Sigmund Freud is arguably the most
prominent psychologist to date due to his psychoanalytic approaches and
dynamics. The approach is broken into four stages: drive, ego psychology,
object relations, and self-psychology. Psychoanalytic psychotherapy has the
goals of increasing client awareness and control. In turn, the client is able
to rid his or her self of self-destructive behaviors that lead to the need of
treatment. Freud believed most psychological conditions stemmed from childhood
occurrences or learned behaviors early on. Psychoanalytic methods were derived
from Freud’s overview of human development; which seems to be the controversial
aspect of his theories that had potential to discredit the psychoanalytic
approach. He coined various theories, such as the structural approach in which
the superego, ego, and id control one’s behaviors. This approach was able to
shape many theories and act as a catalyst for various therapeutic methods.
Freud’s development of ego defense mechanisms provided a sort of “cheat-sheet”
for occurrences in which the client unknowingly avoids a certain topic. While
his contributions were essential, his findings are often critiqued and he is
famously known for almost all of his findings being proven wrong at some point
in the psychological evolution since his death. His credit lies in the fact
that he founded and expertly expanded on most of the evolutionary concepts
altogether. Rather than focusing on his wrongdoings, this writer would like to
acknowledge his overall breakthrough finding that the conscious mind is
controlled by the unconscious. In such findings, his defense mechanisms seem to
be relevant in the fact that the human brain avoids pain rather than dealing
with it, as Freud vaguely put in his explanations of the structural approach.
While there is no realistic proof of the superego, ego, and id as scholarly
sources have pointed out, the basis consciousness overrides any discreditation.
Thus, psychoanalysis has proven to be relevant and effective, especially when
combined with other therapies. Psychoanalysis utilizes various techniques to
uncover the thoughts and experiences one has repressed to avoid pain. In free
association, the therapist says a word or phrase and encourages the client to
say whatever comes to mind. This technique can be helpful in uncovering
repressed thoughts, but also can be detrimental if one goes off-track or on a
tangent irrelevant to the goal of treatment. This is common for psychoanalytic
therapy overall because the model is effective for the right client. Clients
that suffer from depression or anxiety have the potential to greatly benefit
from psychoanalytic therapy. However, in terms of psychoanalytic therapy,
clients with more strenuous disorders may have some limits. For example,
schizophrenia is believed to be a regression to the oral stage in which the ego
was not developed from the id. This would suggest those with schizophrenia have
little recognition for others and are primarily narcissistic, as the id allows.
This is one of many theories that pertains to schizophrenia, however nothing
has been proven to support this claim. Thus, psychoanalytic therapy could
potentially not fit such clients because of the limitations psychoanalytic
techniques present. In addition to this, transference and countertransference
play a large role in the psychoanalytic approach. The universal ethical code
would require therapists to recognize their roles in a client’s treatment.
Boundaries are to be firm and consistency is key in terms of effective
treatment. Transference and countertransference present risky factors to
counseling. In transference, the client could associate the therapist with
others and either muddle the relationship or hinder trust in the therapist,
which would ultimately deter the goal of a therapist being able to uncover repressed
thoughts or emotions. The entire goal is diminished and treatment has to be
altered drastically in order to reach such goals. Overall, the psychoanalytic
approach uncovers essential footwork for therapists, however presents
challenges and critiques that would make reaching counseling goals difficult.
Freud’s close associate, Alfred
Adler, founded individual psychology, also known as Adlerian therapy. In this
approach, Adler’s core belief was that humans are unique individuals and their
lifestyle is determined by task accomplishment or lack of. The categories of
the tasks are as follows: employment, social relationships, sense of self,
spirituality or religion, and family. If one is struggling with these tasks of
life, they are encouraged to seek this type of counseling, as according to
Adler these tasks are imperative to this goal-oriented method. Adlerian
therapy’s four stages are forming a friendly therapeutic relationship,
obtaining information for a comprehensive style of life, using interpretation
to help clients reach style of life goals, and reorientation to better reach
these task goals. These stages are not meant to be completed in order, but
rather they overlap and intertwine with each other. Adler also developed
techniques to support this therapy, such as goal alignment, the family
constellation, the question, early recollections, and the psychological birth
order. Like Freud’s psychoanalytic techniques, Adler’s techniques were
questioned in terms of validity and relevancy. In particular, the question
presents itself to be controversial as it asks “what if you were well”,
attempting to have the client imagine how he or she would be living without
present symptoms of psychological conditions or problems. The therapist then
works backwards to align treatment steps to reach such goals. Adler’s approach
included various sociological factors, such as family dynamics and sense of
self in social structures. The inclusion of such dynamics allow for Adler’s
approach to be more widely accepted and utilized in various settings. This
writer personally believes this approach would greatly benefit her desired
client base, as she would like to work with troubled youth as a therapist.
Adolescents have a strong sense of self in sociological settings, and are
conscious of such dynamics. Their sense of self is primarily based off of
acceptance from others, which drives Adler’s approach to be useful in adolescent
counseling.
While the previously mentioned
therapies were mainly discovered by individual psychologists, existential
therapy is an evolutionary therapy that has been derived from many
psychologists and researchers. It is mainly focused on existentialism as a
philosophical viewpoint, which includes self-awareness and meaning of self in
terms of existence. Human experience fuels the principles of existential
therapy, however, therapists do not use specific techniques of counseling. I-Am
is an experience of this therapy in which it is similar to self-discovery. This
is a key element in the therapies presented thus far. I-am and I-thou delve
deeper into existential elements of being. This brings up the four ways of
“being” as outlined by existential approaches. These components are called
umwelt, mitwelt, eigenwelt, and uberwelt. Umwelt is described as
“being-with-nature” or the physical world. Mitwelt is “being-with-others”, or
the social world. Eigenwelt is “being-with-oneself” or the world of the self.
Uberwelt is “being-with-the-spiritual”, or over world. These are the factors
clients and therapists attempt to explore when a client discloses feelings and
scenarios of lifestyle. Experiences or feelings described in a session are
meant to be classified by one or multiple ways of being, and then examined as
such for further self-discovery or awareness. This type of therapy requires a
deep trust between client and therapist in order to be successful, as it is
fueled by emotional sharing and confrontation. Existential counseling is
controversial as it acknowledges death and in ways is desensitized to such life
events. In some viewpoints, existential counseling is viewed as ignorant, which
poses the question of multicultural competency. As previously stated, it is
one’s responsibility in a professional counseling relationship to obtain
multicultural sensitivity and derive practices with acknowledgement of such
limitations. Existentialism can be impractical in such environments if not
properly executed. Thus, the lack of structure in this type of counseling can
inhibit efficacy. Existentialism approaches bluntly confront realistic events,
and strives to center the person in therapeutic process. In this theory, each
person is made up of their choices, existentialism sorts through these
occurrences to instill or realize balance of self.
Carl Rogers created Person-Centered
therapy as the model in which the client has control over treatment. The
therapist is to support the client by observing and not trying to interpret
what is said. The client expresses how he or she feels, with the therapist
occasionally restating or repeating what is said. This is a catalyst for the
client to self-edit or clarify. This process is repeated until the client feels
as though they have expressed exactly what they think or feel. This talk
therapy promotes self-change and awareness, but requires a great deal of
motivation. The ideal client would be one that is dealing with grief,
depression, anxiety, stress, or other mental health conditions. Success is
directly related to the amount of work the client is willing to put in, and the
amount of motivation said client exhibits. That being said, there are also
three components therapists must bide by for success. Therapists must provide
unconditional positive regard in order for the client to feel trust and
understood. They must also have an empathetic understanding, accepting their
client’s thoughts and feelings. Lastly, the therapist must be transparent and
have no sort of authority in the session. These components are essential to
person-centered talk therapy. Person-centered therapy is not as accepted in
comparison to other methods, due to the lack of superiority for a therapist.
The therapist is not at liberty to share opinions or make suggestions in order
to avoid a client feeling judged or misunderstood. The core concept of
self-discovery seems like an efficient method, however may not pertain to some
more serious conditions such as bipolar disorder or dissociative identity
disorder. Person-centered therapy may be effective when paired with other
therapies, however individually person-centered therapy does not allow for
intervention. Intervention is said to be a pillar in self-growth, and when
absent from some treatment, self-discovery can seem far-fetched. This would
eliminate efficacy of person-centered therapy overall. While person-centered
therapy may be effective in some scenarios, the lack of structure presents
potentially problematic or inefficient schemas.
As an overall takeaway, this writer
was able to distinguish various methods she would use in her future career as a
clinician. This writer believes free association and Adlerian practices would
best suit her projected clientele. This writer desires to work with troubled adolescents
and youth. While the motivational and self-discovery points of Person-centered
therapy would seem to be helpful, the lack of structure or allowance for
suggestions would eliminate person-centered as the primary practice in talk
therapy. Similarly, existentialism would be a good thought for adolescents,
however the essence of being is already somewhat lost on this age-group. This
would present problems as they would be less receptive to what is being said by
the therapist, this less susceptible to change. The emphasis on friendly
relationship between client and therapist is a humanistic quality of Adlerian
therapy that is a catalyst for client understanding of superiority in the
therapist. This is essential in establishing multiple roles, where the client
would view the therapist as a figure in which it is easier for the client to
trust the therapist. This also would play on transference, in which the client
would associate the therapist without consciously acknowledging the connection
in the best of cases. The therapist would hold hierarchy, and in turn be able
to uncover the components that cause the present symptoms in the client. For
this writer, she can acknowledge the power of self-discovery but overall
understands her desired client base would benefit greatly from more guidance
and structure within treatment. This writer enjoyed the theories presented in
the first portion of her studies, and looks forward to uncovering more in the
future.
References
Diamond, S. A. (2011, January 21). What Is Existential
Psychotherapy? Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evil-deeds/201101/what-is-existential-psychotherapy
Dvorsky, G. (2013, August 7). Why Freud Still Matters, When He
Was Wrong About Almost Everything. Retrieved from https://io9.gizmodo.com/why-freud-still-matters-when-he-was-wrong-about-almost-1055800815
Essays,
UK. (November 2018). Person-Centered Therapy Strength And Weaknesses Psychology
Essay. Retrieved from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/psychology/person-centred-therapy-strength-and-weaknesses-psychology-essay.php?vref=1
GoodTherapy. (2016, April 10). Adlerian Psychology /
Psychotherapy. Retrieved from
https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/adlerian-psychology
Psychology Today. (n.d.). Person-Centered Therapy. Retrieved
from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapy-types/person-centered-therapy
Sommers-Flanagan, J., & Sommers-Flanagan, R. (2018). Counseling
and psychotherapy theories in Context and practice: skills, strategies, and
techniques. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
(Sommers-Flanagan
& Sommers-Flanagan, 2018)