Thursday, August 2, 2012

FAMILY SYSTEMS THEORY


FAMILY SYSTEMS THEORY

KEY CONCEPTS:
“Focus is on communication patterns within a family, both verbal and nonverbal” (Gerald & Corey, 2013).

PEOPLE ASSOCIATED WITH THE THEORY:
Alfred Adler
Murray Bowen
Virginia Satir
Carl Whitaker
Salvador Minuchin
Jay Haley and Cloe Madanes

GOALS OF THE THEORY:
“To help family members gain awareness of patterns of relationships that are not working well and to create new ways of interacting” (Gerald & Corey, 2013).

TECHNIQUES USED:
“A variety of techniques may be used, depending on the particular theoretical orientation of the therapist” (Gerald & Corey, 2013).

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POSTMODERN


POSTMODERN THEORY

KEY CONCEPTS:
“Therapy tends to be brief and addresses the present and the future.  The person is not the problem; the problem is the problem” (Gerald & Corey, 2013).

PEOPLE ASSOCIATED WITH THE THEORY:
Insoo Kim Berg
Steve de Shazer
Michael White
David Epston

GOALS OF THE THEORY:
“To change the way clients view problems and what they can do about these concerns” (Gerald & Corey, 2013).

TECHNIQUES USED:
“Solution-focused therapy is well suited for people with adjustment disorders and for problems of anxiety and depression” (Gerald & Corey, 2013).
  
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FEMINIST THEORY


FEMINIST THEORY

KEY CONCEPTS:
“Core principles of feminist therapy are that the personal is political, therapists have a commitment to social change, women’s voices and ways of knowing are valued and women’s experiences are honored, the counseling relationship is egalitarian, therapy focuses on strengths and a reformulated definition of psychological distress, and all types of oppression are recognized” (Gerald & Corey, 2013).

PEOPLE ASSOCIATED WITH THE THEORY:
Jean Baker Miller, MD
Carolyn Zerbe Enns, PhD
Oliva M. Espin, PhD
Laura S. Brown, PhD

GOALS OF THE THEORY:
“To bring about transformation both in the individual client and in society.  To assist clients in recognizing, claiming, and using their personal power to free themselves from the limitations of gender-role socialization.  To confront all forms of institutional policies that discriminate or oppress on any basis” (Gerald & Corey, 2013).

TECHNIQUES USED:
“Although techniques from traditional approaches are used, feminist practitioners tend to employ consciousness-raising techniques aimed at helping clients recognize the impact of gender-role socialization on their lives.  Other techniques frequently used include gender-role analysis and intervention, power analysis and intervention, demystifying therapy, bibliography, journal writing, therapist self-disclosure, assertiveness training, reframing and relabeling, cognitive restructuring, identifying and challenging untested beliefs, role playing, psychodramatic methods, group work, and social action” (Gerald & Corey).

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REALITY THEORY


REALITY THEORY

KEY CONCEPTS:
“The basic focus is on what clients are doing and how to get them to evaluate whether their present actions are working for them.  People are mainly motivated to satisfy their needs, especially the need for significant relationships.  The approach rejects the medical model, the notion of transference, the unconscious, and dwelling on one’s past” (Gerald & Corey, 2013).

PEOPLE ASSOCIATED WITH THE THEORY:

“William Glasser (b. 1925) became convinced that it was of paramount importance that clients accept personal responsibility for their behavior” (Gerald & Corey, 2013).


 
“Robert Wubbold, EdD (b.1936) extended the theory and practice of reality therapy with his conceptualization of the WDEP system” (Gerald & Corey, 2013).

GOALS OF THE THEORY:
“To help people become more effective in meeting all of their psychological needs.  To enable clients to get reconnected with the people they have chosen to put into their quality worlds and teach clients choice theory” (Gerald & Corey, 2013).


TECHNIQUES USED:
“This is an active, directive, and didactic therapy.  Skillful questioning is a central technique used for the duration of the therapy process.  Various techniques may be used to get clients to evaluate what they are presently doing to see if they are willing to change.  If clients decide that their present behavior is not effective, they develop a specific plan for change and make a commitment to follow through” (Gerald & Corey, 2013).

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Cognitive Behavior Therapy


COGNITIVE BEHAVIOR THEORY

KEY CONCEPTS:
“Although psychological problems may be rooted in childhood, they are reinforced by present ways of thinking.  A person’s belief system is the primary cause of disorders.  Internal dialogue plays a central role in one’s behavior.  Clients focus on examining faulty assumptions and misconceptions and on replacing these with effective beliefs” (Gerald & Corey, 2013).


PEOPLE ASSOCIATED WITH THE THEORY:
 
“B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) was a prominent spokesperson for behaviorism and can be considered the father of the behavioral approach to psychology.  Most of Skinner’s work was of an experimental nature in the laboratory, but others have applied his ideas to teaching, managing human problems, and social planning” (Gerald & Corey, 2013).


“Albert Bandura (b. 1925) and his colleagues did pioneering work in the area of social modeling and demonstrated that modeling is a powerful process that explains diverse forms of learning” (Gerald & Corey, 2013).


 http://www.sgipt.org/biogr/lazarus.jpg
“Arnold A. Lazarus (b. 1932) is a pioneer in clinical behavior therapy and the developer of multimodal, the treatment is cognitive behavioral and draws on empirically supported methods” (Gerald & Corey, 2013).



GOALS OF THE THEORY:
“To teach clients to confront faulty beliefs with contradictory evidence that they gather and evaluate.  To help clients seek out their faulty beliefs and minimize them.  To become aware of automatic thoughts and to change them” (Gerald & Corey, 2013).


TECHNIQUES USED:
“Therapists use a variety of cognitive, emotive, and behavioral techniques; diverse methods are tailored to suit individual clients.  This is an active, directive, time-limited, present-centered, psychoeducational, structured therapy.  Some techniques include engaging in Socratic dialogue, collaborative empiricism, debating irrational beliefs, carrying out homework assignments, gathering data on assumptions one has made, keeping a record of activities, forming alternative interpretations, learning new coping skills, changing one’s language and thinking patterns, role playing, imagery, confronting faulty beliefs, self-instructional training, and stress inoculation training” (Gerald & Corey, 2013).


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Thursday, July 19, 2012

BEHAVIOR THEORY

BEHAVIOR THEORY

KEY CONCEPTS:
"Focus is on overt behavior, precision in specifying goals of treatment, development of specific treatment plans, and objective evaluation of therapy outcomes.  Present behavior is given attention.  Therapy is based on the principles of learning theory.  Normal behavior is learned through reinforcement and imitation.  Abnormal behavior is the result of faulty learning" (Gerald & Corey, 2013).

PEOPLE ASSOCIATED WITH THE THEORY:




 "B.F. Skinner (1904 - 1990) was a prominent spokesperson for behaviorism and can be considered the father of the behavioral approach to psychology.  Skinner championed radical behaviorism, which places primary emphasis on the effects of environment on behavior" (Gerald & Corey, 2013).







"Albert Bandura (b. 1925) and his colleagues did pioneering work in the area of social modeling and demonstrated that modeling is a powerful process that explains diverse forms of learning.  He explored social learning theory and the prominent role of observational learning and social modeling in human motivation, thought, and action" (Gerald & Corey, 2013).


GOALS OF THEORY:
"To eliminate maladaptive behaviors and learn more effective behaviors.  To identify factors that influence behavior and find out what can be done about problematic behavior.  To encourage clients to take an active and collaborative role in clearly setting treatment goals and evaluating how well these goals are being met" (Gerald & Corey, 2013).

TECHNIQUES USED:
"The therapist is active and directive and functions as a teacher or mentor in helping clients learn more effective behavior.  Clients must be active in the process and experiment with new behaviors.  Although a quality client-therapist relationship is not viewed as sufficient to bring about change, it it considered essential for implementing behavioral procedures" (Gerald & Corey, 2013).

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