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Theoretical approach in therapy
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The therapeutic process is an opportunity for both healing and restoration as well as discovering new ways of being. Although exposed to a variety of psychological theories, I narrowed my theoretical orientation to a relational psychodynamic approach, drawing on attachment theory and Intersubjective Systems Theory (IST). IST describes how the subjective experiences, both embodied and affective, of an individual becomes the manner of organization, or way of being, in which the person operates in the world relationally. It is through this process of transference and countertransference, the unconscious ways of being can become explicit and through the collaborative effort of therapist and client, new ways of organizing the relational world can I pay particular attention to enactments, which expose intra-psychic dynamics between the therapist and client, as opportunities for relational remodeling. Combining these IST and attachment, a client can reintegrate affective responses and relational needs through mutual recognition in the therapeutic relationship. Furthermore, both approaches delve into the subjective and embodied processes of both client and therapist, which allows me to integrate interventions like mindfulness, deep breathing, DBT skills, and other behavioral coping skills that work in conjunction with the relational processes to empower clients to stabilize, regulate, and develop new ways to relate interpersonally. The use of these interventions are particularly helpful when working with clients with severe and chronic mental illnesses as it creates a safe, relational holding space for clients to develop necessary coping skills, especially when the therapy is The client had developed a dismissive attachment style characterized by two coexisting, but conflicting internal working models. The first working model was a conscious model in which she viewed herself as capable and strong and others as insufficient and needy. The second internal working model was unconscious and refers to her internal belief that she was flawed, inadequate and dependent on others. By validating and gaining insight into the client’s subjective experience, we were able to work on the client’s ability to tolerate the anxiety of her need for connection and the lack of safety she felt in her relational world to express that need. Using my own countertransference and making enactments explicit, we could challenge these internal working models and begin to explore new ways of being. Slowly, she was able to experience a new way of understanding her relational needs, tolerate the grief of lack of attunement from her attachment figures, and develop more intrapsychic space for her affective
Interpersonal psychotherapy has its roots in the work of Harry Stack Sullivan, who was the first scholar to draw attention to the effect connections between humans may have on mental illness. Sullivan’s ideas were developed in reaction to his disagreements over Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic view that humans put up boundaries between each other instead of forming strong bonds (Evans, 1996). Unsatisfied with the current therapies, Sullivan developed descriptive psychiatry in the 1930’s that acknowledged the importance of social factors on an individual. Descriptive psychiatry did not have a specific structure, and was therefore more of an ideology to have towards treatment. Also, IPT is ...
In classical psychoanalysis, transference was seen as a distortion in the therapeutic relationship which occurred when the client unconsciously misperceived the therapist as having personality characteristics similar to someone in his/her past, while countertransference referred to the analyst's unconscious, neurotic reaction to the patient's transference (Freud, 1910/1959). Freud believed that countertransference impedes therapy, and that the analyst must recognize his/her countertransference in order to overcome it. In recent years, some schools of psychotherapy have expanded the definition of countertransference to include all conscious and unconscious feelings or attitudes a therapists has toward a client, holding that countertransference feelings are potentially beneficial to treatment (Singer & Luborsky, 1977). Using more specific language, Corey (1991) defines countertransference as the process of seeing oneself in the client, of overidentifying with the client or of meeting needs through the client.
Stickley, T. & Freshwater, D. (2006). “The Art of Listening to the Therapeutic Relationship” Journal of Mental health Practice. 9 (5) pp12 - 18.
Attachments are formed with parents; this contributes to give a sense of who we are and who we will become in later life. However where these attachments are broken the child needs to have a secure attachment established with an alternative adult care giver,...
Reflecting on my work as a therapist, I recognize the importance of the therapeutic relationship. For instance, in EFT the therapist, “the therapeutic relationship, characterized by presence, empathy, acceptance, and congruence, helps clients to feel safe enough to face dreaded feelings and painful memories (Greenberg, 2014).
It was also made very evident that individuals are connected to everybody else in the world in some way even when the connection is not made fully aware of. Jung stated that we are all connected through repetitive events in which we find meaningful. Research is starting to focus more on synchronicity, thus changing the way individuals view it when it comes to psychotherapy. Walt Whitman as well as Jung believe that once synchronicity is established in therapy, those experiences are then able to build off of each other. Overall, relational therapy might need to involve receptivity and sustained attention awareness in order to aide in the healing process while shifting through the therapeutic process. It was made very clear in this article that client-patient understanding is a very important concept of psychotherapy due to the fact that if the therapist cannot communicate with their patient, the problems in which the patient is suffering from cannot be solved. In addition, when therapists have a close connection with their patients, they are able to understand their feelings more than if not, therefore, they will be able to identify problems and find solutions to those problems. Synchronicity is strongly encouraged to be incorporated in psychotherapy due to the fact that such
In conclusion, Anderson et al. (2010) discussed the relationship between therapeutic models and the techniques utilized by them. However, the contextual model that they posit in this article is built upon a postmodern philosophy and has numerous flaws. As a result, I reject many of their arguments, at least as they are presented. Despite this, there was some information (albeit modified) from this article that I can incorporate into my own practice as a therapist.
The second stage in the psychodynamic therapy process is, the transference stage. In this stage the development of treatment is set and now it is the patient’s time to let their feelings out. The patient expresses those feelings, emotions, fears, and desires to the therapist without having to worry about censorship. The feelings and behavior of the patient become more pronounced and become a vital part of the treatment itself. During this stage the therapist could experience and better understand of the patient’s past and how it impacted their behavior in the
The video with Object Relation Theory was written /presented by Jill Scharff but hosted by Jon Carlson and Diane Kjos. Dr. Scharff spoke about the Object Relations Theory approach. She indicated that an object relations approach abstain a blank slate and forms the primary client/counselor relationship (Psychotherapy.net, 2008). Dr. Scharff indicated, “The psychotherapist creates a holding environment for unconscious material to emerge and childhood wounds to be worked through—a process that’s mystifying and out of reach to many of us” (Psychotherapy.net, 2008). She demonstrated this process in her session as: “she follows her client’s lead, she remains neutral yet connected, looks for the subtle affect and patterns of speech that signal underlying conflict, and ultimately encourages her client’s deeper issues of guilt towards his mother to surface and be addressed” (Psychotherapy.net, 2008). In addition, this theory conceals that human’s need for contact with other and forming relationships.
In the preparation phase, the therapist starts to teach the client some self-care techniques that could guide the client to control his/her emotions (Bartson, 2011). Self-care techniques are also very helpful in guiding the clients’ emotions during and between sessions (Bartson, 2011). In this stage of the therapy, the therapist is able to thoroughly explain the therapy to the patient in the aspect of the process, expectations during and after therapy (Bartson, 2011). Trust is usually developed in this phase of the therapy between the therapist and the client (Bartson,
Norton, J. (2003). The Limitations of Attachment Theory for Adult Psychotherapy. Psychotherapy in Australia, 10(1), 58-63.
Stickley, T., & Freshwater, D. (2006). The art of listening in the therapeutic relationship. Mental Health Practice, 9 (5), 12-18.
Stickley,T. & Freshwater, D. (2006). “The Art of Listening to the Therapeutic Relationship” Journal of Mental health Practice. 9 (5) pp12 - 18.
In my opinion, one of the most powerful strengths of this therapy is the wide realm of psychological mechanisms in which the therapist can educate the client to see unhealthy development and false mental representations that have been affecting their relationships for a long time. For several individuals, coming to the realization that their childhood object relations have had a terrible impact on their motivations, drives, feelings and relationships can bring peace, maturity, freedom and acceptance of themselves. A person who sees others more realistically and integrates good and bad aspect of internal object can gain an authentic existence. In the therapeutic exchange - with transference and countertransference – clients may have the unique opportunity to find new internal skills and strengths that can be used to relationships outside of the counselor office.
We are being asked to discuss the parameters of what we perceive as the relationship between ourselves and our supervisor. Relationship is such a key word, especially in the field we are placing ourselves in, as we have even learned through our theory classes, that it is through a foundation of trust that we can build a healthy relationship with our clients. In fact, Carl Rogers, and his Person-Centered Therapy, PCT, shares with us the right relationship between a therapist and patient that incorporates unconditional positive regard and acceptance, empathetic understanding and genuineness is both “necessary and sufficient for therapeutic change to occur”. (Corey, 2017, p. 173) Rogers believed the right relationship itself could map out the