THERAPY

Therapy

Therapy

Introduction

The popular conception of therapy is that of the classic talk therapy; a client, a couch and a psychologist with a notepad and pencil in hand. While some approaches do utilize this method, there are numerous types of therapy that can be used to help a client overcome problems. In all cases, the goal of therapy is to provide a nonjudgmental environment that allows the client and therapy provider to work together towards a mutually agreed upon set of goals.

Psychoanalytic Therapy

Psychoanalytic therapy is one of the most well-known treatment modalities, but it is also one of the most misunderstood by mental health consumers. Founded by Sigmund Freud, psychoanalytic therapists generally spend time listening to patients talk about their lives, which is why this method is often referred to as "talk therapy." (Denborough, 2001) The therapy provider will look for patterns or significant events that may play a role in the client's current difficulties. Psychoanalysts believe that childhood events and unconscious feelings, thoughts and motivations play a role in mental illness and maladaptive behaviors. Psychoanalytic therapy or psychoanalysis is the first model of modern therapy, and was originally employed by Sigmund Freud. There have since been numerous adaptations of Freud's original design, and it would be difficult to name them all. Often this form of therapy is called the “talking therapy” or the “talking cure,” and its goal is to reveal the unconscious thoughts and feelings that may affect conscious behavior and may result in neuroses. (Denborough, 2001)

Unlike a number of forms of therapy today, early psychoanalytic therapy typically took a very extensive time commitment on the part of the patient or analysand. Instead of once weekly meetings, which are fairly common in modern therapy, patients often met with their therapist three times a week. They did so in a therapist's office, and would usually lie on a couch using free association and dream analysis to guide their thoughts in any direction. The therapist generally did not converse much with the client, except to ask them a question here and there. (Crago, 2006)

A few things may have changed about the modern forms of psychoanalytic therapy. It can still mean meeting two to three times a week, and using things like free association. The traditional lounging couch may not be employed, and clients may simply face their therapist or sit in a chair. The degree to which the therapist comments on the client's statements is variable, and psychoanalytic therapy does not always have to be based primarily on Freud's work. Most Jungian therapists would class themselves as psychoanalysts too, for instance, as would most therapists considering themselves psychodynamic therapists, who take their cues from people like Jung, but also from Ernst Wilhelm von Brucke and Alfred Adler. (Crago, 2006)

The progenitors of psychoanalytic therapy like Freud were doctors, and today some analysts may still be psychiatrists. They can also be licensed therapists, psychologists, or social workers. However, the term psychoanalyst isn't a protected or licensed term, and any one can use it regardless ...