Posts

Showing posts from February, 2007

Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT)

Image
[Episode 10] In today's lecture I will will focus on some of the key concepts of IPT, the role of the therapist and client, the structure and goals of IPT - specifically focusing on grief, interpersonal role dispute, role transition and interpersonal deficits, and some of the techniques used in IPT. I'll end with a brief discussion of the applications of IPT, its strengths and limitations. IPT is a time-limited psychotherapy that was developed in the 1970s and 80s as an outpatient treatment for adults who were diagnosed with moderate or severe non-psychotic, unipolar depression. Over the last 30 years, a number of empirical studies have demonstrated the efficacy of IPT in the treatment of depression. Although originally developed as an individual therapy for adults, IPT has been modified for use with adolescents and older adults, dysthymia, bipolar disorder, bulimia, anxiety disorders and couples counseling. IPT has its roots in psychodynamic theory, but differs from the latter

Gestalt Therapy

Image
[Episode 9] Today we're going to talk about the Gestalt therapy, which is part of the existential-phenomenological tradition. The Gestalt approach can be best summed up by the phrase, �the most important moment in a persons life is right now.� Gestalt is an experiential therapy that uses experiments and specific techniques to bring the client into the here and now. Through the experience of the here and now, the client is able to make contact with their environment. Contact is a fleeting experience, but it is during contact that we are in the here and now, and thus are in the process of self-actualizing. During the process of self-actualization we are able to make changes. In today's lecture I will will focus on some of the key concepts of Gestalt, the role of the therapist, the client�s experience and some of the innovative techniques attributed to Gestalt therapy. I�ll end with a brief discussion of the applications of Gestalt, the contributions and limitations of the approac

Person-Centered Therapy

Image
[Episode 8] Today we're going to talk about Carl Rogers and his revolutionary approach to psychotherapy - Person-Centered Therapy. Next to Freud, no other therapist has influenced the practice of therapy more than Carl Rogers. The humanistic assumptions at the core of Person-Centered therapy stand in stark contrast to the problem-centered, expert-oriented approach of what was then the dominant model of psychotherapy - Freudian Psychoanalysis. Rogers gave us an equation that would forever change the concept of therapy... Empathy + Genuineness + Unconditional Positive Regard = Necessary and sufficient conditions for change. Although the last part - that these conditions are sufficient for change - has not enjoyed empirical support, the first part - that these conditions are necessary for change - has been confirmed in thousands of research studies over the last 50 years. In today's lecture I will look at the major assumptions of Person-centered therapy, the goals of treatment, t

Existential Therapy

Image
[Episode 7] In today's podcast, I talk about Existential therapy as an intellectual or philosophical approach to working with people. Although some authors have attempted to manualize Existential therapy (see Keshen, A. (2006). A new look at existential psychotherapy. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 60 (3), 285-298 ), the existential approach is not known for specific techniques or procedures. Rather, its influence has been most notable in encouraging clinicians to focus on the ideas of freedom of choice, the responsibility that accompanies choice, and the notion that the inevitability of death is what gives life meaning. Download MP3 [18:09] Transcript Today, we're going to be talking about existential therapy.  Existential therapy is an insight-oriented therapy much like Freudian psychoanalysis or Adlerian personal psychology.  What distinguishes existential therapy from other insight-oriented therapies is that existential therapy is more of a philosophical or intellect

Adlerian Psychotherapy

Image
[Episode 6] In this lecture, I discuss key elements of Adler's Personal psychology and how this approach contrasts with Freud's theory. The contrast between Adler's and Freud's approaches can best be summed up in the quote "We are pulled by our goals, rather than pushed by our drives." Download MP3 [15:02] References Burke, J. F. (1989). Contemporary approaches to psychotherapy & counseling: The self-regulation and maturity model. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Press. Corey, G. (2016).  Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy   (10th ed). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson. Rychlak, J. F. (1981). Introduction to personality and psychotherapy (2nd ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. APA (6th ed)  citation for this podcast: Singer, J. B. (Producer). (2007, February 5). Adlerian psychoanalysis [Episode 6]. Social Work Podcast [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://socialworkpodcast.com/2007/02/adlerian-psychotherapy.html

Freudian Psychoanalysis

Image
[Episode 5] In this lecture, I discuss key elements of Freud's theory of personality and how that translated into his approach to therapy. The central goal of Freudian psychoanalysis is to make the unconscious conscious. Transcript [0:00:13] In today�s podcast, we're looking at two of the major figures in psychodynamic therapy:  Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler. Sigmund Freud, of course, the father of psychoanalysis and Alfred Adler, developer of individual psychology. These two men had a lot in common, as did their approaches to therapy. In fact, the most common element to their therapies is that they were insight-oriented. These men believed that insight into why you do things is actually the key to making changes and living a happier, more successful life.  The way that these men conceptualize change was very different and that�s what we'll be talking about in today�s podcast. In Freudian psychoanalysis, which is also called Id Psychology, the goal of treatment is to make