NCERT Class 12 Psychology Therapeutic Approaches

THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES

In the preceding chapter, you have studied about major psychological disorders and the distress caused by them to the patient and others. In this chapter, you will learn about the various therapeutic methods that are used by psychotherapists to help their patients. There are various types of psychotherapy. Some of them focus on acquiring self-understanding; other therapies are more action-oriented. All approaches hinge on the basic issue of helping the patient overcome her/his debilitating condition. The effectiveness of a therapeutic approach for a patient depends on a number of factors such as severity of the disorder, degree of distress faced by others, and the availability of time, effort and money, among others. All therapeutic approaches are corrective and helping in nature. All of them involve an interpersonal relationship between the therapist and the client or patient. Some of them are directive in nature, such as psychodynamic, while some are non-directive such as person-centred. In this chapter, we will briefly discuss some of the major forms of psychotherapy.

NATURE AND PROCESS OF PSYCHOTHERAPY

Psychotherapy is a voluntary relationship between the one seeking treatment or the client and the one who treats or the therapist. The purpose of the relationship is to help the client to solve the psychological problems being faced by her or him. The relationship is conducive for building the trust of the client so that problems may be freely discussed. Psychotherapies aim at changing the maladaptive behaviours, decreasing the sense of personal distress, and helping the client to adapt better to her/his environment. Inadequate marital, occupational and social adjustment also requires that major changes be made in an individual’s personal environment. All psychotherapeutic approaches have the following characteristics :  (i) there is systematic application of principles underlying the different theories of therapy,(ii) persons who have received practical training under expert supervision can practice psychotherapy, and not everybody. An untrained person may unintentionally cause more harm than anygood, (iii) the therapeutic situation involves a therapist and a client who seeks and receives help for her/his emotional problems (this person is the focus of attention in the therapeutic process), and (iv) the interaction of these two persons — the therapist and the client — results in  the consolidation/formation of the therapeutic relationship. This is a confidential, interpersonal, and dynamic relationship. This human relationship is central to any sort of psychological therapy and is the vehicle for change. All psychotherapies aim at a few or all of the following goals :

(i) Reinforcing client’s resolve for betterment.

(ii) Lessening emotional pressure.

(iii) Unfolding the potential for positive growth.

(iv) Modifying habits.

(v) Changing thinking patterns.

(vi) Increasing self-awareness.

(vii) Improving interpersonal relations and communication.

Review Questions

1. Describe the nature and scope of psychotherapy. Highlight the importance of therapeutic relationship in psychotherapy.

2. What are the different types of psychotherapy? On what basis are they classified?

3. A therapist asks the client to reveal all her/his thoughts including early childhood experiences. Describe the technique and type of therapy being used.

4. Discuss the various techniques used in behaviour therapy.

5. Explain with the help of an example how cognitive distortions take place.

6. Which therapy encourages the client to seek personal growth and actualise their potential? Write about the therapies which are based on this principle.

7. What are the factors that contribute to healing in psychotherapy? Enumerate some of the alternative therapies.

8. What are the techniques used in the rehabilitation of the mentally ill?

9. How would a social learning theorist account for a phobic fear of lizards/cockroaches? How would a psychoanalyst account for the same phobia?

10. Should Electro-convulsive Therapy (ECT) be used in the treatment of mental disorders?

11. What kind of problems is cognitive behaviour therapy best suited for?

Please refer to attached file for NCERT Class 12 Psychology Therapeutic Approaches