question_answer

Explain the different types of psychotherapy. Describe the principles on which humanistic-existential therapy is based.

Or

A person has a phobia of cockroaches. Explain this phobia from a social learning perspective and a psychoanalyses viewpoint, giving examples.

Answer:

Parameter	Psychodynamic	Behavioural	Existential
Cause led to the Problem	Intrapsychlic conflicts, i.e., the conflicts that are present within the psyche of the person.	Faulty learning of Behavioural and cognitions.	Questions about the meaning of one?s and existence.
Cause   comes   into Existence	Unfulfilled desires of childhood and unresolved childhood fears lead to intrapsychic conflicts.	Faulty conditioning patterns, faulty learning and faulty thinking and beliefs lead to maladaptive behavioural.	Current feelings of loneliness alienation, sense of futility of one?s existence, etc.
Treatment	Methods of free association and reporting of dreams to elicit the thoughts and feelings of the client. This material is interpreted to the client to help her/him to confront and resolve the conflicts.	Identifies the faulty conditioning patterns and sets up alternate behavioural contingencies to improve behaviour.	Provides a therapeutic environment which is positive, accepting and non - judgmental. The client is able to talk about the problems and the therapist acts as a facilitator.
Nature of Relationship	Therapist understand the client?s intrapsychic conflicts better than the client and hence it is the therapist who interprets the thoughts and feelings of the client to her/him so that she/he gain an understanding of the same.	Therapist is able to discern the faulty behaviour and thought patterns of the client. If further assumes that the therapist is capable of finding out the correct behaviour and thought patterns, which would be adaptive for the client.	Therapist merely provides a warm, empathic relationship in which the client feels secure to explore the nature and causes her/his problems by herself/himself.
Chief benefit to Client	Emotional insight is present when the client understands her/his conflicts intellectually; is able to accept the same emotionally and is able to change her/his emotions towards the conflicts.	Instituting adaptive or healthy behaviour and thought patterns ensures reduction of distress and removal of symptoms.	Personal growth is the process of gaining increasing understanding of oneself and ones aspirations, emotions and motives.
Duration	May continue for several years. recent versions (10-15 sessions)	Shorter and is completed in few months.	Shorter and is completed in few months.
(i) The humanistic-existential therapies postulate that psychological distress arises from feelings of loneliness, alienation and an inability to find meaning and genuine fulfillment in life.
(ii)  Human beings are motivated by the desire for personal growth and self-actualisation and an innate need to grow emotionally.
(iii) Self-actualisation is defined as an innate or inborn force that moves the person to become more complex, balanced and integrated, i.e., achieving the complexity and balance without being fragmented.
(iv) Self-actualisation requires free emotional expression:
(v)  The family and society curb emotional expression, as it is feared that a free expression of emotions can harm society by unleashing destructive forces.
This curb leads to destructive behaviour and negative emotions by thwarting the process of emotional integration.
(vi) The therapy creates a permissive, non-judgmental and accepting atmosphere in which the client?s emotions can be freely expressed and the complexity, balance and integration could be achieved.
(vii) The fundamental assumption is that the client has the freedom and responsibility to control her/his own behaviour.
(viii) The therapist is merely a facilitator and guide. It is the client who is responsible for the success of therapy.
(ix) The chief aim of the therapy is to expand the client?s awareness. Healing takes place by a process of understanding the unique personal experience of the client by herself/himself.
Or
An intense, persistent irrational fear of something that produces conscious avoidance of the feared object, activity or situation is called a phobia.
(i) Social learning theorists focus on learning of stimulus-response connections and their reinforcement.
(ii) According to them, personality can be best understood as the response of an individual to the environment.
(iii) For most behaviourists, die structural unit of personality is the response.
(iv) Each response is a behaviour, which is emitted to satisfy a specific need. The response which is positively reinforced becomes a habit. That is satisfying ones need?s repeatedly may becomes her/his habit.
(v) Personality is not biologically determined; it is learnt and acquired through experience.