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Ψ  Therapies
- Insight Therapies -


- Psychoanalysis -

    Psychoanalysis focuses on the idea that each of us has an unconscious part that contains ideas, memories, desires, or thoughts, that have been hidden or repressed because they are psychologically dangerous or threatening to our self-concept,

    Freud believed that Unconscious conflicts are the chief reason for the development of psychological problems (e.g. paranoia) and physical symptoms (e.g. loss of feeling in a hand).

    Neuroses are maladaptive thoughts & actions that arise from some unconscious thought or conflict and indicate feelings of anxiety.

    Three techniques of psychoanalysis:

1. Free Association - This is a technique that encourages clients to talk about
    any thoughts or images that enter their heads, the assumption is that this kind of
    free-flowing, uncensored talking will provide clues to unconscious material.
2. Dream Interpretation - is a psychoanalytic technique based on the
    assumption that dreams contain underlying, hidden meanings
    & symbols that provide clues to unconscious thoughts and desires.
3. analysis of slips of the tongue (Freudian slips)

Problems during Psychoanalysis

Transference is a process by which a client expresses strong emotions toward the therapist because the therapist substitutes for someone important in the client’s life, such as the client’s mother or father.

Resistance is characterized by the client’s reluctance to work through or deal with feelings or to recognize unconscious conflicts and repressed thoughts.

Short-term dynamic psychotherapy emphasizes a limited time for treatment (3-20 sessions) and focuses on limited goals, such as solving a relatively well-defined problem.

- Client-centered therapy -

    Client-centered therapy; a.k.a. person-centered therapy, assumes that each person has an actualizing tendency, which is a tendency to develop one’s full potential.

      • Traits required of the therapist in client-centered therapy:

Empathy is the ability to understand what the client is saying & feeling.
Positive regard is the ability to communicate caring, respect, & regard for the client.
Genuineness is the ability to be real and nondefensive in interactions with the client.

- Cognitive Therapy -

    Cognitive therapy; developed by Aaron Beck, assumes that we have automatic negative thoughts that we typically say to ourselves without much notice & repeating these automatic negative thoughts causes distortion in how we perceive and interpret our world and influences how we behave and feel.


General Psychology
Robert C. Gates