COUNSELING THEORY

Counseling theory

Executive Summary

The options which are available for psychotherapy and counseling are various; however, not everyone can be treated with the same method. Every individual has a different psychology with different perspectives about the world which serves as a major source for the psychotherapist to identify which theory would be beneficial for his/her client. Since, each of these theories have different methods through which clients are treated, the psychotherapist must also keep in view the ways each theory views human behavior as it is very important in order to make the therapy successful. Moreover, every therapist should try to develop a relationship of trust and mutual understanding with his/her client because without this factor the client would not speak up and eventually the therapist would not be able to treat the client in an effective way.

Counseling Theory

Psychoanalytic Theory

Sigmund Freud first formulated this theory, to treat abnormal behaviors in adults. He defined this theory in three ways including; a procedure meant to investigate the mental processes which cannot be understood by any other approach; a method for treating neurological disorders and a collection of psychological information, which is now integrated into scientific discipline. Therapists spend time listening to clients, in which the clients talk about their life events; one reason, the therapy is also known as talk therapy. The Therapy looks for those events which tend to play a major role in the life of his/her patient's current difficulties. Moreover, the psychoanalysts have a firm belief that the events of childhood along with certain unconscious feelings play an important role in creating mental disorders and abnormal behaviors.

Techniques of Psychoanalytic Therapy

In Psychoanalytic Therapy, therapists used techniques such as free associations, which allow allows the patient to talk about anything coming into his mind, and dream analysis in which he/she analyzes the dreams of the clients so as to find commonalties between patient's thoughts and behavior. However, once the analysis is done, the therapists then interpret those dreams with respect to the problems the client is facing. Sometimes, the client resists the therapy which consequently increases the duration of the treatment (Capuzzi, 2008).

Adlerian Theory

The four main concepts of the Adlerian Theory include; self-concept, self-ideal, the picture of the world and the ethical convictions. The prime emphasis of this theory is on individual life styles, concepts pertaining to inferiority and superiority as principle elements of an individual's personality, birth order and social interests.

Techniques of Adlerian Therapy

The major techniques used in Adlerian Therapy includes; the analysis of an individual's lifestyle by identifying the assets, and mistakes of an individual, determining life tasks, interpretation of insights to the client related to his goals, and an "act as if approach" in which the client is given a role and his behavior is judged. In addition to this, there are some other methods of providing Adlerian therapy whose use is solely dependent upon the discretion of Adlerian Therapist (Corey, 2009).

Existential Theory

The person behind the development of Existential Theory was Carl Rogers who was an influential ...