A Review of Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Coursework Example

A Review of Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy Every counselor has a series of tools that they can use when working with inpsychotherapy. Most counselors will use a specific theory to do their work but many will use a variety of theories. Theories help clients through various situations and they assist the counselor in helping these clients. The importance of this report is to give an understanding of several psychotherapy techniques within Gerald Coreys Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. Corey presents eleven psychotherapy techniques that counselors can use today and he suggests that they should use something from several instead of pigeon-holing themselves into one. His intention is to "provide [counselors] with a consistent framework for comparing and contrasting the various therapies" (Corey, p. 7). For the purpose of this paper it is important to give an understanding of several techniques that are available for use today. THE THEORIES Psychoanalytic Theory Sigmund Freud is the person who is most noted for psychoanalytic theory because he was one of the first to look inside the mind of many clients. He believed that human nature was strongly influenced by drives and urges that were rooted in the sexual need. He believed that people reacted instinctively in their lives. Within these instincts are the id, ego and superego. According to Freud, the id is where all personality begins and it is the aspect of the self that deals with instincts. The id is the biological aspect of a persons personality. It also is the part of the personality that is impatient and wants immediate gratification. The id is ruled by pleasure and always seeks to relieve tension with pleasure. The Ego is in charge of what happens outside an individual. Its purpose is to "mediate between the instincts and the surrounding environment: (Corey, p. 57). The ego in a sense takes into consideration what the id wants and attempts to deal with it in a realistic way. In other words, it takes the mental images that the Id throws out and gives them a context in the "real" world (Corey, p. 57). The Superego is the aspect of the personality that has the "moral code" of the individual. The superego is what helps the individual decode what is "right" and "wrong". It is the traditional values that guide someone. From this point Freud gave the descriptions of how these three influenced anxiety, ego defense mechanisms and more. Adlerian Therapy In contrast, Adler felt that an individual begins forming their identity within the first six years of life. He suggests that an individuals perception of the past and early events had a continuing effect on them through their entire life (Corey, p. 97). Adler also believed that birth order had something to do with an individuals way of acting; the actual birth order was not as important as how the individual perceived their place in the family (Corey, p. 99). He believed that birth order and the perception that the individual had of their circumstances in their family would determine how they related to the world. Existentialism Existentialism is a more philosophical approach to counseling and challenges other theories by stating that everyone has the freedom to make choices that will help or hinder their life. The existentialists would have the individual reflect on their past and present in an effort to help them understand the variety of choices they had in any situation. Many people challenge the existentialists when they say that no one is a victim; instead, everyone chooses their circumstances in some way (Corey, p. 131). This is also a way that many people use to search for meaning in their lives and in the world. Person Centered Therapy For Carl Rogers the individual is the most important aspect of person centered therapy. Rogers believed that individuals were basically trustworthy and they had everything they needed to solver their problems inside themselves. Rogers felt that people did not need intervention from a therapist because they could be self-directed (Corey, p. 165). This self-direction includes the ability to make "constructive structure changes" so they can change their lives easily (Corey, p. 167). The other counseling methods to Rogers are more judgmental and they say that the client cannot be trusted. Rogers felt the customer could be trusted and that the counselor should be real with the client and encourage them to move forward with the knowledge that the counselor would help. Gestalt Therapy Gestalt therapy contrasts the others because Perls believes that clients must not be pampered because they are able to stand on their own feet. He believed that the individual needs to move forward instead of dwelling in the past and they should learn to rely on themselves. His approach was similar to Rogers in that the individuals should be self-directed but he took it a step further and suggested that a more "in your face" approach was more appropriate. Gestalt therapy is rooted in three other approaches: "existential philosophy, phenomenology and field theory" (Corey, p. 195-196). There are several principals that it also uses and these are holism, field theory, the figure formation process, organismic self-regulation and the Now moment. Behavior Therapy Behavior therapy is a more systematic and structured approach to therapy and it is still based on the scientific method. It believes that the clients current problems are based on something that they are missing within their own behavior. While the therapist is working they are looking for the aspects of the situations being described that can help to modify the individuals behavior (Corey, p. 232). Behavior therapist must take an active role in the therapy with their clients so that the focus is always looking at their behavior, both covert and overt. By doing this and pointing out the behavior to clients as they move through therapy, behaviorists believe that their clients will be able to use self-control (Corey, p. 233). Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) Cognitive therapists believe that clients are born with a potential for different types of thinking that can be both rational and irrational. Within this thinking they have the power to have a life of happiness or to self-destruct (Corey, 273). Within this therapy they can do many different things to help them move forward. Central to this technique is the A-B-C Theory of Personality. The "A" represents an event that includes either a fact, event, behavior or attitude that they individual is currently using. The "C" is the emotional or behavioral "consequence of the reaction" that the client has in relation to "A". When the A and C come together a belief ("B") is formed because of what was triggered in "A" and "C". A good example may be a situation where an event like a disappointment that someone is feeling in another person triggers depression and the depression may be coming form some other reason than the disappointment form the friend. In fact, the disappointment may have to do with something entirely different (Corey, p. 274). Reality Therapy Reality therapy is based on choice theory. This technique suggests that an individual is always working within some type of relationship that is either satisfactory or not. They problems that they are having are because they are not able to connect with their relationship(s) in some way (Corey, p. 316). Reality therapy says also that clients should not have a diagnosis (unless it is because they need it for insurance purposes) because their behavior is based on their reaction to what is happening in their lives. Reality therapy encourages people to take responsibility for their lives and the choices that they make or are making. Feminist Therapy Feminist therapy is one of the more "radical" techniques because it is not rooted in traditional thinking. Instead, it says that "gender and power are at the core of the therapeutic process" (Corey, p. 341). Women are particularly harmed according to this technique because of the oppression and sociopolitical status that they have had to endure as "submissive" and "self-sacrificing". (Corey, p. 341). Feminist therapy looks at the fact that society puts different expectations on men and women which will influence how an individual sees themselves; for women and girls it is difficult to build a true identify because society is against their doing anything but the desired role. Girls form personality as an offshoot of what they have been taught by their mothers while boys form their personality by being different than their mothers and by identifying more with their fathers (Corey, p. 347). Reference Corey, G. (2005). Theory and practice of counseling & psychotherapy. Seventh Edition. CA: Thompson/Brooks. Read More