Psychotherapy

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that psychotherapy is the treatment of psychological disorders by employing psychological methods, which include a personal relationship between a client and a trained therapist, Psychotherapists can be psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers or marriage and family therapists. The author points out that psychotherapies can be classified into four perspectives: psychodynamic, humanistic, behavioral and cognitive. The paper relates that the ideal therapist must have intelligence, enough flexibility to make use of a wide range of psychotherapeutic models tailored to the severity of the patient's depression and basic humaneness, which means that he or must be able to admit errors, tolerate frustration and refuse to judge a patient by appearance, age or social class.

Table of Contents:
Define and Overview
Depression
Cognitive Therapy
Psychoanalytic Therapy
Characteristics of Ideal Therapist / Best Treatment
Beneficial / Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Depression is characterized by sad mood and the inability to experience pleasure from activities one previously enjoyed. Depressed people exhibit symptoms such as withdrawal, inactivity, decreased/increased in appetite, experiencing difficulty in sleeping and feeling of hopelessness for the future, hence, contemplate that life is not worth living. When these symptoms are severe, persistent, and interfere with the person's daily functions, then the person is diagnosed as having major depressive disorder.Major depressive disorder is associated with high mortality."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Ainsworth, Patricia. Understanding Depression. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2000. 5, 80.
• American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition Text Revision. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 2000. 371.
• Beck, Aaron T. and Steven D. Hollon. "Cognitive and Cognitive Behavioral Therapies." Handbook of Psychotherapy and Behavior Change, 4th edition. Eds. Allen E. Bergin and Sol L. Garfield. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc, 1994. 430-431.
• CMP Media Inc. "Cognitive therapy may reduce suicide attempts." Psychiatric Times. 1 Sept. 2005:83. Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale Group/InfoTrac. College Library. 27 Oct. 05 <http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb>.
• Cruise, Tom. Interview with Matt Lauer. The Today Show. NBC, New York. 24 June 2005.

More papers on Psychotherapy:

• Research Paper # 71505 : "Psychotherapy"
• Article Review # 120958 : "Effectiveness of Psychotherapy"
• Research Paper # 93838 : "Treatment Planning in Psychotherapy"
• Essay # 32217 : "Psychotherapy Method"

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