Psychotherapy Essay -- Psychodynamic Therapy

The aim of psychotherapy is to move on self-aw areness and self-evaluation in order to enable transformation and facilitate possibility. It is this self-evaluation process that is important to personal agency (McKay, 1987) and integral to psychodynamic therapy (PDT) and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). This essay forget critically evaluate cognitive behavioural and psychodynamic theories regarding self-awareness and self-evaluation and explore ways in which these theories and their understanding of self may be utilised within clinical hypnosis.CBT and rational emotive behaviour therapy REBT (Ellis, 1955) rely on self-reflection and evaluation in order to achieve success. CBT utilises the stimulus -response (SR) model (Pavlov, 1903). Reflexive response to stimulus (Gross, 2005) becomes modified to stimulus cognition- response (SCR) (Beck, 1967). This introduces a reflective element, similar to the in sit- impact -output schema found in the computational model of the mind (Pu tman, 1961, 1988 Fodor, 1979). Decision-making and reasonableness (Jones and Pulos, 1993) are employed in order to negotiate knowledge of inside influence. Once this knowledge is perceived cognitions are evaluated and reassessed before rational alternatives are generated (Ellis, 1962). Thereby introducing the possibility of transformation. CBT is most effective with anxiety disorders (Beck et al 1985 Schoenberger et al, 1997 brown 2007) and eating disorders (Baker and Nash, 1987 Griffiths et al, 1996). Meta analysis also supports the use of CBT with depression (Gaffan, Tsaosis, Kemp-Wheeler, 1995 Butter and Beck, 2000). However, whilst about studies suggest that CBT is most effective when used alone i.e. without drugs (Marks, Swinson, Basoglu, Kuch, N... ...hin hypnotherapeutic practice. Freuds fixing technique is usefully employed within hypnosis in order to bring in insight or to recognise the source of a problem e.g. sexual child work, counting back. Furthermore, Freuds co ncept regarding trauma fixation which concerns psychosexual stages may be used to indicate the root cause of general behaviours e.g. oral re eating, oral aggressive re nail biting, anal-retentive re OCD. Having said this it is important to recognise the flaws within Freuds research. Firstly, his sample sort are not universally representative. Secondly, the culture and era make theories little relevant to today. Furthermore, research comes from a personal perspective and therefore is not empirically sound. It could also be argued that too much emphasis is put on sexuality being at the root of psychological and behavioural problems throughout.