PSYCHOLOGICAL THERAPIES

Psychological Therapies

Psychological Therapies

Therapies

There are different treatments that can be used by a therapist in order to deal with patients having different kinds of behavioural issues. The selection of the approach depends on the problem that the client is facing, as well as, the approach favoured by the therapists. In this essay, I will be explaining and evaluating various therapies that can be used by the therapist in order to deal with the issue that the patient is facing.

The behaviourists view psychological behaviour as a result of maladaptive learning, and treatment will have to help the patients unlearn maladaptive responses or learn alternative behaviours to these symptoms. This is achieved through classical or operant conditioning. The techniques for classical conditioning are systematic desensitization and flooding (Holder, Stoughton, 2004).

For operant conditioning the techniques used is behaviour modification and token economy. Therapies for classical conditioning are mainly used to treat patients with phobias, whilst the operant concentrates on institutional behaviour. In classical conditioning, the aim is to expose the client with phobia to the feared experience, such as spiders through direct exposure (In Vivo) or imaginary exposure (In Vitro). In systematic desensitization, the undesired response is gradually diminished through relaxation, and exposes the phobic stimulus. The client will practice relaxation techniques that he applies during exposure. However, it is argued that it is not possible for relaxation and anxiety to co-exist and also to substitute the patient's anxiety response with a relaxation response for the patient. Sammons was quoted as saying, “the therapy is complete once the agreed therapeutic goals are met, not necessarily when the person's fears have been completely removed” (www.psychlotron.org.uk). In this view, it may be argued that the treatment might be subjective. There is a possibility of overexposing the client and worsening the situation of fear, if functional analysis is not done, as evidenced on a client who had simple phobia (Barlow & Durand 1995). His phobia will be intensified if he was overexposed to the phobic stimulus during early the stages. It has been reported in the journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology that systematic desensitisation has been effectively used in a range of fears, such as fear from snakes or heights to more unusual fears like the fear of music. Further support has also come from the airline that has sponsored desensitisation sessions for individuals who are afraid of flying (Glassman, 2009, pp. 423).

In operant conditioning, the therapy of token economies was developed where the operant behaviour altered through conditioning are dependent on relevant reinforces (Hayes, et al., 1995). It has been applied in institutions where conditioned reinforces are given for specific behaviours (e.g. arriving on time for meals in prisons, tokens earned can be exchanged for cigarettes). It may also involve punishment. It is however argued that token economies do not cure psychological problems, but may reduce some behavioural problems that may accompany psychological problems, e.g., aggression. Other approaches criticise the therapy on both, ethical and theoretical grounds, because its focus on behaviour makes informed consent ...