Contemporary Issues in Therapy

Contemporary Issues in Therapy

Contemporary Issues in Therapy

RECITE

1. Emotional rapport, warmth, understanding, acceptance, and empathy are the core of a. the therapeutic alliance b. large-group awareness training c. role reversals d. action therapy 2. Culturally skilled therapists do all but one of the following; which does not apply? a. Are aware of the client’s degree of acculturation b. Use helping resources within the client’s cultural group c. Adapt standard techniques to match cultural stereotypes d. Are aware of their own cultural values

Continued …

9781285519517, Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior with Concept Maps and Reviews, Thirteenth Edition, Coon/Mitterer – © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization.

 

3. In psychodrama, people attempt to form meaningful wholes out of disjointed thoughts, feelings, and actions. T or F?

4. Most large-group awareness trainings make use of Gestalt therapy. T or F?

5. The mirror technique is frequently used in a. exposure therapy b. psychodrama c. family therapy d. ECT

6. To date, the most acceptable type of “distance therapy” is a. media psychology b. commercial telephone counseling c. Internet-based cybertherapy d. based on videoconferencing

REFLECT Think Critically

7. In your opinion, do psychologists have a duty to protect others who may be harmed by their clients? For example, if a patient has homicidal fantasies about his ex-wife, should she be informed?

Relate

What lies at the “heart” of psychotherapy? How would you describe it to a friend?

Which of the basic counseling skills do you already use? Which would improve your ability to help a person in distress (or even just have an engaging conversation)?

Would you rather participate in individual therapy or group therapy? What advantages and disadvantages do you think each has?

A neighbor of yours is thinking about getting counseling on the Internet. What would you tell her about the pros and cons of distance therapy? Contemporary Issues in Therapy.

Answers: 1. a 2. c 3. F 4. F 5. b 6. d 7.

According to the law, there is a duty to protect others when a therapist could, with little effort, prevent serious harm. However, this duty can conflict with a client’s rights to confidentiality and with client-therapist trust. Therapists often must make difficult choices in such situations.

 

Therapist: “If you have decided to quit ‘several times,’ I assume you haven’t succeeded.”

Client: “No, the usual pattern is for me to become upset about smoking and then to cut down for a day or two.”

Therapist: “You forget the disturbing image of your uncle’s death, or whatever, and start smok- ing again.”

Client: “Yes. I suppose if I had an uncle die every day or so, I might actually quit!”

 

The use of intensive behavioral principles, such as electric shock, to condition an aversion seems remote from everyday problems. Even naturally aversive actions are difficult to apply to personal behavior. As mentioned earlier, for instance, rapid smoking is difficult for most smokers to carry out on their own. And what about a problem like overeating? Indeed, it would be difficult to eat enough to create a lasting aversion to overeating (although it’s sometimes tempting to try). Contemporary Issues in Therapy.

In view of such limitations, psychologists have developed an alternative procedure that can be used to curb smoking, overeating, and other habits (Kearney, 2006; Watson & Tharp, 2007).

Covert Sensitization In covert sensitization, aversive imagery is used to reduce the occurrence of an undesired response. Here’s how it’s done: Obtain six 3 by 5 cards and on each write a brief description of a scene related to the habit you wish to control. The scene should be so disturbing or disgusting that