What Extent Does Evidence Show That Patients Benefit From Psychological Therapies?
“To what extent does evidence show that patients benefit from psychological therapies?”
Psychotherapy has been defined by the British Psychology Society as ‘...the practise of alleviation psychological distress through talking rather than drugs; indeed it is often referred to as ‘talking therapy’. This definition suggests that psychotherapy includes any therapies which involve helping individuals to cope more effcetively with additional emotional distress, by seeking professional help.
The main theoretical approaches include contemporary psychoanalysis, humanistic, behavioural, cognitive and cognitive behavioural therapy. The key focus of contemporary psychoanalysis is to gain an interpretation of the patient’s unconscious conflicts that are interfering with their everyday lives and result in painful emotional symptoms, by bringing the practioner and the client together to make sense of the world. Rogers (1950’s) developed the first humanistic therapies which aimed to provide the client with a greater understanding of their potential for personal growth and self-actualisation as well emphasis on free will and subjectivity, by assuming that all people are good and have an innate worth. It relies on the therapist accepting the client’s beliefs and does not judge the client. Behavioural therapy views a person as a physiological being who behaviour in certain ways due to differences in the environment and genetic factors. It attempts to re-shape behaviour by rewarding desired behaviours and ignoring unwanted behaviours. Cognitive therapy, developed by Beck (1960’s) seeks to help the client overcome emotional distress by identifying and changing dysfunctional thinking, behaviour and therefore, emotional responses. Clients are encouraged to develop skills for modifying beliefs, identifying distorted thinking, in order to change undesired behaviours. Cognitive behavioural therapy aims to influence problematic and dysfunctional emotions,...
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