Psychology

Psychotherapy is also referred to as personal counseling with a psychotherapist. It is a planned interpersonal relationship applied by a professional psychotherapist to help a client or a patient in problems related to life. The objective of this therapy is to improve the clients sense of their own happiness. Psychotherapist use various techniques which are dependent on experimental relationship building, conversation, communication and behavior change that are intended to improve the mental health of the client or to improve group associations.

There are various theories which have been put forward by various psychologists to improve the quality of psychotherapy services. They include psychoanalytic, Jungian and individual psychotherapy theories. This paper is going to compare and contrast these theories and discuss the concepts taught in each one of the theories.

Jungian theory
Jungs theory of neurosis is founded on the principle of a self regulating psyche composed of tensions between contrasting attitudes of the ego and the unconscious. A neurosis is a significant tension between the two attitudes at conflict. Each a neurosis is different from the other and therefore different things work in different cases and no universal therapeutic method can applied. However, Jung managed to handle some cases. In a situation where an individual is adjusted adequately to everyday life, but has lost sense in life, and lack religious believe to turn to. In such a case there appears to be no obvious method to solve the situation. In these cases Jung applied ongoing figurative communication from the insensible in the form of dreams and visions (Papadopoulos, 2006).

To provide a solution to the tension causing this type of neurosis, there is need to involve careful constructive study of the desires. The importance with which the individual can give to mythological aspects of desires can be compared to that importance believers give to their religion. It is not just an intellectual exercise, but needs the dedication of the person wholly and recognition that that the insensible is linked to life giving spiritual forces. Just a belief based on direct experience with this process is enough to oppose, balance, and adjust the mind-set of the ego (Murdock, 2009).

Psychoanalytic theory
This theory was developed by Sigmund Freud and others. It is involves study of human psychological functioning and behavior, but can also be applied to societies. In this kind of therapy, the patient verbalizes thoughts, including free relations, desires, and thoughts which enable the analyst to formulate the unconscious conflicts which are causing the signs seen in the patient and character observed. The analyst then interprets them for the patient to develop a strategy for solving the problems. Analyst intervenes by confronting and clarifying the clients problematic excuses, desires, and blame.  Through the analysis of conflicts, psychotherapy can explain that patients unconsciously are their own enemies, and how they cause the signs seen (Slavik,  Carlson, 2006).

Individual psychology theory
It can also mean differential psychology or psychology of individual differences. It focuses mainly on individual and environmental factors. According to this theory, a person has to fight three forms of forces which are societal, love related, and vocational forces. The ability to fight these forces determines the personality of the individual. Alder theory was founded on childhood development of a person. He emphasized on hated children, physical deformities at birth, birth order, and others (Cherry, 2010).

There seems to be no clear similarities between the above theories of psychotherapy. In psychoanalytic theory, the analyst is just involved in interpretation of unconscious conflicts for the patient to see the solution to his problems. In individual psychology, much emphasis is put on pre adulthood development and situations which can causes mental illness like birth deformities and others. Jung applied ongoing figurative communication from the unconscious in the form of dreams and visions since these are the causes of tension (Murdock, 2009).

There are several concepts that can be derived from the above theories. They include individual solutions to the problems by identification of the unconscious self enemy as is explained in psychoanalytic theory focus on childhood problems which can culminate in mental problems and application of symbolic communication from the unconscious in form of dreams and visions.