Counseling Northwestern uses this theory to train counselors, and it is embedded throughout the counselor training process. The belief is that by revealing and bringing these issues to the surface, treatment and healing can occur. Behavioral theory is based on the belief that behavior is learned. Pavlov executed a famous study using dogs, which focused on the effects of a learned response e.
Skinner developed another behavioral therapy approach, called operant conditioning. He believed in the power of rewards to increase the likelihood of a behavior and punishments to decrease the occurrence of a behavior. Behavioral therapists work on changing unwanted and destructive behaviors through behavior modification techniques such as positive or negative reinforcement.
In the s, psychotherapist Aaron Beck developed cognitive theory. Unlike psychodynamic theory, therapy based on cognitive theory is brief in nature and oriented toward problem solving. A final theoretical orientation I relate with is motivational interviewing MI. MI is considered to be in the same category as other person-centered therapies. It is based on skills related to empathy and warmth, while focusing on working with clients who often are resistant to treatment.
It was originally developed for resistant clients who were receiving substance abuse treatment. Four active elements of MI are expressing empathy, developing discrepancy, rolling with resistance and supporting self-efficacy. Supporting self-efficacy involves the therapist portraying that the client is capable of change. It is the client who is responsible for finding his or her own solution to the issue.
Four important skills of therapists who operate from an MI orientation are open questions, affirmation, summaries and reflective listening. From my clinical perspective gained while working with the military population, I have discovered that MI helps veterans in establishing their own goals for treatment.
I also believe that MI is helpful as a supervision model, and I am excited about utilizing it in my doctoral studies while supervising graduate counseling students. Given my orientation to various counseling theories, I ask myself whether I am an integrative therapist who works across theoretical systems in a purposeful way, or whether I just pick and choose as I prefer without any rationale behind my choices.
I would like to believe that I am more of an integrative therapist who chooses commonalities among systems in a purposeful manner concerning the theories I select. However, I must explore this on a deeper level to obtain an accurate answer. When I reflect about this process, I discover common themes between the therapies of person-centered, motivational interviewing and brief psychodynamic regarding the important of the relationship, working alliance and assisting clients in developing their own goals.
However, my leaning toward CBT is incongruent with the other therapies in some of these important aspects. I believe some of my incongruence is in conjunction with my own work in CBT and how it has helped me.
I have experienced firsthand the effectiveness of CBT. Therefore, I have integrated it into my way of helping others. I have been helped, so I choose to help others in the same way I have benefited. Consequently, my integrative orientation is partly based on common themes between therapies and partly based on my personal experience within my own therapeutic work.
This is how I resolve this discrepancy of sorts regarding my orientation. A counseling theory is not something that is solidified by simply reading a theories textbook and choosing from a plethora of options. Developing a theoretical orientation is initiated and enhanced by personal reflection, readings, working in the mental health field and life experience. It is derived from within, particularly from the beliefs and significant relationships of the counselor.
It changes over time and is dependent upon personal growth or working with diverse populations. Counselors should not be surprised if they identify with a particular theory when they revisit those theories years later. I am a person, a client and a therapist, and I attest to this process. Keith J. Myers is a licensed professional counselor and doctoral student of counselor education and supervision at Mercer University. Contact him at keithm gmail.
Hi Keith, Just wanted to thank you for an amazing article, it reminded me so much of why I am still in this field after 15 years. I was happy to hear once again, I am not alone in my theraputic approaches. I was just with a client last night meeting with her for the second time, and when reading your artice, it was like Wow, I used all those same approaches of brief psychodynamci theory, and to tell you the truth I do not remember studying up on that in my years of study, however was taught it somewhere, or by God, lol.
Thanks again for you jnspiration! This is an amazing article that I hope to read more fully later on in the day. I just want to thank you for writing it and sharing it with the world. Hi keith myers, i must tank you alot for your wounderful article. Is a tool to my academic enhancement. I appreciate you alot. I would want to have you as my mentor. Hi Mr. Most psychotherapy theories are distractions from the central task of solving the client's problems.
Client's problems are often contributed to by social problems and gaps in the social service system. When one person in a family is experiencing problems, it is usually the expression of family communication and relationship problems. It is important to assess not only the person seeking services, but his or her environment as well. It is essential for therapists to be aware of the values and worldview of their own culture and how they might affect clients.
Change occurs in therapy because of the client's insight into characteristic ways of relating with others set in early childhood. It is helpful to ask questions to lead the client to realize their mistakes or misperceptions. Denial, repression, intellectualization and other defense mechanisms are important to understanding psychology.
See below for sample information. Some participants have found it helpful to refer back to their responses to individual items to see if there are parts of a theory they tend to agree with more or less. The column, "Sample of ", provides the means and standard deviations of the sample of community clinicians. Since these are from one selectively drawn sample, they provide a reference point but are not "norms".
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