This essay will attempt to highlight and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the three main theories of counselling within the module covered this term. The three approaches in discussion are psychodynamics, cognitive behavioural and humanistic.
The psychodynamic theory originated from Sigmund Freud, a medical doctor and philosopher (1856 - 1939) founded in the 1900s. Freud developed his ideas whilst working as a psychiatrist in Vienna, collecting information from his patients such as feelings, thoughts and early childhood experiences.
The psychodynamic theory focuses on the unconscious mind. Freud’s credence is that different mental forces operate in the mind. The unconscious mind can be described as being like an iceberg. The tip of the iceberg represents the part of the mind that is conscious, everyday thoughts. The iceberg just below the water’s surface represents the pre conscious, thoughts and information that can be retrieved easily. And finally the base of the iceberg is the unconscious part of the mind where fears, traumas and bad experiences are contained, almost impossible to retrieve.
Freud argued that slips of the tongue are repressed expressions made by the person unknowingly. The term used for this is a Freudian slip.
Freud emphasized that early childhood experiences are important to the development of the adult personality, proposing that childhood development took place over five stages; oral, anal. Phallic, latent and genital. The phallic stage is the most important stage which contains the Oedipus complex. This is where the child (age 4 - 6 yrs) posses the opposite sex parent and wants rid of the same sex parent. Freud argued that if the conflict is not resolved in childhood then it could cause ...
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This essay has discussed the three main approaches in counselling, looking at both strengths and weaknesses of each. It is evident that every theory is embedded in historical and cultural issues. Although the three approaches have the same initial focus, to enable clients to make conscious their personal meanings and bring them into a place of awareness. It is clear that there is no right or wrong approach, each has contributed to science and society.
Works Cited
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MALAN, H, D, ( 1979 ) , Individual Psychotherapy and the science of Psychodynamics, Oxford
GROSS, R, ( 2005 ), Psychology, The science of mind and behaviour, London.
Piotrowski, NA 2005, Psychology Basics, Salem Press, eBook Collection, EBSCOhost, viewed 25 August 2011.
Messer, S., & Warren, C. (1995). Models of brief psychodynamic therapy (1st ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
Sharf, R. S. (2016). Theories of psychotherapy and counseling: Concepts and cases (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage
Sharf, R. S. (2008). Theories of Psychotherapy and Counseling: Counseling and Cases (5thed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole
Murdock, NL 2004, Theories of counselling and psychotherapy: A case approach, Pearson/Merrill/Prentice Hall, New York.
The psychodynamic approach lends itself to being a controversial yet highly influential theory in the history of psychology. The theory has become one of the most significant psychological approaches and its originator, Sigmund Freud, has become a major influence in modern psychology. The psychodynamic approach largely focuses on motivation and past experiences which develop and individual’s personality. Freud used the iceberg metaphor to outline the three states of consciousness and argued that only twenty percent of the mind represents the conscious. In addition he theorised that there was a pre-conscious mind which represents general memory. Finally, the unconscious mind which is essentially the reservoir of repressed or hidden experiences and desire.
Corey, C. (1991). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy (4th ed.). Pacific Grove, California, USA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company. (Original work published 1977)
Seligman, L., & Reichenberg, L. W. (2014). Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy, Systems, Strategies, and Skills (4th Edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
The Phallic Stage =) the child learn to differentiate between the male and the female gender and becomes aware of sexuality. He clarified during that stage a child experience the Oedipus complex, meaning that young boys have very strong feelings toward their mother and as a result, they developed jealousy toward their father. They feeling can be so strong that they want to kill their father. The Elektra complex which reveals girl attraction for the father will result in a feeling of distaste for toward their mother.
There are multiple structures of that can be applied to the counselling process, ranging from the basic idea of a beginning, middle and end to a more structured approach as that proposed by Egan (1994). Although his initial structure offered three main components; Stage 1, exploring the situation, stage 2, identifying a new or desired scenario to strive for and stage 3, the action stage, in which methods of coping are devised of and implemented. Egan later devised a ten stage structure that still takes into account initial stages from the speakers perspective of identifying a problem and seeking help, within this structure stage 4 is the initial meeting of the counsellor and client and can be considered the beginning stage of the helping re...
Corey, G. (2011). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy. (ninth ed., pp. 291-301). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Sigmund Freud, also known as the father of psychoanalysis, was born May 6th of 1856 in Freiberg, Moravia. A few years later he moved to Vienna, Austria and years after to England. Sigmund Freud was known for connecting psychological issues with sexual issues. Freud demonstrated a broad perspective on things involving dreams, religion, and cultural artifacts. He focused on different states of the mind, such as unconsciousness. Freud relied on a local sexual repression issue to create theories about human behavior all together. Although many people would agree that Sigmund Freud’s theories are controversial, he is said to be one of the most influential scientists with great work concerning psychology. His theories and ideas of psychoanalysis still have a strong impact on psychology and early childhood education today.
This essay will attempt to highlight and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the three main theories of counselling within the module covered this term. The three approaches in discussion are psychodynamics, cognitive behavioural and humanistic.
Corey, G. (2013). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy (9th Edition). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing.
Counselling is the use of skills and training to create a relationship with ones client in order to allow for the client to form insight into their lives, accepting their feelings as their own and allowing for growth to occur. It is the aim of the helper to create a state in which the client can perform more contently and with their own self.