Compare and Contrast 2 Schools of Counseling and Psychotherapy

Counseling and Psychotherapy
Counseling and Psychotherapy

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Counseling and Psychotherapy

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Find articles from professional journal dated within the past 5 years. A minimum of eight (8) research articles are required to complete this assignment. 

For the final research paper you will be comparing and contrasting 2 schools of counseling and psychotherapy: Psychoanalytic and Humanistic/Existential

Your research paper must include:

  • compare and contrast both theories
  • discuss evidence-based research on applicability of each theory and treatment
  • present research on the pros and cons of each theory to specific populations
  • integrate research on culture and diversity in regard to the applicability of each theory
  • create an original case example that ties in your research (this should only be ½ to 1 page)

Your final paper should be 8-10 pages plus a title and reference page

Counseling and Psychotherapy

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Counseling and Psychotherapy

Research paper

Introduction

The emergence of various methods of treatment in the practice of psychology is as a result of the different schools of thoughts that were developed to cater for the patient’s specific needs. These methods are applied by the therapists depending on their preference and the problem that is sought to be solved. It is also guided by the cultural and personal attributes of the client in accordance with the estimation of the therapist. Some of the main schools of thought include the humanistic/existential model of therapy and psychoanalysis method.

Humanistic school of thought

 This school of thought does not have specific beliefs as the other school of thoughts as it focuses on the exploration of the human holistically. It focuses on the development of the client by the exploration and reflection on the meaning of life as per the client’s view, the choices available to the client and the decision that follows. It seeks to decipher the meaning of life and proceed on the view that life is all about the choices people make. Despite the fact that external forces such as culture and the past happenings playing a big role in how people turn out, the life one lives is fully determined by the choice people make (Watson and Bohart, 2015).

The human capacity is the principle focus in this school of thought. This mode of treatment is mostly used in the treatment of personality disorders such as schizophrenia, family and other relationship issues in addition to addiction problems. This is because of the focus it places on the self actualization of the client and hence seeks to resolve personal issues. In the treatment of the same, it helps the client to dig deep into themselves to rediscover who they are and focus on who they intend to be and hence help in the resolution of these personal issues.

The proponents of thus school of thought argue that despite the huge role the external factors in our lives play in shaping one’s personality and behavioral traits, the same is fully determined by the choices and decisions one makes. It focuses on the self actualization that everyone is capable of achieving and the power to make decisions as to what constitutes good and evil.

This type of psychology places its focus on the individual and overlooks the cultural and other environmental factors that would affect behavioral characteristics. Since it is only by the full understanding of oneself can true happiness be achieved and peaceful coexistence attained. It therefore neglects to consider the factors such as culture and other external surroundings that have a major influence on the personal traits and behavioral tendencies that one exhibits. 

Psychoanalysis school of thought.

In this method of practice, the importance of knowing and understanding the unconscious mind and interpreting it for a better understanding of who one really is. This is because of the role it plays in the determination of behavioral characteristics (Elliot, 2015). This school of thought focuses more on the external forces that push one to behave in certain way and propagates that idea that the past, especially one’s childhood, and instinctual drives that lead to certain behaviors.

The focus on childhood experiences during therapy and the responses that people put up as defenses when reacting to certain circumstances are the principle focus in this method of treatment. This mode of treatment is used to address issues such as depression and anxiety. This is because it seeks to address mental issues that may have arisen as one grows up. The purpose is to help the client to face the past in an effort to overcome the negative impacts of the past occurrences and face the present and future as the client desires.

It does not consider the experiences such as cultural considerations in the shaping of one’s behavior and neither does it give due regard to other environmental factors of the same. Its major proponent is Sigmund Freud who placed his focus on sexual behaviors and insists on the maturity of one’s personality at the age of about six years. These sentiments were however disputed by other theorists who subscribed to this school of thought. 

Humanistic and psychoanalysis schools of thought.

In both schools of thought, the importance of the individual and his power to make changes is emphasized. This is because of the recognition of the fact that one is responsible for their own happiness and that the result is contagious. The focus on the mental effects of behavioral characteristics is important as the manifestation of the behavior is just a spill-over effect of the mental feelings (Shahar and Mayes, 2017). The outbursts as well as other observable behavioral characteristics are all considered to be as a result of a certain thinking analogy that leads to the client’s actions and beliefs and hence by making right their mental faculties, the results will offer explanations as to the way the clients act.

The focus on the childhood of the client is equally important as it is a major contributor of the unconscious thoughts and feelings people have. In the understanding of both the past of the patient, the therapist is able to guide the patient to the understanding of their unconscious self and hence find a way of dealing with it. In so doing the therapist will have applied both concepts of the humanistic school of thought and the psychoanalytic school of thought in the furtherance of the understanding of the client’s mind and hence the rightful solutions…….

Counseling and Psychotherapy

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