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Psychotherapy



 
 
Psychotherapy is an intentional interpersonal relationship
Interpersonal relationship

An interpersonal relationship is a relatively long-term association between two or more people. This association may be based on emotions like love and Liking#As_a_verb, regular business interactions, or some other type of social commitment....
 used by trained psychotherapists to aid a client in problems of living. It aims to increase the individual's sense of well-being
Health

In 1948, the World Health Organisation defined health as ?a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.? ...
 and reduce their subjective sense of discomfort. Psychotherapists employ a range of techniques based on experiential relationship building, dialogue
Dialogue

A dialogue is a conversation between two or more people. It is also a literary form in which two or more parties engage in a discussion....
, communication
Communication

Communication is commonly defined as "the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs...",, 1: an act or instance of transmitting and 3 a: "a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or beha...
 and behavior
Behavior

Behavior or behaviour refers to the action s or reactions of an object or organism, usually in Relational theory to the environment. Behavior can be conscious or Unconscious mind, overt or covert, and voluntary or involuntary....
 change and that are designed to improve the mental health
Mental health

Mental health is a term used to describe either a level of cognition or emotional Quality of life or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and efforts to achieve psychol...
 of a client or patient, or to improve group relationships (such as in a family
Family

Family denotes a group of people affiliated by a common ancestry, affinity or co-residence. Although the concept of consanguinity originally referred to relations by "blood," some cultural anthropology have argued that one must understand the idea of "blood" metaphorically, and that many societies understand 'family' through other concepts r...
).






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Psychotherapy is an intentional interpersonal relationship
Interpersonal relationship

An interpersonal relationship is a relatively long-term association between two or more people. This association may be based on emotions like love and Liking#As_a_verb, regular business interactions, or some other type of social commitment....
 used by trained psychotherapists to aid a client in problems of living. It aims to increase the individual's sense of well-being
Health

In 1948, the World Health Organisation defined health as ?a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.? ...
 and reduce their subjective sense of discomfort. Psychotherapists employ a range of techniques based on experiential relationship building, dialogue
Dialogue

A dialogue is a conversation between two or more people. It is also a literary form in which two or more parties engage in a discussion....
, communication
Communication

Communication is commonly defined as "the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs...",, 1: an act or instance of transmitting and 3 a: "a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or beha...
 and behavior
Behavior

Behavior or behaviour refers to the action s or reactions of an object or organism, usually in Relational theory to the environment. Behavior can be conscious or Unconscious mind, overt or covert, and voluntary or involuntary....
 change and that are designed to improve the mental health
Mental health

Mental health is a term used to describe either a level of cognition or emotional Quality of life or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and efforts to achieve psychol...
 of a client or patient, or to improve group relationships (such as in a family
Family

Family denotes a group of people affiliated by a common ancestry, affinity or co-residence. Although the concept of consanguinity originally referred to relations by "blood," some cultural anthropology have argued that one must understand the idea of "blood" metaphorically, and that many societies understand 'family' through other concepts r...
). Psychotherapy may be performed by practitioners with a number of different qualifications, including psychologists, marriage and family therapists, licensed clinical social workers, counselors, psychiatric nurses, and psychiatrists.

Etymology

The word psychotherapy comes from the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
 words psyche, meaning breath, spirit, or soul and therapeia or therapeuein, to nurse or cure. Its use was first noted around 1890. It is defined as the relief of distress or disability in a one person by another, using an approach based on a particular theory or paradigm, and that the agent performing the therapy has had some form of training in delivering this. It is these latter two points which distinguish psychotherapy from other forms of counseling or caregiving.

Forms

Most forms of psychotherapy
Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is an intentional interpersonal relationship used by trained psychotherapists to aid a wiktionary:Client in problems of living. It aims to increase the individual's sense of health and reduce their subjective sense of discomfort....
 use spoken conversation
Conversation

A conversation is communication by two, three, or more people. It is a social skill that is not difficult for most individuals. Conversations are the ideal form of communication in some respects, since they allow people with different views on a topic to learn from each other....
. Some also use various other forms of communication such as the written word, artwork
Work of art

A work of art is a creation, such as an art object, design, architecture piece, musical work, literary composition, performance, film, conceptual art piece, or even computer program that is made and or valued primarily for an "artistic" rather than practical function....
, drama
Drama

Drama is the specific Mode of fiction Mimesis in performance. The term comes from a Ancient Greek word meaning "Action " , which is derived from "to do" ....
, narrative
Narrative

A narrative or story that is created in a constructive format that describes a sequence of fictional or Non-fiction events. It derives from the Latin language verb narrare, which means "to recount" and is related to the adjective gnarus, meaning "knowing" or "skilled"....
 story or music. Psychotherapy occurs within a structured encounter between a trained therapist and client(s). Purposeful, theoretically [based psychotherapy began in the 19th century with psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis is a body of ideas developed by Austrian physician Sigmund Freud and his followers, which is devoted to the study of human psychological functioning and behaviour....
;] since then, scores of other approaches have been developed and continue to be created.

Therapy is generally employed in response to a variety of specific or non-specific manifestations of clinically diagnosable and/or existential crises. Treatment of everyday problems is more often referred to as counseling (a distinction originally adopted by Carl Rogers
Carl Rogers

Carl Rogers was an influential American psychologist and among the founders of the Humanistic psychology to psychology. Rogers is widely considered to be one of the founding fathers of psychotherapy research and was honored for his pioneering research with the Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions by the American Psychological Ass...
). However, the term counseling is sometimes used interchangeably with "psychotherapy".

Whilst some psychotherapeutic interventions are designed to treat the patient employing the medical model
Medical model

Medical model is the term cited by psychiatrist Ronald David Laing in his The Politics of the Family and Other Essays for the "set of procedures in which all doctors are trained." This set includes complaint, history, physical examination, ancillary tests if needed, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis with and without treatment....
, many psychotherapeutic approaches do not adhere to the symptom-based model of "illness/cure". Some practitioners, such as humanistic therapists, see themselves more in a facilitative/helper role. As sensitive and deeply personal topics are often discussed during psychotherapy, therapists are expected, and usually legally bound, to respect client or patient confidentiality. The critical importance of confidentiality is enshrined in the regulatory psychotherapeutic organizations' codes of ethical practice.

Psychotherapy systems

There are several main broad systems of psychotherapy:
  • Psychoanalysis
    Psychoanalysis

    Psychoanalysis is a body of ideas developed by Austrian physician Sigmund Freud and his followers, which is devoted to the study of human psychological functioning and behaviour....
     - the first practice to be called a psychotherapy. It encourages the verbalization of all the patient's thoughts, including free associations, fantasies, and dreams, from which the analyst formulates the nature of the unconscious conflicts which are causing the patient's symptoms and character problems.
  • Cognitive Behavioral - generally seeks by different methodologies to identify and transcend maladaptive cognitions, appraisal, beliefs and reactions with the aim of influencing destructive negative emotions and problematic dysfunctional behaviors.
  • Psychodynamic
    Psychodynamic psychotherapy

    Psychodynamic psychotherapy is a form of depth psychology, the primary focus of which is to reveal the unconscious content of a client's psyche in an effort to alleviate psychic tension....
     - is a form of depth psychology, the primary focus of which is to reveal the unconscious content of a client's psyche in an effort to alleviate psychic tension. Although it has its roots in psychoanalysis, psychodynamic therapy tends to be briefer and less intensive than traditional psychoanalysis.
  • Existential
    Existential therapy

    Existential psychotherapy is partly based on the existential belief that human beings are alone in the world. This feeling of aloneness leads to feelings of meaninglessness which can be overcome only by creating one's own values and meanings....
     - is based on the existential belief that human beings are alone in the world. This aloneness leads to feelings of meaninglessness which can be overcome only by creating one's own values and meanings.
  • Humanistic
    Humanistic psychology

    Humanistic psychology is a school of psychology that emerged in the 1950s in reaction to both behaviorism and psychoanalysis. It is explicitly concerned with the human dimension of psychology and the human context for the development of psychological theory....
     - emerged in reaction to both behaviorism and psychoanalysis and is therefore known as the Third Force in the development of psychology. It is explicitly concerned with the human context of the development of the individual with an emphasis on subjective meaning, a rejection of determinism, and a concern for positive growth rather than pathology. It posits an inherent human capacity to maximise potential, 'the self-actualing tendency'. The task of Humanistic therapy is to create a relational environment where this tendency might flourish.
  • Brief therapy
    Brief therapy

    Brief therapy is an umbrella term for a variety of approaches to psychotherapy. It differs from other schools of therapy in that it emphasises a focus on a specific problem and direct intervention....
     - is an umbrella term for a variety of approaches to psychotherapy. It differs from other schools of therapy in that it emphasizes (1) a focus on a specific problem and (2) direct intervention. It is solution-based rather than problem-oriented. It is less concerned with how a problem arose than with the current factors sustaining it and preventing change.
  • Systemic Therapy
    Systemic Therapy

    Systemic therapy is a school of psychology which seeks to address people not an individual level, as had been the focus of earlier forms of therapy, but as people in relationship, dealing with the interactions of groups and their interactional patterns and dynamics....
     - seeks to address people not at an individual level, as is often the focus of other forms of therapy, but as people in relationship, dealing with the interactions of groups, their patterns and dynamics (includes family therapy
    Family therapy

    Family therapy, also referred to as couple and family therapy and family systems therapy, is a branch of psychotherapy that works with family and couples in intimate relationships to nurture change and development....
     & marriage counseling).
  • Transpersonal Therapy - Addresses the client in the context of a spiritual understanding of consciousness.
  • Body Psychotherapy
    Body Psychotherapy

    Body psychotherapy is a branch of psychotherapy with origins in the work of Pierre Janet, Sigmund Freud and Wilhelm Reich. Body psychotherapy addresses the human body and the mind as a whole with emphasis on the reciprocal relationships within body and mind....
     or Body-oriented Psychotherapy (also known as Somatic Psychology
    Somatic Psychology

    Somatic psychology, also referred to as Body Psychotherapy, is an interdisciplinary field involving the study of therapeutic and holistic approaches to the body, somatic experience, and the embodied self....
     in USA & Australia) - addresses the whole of the person, including their body, manifestations of symptoms in the body of the client, body language, proprioception, emotional expression, proxemics, psychosomatics etc.


There are hundreds of psychotherapeutic approaches or schools of thought. By 1980 there were more than 250, . By 1996 there were more than 450, ). The development of new and hybrid approaches continues around the wide variety of theoretical backgrounds. Many practitioners use several approaches in their work and alter their approach based on client need.

See the list of psychotherapies
List of psychotherapies

This is an alphabetical list of psychotherapies.See the main article psychotherapy for a description of what psychotherapy is and how it developed ....
 for an extended list of individual psychotherapies
.


History


In an informal sense, psychotherapy can be said to have been practiced through the ages, as individuals received psychological counsel and reassurance from others. Purposeful, theoretically-based psychotherapy was probably first developed in the Middle East
Middle East

File:GreaterMiddleEast1.pngThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, western Asia, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East....
 during the 9th century by the Persian physician
Islamic medicine

In the history of medicine, Islamic medicine or Arabic medicine refers to medicine developed in the Islamic Golden Age and written in Arabic language, the lingua franca of the Islamic civilization....
 and psychological thinker
Islamic psychology

Islamic psychology or Ilm-al Nafsiat refers to the study of the Nafs in the Islamic world, particularly during the Islamic Golden Age as well as modern times , and is related to psychology, psychiatry and the neurosciences....
, Rhazes
Al-Razi

Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya Razi , known as Rhazes or Rasis after medieval Latinists, was a Persian people Alchemy , Islamic medicine, Early Islamic philosophy and scholar....
, who was at one time the chief physician of the Baghdad
Baghdad

Baghdad is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous. With a municipal population estimated at 6.5 million, it is the largest city in Iraq, and the second largest city in the Arab World....
 hospital
Hospital

A hospital is an institution for health care providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment, and often but not always providing for longer-term patient stays....
. In the West, however, serious mental disorders were generally treated as demonic or medical conditions requiring punishment and confinement until the advent of moral treatment
Moral treatment

Moral Treatment was an approach to mental disorder based on humane psychosocial care or moral discipline that emerged in the 18th century and came to the fore for much of the 19th century, deriving partly from psychiatry or psychology and partly from religion or moral concerns....
 approaches in the 18th Century. This brought about a focus on the possibility of psychosocial intervention - including reasoning, moral encouragement and group activities - to rehabilitate the "insane".

Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis is a body of ideas developed by Austrian physician Sigmund Freud and his followers, which is devoted to the study of human psychological functioning and behaviour....
 was perhaps the first specific school of psychotherapy, developed by Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian psychiatrist who founded the psychoanalysis of psychology. Freud is best known for his theories of the unconscious mind and the defense mechanism of Psychological repression and for creating the clinical practice of psychoanalysis for curing psychopathology through dialogue...
 and others through the early 1900s. Trained as a neurologist, Freud began focusing on problems that appeared to have no discernible organic basis, and theorized that they had psychological causes originating in childhood experiences and the unconscious mind. Techniques such as dream interpretation
Dream interpretation

For the John Cale minimalist album, see Dream Interpretation Dream interpretation is the process of assigning meaning to dreams. In many of the ancient societies, including Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece, dreaming was considered a supernatural communication or a means of divine intervention, whose message could be unravelled by those with...
, free association
Free association

Free association may refer to:*Free association , a clinical technique of psychoanalysis devised by Sigmund Freud*David Holmes , David Holmes group for the Code 46 soundtrack...
, transference
Transference

Transference is a phenomenon in psychoanalysis characterized by unconscious redirection of feelings for one person to another. One definition of transference is "the inappropriate repetition in the present of a relationship that was important in a person's childhood." Another definition is "the redirection of feelings and desires and especial...
 and analysis of the id, ego and superego were developed.
Sigmund Freud Loc
Many theorists, including Anna Freud
Anna Freud

Anna Freud was the sixth and last child of Sigmund Freud and Martha Freud. Born in Vienna, she followed the path of her father and contributed to the newly born field of psychoanalysis....
, Alfred Adler
Alfred Adler

Alfred Adler was an Austrian medical Physician, psychology and founder of the school of Individual Psychology. In collaboration with Sigmund Freud and a small group of Freud's colleagues, Adler was among the co-founders of the psychoanalytic movement....
, Carl Jung
Carl Jung

Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist, an influential thinker and the founder of Analytical psychology. Jung's approach to psychology has been influential in the field of depth psychology and in counterculture movements across the globe....
, Karen Horney
Karen Horney

Karen Horney , born Danielsen was a Germany psychodynamic psychologist of Norway and Netherlands descent. Her theories questioned some traditional Freudian views, particularly his theory of sexuality, as well as the instinct orientation of psychoanalysis and its genetic psychology....
, Otto Rank
Otto Rank

Otto Rank was an Austrian psychoanalyst, writer, teacher and therapist. Born in Vienna as Otto Rosenfeld, he was one of Sigmund Freud's closest colleagues for 20 years, a prolific writer on psychoanalytic themes, an editor of the two most important analytic journals, managing director of Freud's publishing house and a creative theorist...
, Erik Erikson
Erik Erikson

Erik Homburger Erikson was a Denmark-Germany-United States Developmental psychology and psychoanalyst known for his Erikson's stages of psychosocial development of human beings....
, Melanie Klein
Melanie Klein

Melanie Klein was an Austrian-born United Kingdom psychoanalysis who devised novel therapeutic techniques for children that had a significant impact on child psychology and contemporary psychoanalysis....
, and Heinz Kohut
Heinz Kohut

Heinz Kohut is best known for his development of Self psychology, a school of thought within psychodynamic/psychoanalytic theory, psychiatrist Heinz Kohut's contributions transformed the modern practice of analytic and dynamic treatment approaches....
, built upon Freud's fundamental ideas and often formed their own differentiating systems of psychotherapy. These were all later categorized as psychodynamic, meaning anything that involved the psyche
Psyche (psychology)

In psychoanalysis, the psyche refers to the forces in an individual that influence cognition, behavior and Personality psychology. The word is borrowed from ancient Greek, and refers to the concept of the self, encompassing the modern ideas of soul, Self , and mind....
's conscious/unconscious
Unconscious mind

The Unconscious is a term invented by the 18th century German philosophy romanticism philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling and later introduced into English by the poet and essayist Samuel Taylor Coleridge....
 influence on external relationships and the self. Sessions tended to number into the hundreds over several years.

Behaviorism
Behaviorism

Behaviorism or Behaviourism,also called the learning perspective is a philosophy of psychology based on the proposition that all things which organisms do ? including acting, thinking and feeling?can and should be regarded as behaviors....
 developed in the 1920s, and behavior modification
Behavior modification

Behavior modification is the use of empirically demonstrated behavior change techniques to improve behavior, such as altering an individual's behaviors and reactions to stimuli through positive and negative reinforcement of adaptive behavior and/or the reduction of maladaptive behavior through punishment and/or ....
 as a therapy became popularized in the 1950s and 1960s. Notable contributors were Joseph Wolpe
Joseph Wolpe

Joseph Wolpe was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1915, but became an American citizen later in his life. He is best known for developing what is now called systematic desensitization....
 in South Africa, M.B. Shipiro and Hans Eysenck
Hans Eysenck

Hans J?rgen Eysenck was a psychologist best remembered for his work on intelligence and personality psychology, though he worked in a wide range of areas....
 in Britain, and John B. Watson
John B. Watson

John Broadus Watson was an United States psychology who established the List of psychological schools of behaviorism, after doing research on animal behavior....
 and B.F. Skinner in the United States. Behavioral therapy approaches relied on principles of operant conditioning
Operant conditioning

Operant conditioning is the use of consequences to modify the occurrence and form of behavior. Operant conditioning is distinguished from classical conditioning in that operant conditioning deals with the Behavior modification or operant behavior....
, classical conditioning
Classical conditioning

Classical Conditioning is a form of associative learning that was first demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov . The typical procedure for inducing classical conditioning involves presentations of a neutral stimulus along with a stimulus of some significance....
 and social learning theory
Social learning theory

Social learning theory is the theory that people learn new behavior through overt reinforcement or punishment or via observational learning. People learn through observing others' behavior....
 to bring about therapeutic change in observable symptoms. The approach became commonly used for phobias, as well as other disorders. Some therapeutic approaches developed out of the European school of existential philosophy. Concerned mainly with the individual's ability to develop and preserve a sense of meaning and purpose throughout life, major contributors to the field (e.g., Irvin Yalom, Rollo May) and Europe (Viktor Frankl
Viktor Frankl

Viktor Emil Frankl M.D., Doctor of Philosophy was an Austrian neurology and psychiatry as well as a Holocaust survivor. Frankl was the founder of logotherapy, which is a form of Existential therapy, the "Third Viennese School" of psychotherapy....
, Ludwig Binswanger
Ludwig Binswanger

Ludwig Binswanger was a Swiss psychiatrist and pioneer in the field of existential psychology. His grandfather was the founder of the "Bellevue Sanatorium" in Kreuzlingen, and his uncle Otto Binswanger was a professor of psychiatry at the University of Jena....
, Medard Boss
Medard Boss

Medard Boss was a Swiss psychoanalytic psychiatrist who developed a form of psychotherapy known as Daseinsanalysis, which was largely based on the existential-phenomenological philosophy of friend and mentor, Martin Heidegger....
, R.D.Laing
Ronald David Laing

Ronald David Laing , was a Scotland psychiatrist who wrote extensively on mental illnessin particular, the experience of psychosis. Laing's views on the causes and treatment of serious mental disfunction, greatly influenced by existential philosophy, ran counter to the psychiatric orthodoxy of the day by taking the expressed feelings of the i...
, Emmy van Deurzen
Emmy van Deurzen

Emmy van Deurzen is an existential therapist in the United Kingdom. She initially came to the UK to work with the anti-psychiatry, but soon created her own school....
) attempted to create therapies sensitive to common 'life crises' springing from the essential bleakness of human self-awareness, previously accessible only through the complex writings of existential philosophers (e.g., Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Kierkegaard

S?ren Aabye Kierkegaard was a prolific 19th century Denmark philosopher and theologian. Kierkegaard strongly criticised both the Hegelianism of his time, and what he saw as the empty ceremony of the Church of Denmark....
, Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre

Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre , commonly known simply as Jean-Paul Sartre , was a French existentialism philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism....
, Gabriel Marcel
Gabriel Marcel

Gabriel Honor? Marcel was a France philosopher, a leading Christian existentialism, and author of about 30 plays. He focused on the modern individual's struggle in a technologically dehumanizing society....
, Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger

Martin Heidegger was an influential Germany Philosophy. His best known book, Being and Time, is generally considered to be one of the most important philosophical works of the 20th century....
, Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th century philosophy Germans philosophy and classical philology. He wrote critical texts on religion, morality, contemporary culture, philosophy, and science, using a distinctive German language style and displaying a fondness for metaphor and aphorism....
). The uniqueness of the patient-therapist relationship thus also forms a vehicle for therapeutic enquiry. A related body of thought in psychotherapy started in the 1950s with Carl Rogers
Carl Rogers

Carl Rogers was an influential American psychologist and among the founders of the Humanistic psychology to psychology. Rogers is widely considered to be one of the founding fathers of psychotherapy research and was honored for his pioneering research with the Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions by the American Psychological Ass...
. Based in existentialism
Existentialism

Existentialism is a term that has been applied to the work of a number of nineteenth and twentieth century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, took the human subject — not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual and his or her conditions of existence — as a starting point...
 and the works of Abraham Maslow
Abraham Maslow

Abraham Harold Maslow was an American psychology. He is noted for his conceptualization of a "Maslow's hierarchy of needs", and is considered the father of humanistic psychology....
 and his hierarchy of human needs, Rogers brought person-centered psychotherapy
Person-centered psychotherapy

Person-Centered Therapy , also known as Client-centered therapy or Rogerian Psychotherapy, was developed by the humanist psychologist Carl Rogers in the 1940s and 1950s....
 into mainstream focus. Rogers's primary requirement is that the client should be in receipt of three core 'conditions' from their counsellor or therapist: unconditional positive regard
Unconditional positive regard

Unconditional positive regard is a term used by the Humanist school of psychology. Humanist psychologists believe that by showing the client unconditional positive regard and acceptance, the therapist is providing the best possible conditions for personal growth to the client....
, also sometimes described as 'prizing' the person or valuing the humanity of an individual, congruence [authenticity/genuineness/transparency], and empathic understanding
Empathy

Empathy is the capacity to share and understand another's emotion and feelings. It is often characterized as the ability to "put oneself into another's shoes", or in some way experience what the other person is feeling....
. The aim in using the 'core conditions' is to facilitate therapeutic change within a non-directive relationship conducive to enhancing the client's psychological well being. This type of interaction enables the client to fully experience and express themselves. Others developed the approach, like Fritz
Fritz Perls

Friedrich Salomon Perls , better known as Fritz Perls, was a noted Germany-born psychiatrist and psychotherapy of Jewish descent.He coined the term 'Gestalt Therapy' for the approach to therapy he developed with his wife Laura Perls from the 1940s, and he became associated with the Esalen Institute in California in 1964....
 and Laura Perls
Laura Perls

Laura Perls, born Lore Posner, 1905 in Pforzheim, Germany; died 13 July 1990 in Pforzheim, was a noted German-born psychologist and psychotherapist who helped establish the Gestalt Therapy school of psychotherapy....
 in the creation of Gestalt therapy
Gestalt therapy

Gestalt therapy is an existential and experiential psychotherapy that focuses on the individual's experience in the present moment, the therapist-client relationship, the environmental and social contexts in which these things take place, and the self-regulating adjustments people make as a result of the overall situation....
, as well as Marshall Rosenberg, founder of Nonviolent Communication
Nonviolent communication

Nonviolent Communication is a process developed by Marshall Rosenberg and others which people use to Communication with greater compassion and clarity....
, and Eric Berne
Eric Berne

Eric Berne was a Canadian-born psychiatrist best known as the creator of transactional analysis and the author of Games People Play ....
, founder of Transactional Analysis
Transactional analysis

Transactional analysis, commonly known as TA to its adherents, is an integrative approach to the theory of psychology and psychotherapy....
. Later these fields of psychotherapy would become what is known as humanistic psychotherapy
Humanistic psychology

Humanistic psychology is a school of psychology that emerged in the 1950s in reaction to both behaviorism and psychoanalysis. It is explicitly concerned with the human dimension of psychology and the human context for the development of psychological theory....
 today. Self-help groups and books became widespread.

During the 1950s, Albert Ellis
Albert Ellis

Albert Ellis was an American psychologist who in 1955 developed Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. He held M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in clinical psychology from Columbia University and founded and was the president and president emeritus of the New York City-based Albert Ellis Institute....
 originated Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)
Rational emotive behavior therapy

Rational emotive behavior therapy , previously called rational therapy and rational emotive therapy, is a comprehensive, active-directive, philosophy and empirically based psychotherapy which focuses on resolving emotional and behavioral problems and disturbances and enabling people to lead happier and more fulfilling lives....
. A few years later, psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck
Aaron T. Beck

Aaron Temkin Beck is an American cognitive therapy and a professor emeritus at the department of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. Beck is known as the father of cognitive therapy and inventor of a number of the widely used self-report measures, including the Beck Depression Inventory , Beck Hopelessness Scale, Beck Scale for Su...
 developed a form of psychotherapy known as cognitive therapy
Cognitive therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy is a psychotherapy approach that aims to influence dysfunctional emotions, behaviors and cognitions through a goal-oriented, systematic procedure....
. Both of these included generally relative short, structured and present-focused therapy aimed at identifying and changing a person's beliefs, appraisals and reaction-patterns, by contrast with the more long-lasting insight-based approach of psycho-dynamic or humanistic therapies. Cognitive and behavioral therapy approaches were combined and grouped under the heading and umbrella-term Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in the 1970s. Many approaches within CBT were oriented towards active/directive collaborative empiricism and mapping, assessing and modifying clients core beliefs and dysfunctional schemas. These approaches gained widespread acceptance as a primary treatment for numerous disorders. A "third wave" of cognitive and behavioral therapies developed, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Acceptance and commitment therapy, or ACT , a branch of cognitive-behavioral therapy, is an empirically based psychology intervention that uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies together with commitment and behavior change strategies to increase psychological flexibility....
 and Dialectical behavior therapy, which expanded the concepts to other disorders and/or added novel components and mindfulness
Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a mental state, characterized by concentrated awareness of one's thoughts, actions or motivations. Mindfulness plays a central role in the teaching of the Gautama Buddha where it is affirmed that "correct" or "right" mindfulness is an essential factor in the path to Bodhi and Moksha....
 exercises. Counseling methods developed, including solution-focused therapy
Solution focused brief therapy

Solution focused brief therapy , often referred to as simply 'solution focused therapy' or 'brief therapy', is a type of talking therapy that is based upon social constructionist philosophy....
 and systemic coaching. Postmodern psychotherapies such as Narrative Therapy
Narrative therapy

Narrative Therapy was initially developed during the 1970s and 1980s, largely by Australian Michael White and his friend and colleague, David Epston, of New Zealand....
 and coherence therapy
Coherence therapy

Coherence therapy is a system of psychotherapy based in the theory that symptoms of mood, thought and behavior are produced coherently according to the person's current models of reality, most of which are implicit and unconscious....
 did not impose definitions of mental health and illness, but rather saw the goal of therapy as something constructed by the client and therapist in a social context. Systems Therapy
Family therapy

Family therapy, also referred to as couple and family therapy and family systems therapy, is a branch of psychotherapy that works with family and couples in intimate relationships to nurture change and development....
 also developed, which focuses on family and group dynamics—and Transpersonal psychology
Transpersonal psychology

Transpersonal psychology is a school of psychology that studies the transpersonal, self-transcendence or spirituality aspects of the human experience....
, which focuses on the spiritual facet of human experience. Other important orientations developed in the last three decades include Feminist therapy
Feminist therapy

Feminist therapy is a set of related therapy arising from the disparity between the origin of most psychological theories and the majority of people seeking counseling being female....
, Brief therapy
Brief therapy

Brief therapy is an umbrella term for a variety of approaches to psychotherapy. It differs from other schools of therapy in that it emphasises a focus on a specific problem and direct intervention....
, Somatic Psychology
Somatic Psychology

Somatic psychology, also referred to as Body Psychotherapy, is an interdisciplinary field involving the study of therapeutic and holistic approaches to the body, somatic experience, and the embodied self....
, Expressive therapy
Expressive therapy

Expressive therapy, also known as expressive arts therapy or creative arts therapy, is the use of the creative arts as a form of therapy. Unlike traditional art expression, the process of creation is emphasized rather than the final product....
, and applied Positive psychology
Positive psychology

Positive psychology is a recent branch of psychology that "studies the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive"....
. A survey of over 2,500 US
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 therapists in 2006 revealed the most utilized models of therapy and the ten most influential therapists of the previous quarter-century.

General concerns

Psychotherapy can be seen as an interpersonal invitation offered by (often trained and regulated) psychotherapists to aid clients in reaching their full potential or to cope better with problems of life. Psychotherapists usually receive remuneration in some form in return for their time and skills. This is one way in which the relationship
List of basic relationship topics

Interpersonal relationships are social associations, connections, or affiliations between two or more people. They vary in differing levels of intimacy and sharing, implying the discovery or establishment of Common ground , and may be centered around something shared in common....
 can be distinguished from an altruistic
Altruism

Altruism is the deliberate pursuit of the interests or welfare of others or the public interest....
 offer of assistance.

Psychotherapists and counsellors often require to create a therapeutic environment referred to as the frame
Frame (therapy)

The Frame refers to the environment and relationship in psychotherapy, which enables the client to be open about their life with the therapist, in a secure and confidential manner....
, which is characterised by a free yet secure climate that enables the client to open up. The degree to which client feels related to the therapist may well depend on the methods and approaches used by the therapist or counsellor.

Psychotherapy often includes techniques to increase awareness, for example, or to enable other choices of thought, feeling or action; to increase the sense of well-being and to better manage subjective discomfort or distress. Psychotherapy can be provided on a one-to-one basis or in group therapy
Group therapy

Group psychotherapy or group therapy is a form of psychotherapy in which one or more therapists treat a small group of clients together as a group....
. It can occur face to face, over the telephone, or, much less commonly, the Internet
Online psychotherapy

Online psychotherapy refers to the practice of traditional psychotherapy carried out via the internet.Psychosocial interventions are effective in the treatment of a range of psychiatric disorders....
. Its time frame may be a matter of weeks or many years. Therapy may address specific forms of diagnosable mental illness
Mental illness

A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern that occurs in an individual and is thought to cause distress or disability that is not expected as part of normal development or culture....
, or everyday problems in managing or maintaining person relationships or meeting personal goals. Treatment of everyday problems is more often referred to as counseling (a distinction originally adopted by Carl Rogers
Carl Rogers

Carl Rogers was an influential American psychologist and among the founders of the Humanistic psychology to psychology. Rogers is widely considered to be one of the founding fathers of psychotherapy research and was honored for his pioneering research with the Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions by the American Psychological Ass...
) but the term is sometimes used interchangeably with "psychotherapy".

Psychotherapists employ a range of techniques to influence
Power (sociology)

Power is a measure of a person's ability to control the environment around them, including the behavior of other people. The term authority is often used for power, perceived as legitimate by the social structure....
 or persuade
Persuasion

Persuasion is a form of social influence. It is the process of guiding people toward the adoption of an idea, attitude, or action by rational and symbolic means....
 the client to adapt or change in the direction the client has chosen. These can be based on clear thinking about their options; experiential relationship building; dialogue, communication and adoption of behavior change strategies. Each is designed to improve the mental health
Mental health

Mental health is a term used to describe either a level of cognition or emotional Quality of life or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and efforts to achieve psychol...
 of a client or patient, or to improve group relationships (as in a family). Most forms of psychotherapy use only spoken conversation, though some also use other forms of communication such as the written word, artwork, drama, narrative story, or therapeutic touch. Psychotherapy occurs within a structured encounter between a trained therapist and client(s). Because sensitive topics are often discussed during psychotherapy, therapists are expected, and usually legally bound, to respect client or patient confidentiality
Client confidentiality

Client confidentiality is the principle that an institution or individual should not reveal information about their Customers to a third party without the consent of the client or a clear legal reason....
.

Psychotherapists are often trained, certified
Professional certification

|}Professional certification, trade certification, or professional designation, often called simply certification or qualification, is a designation earned by a person to assure qualification to perform a job or task....
, and licensed
Licensure

Licensure refers to the granting of a license, which gives a 'permission to practice.' Such licenses are usually issued in order to regulate some activity that is deemed to be dangerous or a threat to the person or the public or which involves a high level of specialized skill....
, with a range of different certifications and licensing requirements depending on the jurisdiction. Psychotherapy may be undertaken by clinical psychologists,counseling psychologists, social workers, marriage-family therapists
Family therapy

Family therapy, also referred to as couple and family therapy and family systems therapy, is a branch of psychotherapy that works with family and couples in intimate relationships to nurture change and development....
, expressive therapists
Expressive therapy

Expressive therapy, also known as expressive arts therapy or creative arts therapy, is the use of the creative arts as a form of therapy. Unlike traditional art expression, the process of creation is emphasized rather than the final product....
, trained nurses, psychiatrists, psychoanalysts, mental health counselors
Mental Health Counselor

Mental health counselors practice mental health counseling which is a dynamic psychoeducational discipline born in the late 1970?s when several mental health professionals realized that the master?s degree level counselors working in community settings lacked a professional home or identity....
, school counselor
School counselor

A school counselor is a counselor and educator who works in K-12 schools to provide academic, career, college readiness, and personal/social competencies to all students and other stakeholders....
s, or professionals of other mental health disciplines. Psychiatrists
Psychiatry

Psychiatry is a Medicine Specialty devoted to the Treatment of mental disorders, Biomedical research and Prevention of mental disorder. The term was first coined by the German physician Johann Christian Reil in 1808....
 have medical qualifications and may also administer prescription medication. The primary training of a psychiatrist focuses on the biological aspects of mental health conditions, with some training in psychotherapy. Psychologists have more training in psychological assessment and research
Research

Research is defined as human activity based on intellectual application in the investigation of matter. The primary purpose for applied research is discovery , interpretation , and the development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters of our world and the universe....
 and, in addition, in-depth training in psychotherapy. Social workers have specialized training in linking patients to community and institutional resources, in addition to elements of psychological assessment and psychotherapy. Marriage-Family Therapists have specific training and experience working with relationships and family issues. A Licensed Professional Counselor
Licensed Professional Counselor

Licensed Professional Counselor is a licensure for mental health professionals. The exact title varies by state, but the other most frequently used title is Licensed Mental Health Counselor ....
 (LPC) generally has special training in career, mental health, school
School counselor

A school counselor is a counselor and educator who works in K-12 schools to provide academic, career, college readiness, and personal/social competencies to all students and other stakeholders....
, or rehabilitation counseling to include evaluation and assessments as well as psychotherapy. Many of the wide variety of training programs are multiprofessional, that is, psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health nurses, and social workers may be found in the same training group. Consequently, specialized psychotherapeutic training in most countries requires a program of continuing education after the basic degree, or involves multiple certifications attached to one specific degree.

Specific schools and approaches


In practices of experienced psychotherapists, therapy will not represent pure types, but will draw aspects from a number of perspectives and schools.

Psychoanalysis


Hall Freud Jung in Front of Clark 1909
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis is a body of ideas developed by Austrian physician Sigmund Freud and his followers, which is devoted to the study of human psychological functioning and behaviour....
 was developed in the late 1800s by Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian psychiatrist who founded the psychoanalysis of psychology. Freud is best known for his theories of the unconscious mind and the defense mechanism of Psychological repression and for creating the clinical practice of psychoanalysis for curing psychopathology through dialogue...
. His therapy explores the dynamic
Psychodynamics

Psychodynamics is the systematized study and theory of the psychological forces that underlie human behavior, emphasizing the interplay between unconscious and conscious motivation....
 workings of a mind understood to consist of three parts: the hedonistic id (German: das Es, "the it"), the rational ego (das Ich, "the I"), and the moral superego (das Überich, "the above-I"). Because the majority of these dynamics are said to occur outside people's awareness, Freudian psychoanalysis seeks to probe the unconscious
Unconscious

Unconscious might refer to:In physiology:* unconsciousness, the lack of consciousness or responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli....
 by way of various techniques, including dream interpretation and free association
Free association

Free association may refer to:*Free association , a clinical technique of psychoanalysis devised by Sigmund Freud*David Holmes , David Holmes group for the Code 46 soundtrack...
. Freud maintained that the condition of the unconscious mind is profoundly influenced by childhood experiences. So, in addition to dealing with the defense mechanisms employed by an overburdened ego, his therapy addresses fixations
Fixation (psychology)

In human psychology, fixation refers to a state in which an individual becomes obsession with an attachment to another person, being or object.Sigmund Freud theorized that some humans may develop psychological fixation due to:...
 and other issues by probing deeply into clients' youth.

Other psychodynamic theories and techniques have been developed and used by psychotherapists, psychologists
Psychology

Psychology is an academic and applied science discipline involving the science study of human mental functions and behavior. Occasionally it also relies on symbolic hermeneutics and critical theory, although these traditions are less pronounced than in other social sciences such as sociology....
, psychiatrists
Psychiatry

Psychiatry is a Medicine Specialty devoted to the Treatment of mental disorders, Biomedical research and Prevention of mental disorder. The term was first coined by the German physician Johann Christian Reil in 1808....
, personal growth facilitators
Facilitator

A facilitator is someone who helps a group of people understand their common objectives and assists them to plan to achieve them without taking a particular position in the discussion....
, occupational therapist
Occupational therapist

An occupational therapist is a health professional who is trained in the practice of occupational therapy. The role of an occupational therapist is to work with a client to help them achieve a fulfilled and satisfied state in life through the use of "purposeful activity or interventions designed to achieve functional outcomes which promote...
s and social work
Social work

Social work is a discipline involving the application of social theory and research methods to study and improve the lives of people, groups, and societies....
ers. Techniques for group therapy
Group therapy

Group psychotherapy or group therapy is a form of psychotherapy in which one or more therapists treat a small group of clients together as a group....
 have also been developed. While behaviour is often a target of the work, many approaches value working with feelings and thoughts. This is especially true of the psychodynamic schools of psychotherapy, which today include Jungian therapy and Psychodrama as well as the psychoanalytic schools. Other approaches focus on the link between the mind and body and try to access deeper levels of the psyche through manipulation of the physical body. Examples are Rolfing
Rolfing

Rolfing is a common name used for the system of Structural Integration manipulative therapy founded by Ida Pauline Rolf in the 1950s. The terms Rolfing and Rolfer are trademarks of The Rolf Institute of Structural Integration ....
, Bioenergetic analysis
Bioenergetic analysis

Introduction Bioenergetic Analysis is a form of body psychotherapy that combines psychological analysis, active work with the body and relational therapeutic work....
 and postural integration.

Gestalt Therapy


Gestalt Therapy is a major overhaul of psychoanalysis. In its early development it was called "concentration therapy" by its founders, Frederick and Laura Perls. However, its mix of theoretical influences became most organized around the work of the gestalt psychologists; thus, by the time Gestalt Therapy, Excitement and Growth in the Human Personality (Perls, Hefferline, and Goodman) was written, the approach became known as "Gestalt Therapy."

Gestalt Therapy stands on top of essentially four load bearing theoretical walls: phenomenological method, dialogical relationship, field-theoretical strategies, and experimental freedom. Some have considered it an existential phenomenology while others have described it as a phenomenological behaviorism. Gestalt therapy is a humanistic, holistic, and experiential approach that does not rely on talking alone, but facilitates awareness in the various contexts of life by moving from talking about situations relatively remote to action and direct, current experience.

Group Psychotherapy


The therapeutic use of groups in modern clinical practice can be traced to the early years of the 20th century, when the American chest physician Pratt, working in Boston, described forming 'classes' of fifteen to twenty patients with tuberculosis who had been rejected for sanatorium treatment. The term group therapy
Group therapy

Group psychotherapy or group therapy is a form of psychotherapy in which one or more therapists treat a small group of clients together as a group....
, however, was first used around 1920 by Jacob L. Moreno
Jacob L. Moreno

Dr. Jacob Levy Moreno was the founder of psychodrama, sociometry and the foremost pioneer of group psychotherapy. He was also a leading psychiatrist, theorist and educator....
, whose main contribution was the development of psychodrama
Psychodrama

'Psychodrama' is a form of human development which explores, through dramatic action, the problems, issues, concerns, dreams and highest aspirations of people, groups, systems and organizations....
, in which groups were used as both cast and audience for the exploration of individual problems by reenactment under the direction of the leader. The more analytic and exploratory use of groups in both hospital and out-patient settings was pioneered by a few European psychoanalysts who emigrated to the USA, such as Paul Schilder, who treated severely neurotic and mildly psychotic out-patients in small groups at Bellevue Hospital, New York. The power of groups was most influentially demonstrated in Britain during the Second World War, when several psychoanalysts and psychiatrists proved the value of group methods for officer selection in the War Office Selection Boards. A chance to run an Army psychiatric unit on group lines was then given to several of these pioneers, notably Wilfred Bion
Wilfred Bion

Wilfred Ruprecht Bion Distinguished Service Order was a UK Psychoanalysis. A pioneer in group dynamics, he was associated with the 'Tavistock group', the group of pioneering psychologists that founded the Tavistock Institute in 1946 on the basis of their shared wartime experiences....
 and Rickman, followed by S. H. Foulkes
S. H. Foulkes

Siegfried Heinrich Foulkes , born Siegfried Heinrich Fuchs in Karlsruhe, Germany, was the founder of Group Analysis, a specific form of group therapy, and the Group Analytic Society, London, which has an international membership in many countries....
, Main, and Bridger. The Northfield Hospital
Northfield Hospital

The Northfield Hospital is a psychiatric hospital located near Birmingham, England, and is famous primarily for the work on group psychotherapy that took place there in the years of the Second World War....
 in Birmingham gave its name to what came to be called the two 'Northfield Experiments', which provided the impetus for the development since the war of both social therapy, that is, the therapeutic community
Therapeutic community

Therapeutic community is a term applied to a participative, group-based approach to long-term mental illness, personality disorders and drug addiction....
 movement, and the use of small groups for the treatment of neurotic and personality disorders.

Medical and non-medical models

A distinction can also be made between those psychotherapies that employ a medical model
Medical model

Medical model is the term cited by psychiatrist Ronald David Laing in his The Politics of the Family and Other Essays for the "set of procedures in which all doctors are trained." This set includes complaint, history, physical examination, ancillary tests if needed, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis with and without treatment....
 and those that employ a humanistic model
Humanistic psychology

Humanistic psychology is a school of psychology that emerged in the 1950s in reaction to both behaviorism and psychoanalysis. It is explicitly concerned with the human dimension of psychology and the human context for the development of psychological theory....
. In the medical model the client is seen as unwell and the therapist employs their skill to help the client back to health. The extensive use of the DSM-IV, the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders in the United States, is an example of a medically-exclusive model.

The humanistic model of non medical in contrast strives to depathologise the human condition. The therapist attempts to create a relational environment conducive to experiential learning and help build the client's confidence in their own natural process resulting in a deeper understanding of themselves. An example would be gestalt therapy
Gestalt therapy

Gestalt therapy is an existential and experiential psychotherapy that focuses on the individual's experience in the present moment, the therapist-client relationship, the environmental and social contexts in which these things take place, and the self-regulating adjustments people make as a result of the overall situation....
.

Some psychodynamic practitioners distinguish between more uncovering and more supportive psychotherapy. Uncovering psychotherapy emphasizes facilitating the client's insight into the roots of their difficulties. The best-known example of an uncovering psychotherapy is classical psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis is a body of ideas developed by Austrian physician Sigmund Freud and his followers, which is devoted to the study of human psychological functioning and behaviour....
. Supportive psychotherapy by contrast stresses strengthening the client's defenses and often providing encouragement and advice. Depending on the client's personality, a more supportive or more uncovering approach may be optimal. Most psychotherapists use a combination of uncovering and supportive approaches.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy


Cognitive Behavioral Therapies (CBT) are a group of therapies that generally focus on the construction and re-construction of people's cognition
Cognition

Cognition is the science term for "the process of thought."Its usage varies in different ways in accord with different disciplines: For example, in psychology and cognitive science it refers to an information processing view of an individual's psychological Functionalism s....
s, emotions and behavior
Behavior

Behavior or behaviour refers to the action s or reactions of an object or organism, usually in Relational theory to the environment. Behavior can be conscious or Unconscious mind, overt or covert, and voluntary or involuntary....
s. Generally in CBT the therapist through a wide array of modalities helps clients assess, recognize and deal with problematic and dysfunctional ways thinking, emoting and behaving.

Behavior Therapy and Behavioral Counseling

Behavior Therapy focuses on modifying overt behavior and helping clients to achieve goals. This approach is built on the principles of learning theory including operant and respondent conditioning, which makes up the area of applied behavior analysis
Applied Behavior Analysis

Applied behavior analysis is the science of applying experimentally derived principles of behavior to improve socially significant behavior. ABA takes what we know about behavior and uses it to bring about positive change ....
 or behavior modification
Behavior modification

Behavior modification is the use of empirically demonstrated behavior change techniques to improve behavior, such as altering an individual's behaviors and reactions to stimuli through positive and negative reinforcement of adaptive behavior and/or the reduction of maladaptive behavior through punishment and/or ....
. This approach includes Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Acceptance and commitment therapy, or ACT , a branch of cognitive-behavioral therapy, is an empirically based psychology intervention that uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies together with commitment and behavior change strategies to increase psychological flexibility....
, Functional Analytic Psychotherapy
Functional Analytic Psychotherapy

Functional analytic psychotherapy is an approach to clinical psychotherapy that uses a radical behaviorism position informed by B.F. Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior....
, and Dialectical behavior therapy. Sometimes it is integrated with cognitive therapy to make cognitive behavior therapy

Expressive therapy

Expressive therapy is a form of therapy that utilizes artistic expression as its core means of treating clients. Expressive therapists use the different disciplines of the creative arts as therapeutic interventions. This includes the modalities dance therapy
Dance therapy

Dance therapy, or dance movement therapy is the Psychotherapy use of movement and dance for emotional, cognitive, social, behavioural and body conditions....
, drama therapy
Drama therapy

Dramatherapy is the use of theatre techniques to facilitate personal growth and promote health. Dramatherapy is used in a wide variety of settings, including hospitals, schools, mental health centers, prisons, and businesses....
, art therapy
Art therapy

Art therapy is a form of expressive therapy that uses art materials, such as paints, chalk and markers. Art therapy combines traditional Psychotherapy theories and techniques with an understanding of the Psychology aspects of the creative process, especially the affective properties of the different art materials....
, music therapy
Music therapy

Music therapy is an interpersonal process in which the therapist uses music and all of its facets—physical, emotional, mental, social, aesthetic, and spiritual—to help clients to improve or maintain their health....
, writing therapy
Writing therapy

Writing therapy is a form of expressive therapy that uses the act of writing and processing the written word as therapy. Writing therapy posits that writing one's feelings gradually eases pain and strengthens the immune system....
, among others. Expressive therapists believe that often the most effective way of treating a client is through the expression of imagination in a creative work and integrating and processing what issues are raised in the act.

Narrative Therapy

Narrative therapy gives attention to each person's "dominant story" by means of therapeutic conversations, which also may involve exploring unhelpful ideas and how they came to prominence. Possible social and cultural influences may be explored if the client deems it helpful

Integrative Psychotherapy

Integrative Psychotherapy represents an attempt to combine ideas and strategies from more than one theoretical approach. These approaches include mixing core beliefs and combining proven techniques. Forms of integrative psychotherapy include Multimodal Therapy
Multimodal Therapy

Multimodal therapy is an approach to psychotherapy founded by Arnold Lazarus. It is based on the idea that humans are biological beings that think, feel, act, sense, imagine, and interact; and that each of these "modalities" should be addressed in psychology treatment....
, the Transtheoretical Model
Transtheoretical Model

The transtheoretical model of change in health psychology explains or predicts a person's success or failure in achieving a proposed behavior change, such as developing different habits....
, Cyclical Psychodynamics, Systematic Treatment Selection, Cognitive Analytic Therapy
Cognitive analytic therapy

Cognitive Analytic Therapy was developed by Anthony Ryle. This brief therapy was developed in the context of the National Health Service in the United Kingdom with the aim of providing effective and affordable psychological treatment which could be realistically provided in a resource constrained National Health Service....
, Internal Family Systems Model
Internal Family Systems Model

The Internal Family Systems Model is an Integrative Psychotherapy approach to psychotherapy, relationship counseling, and family therapy developed by Richard C....
, Multitheoretical Psychotherapy
Multitheoretical Psychotherapy

Multitheoretical psychotherapy is a new approach to integrative psychotherapy developed by Jeff E. Brooks-Harris and his colleagues at the University of Hawaii at Manoa....
 and Conceptual Interaction. In practice, most experienced psychotherapists develop their own integrative approach over time.

Hypno-Psychotherapy

Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy is therapy that is undertaken with a subject in hypnosis.The word "hypnosis" is an abbreviation of James Braid's term "neuro-hypnotism", meaning "sleep of the nervous system"....
 is therapy that is undertaken with a subject in hypnosis
Hypnosis

Hypnosis is a mental state or set of attitudes usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a series of preliminary instructions and suggestions....
. Hypnotherapy is often applied in order to modify a subject's behavior, emotional content, and attitudes, as well as a wide range of conditions including dysfunctional habits, anxiety, stress-related illness, pain management, and personal development.

Scientific validation of different psychotherapeutic approaches

Within the psychotherapeutic community there has been some discussion of empirically-based psychotherapy, e.g.

Virtually no comparisons of different psychotherapies with long follow-up times have been carried out. The Helsinki Psychotherapy Study is a randomized clinical trial, in which patients are monitored for 12 months after the onset of study treatments, of which each lasted approximately 6 months. The assessments are to be completed at the baseline examination and during the follow-up after 3, 7, and 9 months and 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 years. The final results of this trial are yet to be published since follow-up evaluations will continue up to 2009.

Adaptations for children


Counseling and psychotherapy must be adapted to meet the developmental needs of children. Many counseling preparation programs include courses in human development
Developmental psychology

Developmental psychology, also known as human development, is the science study of systematic psychology changes that occur in human beings over the course of the life span....
. Since children often do not have the ability to articulate thoughts and feelings, counselors will use a variety of media such as crayons, paint, clay, puppets, bibliocounseling (books), toys, et cetera. The use of play therapy
Play therapy

Play therapy is generally employed with children ages 3 through 11 and provides a way for them to express their experiences and feelings through a natural, self-guided, self-healing process....
 is often rooted in psychodynamic theory
Psychodynamics

Psychodynamics is the systematized study and theory of the psychological forces that underlie human behavior, emphasizing the interplay between unconscious and conscious motivation....
, but other approaches such as Solution Focused Brief Counseling may also employ the use of play in counseling. In many cases the counselor may prefer to work with the care taker of the child, especially if the child is younger than age four.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality is an integral part of the therapeutic relationship and psychotherapy in general.

Criticisms and questions regarding effectiveness

There is considerable controversy over which form of psychotherapy is most effective, and more specifically, which types of therapy are optimal for treating which sorts of problems.

The dropout level is quite high; one meta-analysis of 125 studies concluded that the mean dropout rate was 46.86%. The high level of dropout has raised some criticism about the relevance and efficacy of psychotherapy.

Psychotherapy outcome research-in which the effectiveness of psychotherapy is measured by questionnaires given to patients before, during, and after treatment—has had difficulty distinguishing between the success or failure of the different approaches to therapy. Those who stay with their therapist for longer periods are more likely to report positively on what develops into a longer-term relationship. This suggests that some "treatment" may be open-ended with concerns associated with ongoing financial costs.

As early as 1952, in one of the earliest studies of psychotherapy treatment, Hans Eysenck
Hans Eysenck

Hans J?rgen Eysenck was a psychologist best remembered for his work on intelligence and personality psychology, though he worked in a wide range of areas....
 reported that two thirds of therapy patients improved significantly or recovered on their own within two years, whether or not they received psychotherapy.

Many psychotherapists believe that the nuances of psychotherapy cannot be captured by questionnaire-style observation, and prefer to rely on their own clinical experiences and conceptual arguments to support the type of treatment they practice.

In 2001 Bruce Wampold of the University of Wisconsin published "The Great Psychotherapy Debate". In it Wampold, a former statistician who went on to train as a counseling psychologist, reported that
  1. psychotherapy can be more effective than placebo,
  2. no single treatment modality has the edge in efficacy,
  3. factors common to different psychotherapies, such as whether or not the therapist has established a positive working alliance with the client/patient, account for much more of the variance in outcomes than specific techniques or modalities.


Although the Great Psychotherapy Debate dealt primarily with data on depressed patients, subsequent articles have made similar findings for post-traumatic stress disorder , and youth disorders

Some report that by attempting to program or manualize treatment psychotherapists may actually be reducing efficacy, although the unstructured approach of many psychotherapists cannot appeal to patients motived to solve their difficulties through the application of specific techniques different from their past "mistakes."

Critics of psychotherapy are skeptical of the healing power of a psychotherapeutic relationship. Since any intervention takes time, critics note that the passage of time alone, without therapeutic intervention, often results in psycho-social healing. Social contact with others is universally seen as beneficial for all humans and regularly scheduled visits with anyone would be likely to diminish both mild and severe emotional difficulty. Many resources available to a person experiencing emotional distress—the friendly support of friends, peers, family members, clergy contacts, personal reading, research, and independent coping—-present considerable value, suggesting that psychotherapy is often inappropriate or unneeded. Critics note that humans have been dealing with crises, navigating severe social problems and finding solutions to life problems long before the advent of psychotherapy.

Some psychotherapeutics have answered to scientific critique saying that psychotherapy is not a science since it is a craft.However, participation with a craft customarily lacks such common iatrogenic potential.

Further critiques have emerged from feminist, constructionist and discursive sources. Key to these is the issue of power. In this regard there is a concern that clients are persuaded—both inside and outside of the consulting room—to understand themselves and their difficulties in ways that are consistent with therapeutic ideas. This means that alternative ideas (e.g., feminist, economic, spiritual) are sometimes implicitly undermined. Critics suggest that we idealise the situation when we think of therapy only as a helping relation. It is also fundamentally a political practice, in that some cultural ideas and practices are supported while others are undermined or disqualified. So, while it is seldom intended, the therapist-client relationship always participates in society's power relations and political dynamics.

Psychodynamic schools

  • Aziz, Robert, C.G. Jung’s Psychology of Religion and Synchronicity (1990), currently in its 10th printing, a refereed publication of The State University of New York Press. ISBN 0-7914-0166-9.
  • Aziz, Robert, Synchronicity and the Transformation of the Ethical in Jungian Psychology in Carl B. Becker, ed. Asian and Jungian Views of Ethics. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1999. ISBN 0-313-30452-1.
  • Aziz, Robert, The Syndetic Paradigm: The Untrodden Path Beyond Freud and Jung (2007), a refereed publication of The State University of New York Press. ISBN 13:978-0-7914-6982-8.*
  • Oberst, U. E. and Stewart, A. E. (2003). Adlerian Psychotherapy: An Advanced Approach to Individual Psychology. New York: Brunner-Routledge. ISBN 1-58391-122-7

Humanistic schools