Report on Psychodynamic Therapies
Insight oriented therapy
This therapy is often carried out to people with anxiety related disorders, depressive disorders, Post Traumatic Stress Disorders and other internalized conflicts in the society. As Fogerite and Goldberg (2008) explain, the insight oriented therapy goal is helping the patient resolve the internal conflicts while mastering the relevant developmental tasks. The therapist interacts with the patient in short sessions and expresses the frightening and negative thought. According to Shedler (2010), the therapist carefully labels, interprets and classifies what the patient expresses. From higher order reasoning, the therapist assists the patient to re-experience the conflicts and the possible alternatives towards addressing the causes. Notably, unconscious conflicts and impulses are labeled to facilitate easier understanding of the problem by the patient. Through emotional re-experiencing and emotional working through, conflicts are resolved resulting to reduction of the symptoms and healthy adjustments. It is worth noting that insight oriented therapy as Ellen et al (2010) points out, is less effective for very young children because of their poor cognitive insights.
Supportive therapy
Unlike the insight oriented disorder, supportive therapy is largely employed on people with externalizing disorders that are impulse driven. From a psychodynamic theory point of view, these people have key developmental problems that reduce their ability to effectively control their impulses while emphasizing on others (Hersen and Thomas, 2005). In addressing this consideration supportive psychodynamic therapy focuses on the present and establishes mechanisms to solve problems by developing the necessary coping skills.
In young children and teenagers, Shedler (2010) explains that play and fantasy decreases the conflict and creates the roadmap for change. Shedler (2010) adds that supportive therapy helps create a long term solution to psychological disorders in that patients employ the problem solving skills in subsequent related cases. Notably, analysts have questioned this model of treatment under the argument that it does not emphasize on treating the existing problem, but seeks to curve later mechanisms to address similar issues (Ellen et al, 2010). This has led to calling for further studies on psychodynamic supportive therapy to determine its empirical effectiveness in the fast changing and complex society.
Structure building therapy
According to Dierckx (2008), people with deficits in their internal representations (unsteady, unclear, negative mental images and negative expectations from others) have major problems in relating with others in the society. Particularly, they are unable to modulate impulses and emotions and even drawing lines between fantasy and reality. Unlike the previous two therapies that focused greatly on interpreting the sub-consciousness mind, structure building therapy emphasizes on the therapist empathy and holistic understanding to generate the permanence of the internal representations. Shedler (2010) concurs with Huprich (2008) conclusion that therapists must facilitate development of the internal impulses control, permanence of objects and differentiation of others and self. Most children with separation-individuation and object inconsistency such as characterological and psychotic disorders tend to have developmental problems early in their lives. As a result, Ellen et al (2010) argue that psychodynamic structure building therapy extends its outlook towards the community in creating the needed emphasis on stronger and positive relationships.
Empathy in structure building approach especially in children appears to replace possible failures in their interaction with parents. Under this consideration, therapist seeks to build up their intervention on the parent-child empathy failure due to their high relationship frequency (Fogerite and Goldberg, 2008). The therapists empathy leads to his internalization by the patient as part of the stable internal figure and then worked outward to reflect other relationships in the community. It is from this consideration that structure building therapy has been regarded as cumulative and therefore effective in long-term change for patients with internal deficits.
Pretend and play role in psychodynamic therapy research and practice
Pretend and play has been cited to be very unique in understanding and creating the needed change especially for children and adolescents. Kush (2009) argues that play being a natural mode of expression it brings out feelings and thoughts of the internal world of a child. Then, the language of play is used to communicate with the therapist and therefore facilitating his ability to interpret and label the aforementioned expression. Besides, Kush (2009) further explains that pretence and play act as a vehicle for working through by facilitating re-experiencing differing developmental outsets. Finally, it helps in providing an opportunity for practical application of ideologies, interpersonal behaviors and expressions from a safe environment and then employed outwards in the community (Hersen and Thomas, 2005).
While responding to the low application of this therapy, Dierckx (2008) concurs with Fonagy, Roth and Higgitt (2005) that the three discussed mechanisms are very broad in their goals and change mechanisms. Particularly, Dierckx (2008) cites the highly individualized nature of the therapy where the therapist has to make decisions on moment-to-moment basis a consideration that greatly reduces specificity. Researchers must therefore focus on making psychodynamic therapy conceptualizations highly testable to create greater acceptance and application.
Conclusion
It is from the above discussion that that this paper concludes by supporting the thesis statement, the ability of a therapy to link the mind and the body by bringing the subconscious role in influencing the behavior of their patients creates the best way towards addressing psychological problems. It came out in the report that the three therapies require the therapist to intrinsically understand the causative factors of the psychological disorder being addressed. Besides, the solutions established are projected towards greater ability to counter the major causes of the issue. However, there is needed further research to address the uncertainties of these therapies as scholars have cited in order to promote greater acceptance and application.
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