psychotherapy (redirected from psychotherapeutic)

psychotherapy, treatment of mental and emotional disorders using psychological methods. Psychotherapy, thus, does not include physiological interventions, such as drug therapy or electroconvulsive therapy, although it may be used in combination with such methods. This type of treatment has been used in one form or another through the ages in many societies, but it was not until the late 19th cent. that it received scientific impetus, primarily under the leadership of Sigmund Freud. Although Freud's theoretical formulations have come sharply into question, his treatment method involving individualized client-psychologist sessions has been used in modified forms for years (see psychoanalysis).

Behavior therapy aims to help the patient eliminate undesirable habits or irrational fears through conditioning. Techniques include systematic desensitization, particularly for the treatment of clients with irrational anxieties or fears, and aversive conditioning, which uses negative stimuli to end bad habits. Humanistic therapy tends to be more optimistic, basing its treatment on the theory that individuals have a natural inclination to strive toward self-fulfillment. Therapists such as Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow used a highly interactive client-therapist relationship, compelling clients to realize exactly what they are saying or how they are behaving, in order to foster a sense of self-awareness. Cognitive therapies try to show the client that certain, usually negative, thoughts are irrational, with the goal of restructuring such thoughts into positive, constructive ideas. Such methods include Albert Ellis's rational-emotive therapy, where the therapist argues with the client about his negative ideas; and Aaron Beck's cognitive restructuring therapy, in which the therapist works with the client to set attainable goals. Other forms of therapy stress helping patients to examine their own ideas about themselves.

Psychotherapy may be brief, lasting just a few sessions, or it may extend over many years. More than one client may be involved, as in marriage or family counseling, or a number of individuals, as in group psychotherapy.

Bibliography

See S. L. Garfield and A. E. Bergin, ed., Handbook of Psychotherapy and Behavior Change (4th ed. 1993); A. Roth et al., What Works for Whom?: A Critical Review of Psychotherapy Research (1996); W. Gaylin, Talk Is Not Enough: How Psychotherapy Really Works (2000).

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psychotherapy

Treatment of psychological, emotional, or behaviour disorders through interpersonal communications between the patient and a trained counselor or therapist. The goal of many modern individual and group therapies is to establish a central relationship of trust in which the client or patient can feel free to express personal thoughts and emotions and thus gain insight into his condition and generally share in the healing power of words. Such therapies include psychoanalysis and its variants (see Alfred Adler; Carl Gustav Jung), client-centred or nondirective psychotherapy, Gestalt therapy (see Gestalt psychology), play and art therapy, and general counseling. In contrast, behaviour therapy focuses on modifying behaviour by reinforcement techniques without concerning itself with internal states.

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psychotherapy (less commonly), psychotherapeutics

the treatment of nervous disorders by psychological methods

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psychotherapy [¦sī·kō′ther·ə·pē]

(psychology)

The use of psychological means in the treatment of emotional and mental disorders.

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Psychotherapy

Any treatment or therapy that is primarily psychological in nature. In recent years, counseling also has been included in this categorization.

Psychodynamic therapies

Historically, psychoanalysis—created by Sigmund Freud—has played an important role in the growth and development of psychotherapy. Central to Freud's theories was the importance of unconscious conflicts in producing the symptoms and defenses of the patient. The goal of therapy is to help the patient attain insight into the repressed conflicts which are the source of difficulty. Since patients resist these attempts bring to consciousness the painful repressed material, therapy must proceed slowly. Consequently, psychoanalysis is a long-term therapy requiring several years for completion and almost daily visits. Since Freud's time, there have been important modifications associated with former disciples such as Alfred Adler and Carl Jung. Self psychology and ego psychology are among more recent emphases. However, the popularity of psychoanalysis has waned. See Psychoanalysis

Experiential therapies

A number of related therapies are included in this group. Probably best known was the patient-centered therapy of Carl Rogers appearing in the 1940s. In Rogers' therapy, a major emphasis is placed on the ability of the patient to change when the therapist is empathic and genuine and conveys nonpossessive warmth. The therapist is nondirective in the interaction with the patient and attempts to facilitate the growth potential of the patient. Other therapeutic approaches considered as experiential include Gestalt therapy, existential approaches, and transpersonal approaches. The facilitation of experiencing is emphasized as the basic therapeutic task, and the therapeutic relationship is viewed as a significant potentially curative factor.

Cognitive, behavioral, and interpersonal therapies

In behavioral therapies, therapists play a more directive role. The emphasis is on changing the patient's behavior, using positive reinforcement, and increasing self-efficacy. More recently, cognitive therapies such as those of A. T. Beck have tended to be combined with behavioral emphases. The cognitive-behavioral therapies have focused on changing dysfunctional attitudes into more realistic and positive ones and providing new information-processing skills. See Cognition

Most of the developments in interpersonal therapy have occurred in work with depressed patients. The goal of interpersonal therapy (a brief form of therapy) is centered on increasing the quality of the patient's interpersonal interactions. Emphasis is placed on enhancing the patient's ability to cope with stresses, improving interpersonal communications, increasing morale, and helping the patient deal with the effects of the depressive disorder. See Personality theory

Eclectic and integrative therapies

The largest number of psychotherapists consider themselves to be eclectics. They do not adhere strictly to one theoretical orientation or school but use any procedures that they believe will be helpful for the individual patient. Eclecticism has been linked with the development of a movement for integration in psychotherapy. The emphasis in this new development is on openness to the views of other approaches, a less doctrinaire approach to psychotherapy, and an attempt to integrate two or more different theoretical views or systems of psychotherapy.

Group, family, and marital therapy

Most psychotherapy is conducted on a one-to-one basis—one therapist for one patient—and the confidentiality of these sessions is extremely important. However, there are other instances where more than one patient is involved because of particular goals. These include marital, family, and group therapy. Outpatient groups have been used for smoking cessation, weight loss, binge eating, and similar problems as well as for what were traditionally viewed as psychoneurotic problems. Inpatient group therapy was frequently employed in mental hospital settings.

There has been research on the combined use of medication and psychotherapy. In general, where two highly successful treatments are combined in cases with depressive or anxiety disorders, there appears to be little gain in effectiveness. However, in several studies of hospitalized patients with schizophrenia where individual psychotherapy has been ineffective, a combination of psychotherapy and medication has produced better results than medication alone. See Affective disorders, Psychopharmacology, Schizophrenia