therapist and patient and agreement about goals and tasks of treatment) • Empathy (therapist’s ability to understand the patient’s point of view) Effectiveness of Therapy Evidence-Based Practice • Evidence-based practice in psychology (EBP) is the integration of the best available research with clinical expertise in the context of patient characteristics, culture, and preferences • It can be difficult to determine the effectiveness of a particular treatment due to placebo effects and spontaneous remission • Evaluations of the effectiveness of psychotherapy can come from randomized controlled trials Drug Therapy • Antipsychotic drugs – typical vs. atypical • Antidepressants – MAO inhibitors, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), or atypical antidepressants • Anti-anxiety medications – barbiturates (tranquilizers) vs. benzodiazepines • Mood-stabilizing medications – lithium vs. anticonvulsant medication Types of Drugs Used in Psychopharmacology ECT and Psychosurgery • Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) uses electric currents passed through the brain to intentionally trigger a brief seizure in an attempt to reduce psychiatric symptoms • Deep brain stimulation can be used for rare cases of otherwise untreatable OCD Mental Health on Campus • Many students arrive on campus already in therapy for a diagnosed disorder. • Make use of the available resources on college campuses (you pay for it in fees!) – Counseling and Testing Center (CAR 311 836-5116)
