Effectiveness of Psychotherapy

by larc 34 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Lady Lee

  Ideally the best therapy is the one that works for you. And the best therapist is one who knows their limitations and will refer when needed.

  It has also been my experience that an eclectic therapist - meaning one who will use any and all methods available to them to help the client. This sometimes means working with a psychiatrist who can prescribe needed medication that keep the patient stable enough to do much of the hard emotional recovery work for real change to occur.

  <<I think cognitive therapies are good as quick band-aids. Real growth requires you discover the constitutional underpinnings of your personality. You need to know what you want out of life and your preferred way of getting what you want. You need to know what you avoid in life and your preferred way of avoiding what you don't want.>>

  Good therapy does exactly this - it is not a bandaid solution

  Rejoice in the healing and not in the pain.
  Rejoice in the challenge overcome and not in the past hurts.
  Rejoice in the present - full of love and joy.
  Rejoice in the future for it is filled with new horizons yet to be explored. - Lee Marsh 2002
• 

  ThiChi

  Please read "Going Crazy : An Inquiry into Madness in Our Time
  by Otto Friedrich"
• 

  hillary_step

  Larc,

  I have found the best psychotherapy available is to climb the nearest 6000 metre mountain until you are quite positive that you are dead.

  Everything afterward, apart from Julio Igleses, seems to make more sense.

  Best to you and Mrs larc, as ever - HS

  PS - This is a fluff post
• 

  waiting

  with a name like "hilliary," a man kidding about fluff may be taken seriously

  waiting
• 

  OUTLAW

  Hey hillary_step,Julio Igleses?(LOL)I find Enya very calming...OUTLAW
• 

  larc

  On my first post, I provided a brief summary as to which methods are generally the best for treating various conditions. I pointed out that long term "relationship therapies" would only be considered for personality disorders. This infomormation was found by doing a search on "psychotherapy, effectiveness." Since then, I have done a search on "personality disorders," and found further information at a cite called, The Mental Help Network.

  At this cite, they come to a different conclusion reagarding personality disorders. They believe short term congnitive - behavioral methods are best for treating most conditions. Of the 10 personality disorders mentioned, they only suggest "group psychoanalysis" for one condition. This leads me to the conclude that psychoanalysis is almost never recommended.

  At this time, there may be a negative bias against psychoanalysis, since very few therapists use this method. It is definitely out of favor in the view of the vast majority of practitioners.

  In order to get the view of the pssychoanalysts, I contacted one in my area. We had a very pleasant talk, and subsequently he emailed me two articles he had written. The articles are very long, complex and detailed, and I am still in the process of digesting them. What I have read so far indicates that the psychoanalyst of today is very eclectic and has borrowed many tools from other approaches, which makes sense.

  On another subject: for anyone interested in learning more about the American Psychological Association, you can put APA in a search and find their official website. It is very detailed and provides, among other things, a description of eash division, and the requirements for membership.

  APA also has a printed directory of all members, which I find useful in looking up my class mates from grad. school.
• 

  waiting

  Howdy larc,

  On the subject of the name APA. Somebody was arguing back/forth with Amazing about what the initials stood for when referring to M. Singer (on mind control).

  Several variations were tossed around - until the sarcasm ended with American Poodle Association.

  In class the other day, my prof. kept referring to the APA - and I was going to tell him the variant meanings.....but I tactfully refrained. Pretty good thinking on my part, eh?

  As for psychoanalysis, as performed by Freudian followers - how is it done.....and how's it different from when somebody goes to a therapy. How does one know what kind of therapist/psych. they're getting?

  I always enjoy your posts when your in this mode, btw. Thanks.

  waiting

  ps: How much do you know about memory and the current research on both sides of the argument on it? E. Loft is the new president for the APA, and she's a strong opponent to repressed memory, so I'm assuming that the formal stand will be against it? I've read one of her books, and several of her papers on the net. Interesting, but not totally the answer, in my not so knowledgeable opinon.
• 

  larc

  Waiting,

  I'll take your easiest question first. How do you know what kind of therapist you are getting? Ask them.

  How does pscyoanalysis work? Freud used several methods to get access to a person's unconscious and the traumas of early childhood that were buried there. He used hypnotism, dream analysis, and free association. He used free association the most. In this process, he might have a person free associate words or a particular set of memories at a certain time in child hood. When the therapist noted a person vering away from a subject or changing subjects, the therapist would take this a a sign of some buried trama. The goal of treatment was to break through the unconcsious barrier which would cause an out pouring of memories with a great release of emotion, called catharsis. Freud believed that with catharsis would come a cure.

  As I am reading the two papers I mentioned, it appears that modern psychoanalysis is far different than the original version that lasted at least 70 years.

  Regarding Loftis, I read her original article in American Psychologist and found it to be very impressive. I have not read the pros and cons of her ideas since then, so I can not give a fair appraisal of her work. You probably know more about this subject than I do.
  Thanks for your continuing interest.
• 

  waiting

  howdy larc,

  Just wanted to make sure you knew - I truly enjoy talking about this *stuff* with you. Sometimes class is hard when it hits on a vulnerable subject - such as memory & how it works. It's still speculative in many aspects. It's like a person swaying back & forth continually - but trying to stay centered all the while.

  My prof. was trying to get us to understand the difference between the terms subconscious vs unconscious. We couldn't see it. Then he explained that when one *buys into* someone's theories (like Freud), one has to buy the entire theory - which is hard to do, after more studies/research is done.

  So, therefore, the next person will take the same concept (such as Freudian unconscious) and rename it to fit into the expanded theory. Therefore again, still accepting some of the general principles of what Freud put forth - but not all. Then taking that partially acceptable hypothosis(?) - and putting it forth with new information.

  Until the next guy comes along.........

  Thanks for the explanation on Freudian psychoanalysis - I've, then, never been to one of them. I always assumed (and that bit me on the butt) that the therapist knew more than I. In general, that worked. But it was mainly just talking every other week for 50 min. I got many insights and I could speak freely. Also, they knew how to *center* me again - which is of utmost importance. I came in with the crappy stuff - then we'd talk about it, put it into perspective, and ....'til next time. Worked.

  waiting
• 

  Julie

  This is an interesting thread.....