What’s the Difference
Between Psychotherapy and Psychology?
While these terms are often interchanged, they are actually separate –
though related - subjects.
Psychiatrists are people who are trained as doctors but who have gone on to
specialize in mental health. Psychiatrists are more focused on medication
of
the mental health than any form of talk therapy.
Psychology is an academic discipline that focuses on mental health problems. In
fact, many psychologists are strictly scholars and have never come into contact
with actual patients. It's a numbers game - all about statistics.
Psychotherapists are those who deal personally with individuals or groups, they
can specialise in many types of psychotherapeutic disciplines, some of which
are: Behavioural, Cognitive, Cognitive-Behavioural, Humanistic, Person-Centred,
Gestalt ... the list is endless.
A psychotherapist
must be licensed by a governing professional board and have adequate
professional insurance.
In general, however,
psychotherapists undergo several years of graduate training on
counselling techniques.
Types of Psychotherapy
Individual or One-to-one:
This therapy involves only the client and the therapist.
Group: Two or
more clients may participate in therapy at the same time. This may be effective
for patients needing support from others who have had similar feelings and
experiences.
Marital/couples: This
type of therapy helps spouses and partners understand their loved one’s
depression. It also teaches them what types of changes in their communication
and behaviours can help alleviate tension, as well as coping strategies for
themselves.
Family: Family
is a key part of the support system that helps people with depression get
better, which is why it is sometimes helpful for family members to understand
what their loved one is going through, how they themselves can cope, and what
they can do to help. This can be particularly helpful for those experiencing
teen depression.
Approaches to Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy generally fall into three categories. These are:
-
humanistic therapies, which focus on looking
at the 'here and now'.
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behavioural therapies, which focus on
altering abnormal behaviours
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cognitive therapies, which focus on altering the thought patterns
-
psychoanalytical and psychodynamic
therapies, which focus on the unconscious relationship patterns that evolved
from childhood
Of
course, this
is a generalisation and counselling usually overlaps some of these techniques.
Some
counsellors or psychotherapists practise a form of 'integrative' counselling,
which means they draw on and blend specific types of techniques. Other
practitioners work in an 'eclectic' way, which means they take elements of
several different models and combine them when working with clients.
Humanistic Therapies
Humanistic Counselling became known over 50 years ago and has
become an extremely effective approach to counselling. Although behavioural
therapy and psychoanalytic methods were available, a Humanistic approach offered
sufferers another alternative. This type of counselling focuses on recognising
human capabilities in areas such as creativity, personal growth and choice.
When an individual is choosing a counsellor, it is extremely important that the
client is aware of the approach the counsellor uses before arranging an
appointment. This is because each method is different and depends on the
person's needs as to which approach should be taken.
The
main objectives of humanistic psychology are to find out how individuals
perceive themselves here and now and to recognise growth, self-direction and
responsibilities.
This method is optimistic and attempts to help individuals
recognise their strengths by offering a non-judgemental, understanding
experience.
-
Person-Centred Counselling
This approach to counselling sees human beings (along with all
other living organisms) as having an innate tendency to develop towards their
full potential. But this is inevitably blocked or distorted by our life
experiences, in particular those that tell us we are only loved or valued if we
behave in certain ways and not others, or have certain feelings and not others.
As a result, because we have a deep need to feel valued, we tend to distort or
deny to our awareness those of our inner experiences that we believe will not be
acceptable.
The counsellor in this approach aims to provide an environment in which the
client does not feel under threat or judgement. This enables the client to
experience and accept more of who they are as a person, and reconnect with their
own values and sense of self-worth. This reconnection with their inner resources
enables them to find their own way to move forward.
The counsellor works to understand the client’s experience from the client’s
point of view, and to positively value the client as a person in all aspects of
their humanity, while aiming to be open and genuine as another human being.
These attitudes of the counsellor towards the client will only be helpful if the
client experiences them as real within the relationship, and so the nature of
the relationship that the counsellor and client create between themselves is
crucial for the success of therapy.
Unlike Person-Centred Counselling, this method is directive and
concentrates on the client's thought process and feelings. The main objective of
this approach is for the individual's to become more aware of themselves taking
into account their mind, body and spirit. The purpose of this is to improve the
person's personal experiences and therefore creating a better quality of life.
A gestalt professional constantly promotes the client's awareness of themselves
and uses experiments that are often invented by the counsellor and client. These
experiments can be anything from creating patterns with objects and writing to
role-playing. Promoting awareness is the main objective of Gestalt Counselling
but other areas such as improving the ability to support ones emotional feelings
are also important.
-
Transactional Analysis Counselling
Transactional Analysis is a theory that involves an individual's
growth and development. It is also a theory related to communication and child
development explaining the connections to our past and how this influences
decisions we make. The TA theory was developed by Eric Berne who was a
psychiatrist and he recognised three key ego-states that are present in
everyone; Parent, Adult and Child.
This method of counselling encourages individuals to analyse previous decisions
they have made and understand the direction and patterns of their life for
themselves. It also helps clients to trust their decisions and think/act as an
individual improving the way they feel about themselves. TA is a humanistic
approach and like Person-Centred Counselling focuses on the here and now
concept.
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Transpersonal Psychology and Psychosynthesis
Transpersonal psychology began within humanistic psychology,
however today it is gaining recognition by many psychologists and a number of
professional organisations, and is now often seen as its own separate
psychological theory (along with the other three main categories: behavioural,
psychoanalytical and psychodynamic and humanistic).
Transpersonal psychology literally means “beyond the personal” and involves
encouraging the individual to discover the deep core of who they really are
(the real person that transcends an individual’s body, age, gender, physical
space, culture, appearance etc.) It involves building and expanding on an
individual’s qualities, their spirituality and self development.
Psychosynthesis was developed by psychiatrist Roberto Assagioli and involves an
integration of the psychological and transpersonal elements. Psychosynthesis
accepts the idea of a higher, spiritual level of consciousness, sometimes
referred to as the “higher self”. Techniques such as meditation and
visualisation are often used for self-exploration and personal growth.
Behavioural
Therapies
Behavioural Therapy is a common approach used by counsellors and
other professional psychologists to help ease emotional distress by recognising
and treating the underlying psychological problems. This type of therapy has
proven to be an effective method of treatment for a variety of problems,
including anxiety disorders, depression disorders, stress, anger and coping with
loss. It is possible for the therapy to take place on a one-to-one basis, with
family members or even as a group depending on the issue and how the individual
feels most comfortable.
Behavioural and Cognitive therapies mainly concentrate on the theory of here
and now, however, they do not dismiss the individuals past altogether and
the professional and client must work together to address the current issues. It
is imperative that the relationship formed between the counsellor and the
sufferer is positive in order to develop a shared outlook of the issues that
need to be confronted. If this occurs the pair can set goals and find ways of
achieving these goals together. The counsellor will often set the client home
projects to complete in order to put their new skills into practice.
This approach addresses the unusual thoughts, feelings and
behaviour directly by issuing the sufferer with rewards and by confronting the
factors that influence these recurrent thoughts. This therapy does not ignore
the past like some other approaches, but does concentrate on the present events
which are in control of the sufferers behaviour.
This
type of therapy attempts to recognise unusual thoughts or events that could
potentially result in unwanted feelings and negative behaviour. The main
objective is to amend these initial thoughts and replace them with a different
perspective in order to prevent the distressing consequences from occurring.
Many professionals combine the two approaches, which can have effective results
in changing a persons distorted thoughts and feelings.
The main objective of this therapy is to identify and alter an individual's
thought process in order to change both behaviour and emotional development. The
sessions consist of a number of activities; a few of the techniques are listed
below.
Psychoanalytical and
Psychodynamic Therapies
Psychoanalytical and psychodynamic approaches are based on
theories of mental functioning that acknowledge how individuals have
perceptions, thoughts and desires they are not consciously aware of. Freud is
widely regarded as being the founder of modern psychology (and is now being
considered badly flawed!), developing the therapy known as psychoanalysis.
Patients (he only researched rich married women) would lie on a couch and
talk about what came into their mind. Deeply buried memories and experiences
were often expressed and the opportunity to share these thoughts and feelings
seemed to help patients. This therapy is based on the idea that a great deal of
an individual's behaviour and thoughts are not within their conscious control.
By talking freely about thoughts entering their minds, the patient reveals
unconscious needs and memories that will allow them to gain control of their
life.
Psychoanalysis is intensive and usually patients attend four or five sessions a
week for several years. Psychoanalytic therapy is based upon psychoanalysis but
is less intensive, patients only attending between one and three sessions a
week. Psychodynamic counselling is based on the same theories, however it may
focus on more immediate problems, be more practically based and shorter term
than psychoanalytic therapy.
Psychoanalytical therapies are often beneficial for individuals who want to
understand more about themselves. They are particularly helpful for those who
feel their difficulties have affected them for a long period of time and need
relieving of mental and emotional distress. Together, the therapist and the
client try to understand the inner life of the client in a deep exploration.
Uncovering an individuals unconscious needs and thoughts may help them to
understand how past experiences have affected them, and how they can work
through these to live a more fulfilling life.
Psychodynamic is the word that links psychotherapy and counselling with
psychoanalysis. Psychodynamic counselling is based on empathy, acceptance and
understanding. The understanding the counsellor gains from the therapy can
enhance the life of the counsellor as well as the client. The process of change
develops when the client recognises the power of the unconscious and learns how
to control their actions and responses.
How
Effective is Psychotherapy in Treating Depression?
In
terms of effectiveness, studies have shown that while psychotherapy may take
longer than antidepressant medications to alleviate symptoms of depression, its
effects may be longer lasting. And while the risk of depression relapse exists
in either case, it appears that the time between the cessation of treatment and
the return of depression is lengthened after psychotherapy.
In
addition, psychotherapy can be particularly effective in monitoring and managing
the risk of suicide. It can also provide an alternative for those experiencing
medical conditions, such as pregnancy, which prevents the use of depression
medication.
Legal
Statement
If you have a serious medical condition these Workshops,
Seminars and Private & Group sessions are not a substitute for treatment by a
qualified doctor. It is not legal for therapists of alternative practices to
diagnose, treat or cure illness, but it is legal for alternative therapists to
offer to educate people and offer guidance tools to keep their bodies’ energies
healthy. The Energy Therapy Workshops are taught by an Advanced
Practitioner of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). Course materials can be made
available. Private sessions by arrangement.
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