Assignment 3

HUL370: Selected Topics in Psychology

Amal Prasad - 2017CS10324

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1. Identify five techniques that appealed to you the
most and state your reasons.

1. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

This technique emphasises the correlation between thoughts, emotions and behaviour of a
human. The underlying principle is that thoughts lead to emotions which then drive
behavioural patterns.

The procedure is:

Identify Negative Thoughts->Practice New Skills->Set Goals->Problem Solve->Self
Monitor->Progress Gradually

Some of the reasons for its popularity and why it appeals to me:

• It targets on dealing with negative feelings and thoughts and enables an individual to
start engaging in healthy activities.
• It can be extremely effective in the short term.
• It can also help patients with emotional distress without the need for psychotropic
medication.
• CBT is an affordable option.

2. Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)

DBT also deals with the interdependence of thoughts, emotions and behaviour. DBT is
based on the effects of emotions on thoughts and behaviours, unlike CBT which studies
effects of thoughts on emotions and then behaviour. The idea is ‘acceptance and change’.
It helps people who have difficulty regulating their emotions, deal with stress or
dysfunctional relationships.

The process is:

Distress Tolerance (Treat most self-destructive thoughts) -> Emotional Regulation ->
Mindfulness -> Interpersonal Effectiveness

Reasons for the effectiveness of DBT:

• It focuses on letting go of emotional suffering and helps one rebuild confidence in life.
• It is focussed on building better relationships which improves quality of social life.
• It can cure borderline personality disorder, depression, complex post-traumatic
disorders.
• Marsha M. Linehan, the creator of DBT was herself suffering from Borderline
Personality Disorder.

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3. Client Centred Therapy (Humanistic/Reality Therapy)

This technique (also known as person-centred or non-directive) involves the patient

guiding their course of therapy with the counsellor being non-directive and supportive.
This is targeted at increasing self-understanding, esteem and awareness.

The process is:

State of incongruence (Difference between how one sees oneself and reality) -> Self-
actualisation (through therapist attitude of genuineness, unconditional positive regard
and empathy) -> State of congruence (match between self-concept and reality)

Reasons for its appeal:

• It is very important to know who we are, and this is what is focussed here.
• Self-actualisation helps in understanding one’s strengths and weaknesses and grow and
tap the full potential.
• It makes people more open to experiences, helps in being more expressive and feel.
• This does not involve any well known therapeutic techniques. The quality of relation
and understanding between the therapist and the client determines the impact of the
process.

4. Play Therapy

This technique is mainly for children. A session may look like an ordinary playtime but it
can help the therapist gain insights into the emotions of these children. It helps children
who have a difficulty articulating emotions or if the parents might not understand what
their offspring wants to convey. It is also beneficial for adults in some cases bu helping
deal with intellectual disabilities, childhood traumas, PTSD, etc.

Some of the techniques:

Story-telling, roleplaying, musical play, arts and crafts, dolls & action figures, puppets
stuffed animals, building blocks, etc.

Reasons for its appeal:

• It helps the patient make sense of what they are feeling and how to express it, and in
turn, parents can understand the emotions of their child.
• Builds coping mechanisms and teaches problem-solving skills
• Builds stronger family relationships
• Helps children become more verbal and form deeper bonds with their family.

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5. Assertive Therapy

Assertiveness empowers people to stand up for themselves. It aims at a balance between

passivity and aggression. Assertive therapy guides people to reach for what they desire
while maintaining a respect for others. Assuming personal responsibility, gaining insights
into personal preferences and self-observation is at the heart of assertive training.

The process is:

Information-gathering exercise -> Role-plays -> Feedback -> Practice in daily life

Reasons for its appeal:

• It was introduced in 1970s to empower women to move into graduate education and
workforce.
• Being assertive is highly important in risky sexual situations, abstaining from using
drugs and being responsible for self-care.
• People who have undergone assertive training have a better sense of boundaries and
limits in social settings.
• This is extremely beneficial for people who are shy or were mistreated during
childhood.

2. How can you use these (five) techniques in your

life? Elaborate with examples from your everyday
life.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

❖ Practicing Mindfulness: This means living in the present without focussing on the past
and the future. One should have a control over their thoughts and cut out ‘stinking
thinking’. Mindfulness can remove black and white thinking, catastrophizing,
generalising and blaming. Eg- Thinking that I won’t be able to compete for a certain role
if one is not able to solve each and every question comes under black and white
thinking, rather the focus should be on optimising on the skills and give the best
performance and be optimistic.
❖ Reframing thought process: Many a times, we start building negative thoughts on
certain beliefs which don’t even make sense. It is imperative to just ignore these beliefs
and change the thoughts. Eg - I have to play the final of a cricket tournament tomorrow,
so thinking about the possible situations I start imagining situations like what would
happen if we score a very low target. This will add to my stress, rather I should just
ignore it because scoring low is based on a belief which can be chosen to be ignored.

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❖ Playing the tape through: This is essentially helpful in resisting relapses while dealing
with addiction issues. When you start having cravings, think in detail what would
happen if you relapse and soon those thoughts will go away. Eg - Someone trying to
lose weight has a craving for binge eating frequently. To avoid this, think about the
calories added in a single episode of binge eating and how it will make weeks of hard
work and resistance futile.

Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)

❖ Reality Acceptance: Making peace with life events, both good and bad, is necessary to
focus on the what’s important presently. We need to let go of emotional distresses and
the past. Further, we have to do a lot of things daily in which we are not interested.
When in such situations, we should accept that it is what it is rather than constantly
thinking that this doesn’t interest me. Eg- I have to fill my car with gas and the prices
are on an all time high. Getting angry is not going to be fruitful, filling up is a necessity.
❖ Nonjudgmental Stance: Emotional stress is directly increased by negative judgements.
Instead of judgements, pin point the details of the issue and use constructive criticism.
Eg-
i) Instead of saying ‘weather is awful’, say ‘I am frustrated because I can’t play cricket
today because of the rain’.
ii) Rather than declaring that ‘my partner is trash’, tackle the problem, ‘I feel really
angry because I made all the bookings for dinner and the rest of the evening but
my partner showed up hours late.’
❖ Self-respect Effectiveness: Standing up for one’s principles, beliefs and truth should be
very important. One should not give in to pressure and firmly stand one’s ground
against values, humiliation, competency or desires. Eg- If a senior asks me whether I
would be willing to go to a foreign place for 6 months, I tend to accept it even though I
might have a lot going on in my life at that moment. Instead, I should be strong and not
worry that this will harm my reputation.

Client Centred Therapy (Humanistic)

❖ Accept Negative Emotions: It is natural to have negative feelings and thoughts. So the
only thing that we can do about them is to accept and move past them. Eg- Being stuck
on a failed relationship and fearing that all future relationships would be bad as well.
Rather, one should learn from the mistakes to build better connections afterwards.
❖ Active Listening: Listening is one of the most important aspects of communication. A
good listener always has the opportunity to learn and be better informed than someone
who focuses on speaking. Eg- Listening to a person going through stress is important,
while if you jump straight to advising them, you won’t be aware of the exact cause.
❖ Empathy: It is the ability to put oneself in someone else’s shoes and see their point of
view. Empathy is understanding the person’s distress while sympathy is feeling bad for
the person. Eg- Understanding that a beginner will take longer time to settle into their
role will help them produce better results in the long run.

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Play Therapy

❖ Learn Social Skills and Expressiveness: Play therapy helps people understand ways to
express their feelings and articulate their emotions. This enables them to build better
social relationships in the family and be more open to new experiences and have a
range of coping mechanisms. Eg- A child who has difficulty telling his parents how he
feels, can learn to let his parents know his reactions at scenarios.
❖ Develop New and Creative Solutions to Problems: Play Therapy builds coping
mechanisms and teaches creative thinking in the minds of those undergoing the
therapy. Eg- A child who is unsure about how to proceed with his studies and what
intellectual techniques that should be used to learn concepts can learn about
methodologies of learning and more.
❖ Develop Respect and Acceptance of Self and Others, Develop self-efficacy, Become
more responsible

Assertive Therapy

❖ 3 Cs of Assertive Communication:
i) Confidence: Believe in yourself and your capabilities.
ii) Clear: Your message should be easy to understand for the target people.
iii) Controlled: Remain calm and controlled throughout the communication.
Eg- The best orators in the world can reach out to many by being confident about
what they are saying, by speaking easy to relate and comprehend content and by
being calm in adverse situations.
❖ Say ‘No’: If you don’t wanna participate in an activity, clearly say so. Even if others try
to push you to do something, you always have the right to say no and stand by your
decision. Eg- Saying no to substance abuse should be promoted because more often
than not, the first time someone tries drugs or alcohol is upon the insistence of peers.
❖ The Broken Record: Keep repeating your message until the other person accepts that
you won’t change your stance. The name is derived from a broken record which keeps
on playing the same song over and over. Eg- If your team mates ask you to work late at
night but you have prior engagements, make it clear to them.

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3. Can you add some more (2-3 new) techniques for
mental health management to this list? Read from
online resources and add to the list.

1. Existential Therapy

This focuses on difficulties from a philosophical aspect. Inner conflicts start to emerge
when one starts thinking about the various questions about existence. Many philosophers
like Nietzsche believed that free will and personal responsibility are the keys to leading
more fulfilling lives. Kierkegaard theorised that internal wisdom is essential to overcome
discontent. The goal is to gain insight into where and how one fits in the world, not solve
any issues.

Main areas of concern for existential therapy:

• Freedom and Responsibility
• Existential Isolation
• Meaninglessness
• Death

Reasons for its appeal:

• Existential therapy helps clients to take ownership, and then go on to find meaning and
purpose in life.
• People can become less concerned with the superficial stuff.
• It views issues as self-examination rather than psychological problems.
• Exceptionally helpful for those going through transition, those with terminal illness or
someone having suicidal thoughts.

Existential Therapy in daily life

❖ Meaning in Life: We need to understand that we create our own meaning in life. We
have to go out there, search for what interests us, try multiple things out and then find
the one thing that we call the meaning of life. If there is no meaning in life, we very well
will be able to lead happy lives finding happiness in the little things but it is essential to
find that one purpose my individual has to serve. Eg- A successful businessman or an
impactful entrepreneur is one who has a clear target and objective from their work.
❖ Taking Responsibility: Existential therapy helps clients make informed and well-
thought choices in line with the person’s values without external influence and
manipulation. My thoughts, my actions, my words are my own and only I am
responsible for them. Eg- In a group project, it is very easy to blame the failure on some
individual who did not contribute as much, but it is necessary to understand that I also
must have failed somewhere and that’s why the project didn’t turn out as expected. Not

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 taking responsibility only increases stress since it shifts power from my mind to external
factors.
❖ Coming to terms with anxiety: There are an infinite number of things that could go
wrong in any situation. Being pessimistic and focussing on how things might go wrong
is a sure way down the destructive path. Eg-
• If I have an important presentation, instead of focussing on my performance, I start
imagining negative situations.
• In a relationship, I imagine that my partner won’t stand up to my expectations
instead of giving them a chance.

2. Yoga Therapy

Yoga Therapy uses yoga postures, exercises and meditation for improved mental and
physical health. It indulges the best of both worlds psychotherapy and physical therapy.
Its applications include treating depression & anxiety, PTSD, schizophrenia, autism, and
de-addiction. The teaching varies from individual to individual depending on age, gender,
time, health condition, mental capacity and so on.

Types of yoga:
• Breathing Exercises
• Physical Postures
• Meditation
• Guided Imagery
• Homework (incorporate in daily life)

Reasons for its appeal:

• Yoga has its roots thousands of years ago in ancient India when sages and saints
practiced breathing exercises to gain control of their minds.
• Indulging in the such activities makes a person fitter and reduces the risk of many
diseases substantially.
• Improves quality of life by improving self-esteem and image.
• Practicing yoga has been found to increase sex drive.

Yoga Therapy in daily life

❖ Physical Exercise everyday: In order to maintain an active state of the body and mind,
exercising is essential. Practicing yoga everyday by routine can go a long way in
improving health and quality of life. Eg- Long term weight loss can only be achieved if
one includes exercise as a must-do routine activity.
❖ Meditation: Meditating even for a few minutes sets the mind to peace and helps in
achieving better focus and concentration. Eg- In very stressful situations, it is often
advised to take deep breaths, this helps calm the mind.

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❖ Practice Kindness and Patience towards others: This is one of the main aims of
contemporary yoga. Eg(s) - Let that car merge in front of you even though you are in a
hurry. Hold the door for the lady pushing the stroller. Be patient with your kids or the
harried barista at your local coffee shop.

References:
https://positivepsychology.com/psychotherapy/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychotherapy
https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/yoga-therapy
https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/existential-therapy.html
https://www.risedanceco.com/single-post/2017/03/29/The-Benefits-of-Yoga
https://cornerstonesofcare.org/Our-Services/Mental-Behavioral-Health/Outpatient-
Counseling/Types-of-Therapy

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