COUNSELING THEORIES

Psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud stressed the importance of inborn drives (particularly sexual) in determining later personality development. Others who followed
him emphasized the importance of the adaptation to the environment, early relationships between child and mother, and developmental changes
in being absorbed with oneself at the expense of meaningful relationships with others. Recent writings emphasize the relationship between
patient and therapist. All of these views of development make use of Freud's concepts of unconscious processes (portions of mental functioning
that we are not aware of) and, in general, his structure of personality (ego, id, superego). Traditional psychoanalytic methods require several
years of treatment. Because of this, moderate length and brief therapy methods that use more direct, rather than indirect, techniques have been
developed.

Existential Psychotherapy
A philosophical approach to people and problems relating to being human or existing, existential psychotherapy deals with life themes rather
than techniques. Such themes include living and dying, freedom, responsibility to self and others, finding meaning in life, and dealing with a
sense of meaninglessness. Becoming aware of oneself and developing the ability to look beyond immediate problems and daily events to deal
with existential themes is a goal of therapy, along with developing honest and intimate relationships with others. Although some techniques have
been developed, the emphasis is on issues and themes, not method.

Person-Centered Therapy
In his therapeutic work, Carl Rogers emphasized understanding and caring for the client, as opposed to diagnosis, advice, or persuasion.
Therapeutic genuineness, through verbal and non-verbal behavior, and unconditionally accepting clients for who they are is characteristic of
Rogers's approach to therapy. Person-centered therapists are concerned about understanding the client's experience and communicating their
understanding to the client so that an atmosphere of trust can be developed that will foster change on the part of the client. Clients are given
responsibility for making positive changes in their lives.

Gestalt Therapy
Developed by Fritz Perls, gestalt therapy helps the individual to become more aware of self and others. Emphasis is on both bodily and
psychological awareness. Therapeutic approaches deal with being responsible for oneself, being attuned to one's language, nonverbal behaviors,
emotional feelings, and conflicts within oneself and with others. Therapeutic techniques include the development of creative experiments and
exercises to facilitate self-awareness.

Adlerian Psychotherapy
Alfred Adler believed that the personality of individuals was formed in their early years as a result of relationships within the family. He
emphasized the importance of individuals' contributions to their community and to society. The Adlerian approach to therapy is practical,
helping individuals to change dysfunctional beliefs and encouraging them to take new steps to change their lives. An emphasis on teaching and
educating individuals and families about dealing with interpersonal problems is characteristic of Adlerian therapy.

Based on scientific principles of behavior, such as classical and operant conditioning, as well as observational learning, behavior therapy applies
principles of learning such as reinforcement, extinction, shaping of behavior, and modeling to help a wide variety of clients with different
problems. Emphasis is on precision and detail in evaluating psychological concerns and then assigning treatment methods that may include
relaxation, exposure to a feared object, copying a behavior, or role-playing.

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy

Developed by Albert Ellis, rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) focuses on irrational beliefs that individuals develop that lead to problems
related to emotions (for example fears and anxieties) and to behaviors (such as avoiding social interactions or giving speeches). Although REBT
uses a wide variety of techniques, the most common method is to dispute irrational beliefs and to teach clients to challenge their own irrational
beliefs so that they can reduce anxiety and develop a full range of ways to interact with others.

Cognitive Therapy
Belief systems and thinking are seen as important in determining and affecting behavior and feelings. Aaron Beck developed an approach which
helps individuals understand their own maladaptive thinking and how it may affect their feelings and actions. Cognitive therapists use a
structured method to help their clients understand their own belief systems. By asking clients to record dysfunctional thoughts and using
questionnaires to determine maladaptive thinking, cognitive therapists are then able to make use of a wide variety of techniques to change beliefs
that interfere with successful functioning. They also make use of affective and behavioral strategies.

Reality Therapy
Reality therapists assume that individuals are responsible for their own lives and for taking control over what they do, feel, and think. Developed
by William Glasser, reality therapy uses a specific process to change behavior. A relationship is developed with clients so that they will commit
to the therapeutic process. Emphasis is on changing behaviors that will lead to modifications in thinking and feeling. Making plans and sticking
to them to bring about change while taking responsibility for oneself is an important aspect of reality therapy.

Constructivist Approaches
Constructivist approaches attend to the client’s way of viewing problems and situations. There are two types of constructivist approaches
discussed in this chapter: solution – focused therapy and narrative therapy. Neither therapy uses a theory of development or personality to deal
with the clients’ problems. It is the client who presents an issue needing a solution, and the therapist that concentrates on solutions to the
problem. Solution – focused therapy finds new solutions to a problem; it does not focus on the origin of the problem. Narrative therapy examines
patients’ stories, learning the patients’ views of their lives. Narrative therapists try to help patients change stories with problems to stories with
more positive outcomes. Both therapies are brief and use creative techniques to bring about change.

Feminist Therapy: A Multicultural Approach

Rather than focusing only on the individuals' psychological problems, feminist therapists emphasize the role of society in creating problems for
individuals. Particularly, they are concerned about gender-roles and power differences between men and women, as well as cultural issues. They
have examined different ways that men and women develop throughout the lifespan (including social and sexual development, child raising
practices, and work roles). Differences in moral decision making, relating to others, and roles in abuse and violence are issues of feminist
therapists. By combining feminist therapy with other theories, feminist therapists take a sociological as well as a psychological view that
focuses, not only on gender, but also on multicultural issues. Among the techniques that they use are those that help individuals address culture,
gender and power inequalities by not only changing client behavior, but also by changing societal groups or institutions.

Family Therapy
Family systems therapy is a specific type of family therapy. Whereas other theories focus on the problems of individuals, family systems
therapists attend to interactions between family members, viewing the entire family as a single unit or system. Treatment is designed to bring
about change in the functioning and relationships within the family rather than within a single individual. Several different approaches to family
systems therapy have been developed. Some focus on the impact of the parents' own families, others on how family members relate to each other
in the therapy hour, and yet others focus on changing symptoms. Ways of applying other theories in this book to family therapy are also shown.

Integrative Approaches
This chapter describes three of the most common integrative therapies. The therapies combine different theories of personality as well as theories
of psychotherapy. Prochaska’s transtheoretical approach selects concepts and techniques from many different theories to make its own
psychotherapeutic approach. Wachtel’s cyclical psychodynamics combines the personality theory concepts and techniques of psychoanalysis and
behavior therapy, as well as a few other therapies. Lazarus’s multimodal therapy uses a social learning view of personality theory and selects
from many other theories for its psychotherapeutic techniques. Integrative therapies provide a way of combining many of the theories that have
been described in other chapters in this text.

Other Approaches
Five different psychotherapies are treated briefly in this chapter. Asian therapies often emphasize quiet reflection and personal responsibility to
others. Body therapies work with the interaction between psychological and physiological functioning. Psychodrama is an active system where
clients, along with group and audience members, play out roles related to their problems while therapists take responsibility for directing the
activities. Interpersonal therapy consists of specific techniques developed for the brief treatment of depression using three phases. Creative arts
therapies include art, dance movement, drama, and music to encourage expressive action and therapeutic change.