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Theoretical approach in therapy
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The therapeutic process is an opportunity for both healing and restoration as well as discovering new ways of being. Although exposed to a variety of psychological theories, I narrowed my theoretical orientation to a relational psychodynamic approach, drawing on attachment theory and Intersubjective Systems Theory (IST). IST describes how the subjective experiences, both embodied and affective, of an individual becomes the manner of organization, or way of being, in which the person operates in the world relationally. It is through this process of transference and countertransference, the unconscious ways of being can become explicit and through the collaborative effort of therapist and client, new ways of organizing the relational world can I pay particular attention to enactments, which expose intra-psychic dynamics between the therapist and client, as opportunities for relational remodeling. Combining these IST and attachment, a client can reintegrate affective responses and relational needs through mutual recognition in the therapeutic relationship. Furthermore, both approaches delve into the subjective and embodied processes of both client and therapist, which allows me to integrate interventions like mindfulness, deep breathing, DBT skills, and other behavioral coping skills that work in conjunction with the relational processes to empower clients to stabilize, regulate, and develop new ways to relate interpersonally. The use of these interventions are particularly helpful when working with clients with severe and chronic mental illnesses as it creates a safe, relational holding space for clients to develop necessary coping skills, especially when the therapy is The client had developed a dismissive attachment style characterized by two coexisting, but conflicting internal working models. The first working model was a conscious model in which she viewed herself as capable and strong and others as insufficient and needy. The second internal working model was unconscious and refers to her internal belief that she was flawed, inadequate and dependent on others. By validating and gaining insight into the client’s subjective experience, we were able to work on the client’s ability to tolerate the anxiety of her need for connection and the lack of safety she felt in her relational world to express that need. Using my own countertransference and making enactments explicit, we could challenge these internal working models and begin to explore new ways of being. Slowly, she was able to experience a new way of understanding her relational needs, tolerate the grief of lack of attunement from her attachment figures, and develop more intrapsychic space for her affective
Weger Jr., H. and Polcar, L. E., (2002). Attachment Style and Person-Centered Comforting. Western Journal of Communication, 66(1) (Winter 2002), 84-103.
Hazan, C., Gur-Yaish, N., & Campa, M. (2003). What does it mean to be attached? In W. S. Rholes & J. A. Simpson (Eds.) Adult Attachment: Theory, Research, and Clinical Implications, (pp. 55 – 85). New York: Guilford.
Stickley, T. & Freshwater, D. (2006). “The Art of Listening to the Therapeutic Relationship” Journal of Mental health Practice. 9 (5) pp12 - 18.
In classical psychoanalysis, transference was seen as a distortion in the therapeutic relationship which occurred when the client unconsciously misperceived the therapist as having personality characteristics similar to someone in his/her past, while countertransference referred to the analyst's unconscious, neurotic reaction to the patient's transference (Freud, 1910/1959). Freud believed that countertransference impedes therapy, and that the analyst must recognize his/her countertransference in order to overcome it. In recent years, some schools of psychotherapy have expanded the definition of countertransference to include all conscious and unconscious feelings or attitudes a therapists has toward a client, holding that countertransference feelings are potentially beneficial to treatment (Singer & Luborsky, 1977). Using more specific language, Corey (1991) defines countertransference as the process of seeing oneself in the client, of overidentifying with the client or of meeting needs through the client.
Stickley, T., & Freshwater, D. (2006). The art of listening in the therapeutic relationship. Mental Health Practice, 9 (5), 12-18.
Attachments are formed with parents; this contributes to give a sense of who we are and who we will become in later life. However where these attachments are broken the child needs to have a secure attachment established with an alternative adult care giver,...
It was also made very evident that individuals are connected to everybody else in the world in some way even when the connection is not made fully aware of. Jung stated that we are all connected through repetitive events in which we find meaningful. Research is starting to focus more on synchronicity, thus changing the way individuals view it when it comes to psychotherapy. Walt Whitman as well as Jung believe that once synchronicity is established in therapy, those experiences are then able to build off of each other. Overall, relational therapy might need to involve receptivity and sustained attention awareness in order to aide in the healing process while shifting through the therapeutic process. It was made very clear in this article that client-patient understanding is a very important concept of psychotherapy due to the fact that if the therapist cannot communicate with their patient, the problems in which the patient is suffering from cannot be solved. In addition, when therapists have a close connection with their patients, they are able to understand their feelings more than if not, therefore, they will be able to identify problems and find solutions to those problems. Synchronicity is strongly encouraged to be incorporated in psychotherapy due to the fact that such
In the preparation phase, the therapist starts to teach the client some self-care techniques that could guide the client to control his/her emotions (Bartson, 2011). Self-care techniques are also very helpful in guiding the clients’ emotions during and between sessions (Bartson, 2011). In this stage of the therapy, the therapist is able to thoroughly explain the therapy to the patient in the aspect of the process, expectations during and after therapy (Bartson, 2011). Trust is usually developed in this phase of the therapy between the therapist and the client (Bartson,
Birns, B. (1999). Attachment Therapy Revisited: Challenging Conceptual and Methodological Sacred Cows. Feminism & Psychology, 9(10), 10-21.
The second stage in the psychodynamic therapy process is, the transference stage. In this stage the development of treatment is set and now it is the patient’s time to let their feelings out. The patient expresses those feelings, emotions, fears, and desires to the therapist without having to worry about censorship. The feelings and behavior of the patient become more pronounced and become a vital part of the treatment itself. During this stage the therapist could experience and better understand of the patient’s past and how it impacted their behavior in the
Stickley,T. & Freshwater, D. (2006). “The Art of Listening to the Therapeutic Relationship” Journal of Mental health Practice. 9 (5) pp12 - 18.
Acknowledging, the importance of attachment has been in helpful development of couples therapy, in particular to Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT), “where it helps explain how even healthy adults need to depend on each other,” (Nichols, 2013, p. 62). EFT is an empirically validated experiential therapy model that works with emotion to create change. EFT therapists use “attachment theory to deconstruct the familiar dynamic in which one partner criticizes and complains while the other gets defensive and withdraws,” (Nichols, 2013, p.63). Research has demonstrated the importance of attachment in individuals. It is not solely a childhood trait attachment is a trait that individuals carry for the rest of their lives. Nonetheless, it is important to work on the attachments with families and couples in order to alleviate some of the negative interactions that arise from feeling a fear of losing the attachment with
The video with Object Relation Theory was written /presented by Jill Scharff but hosted by Jon Carlson and Diane Kjos. Dr. Scharff spoke about the Object Relations Theory approach. She indicated that an object relations approach abstain a blank slate and forms the primary client/counselor relationship (Psychotherapy.net, 2008). Dr. Scharff indicated, “The psychotherapist creates a holding environment for unconscious material to emerge and childhood wounds to be worked through—a process that’s mystifying and out of reach to many of us” (Psychotherapy.net, 2008). She demonstrated this process in her session as: “she follows her client’s lead, she remains neutral yet connected, looks for the subtle affect and patterns of speech that signal underlying conflict, and ultimately encourages her client’s deeper issues of guilt towards his mother to surface and be addressed” (Psychotherapy.net, 2008). In addition, this theory conceals that human’s need for contact with other and forming relationships.
Perhaps, because the success of object relation therapy is mainly dependent on the authenticity of the therapeutic relationship and on the therapist skills, this can be even considered as a weakness of the model. In absence of a secure relationship with the counselor, the therapy is at risk of a premature
We are being asked to discuss the parameters of what we perceive as the relationship between ourselves and our supervisor. Relationship is such a key word, especially in the field we are placing ourselves in, as we have even learned through our theory classes, that it is through a foundation of trust that we can build a healthy relationship with our clients. In fact, Carl Rogers, and his Person-Centered Therapy, PCT, shares with us the right relationship between a therapist and patient that incorporates unconditional positive regard and acceptance, empathetic understanding and genuineness is both “necessary and sufficient for therapeutic change to occur”. (Corey, 2017, p. 173) Rogers believed the right relationship itself could map out the