Weekly Assignments

Part 1

Response

Client centered therapy propounds the most satisfying notion that people are essentially trustworthy. They are capable of not only understanding their problems but also resolving them without any direct intervention; they have a vast potential for self directed growth. Besides this, Client Centered Therapy emphasizes some essential rapport building qualities of the therapists and appropriate client-therapist relationship. I personally liked this notion that clients are powerful enough to solve their problems; all that they need is to develop sufficient insight about their problems and available internal and external resources. The second most striking feature of this theory includes three components essential for rapport building with the client; empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard (UCPR). Empathy is the ability of therapist to understand client’s concerns and enter his world. Congruence is the act of making the client realize that therapist is equally insightful about his problems and suffered similar circumstances at some point in life. UCPR justifies the non-judgmental attitude of therapist towards client so that he could express his feelings, emotions and opinions without any fear of humiliation. This point is although the main strength and distinctive point of this approach however we can assume it equally threatening for the process of healing for some clients because individuals with mental illness lose a sense of right and wrong; they might have erroneous self concept where they consider themselves complete failure and find it hard to think rationally. In this situation, they find no strength or coping mechanisms to utilize in problem solving. Since, Rogers stressed on the “non directive” approach of therapist, we cannot assume good results of this approach on the client’s wellness because he might find it hard to develop appropriate problem solving or decision making skills. Moreover, this therapy cannot be used for the patients of psychosis because they lose sense of self and are completely unaware of their problems. Hence, this therapy is suitable for the clients with less severe conditions and symptoms intensity.

Part 2

Psychoanalysis and Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy

Introduction

This paper is aimed at making a fine elaborative distinction between two famous therapeutic interventions—the psychoanalytical therapy and rational emotive behavioral therapy. After deliberate contemplation, it will be demonstrated that both these approaches follow different orientations regarding personality development, psychopathology, and psychotherapy. In the conclusion section, meaningful inferences will be deduced from the whole textual activity.

Personality/Human Development

Personality is typically referred to as a veil that individuals wear to show themselves to others and use this mask to develop desired interpersonal relationships; this mask encapsulates cognitive, behavioral and affective components. In psychoanalysis and CBT, different approaches to personality development are followed that enable us to gain different understandings about human personality. The nature and contributing factors of personality development in Freud’s psychoanalysis and Albert Elis’ rational emotive behavioral therapy is presented below:

In the psychoanalysis approach, Freud emphasized childhood experiences, structural components of personality (Id, Ego and Super ego), structure of mind (conscious, sub-conscious and unconscious) personality dynamics (Eros and Thanatos) and focus of psychic energy (libido) that directs our behavior and further personality development. He was in view that human personality is reshaped by the way individual develops interaction with his mother, father, siblings, relatives, friends, peers and teachers. He overemphasized the first five years of child in his personality development. Moreover, many of his behaviors that he performs unknowingly are caused by the repressed thoughts, memories and emotions that are potentially “forgettable” for him.

Elbert Elis suggested that human personality is developed through the collaborative interplay between cognition (thinking patterns, feelings and perceptions), emotional and behavioral components of individuals in his personality development. He was in view that behavioral predispositions and environmental experiences both take active part in the personality development and impact his thinking patterns, behaviors and feelings to a greater degree. This is how both the perspectives emphasize the significance of developmental experiences in patients’ lives which might differ with respect to the nature of schemas and environmental experiences.

Psychopathology

Psychopathology is referred to as the development of maladjusted thinking patterns and behaviors in individuals due to multifaceted risk factors including biological, neurological, genetic, psychological and social ones. Psychopathology, in other words, is the illness of individual’s mind with varying intensity i.e., it can impair his personal, academic, social and occupational life depending on the number and severity of risk factors. Psychoanalytical and Rational emotive behavioral therapies have deliberately focused to define the underlying precipitating causes behind mental illness because this particular understanding guides the process of prospective healing.

According to Freud, problematic mother-child relationships are the crux of mental illness. He presented five stages of personality development in which first three stages predominately discussed the nature of relationship between mother and child; in the first stage (oral), a child acquires feelings of adequacy, warmth, compassion, trust, affection and security from his mother when she feeds him, hugs or kisses him and keeps her child in her arms. If she fails to nurture his needs, he may develop paranoid, histrionic or borderline personality in future which is specifically linked to interpersonal relationships. Moreover, in the second (anal) and third (phallic) stages, mother is responsible for the appropriate toilet training and development of gender identity of her child; if she fails to do so, some obvious outcomes include obsessive- compulsive and anti-social tendencies and gender identity disorders. Besides this, the nature of repressed and unresolved thoughts, emotions and memories in the unconscious is another potential cause of mental illness near Freud.

On the other hand, Albert Elis suggested that mental deterioration is caused by the active participation of individuals i.e., they attribute slightly problematic issues as deteriorating troubles and upset themselves in response to this misperception. Besides this, he stressed over- generalization as the basis of mental deterioration in which individuals exaggerate their disturbed evaluation about their personality and events ignoring the positive side of context. Constant generalization leads to frustration intolerance in which individual considers something to be too difficult, tedious and painful and disregards his coping mechanisms. In his way, it can be defined that mental illness is the ramification of individual’s own misperception about his own strengths and events outside his control.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is referred to as a process intended at treating mental health issues and maladjustments through active and systematic talking with psychiatrics, mental health providers and psychologists. During this process, one comes to know the condition of his thoughts, feelings, behaviors and moods and enables him to develop appropriate control over his life circumstances and coping mechanisms. Although there is variety of psychotherapies yet the appropriateness of treatment depends on the nature and severity of individual’s situation. Psychotherapy is famously known as counseling, psychosocial therapy, talk therapy or simply therapy.

Psychoanalysis was originally employed by Sigmund Freud which is regarded as the first model of modern therapy. With the Freud’s original design, an abundant of adaptation was developed till this day which is often called talking therapy or talking cure. This talk therapy is aimed at exposing the unconscious motives, thoughts and conscious behaviors that may end up in neurosis. In the modern day psychoanalysis, time-honored lounging couch has been replaced by simple chair. He first used simple muscle stimulation technique, massage and hydrotherapy for treating depression and anxiety. Another technique that he used was hypnosis to treat hysteria because he was in view that such disorders are deeply rooted in our unconscious. His basic aim was to explore the unconscious forces through free talk, dream analysis, slip of tongue and hypnosis. This therapy helps the patients getting rid of the unconscious repressed thoughts and feelings because once they are brought in conscious; we can resolve them actively. Psychotherapy strongly emphasized the significance of “catharsis” and free talk that provides the patients suitable channels to vent their frustrations and feelings out. In this way patients feel relieved.

On the other hand, REBT is termed as a therapeutic system of both practice and theory aimed at making the patients realize the ways through which they needlessly and erroneously learn to upset themselves through wrong perception of the events and situations. It focuses on the techniques through which they could “un-upset” themselves and empower them to lead more fulfilling and happier lives. REBT suggests that it is not necessary to develop caring and warm relationship with the client because sometimes they feel dependent and fail of develop autonomy which is an essential component of psychological healing. Therapist is only responsible for understanding patient’s concerns from his perspectives and to work as an encourager, teacher or facilitator. REBT is used in broad range of clinical problems such as family therapy, group therapy or individual therapy. It is also used for a variety of psychological problems such as stress management, development of coping skills, social skills, grief management, addiction control, weight control, career changes, assertiveness and coaching settings. Hence, REBT specifically focuses on the negative emotions associated with the events and situations that are tried to be eliminated after rational talking.

Conclusion

This paper attempted to explain the comparative analysis between psychoanalysis and rational emotive behavioral therapy (REBT). In the first section, it was explained that both approaches define personality development in different continuum i.e., psychoanalysis approach signifies the childhood experiences and repressed thoughts and memories whereas REBT stresses on the personal “perception” that enables us develop views about ourselves and environment. In the second section, it was demonstrated psychoanalysis approach regards painful repressed memories and negative childhood experiences as a strong determinant of personality whereas REBT favors present experiences and personal factors i.e., the way we embrace situations as a powerful determinants of personality. In the last section, it was elaborated that dream analysis, free talk and hypnosis comprise psychoanalysis whereas REBT includes active-directive approach of talk and replacement of the upsetting thoughts with the un-upsetting ones based on the logical reasoning.