Psychology

Bowenian theory is a type of family therapy model focused on the balance of two forces. The first is togetherness and the second is individuality. Too much togetherness creates fusion and prevents individuality (development of ones personal sense of self). Too much individuality results in a distant and divided family.

This includes the employment of Relationship experiments, where the therapist suggests new behaviors or ways of reacting to family stress, this focuses on making the client understand how emotional processes work and enables them to choose actions that lead to less conflict. The I position promotes differentiation of members, frequently one member can impel changes using I statements that separate their own emotions and thoughts from those of the rest of the family. This discourages individuals from the habit of blaming others or moralizing. Process questions is a method of questioning designed to help family members think about their own reactions to what others are doing. This is useful in developing their self-awareness and encouraging self-control.

Family therapy can be done with one person using the Coaching technique, the therapist takes on the role of a teacher, Focusing on aspects like being an accurate observer of the family dynamics, being involved in the development of relationships within the family, and being able to remain neutral when dealing with issues within the family. This enables the client to think that the problems are manageable and within control.

A Genogram is a graphic display similar to a family tree that contains detailed information about the connections among individuals. It is created with simple symbols representing the gender and with various lines to illustrate genetic and emotional attachments. The therapist is provided with a panorama of relationship patterns that makes it easier to detect dysfunctions and to perceive where intervention is needed the most.

Solution focused therapy is another type of family therapy model that focuses on what the client wishes to achieve, it does not dwell on the past, rather the focal point is the analysis of the present and the visualization of an ideal future.

This includes the employment of Miracle questions, a method of questioning which begins by helping the client imagine a situation wherein, overnight, a miracle happens that solves all their familial problems. The clients have to define what differences they would observe to prove that a miracle had taken place. This is vital in making the family realize how vastly improved their relationships will be when the problems are resolved and defines the goal they aim to achieve.

Scaling questions are used to rate the clients current state, with zeroone being the most ideal and ten being the worst, this facilitates the therapist in identifying factors that prevents them from moving up the scale and recognizes what pushes them down. This is helpful in shifting the clients focus from problems to solutions. Compliments encourage the family members to vocalize traits they admire or appreciate in another, a helpful exercise that generates an atmosphere of goodwill for the therapist which is more conducive to problem solving.

Strategic and Structural family therapy is a model mostly intent upon changing behavior rather than insight, this generally includes Reframing, a method that involves the classification of a negative features into positive light for example, constant inquiry can be seen as genuine interest or concern rather than pointless nagging. By providing rational explanations, members become tolerant of each others peculiarities. Paradoxical technique encourages clients to continue with their symptoms and their supporting behaviors. This technique is especially helpful with anxious clients who will feel relieved that they are not expected to change quickly, although this technique relies more on the expectation that the client defies the directive when the absurdity of their situation becomes clear.

This paper gives a reflection on the adult development processes. It was stated earlier long that practitioners ought to determine which elements are biological cognitive and socioemotional in the quest to understanding adult development. The development process has aspects that are in continuity and on the other hand, there are those aspects that are in discontinuity. The notion of age will vary in different respects in that they are viewed chronologically, biologically, psychologically, and socially.

There are three fundamental processes in development namely biological process cognitive process and socialemotional process. . In clear terms, the basic dimensions of human development are body, mind and spirit. Therefore, the mind means the cognitive and the spirit means the social and emotional dimension. From a psychoanalytic point of view, behavior does not occur in a vacuum it is always surfaced on certain grounds, not excluding the inherent workings of the mind embedded in it. Erik Erikson believed that human development takes place within the framework of psychosocial stages contrary to Freud theory. Cognitive theories are more concerned with consciousness and the significance of the brain in information processing. In Vygotskys theory, there are tasks that are too complex for one to master alone. They require the guidance of others to be assimilated. Bandura believes that individuals manifest the behavior of others after which they absorb this learned behavior to become their own. Ethologically, it is believed that experiences at given times in a persons life has a big impact on an individuals development.

Whenever there are attempts in carrying out investigations regarding adult development, practitioners should identify which elements or aspects are biological or cognitive or socioemotional, and their timely impact on the person as an adult. This study therefore seeks to deepen more on fundamental theories that have been advanced in understanding an adult as a developing entity. These theories consist of psychodynamism, cognition, learning behaviorism, social learning, ethologic theories, humanism, ecology, moral and religious, career and eclecticism. In this regard, proponents like Freud, Erickson, Piaget, Lorenz, and Maslow among others will be considered. In general, the study seeks to capture human development with a bias in adulthood development.

Developmental Issues
It was stated earlier long that practitioners ought to determine which elements are biological cognitive and socioemotional in the quest to understanding adult development. As such, the aspect of maturation and experience is characterized by the systematic changes embedded in the genetic imprint of a person. Besides, the development process has aspects that are in continuity and on the other hand, there are those aspects that are in discontinuity. Continuity of development is characterized by the gradual and systematic transformations right from the moment of birth to the point of death. Discontinuity of development on the other hand, involves the diverse stages in the life span. It is important to note that, there are early-later experience issues which are connoted by the degree that early or later experiences impact on the process of development.

The aspect of age is another important issue whenever scholars set out to investigate the development process. The notion of age will vary in different respects in that they are viewed chronologically, biologically, psychologically, and socially. This will be deepened more in the course of this study. Just to reiterate what has been illustrated earlier that there are three fundamental processes in development namely biological process cognitive process and socialemotional process. In principle, the growth and development of a human being is always an integral development due to hisher hylemorphic nature. This means that she cannot be regarded just as a corporeal reality but also as a spiritual reality. In clear terms, the basic dimensions of human development are body, mind and spirit. Therefore, the mind means the cognitive and the spirit means the social and emotional dimension.

Theories of Adult Development
In order to understand well the nature of adult development, one should also consider the other stages of development in the earlier stages. From a psychoanalytic point of view, behavior does not occur in a vacuum it is always surfaced on certain grounds, not excluding the inherent workings of the mind embedded in it. The aspects of a human person are id, ego and, the superego. In addition, individuals succumb to defense mechanisms to counter anxiety in their lives according to Freud. He further argues further that there are certain stages that one undergoes before attaining fully fledged adult maturity. In general, the stages are as follows oral stage anal stage, phallic stage, latency stage, and genital stage. These stages shall be used to support some fundamental hypothesis in respect to adult behavior as will be discussed later on.

Erik Erikson believed that human development takes place within the framework of psychosocial stages contrary to Freud theory. He argues further that how individuals are involved in each of these stages determines the balance of personality later in life. The following diagram gives a summary of Freuds and Eriksons stages of personality development.

Jane Loevinger describes seven ego development stages. The figure below gives a summary of these ego development stages.

Cognitive theories are more concerned with consciousness and the significance of the brain in information processing. This is a process that adults undergo in their cognitive development. Piaget has developed stages of cognitive development. The following diagram gives a summary of these stages.

In Vygotskys theory, there are tasks that are too complex for one to master alone. They require the guidance of others to be assimilated. Through scaffolding, an individual tunes the amount of guidance given and this necessarily limits the amount of support given by the external forces. In the long run, language and thought takes center stage in planning, guiding and monitoring behavior in a self-regulatory mode.

Individuals have got a unique way in which they process or develop information in their surroundings. There is a modality in which this processed information gets into the mind how it is stored and transformed how it is recalled and used to solve complex and analytical mental activities.
By and large, behavior is attributed to what is observable. In other words, people develop their behavior in the context of their environment. People are said to behave differently due to their different cultural and economic backgrounds. Skinner makes a distinction between classical and operant conditioning processes. Below is a diagram that best explains the classical mode of conditioning according to Skinner.

Children are believed to have spontaneous habits. Consider the following example a child can begin smiling by herself without any cause. She can just smile while in the cot as she suckles on her fingers. But then, her elder brother may pick her up and in turn start swinging her such that the child smiles even more. In the former case, the childs smile was an accidental response, but in the latter case, the smile is a deliberate response since there is an aspect of reinforcement from the elder brother to the child. This example best explains the instrumental conditioning.

Bandura believes that individuals manifest the behavior of others after which they absorb this learned behavior to become their own. Ethologically, it is believed that experiences at given times in a persons life has a big impact on an individuals development. For instance, one might undergo an experience of hard life, fro instance, hard survival due to divorced parents may cause an adult develop a hard attitude towards life.

The following is a figure describing Maslows Hierarchy of needs.
It can be seen from Maslows Theory that the highest development is when an individual acquires self-actualization. In this context a developing adult acquires spiritual fulfillment, self-esteem, and self-acceptance. She is able to accommodate others, love and even get involved in innovative activities. She will be productive, realistic, autonomous, spontaneous and playful, engage in profound relationships, develop concern for the entire human family, and importantly, she internalizes morality and stops being a conformist.

It is worthwhile to reflect on the moral stages that an individual undergoes in the development process. At preconventional stage, there is no internalization of moral values. Such values are reinforced through punishment and external motivations. This takes place mainly in childhood stages. However, later in life, the individual abides by specific standards outlined by others, for example, the parents or teachers or the government through its laws. In the long run, the individual internalizes morality and in so doing becomes fully authentic in hisher moral judgments. She will explore alternatives and choose which moral code to go by. In summary, the three stages are preconventional reasoning, conventional reasoning, and postconventional reasoning.

The individual also undergoes development in hisher religious journey of life. At the early stages, the individual intuitively develops images of good and evil. Then, in the middle ages, the individual puts in some reason and understanding in hisher faith such that it leads to a coherent belief system. This leads to a more responsible individual in hisher religious convictions and beliefs. Then, she develops more opposing viewpoints and attains an openess to paradox. In the long run, the individual experiences universality in hisher faith where she goes beyond the set belief systems in order to achieve harmony and oneness with all being.

Finally, it is important to consider the career development process of the individual. Indeed, adults find themselves making certain career goals not knowing that it is an aspect in their development. Fantasy jump starts the career journey of the person. Here, the ideals of the career are unrealistic. At tentative stage, the individual is unstable with the choices of life sher makes but then lead to the realistic stage where the individual explores, focuses and eventually, settles for a career.

It is important to note that the image one has about himselfherself determines hisher career choice. If one is very humble then she chooses careers that require humility if one is very arrogant and brave, she may settle to becoming a police or a body guard and so on and so forth. It is at the adolescent stage that individuals understand themselves as pertains to their self-image. In so doing, they develop ideas about work, consolidate their choices, and start to act in ways that reflect the dynamics of the willed career together with taking certain training courses that can grow their career. After this, work for a more consolidated career enhancement.

Individuals should aim at matching their career choices with their personality dispositions. It is also believed that an individual only takes that course which is peculiar to himher. One cannot develop into other types apart from that which hisher nature confers or permeates.

The eclectic theoretical orientation purports that no single approach can be regarded as absolute and so it is good to give a synthesis of all behavioral theories. In addition, no given theory can apply to human development.

Conclusion
We have seen that we cannot explain the development process of an individual just from a biological point of view this extends to hisher psychological, social-emotional and spiritual development. This approach is not due to pedagogical reasons but it is necessarily so because a human person is by nature a body-mind-spirit reality. All the three aspects lie in hisher being as such. We have seen the contrasting theories of Freud and Erik Erikson. In my opinion, both theories are valid in their own peculiar ways. I take this position because they all share a common ground that a failure to live one stage fully sabotages all the other stages. Indeed, an individual who does not explore fully one stage, like in the case of Freuds anal stage or Eriksons initiative versus guilt stage then one is not expected to perform normally in the subsequent stages like in the phallic stage or industry versus inferiority stage respectively. In such instances one will have a deformed kind or personality development. We have also seen from Maslows theory that failure to fulfill other needs may lead to a deformed personality. If one is not well fed, loved, affirmed or self-discovered then it will be almost impossible to realize self-actualization.

This is a paper on cognitive psychology. The first part of the paper is a definition of cognition. Provided on this section is background information on cognitive psychology. The second part of the paper is an explanation on the interdisciplinary perspective as it relates to cognitive psychology. The section reveals the interdisciplinary nature of cognitive psychology. The third past is a description on the emergence of cognitive psychology as a discipline. The last section provides an assessment of the effects of the decline of behaviorism on the discipline of cognitive psychology.

Cognitive Psychology
The term cognition originates from the Latin term cognoscere whose meaning is to apprehend. Chambers English Dictionary defines this term as to be conscious (Garnham and Oakhill, 1994). From the most basic level, this term refers to intellect. Cognition is the scientific terminology that refers to the process of thoughts. This term is concerned with the mental processes. It is used in a variety of disciplines including psychology and cognitive science. Cognitive science is the study of information presentation and transformation in the brain. It refers to information processing perspective of humans psychological processes (Ellis, 1993).

Cognitive psychology is a field in psychology that is concerned with psychological processes. The process in question includes visual, reminiscence, thoughts, emotions, problem-solving as well as language. The school of thought that originates from this field is referred to as cognitivism. Cognitivism is concerned with the ways through which human beings process information. Cognitive psychology is a part of cognitive science. It is a branch of psychology that has relationship with other fields like neuroscience, linguistics and philosophy. Regardless the fact the cognitive psychology derives from past psychological approaches, it is basically differs from them in two ways. The first one is that cognitive psychology utilizes scientific methods. This field of psychology refuses introspection as a suitable method of analysis. This makes it different from fields like Freudian psychology. The second way that cognitive psychology differs is that it accepts the existence of innate mental states. This makes it different from behaviorist psychology (Berkeley, 1997). 
          
Cognitive psychology is an interdisciplinary field. This is because it crosses the conventional Bounderies between academic fields as well as schools of thoughts. Cognitive psychology is a field that has obtained its methods and processes from conventional schools of thoughts like cognitivism and behaviorism. Cognitive psychology was broke off from psychology. It also derives from traditional theories like computational theory of mind. Since the development of Cognitive psychology as a discipline, cognitive theories have become very common in other psychological disciplines like social psychology, abnormal psychology, personality psychology as well as developmental psychology. Cognitive psychology has been linked to the field of psychology that used to be referred as experimental psychology. All the aspects discussed reveal the interdisciplinary nature of cognitive psychology (Garnham and Oakhill, 1994). 

The emergence of cognitive psychology is believed to have taken place between 1950 and 1970. The major motivating factor to the development of modern cognitive psychology was the Second World War. This is due to the emphasis ob studies on human performance and attention. It was necessary to research on the functioning of the human mind in order to gather information on performance during the war. The other factor that contributed was the development of computer technology mostly that involved in AI. The last factor that might have an impact on the development of cognitive psychology is the renewed interest linguistics.   

The word cognitive psychology was coined by Ulric Neisser in 1967 (Berkeley, 1997). This means that cognitive psychology is a recent discipline in psychology. Cognitive psychology developed as a different field of study towards the end of the 1950s and the beginning of 1960s. This makes it one of the most recent areas of research in psychology. Cognitive psychology developed as a distinct field of study following the cognitive revolution. Up to the 1950s, behaviorism has been the well known theory in psychology. Between the 1950s and 1970s, the focus in psychology began to move from behaviorism to things like attention reminiscence, and problem solving (Ellis, 1993). This is what is known as cognitive evolution. The revolution was started by the appraisal behaviorism and empiricism by Noam Chomsky. However, the origins of cognitive thinking like computational theory of the mind dates back to the 17th century, from the work of Descartes. This theory continued up to the 1940s and 1950s with the work of Alan Turing. Nevertheless, during that period it was not recognized as a distinct branch of psychology that could be studied as an academic discipline. The popularity of cognitive psychology was motivated by Donald Broadbent in his book Perception and Communication since then the field began to expand with a leading paradigm of information processing model. This model of cognition that was invented by Broadbent has been in use since that time in the study of cognitive psychology. This way of thinking can be associated with the development of computers. In the model, information processing in the mind is related to information processing on the computer (Garnham and Oakhill, 1994). Hypothesis in this area refers to information input, representation, processing and output. Related to language as the basic mental information representation system, this discipline has used tree and network psychological schemes. The discipline has singularly contributed to artificial intelligence this makes it general in the idea of semantic network. One of the pioneers of cognitive psychology, George Miller is famous for dedication in his profession to the establishment of WordNet. This is a semantic network for English as a language. This way of understanding psychological processes has permeated psychology in the last few years. It is currently the dominant method in the study of psychology (Berkeley, 1997).             

The decline of behaviorism made the attention to be shifted to cognitive psychology. Behaviorism is a branch of psychology that is based on the study of behaviors. In psychology, this school of thought holds that behavior can be defined scientifically without a relation to innate psychological actions or theoretical constructs like the mind. This school of thoughts holds that all the processes are observable. There is thus no difference between observable processes like actions and processes like emotions and thoughts that cannot be seen. From the 19th century, this was the school of thought that was so popular in psychology.  This school of thought began to differ with others like mental psychology in considerable ways (Garnham and Oakhill, 1994).

Towards the end of the 20th century, behaviorism began to fade as a result of the start of cognitive psychology. Despite the fact that these two theories differ considerably hypothetically, they have complemented each other practically in therapeutic procedures. One of the procedures where they have complemented each other is cognitive-behavioral therapy. This is a famous procedure that utilizes both cognitive and behaviorist processes like systematic desensitization and contingency management (Ellis, 1993). This is a therapeutic treatment for such conditions like phobias and addiction. Nevertheless, these two fields of psychology are very different, while behaviorism is concerned with the observable characteristics, cognitive psychology deals with the innate mental states. With the increase in understanding of the mental processes, behaviorism could not hold grounds. Psychologists got more interested in cognitive psychology with the demise of behaviorism. The other effect was that there was a fresh need to research on cognitive psychology and find out how it could be developed to incorporate the aspects of behaviorism that were still applicable in psychology (Berkeley, 1997).         

In the late 19th  century to early 20th century  America, people with mental instabilities were frowned upon by the society and were thought to be alienated from the rest of the society. And so were the physicians who treated these patients, who were dubbed alienists. More than a hundred years later, Psychology and study of Human mental health have evolved and developed, and it is no longer a lesser field of study. Thus my practicum experience at Families First as an intern was not only an eye opener, but will last forever.

Having been as a group leader, the task of conducting and facilitating individual and group counseling, family counseling, marriage counseling, intake assessments, and diagnosing in a community setting was a challenge to behold. Families First is a non-profit making organization based in New Hampshire that devotes its resources in tackling various problems affecting contemporary American families. Various programs are at hand to check every kind of a problem. My vital contribution was in designing a program called Project Turning Point for individuals who have been charged with theft. Participants are given the opportunity to complete the psycho-educational program aimed at providing them with knowledge and skills to understand their behavior and make alternative decisions to avoid future charges or penalties, this was rehabilitation program for juvenile delinquencies in the society. For six weeks, the program provided participants with an incisive and insight perspective to their former lifestyles through group discussions and weekly assignments.
   
Therapy sessions are the most important phases in a rehab centre. Observing the therapists using the Families First assessment instrument during the intake process to gather the necessary information needed to accurately assess the client needs, document their goals, diagnose, and accurately treat the client was  an invaluable experience to me. Observation of the patient, question and answer sessions provide the bulk of the initial pre-therapy sessions.

After the initial process, patients are put on a therapy session that lasts up to a month, and then results are assessed for progress. While the primary purpose of initial intake process is to gather diagnostic evaluations and assessment of patients needs, therapy sessions form treatment and rehabilitation phases of the process.
   
Internship is never complete at Families First without the study of documentation and archiving of records. Inputting of individual and group data is an integral part. This includes scheduling counseling sessions and making official records of assessments, making official correspondence with third party associates like state and federal agencies interested in the affairs of Families First. The procedures for reporting and documenting suicidal and homicidal reports plus the technical know-how of dealing with the two issues was a congruent part of my documentation experience.
     
Finally, the most important field in the profession of Psychology and mental health came during our study of the American Counseling Associations codes of ethics. With the opportunity to conduct counseling sessions I became aware of personal feeling and was able discuss any ethical boundaries with my supervisor. I was also able to discuss confidentiality when it concerned safety of a client and liability for the agency. Becoming familiar the code ethics was helpful because it protects me, the client, and agency. Among the ethics are the counseling relationship, Confidentiality, Privileged Communication, and Privacy, Professional Responsibility, Relationships with Other Professionals, Evaluation, Assessment, and
interpretation (ACA, 2005).
       
In conclusion, interning at Families First was a rewarding and a wonderful learning experience. I gained a lot of insight into working with the community and counseling in a community setting and this is what nobody can get in a classroom setting.

It is illegal to reimport drugs to the US for purposes of drug safety and prevention from the existing laws. Reimportation of drugs in the US is increasing at an alarming rate. This is due to its convenience in terms of cost, affordability and ready available market. An estimated 20 million packages of prescription drugs find its way into the United States each year. Internet companys particularly online pharmacies have facilitated the trade by delivering orders directly to the customers. This provides convenience to consumers in that it relieves them the cost and time that should have been used in the search for these drugs. (Vivian 2003) argues that certified pharmacies in Canada sell brand name drugs at a lower cost of between 20-80 of the price sold in the US. Another survey carried by the Associated Press revealed that the top 10 branded drugs in the US can bought at a cheaper cost of between 33-80 across the borders. The reason for reduced prices of drugs in Canada and Mexico is due to the price control system which lowers the profit levels of pharmaceutical companies. They forced increase their profit margins by looking for overseas markets which are readily available in the United States. The Canadian government has a nationalized health insurance and they negotiate with drug companies in lowering prices hence the cheap cost of drugs. This is contrary in the US since the government doesnt control prices but it allows open competition among the companies. In the event extra costs incurred in the promotion, adverting campaigns as well as research is passed on to consumers. In 2006, CNNMONEY writer, Gerry Willis, quoted a rate of 30-40 variation rate by comparing the prices of Lipitor and crestor in Canada and US pharmacies.

Senior individuals especially the elderly lack insurance cover and they may no be in a position to afford prescribed drugs and they resort to cross the border. They account for 34 of the most vulnerable people to prescription drugs. They are also more prone with ailments which require prescription drugs ( Safran et al 2002). They tend to need more prescription drugs to cure chronic conditions like hypertension, arthritis among others. 

Majority of prescription drugs find their way to the US market through online supply orders. Patients usually complete online questionnaires that are subject to review before prescription.  Cost is the major reason as to why individuals import drugs. Usually consumers pay a higher price for their medications in the US than what those in Canada pay. Also issues of privacy contribute to purchasing drugs by mail i.e. individuals purchasing Viagra and Cialis might feel at peace purchasing it from a known individual. Increased economies of health also forces individuals terminate their ever increasing cost of health insurance premiums and look for alternative ways abroad. 

In my own opinion, ethical dilemma 2 undermines the protection laws since it is misused by politicians and individuals with commercial interests. The  FDA law that allows individuals to import a certain amount of prescription drugs for personal use has led to the uncontrolled increase in the volume of drugs supplied. It makes it difficult for custom officials and FDA to regulate. Also influence from politicians who aid individuals mostly the elderly to purchase these drugs from Canada hinders regulation principles. It also poses a major health risk and the safety of citizens if these drugs dont follow the right channels. This might come as a result of entry of generic and ineffective medications.

In beginning a psychological case study, it is first essential to explain the conceptual framework involved regarding the theoretical dynamics of healing.  In this study, the methods of psychoanalysis, holistic psychotherapy, child therapy, fitness, economics, and nutrition will be utilized in aiming to understand the client and develop a reasonable treatment plan.  Through psychodynamic and holistic psychotherapy, it will be demonstrated how the relationship between parent and child can be negatively affected and lead to attachment disorder.  There is significant evidence that maternal depression and child behavior problems are related.  In regard to the client being studied, it is believed that as a result of a severely depressed mother, the client is now emotionally disturbed.  It will be demonstrated how psychological theory was translated into clinical application, and how the therapist asserted a positive effect on the patient.  This model includes the introduction of a dynamic and holistic approach, including Bowlbys attachment theory and Anna Freuds model of psychoanalytic parentinfant psychotherapy, as well as integration of the practice of yoga, play therapy, fitness, and nutrition into the parent and child relationship.  The combination of a good understanding and application of these psychological theories and holistic approaches will help the child to reduce frustration, anxiety, and stress, alleviate depression, improve concentration and balance, promote emotional health, and increase mental clarity.

Literature Review
By reviewing modern literature centering on the case of a child who is suffering from mother child attachment issues and being treated by reattachment focused and family centered techniques and holistic remedies involving economics, fitness, nutrition, socialization, and relaxation, it is clear that a wide array of research has been conducted in this area.  Modern researchers place much of their focus on describing the dynamics between mother and child, how the relationship suffers under mental, physical, social, and economic stress, and offer suggestions for how to help remediate the mother child relationship (Augustyn, Beeghly, Cabral, Frank, Grant-Knight, MacDonald, et al., 2008), (Bakermans-Kranenburg, Benoit, Madigani, Moran, Pederson,  Van Ijzendoorn, 2006), (Bakermans-Kranenburg, Bolkhorst, Fearon, Fonagy, Schuengel,  Van Ijzendoorn, 2003), (Beebe, 2005), (Belsky, Vandell, Burchinal, Clarke-Stewart, McCartney, Owen, 2007), (Blatt, Diamond,  Lichtenberg, 2007), (Bgels  Brechman-Toussaint, 2006), (Bowlby, 2005), (Britton, Britton,  Gronwaldt, 2006).  By placing significance on the vital importance of the mother child bond, modern researchers explain how the relationship is able to be damaged under the influence of negative personal and environmental situations which serve to undermine mother child attachment and also highlight the ways in which mothers and their children can be helped by applicable mental health interventions (Bronte-Tinkew, Capps, Horowitz, Moore, Weinstein  Zaslow, 2008), (Brumariu  Kerns, 2008), (Cicchetti, Rogosch, Sturge-Apple,  Toth, 2009), (Cooper, Murray, Romaniuk,  Wilson, 2003), (Coosene  Van Ijzendoorn, 1990), (Engstroem  Neander, 2009), (Grienenberger, Kelly,  Slade, 2005), (Van Lange, 2006).  It is also of great importance to note the ways in which the therapist is able to provide support to the family in the area of discussions surrounding healthy finances, nutrition, fitness, socialization, and relaxation (Ajaya, 2008), (Armstrong  Edwards, 2003), (Brown, Gerbarg,  Muskin, 2009), (Caspi, Melchior, Milne, Moffitt, Poulton, 2007), (Castillo, Ortega, Ruiz,  Sjostrom, 2008), (Engle, 2009), (Gillen  Gillen, 2008), (Wachs, 2009).  In considering the case of a child suffering from mental and emotional disturbances, it is essential to pay close attention to the family unit and the level of security in mother child attachment as well as other lifestyle factors including how money is obtained and utilized in the family, how the family perceives nutritional choices, how the family attends to appropriate exercise, how family members make accommodations for healthy socialization, and how the family values time for relaxation.

Case Presentation
The selected client is an eight year old African American male, who was referred to the clinic on February 18, 2009.  His presenting symptoms indicate the following DSM-IV Axis 1 Diagnoses Emotionally Disturbed, Mood Disorder NOS, Disruptive Behavior NOS, Reactive Attachment Disorder of Early Childhood, Mixed Type, and possible Attention DeficitHyperactivity Disorder.  This client was selected due to the nature of his behavioral symptoms and the presence of trauma symptoms, including the fact that he suddenly cries hysterically (e.g. , when he thought a project was too difficult), his mood changes abruptly and there is no reasoning with him during these periods, he takes off his clothes in the time out room and plays with his penis, urinates in the time out room, makes himself vomit, throws food in the classroom, tried to strangle a peer, hurt a teacher, exhibits defiance, swearing, restlessness, aggression, speech difficulties, and low self esteem, and has nightmares and poor eating patterns.  His mother openly expresses how she cried everyday while pregnant due to the murder of the clients father, and she becomes sad and does not want to deal with anything when mourning the loss.  The client lives with his mother and older brother, and his mother works as a nurses aid.  The mother reports that she has had some emotional difficulties and the clients father had behavioral difficulties.  The client attended a head start program five days a week from 7AM to 7PM, and the mother reported that he had many tantrums in preschool.  In school, he has had significant difficulties with following routines and teachers directions.  His open court results show significant deficits in reading, writing, and spelling.  He has had tantrums and crying episodes in response to the most minor redirections or corrections.  The mother reports that her son refuses to listen, is hyper active, and difficult to control.  The client disrupts family functioning and causes impairment in his relationships with others and in his daily living skills. His symptoms and behaviors impair his interactions with his peers, resulting in disruption of his ability to form age appropriate peer relationships and social well being.  The mother also reports that her son is sweet and loving as well as moody and sensitive.

TreatmentDiscussion
The most appropriate treatment plan for the patient requires a full scale lifestyle readjustment in order to promote relational connectivity between the client and his mother, support social skills, and center on holistic health improvement in the area of emotional and mental stability.  This includes the family as a whole, as a supportive economic and social unit, as well as the more specific needs of the client.  Client needs may not be met in a general education setting and may need special education services, either in the school setting or by being home schooled.  The repair of the relationship between mother and child and developing a trusting and loving bond between mother and child is crucial.  It is important to place interest in the socioeconomic status of the family as well as other needs related to mental and emotional stability.  Yoga, sports, movement, exercise, diet, breathing techniques, meditation, and play therapy are also some highly important elements of a well rounded lifestyle.  It is vital that the client be provided with praise of his efforts and encouragement to verbalize his feelings and frustrations rather than act out.  By creating a behavior contract involving the parent, client, therapist, and any teachers and school administers regarding what is expected of the student and what are the potential rewards if these expectations are met, there can be complete clarity in knowing acceptable behaviors, boundaries, and unacceptable behaviors.  It is important for the client that there be accommodation and modification of instruction according to clients present level of ability.  Implementation a positive behavior support plan with place praise and rewards on positive behavior and draw attention away from negative behavior.  It is recommended that the client be monitored for suicidal ideation on a regular basis and for the therapist and other support systems to create a safety plan when the client experiences these intensely sad feelings.  Client participation in a peer activity such as fitness or sports may help to bolster the learning and practice of pro-social behavior and appropriate boundaries.  A family advocate may be helpful in obtaining a referral list of positive after school activities which would assist in building social skills.  The utilization of play therapy techniques provides psycho-education about emotions through age appropriate and creative play and expression.  By teaching age appropriate anger management techniques, the client will be able to have increased awareness of raging emotions and implement self help measures of self control.  The therapist will provide psycho-education regarding labeling emotions and will encourage verbalization of emotions, teach coping skills, and explore underlying causes of anger, anxiety, and sadness.

Conclusion
It is very important that all aspects of this case be explored in all of its complex dimensions involving mental, emotional, physical, and economic security.  The family is the center of help and reliance in what can be a very tumultuous world, and it is essential that the therapist act as an aid of help in striving to mend and restructure the family in positive ways depending on the needs of the family, especially the client.  The needs of the client are the precise point of concern for the therapist, and all theoretical knowledge and technical interventions should be put into use regarding the mental and emotional state of the client within the center of his family.  The therapist alone cannot work miracles, however, with a wide array of background research, a competent and positive attitude when dealing with the client and his family, and a sincere desire to help the lives of the people in treatment, it is possible for the therapist to act as a catalyst in helping the client and his family members to help themselves and one another as part of a dynamic and intertwined system of love and interdependence.

Psychoanalytic theory is the strongest of all theories and the most effective therapies are derived from it

Introduction
Psychoanalytic theory forms the strongest of all theories because the rest are largely derived from it and provides a holistic understanding of human development at different stages which makes it highly effective when applied in various therapies.  Psychoanalytic theory as Freud puts it, involved a longtime observation of psychological disorders as they developed from internal influences of an individual and then depicted in their behaviors.  Therefore, in concurrence with Barbara (2008) and Brickman (2009), Freudian view was conclusive and later theorists could only expound on it. 

At this point, some key questions that arise from the Freudian Psychoanalytic theory include who are the post Freudian theorists and what are their theories How do they relate with Freudian work  In particular, how do these theories compare with psychoanalytic theory How is psychoanalytic theory employed in various therapies How is the effectiveness of its application over time  It is from the above questions that that this essay expounds on psychoanalytic theory to depict its superiority and applicability in treatment. 

A brief analysis of psychoanalytic theory
Psychoanalytic theory was developed by Sigmund Freud at the onset of the 20th century in what Lieberman (2007) refers to as the greatest breakthrough of the time.  Sigmund Freud was greatly disturbed by his hysteric or neurotic patients who he found out to lack key organic link to their symptoms.  Consequently, he published the psychosexual phases in the three essays on the theory of sexuality which psychoanalysis theory is laid on.  According to Nelson-Jones (2005), the three phases of psychoanalysis theory the Id, the ego and the superego are defined as the psychic apparatus within which interactions and mental activities are described. 

Psychoanalytic theory outlook for the id refers to the unorganized section of an individuals personality and harbors the basic drives (unconscious part of the mind).  Freud considered the id to be the inaccessible unit largely reflected negatively and therefore a negation of the ego (Gottdiener, 2008).  In his study, Adolf (2007) indicates that a young child is id driven and therefore relies on a chain of impulses, satisfaction and instincts with little understanding of the immediate environment. 

Reference of the ego on the other hand is based on the reality principle and therefore emerges as a child or an individual begins to understand influences of the external world.  Adam (2008) agrees with Freud that ego forms the organized part an individual such as cognition, perception, executive functions and even defense.  Ego therefore presents the common sense and reason which are very critical in mediation between the id and superego.  How is this achieved  Freud explained in his three essays on the theory of sexuality that ego represents the conscious section of the mind and which ultimately restricts some of the ids demands in tandem with the societal expectations, norms (Brickman, 2009). 
Psychoanalytic theory indicates that the superego presents an even higher level of understanding that seeks to perfect the ego.   As Siegfried (2010) puts it, superego seeks to create the needed assurance of actions by the ego by subjecting them to further criticism on the expected outcomes.  To concur with Hayes (2004) and Clara et al (2008), the superego is indeed a contradiction of the id in that it factors the sense of guilt and wrong while seeking to pre-address the outcome.  By considering an individual from both an internal and external subsets with critical consideration of their expectations, psychoanalytic theory facilitates clearer understanding of major behavioral disorders that affect the people and ultimate solutions to address them.

Post Freudian theorists and their theories
As indicated earlier, key personality developmental theories that were developed after Freuds psychoanalytic theory were either directly derived of it or aimed at criticizing some of its major components. 

a) Erik Erickson
i) Stages of development

Barbara (2008) and Lieberman (2007) agree that the work of Eric Erickson was a direct derivative of Freudian considerations in human development.  Eric Erickson theory of psychosocial development concurred with Freudian view that life, development and challenges develop in stages.  Psychosocial theory further builds the notion of the ego which was largely brought out by Freud as external reality inculcation to ones mind.  Particularly, the stages of Erickson psychosocial development strongly cohere with Sigmunds work. 

Clara et al (2008) explain that stage one of Ericksons theory of psychosocial development is reflected through trust versus mistrust largely because the child is entirely dependent on the caregivers.  Like Freud mentioned the pleasure a child derives from oral stimulation, Erickson emphasized on the resulting intimacy as a platform in propelling the child to the next stages.  Therefore, Ericksons first stage borrows the concept of external environment in creating enough force for the next stage. 

In the second stage of psychosocial development, Erickson equally borrows from Freuds anal stage which is a critical training factor.  Nelson-Jones (2005) explains that from a higher consideration, Erickson argued that learning to go to the toilet gave a strong sense of control and therefore great independence. 

As Freud clearly brought out the notion of the ego, Ericksons third stage of initiative versus guilt emphasizes the assertion of power and control which plays an important role in the later stages development.  Erickson indicated that many children seek to assert their superiority among others but with careful considerations of the existing repercussions (Marrie and Janneke-van, 2007).  Notably, Erickson agrees with Freud that parents and caretakers must step in to facilitate the needed reassurance and therefore avoid guilt to their young ones.

It is however worth noting that Erickson strongly differed with Freud on how long development persists in an individuals life.  While Freud postulated that personality development only lasted to the genital stage when an individual starts getting interested in sexual relationship with those of the opposite sex, Erickson postulated that developed progressed to the old age (Busch, 2009).  However, scholars appear to be strongly divided with one group considering the latter Ericksons work to be based on criticism of the Freuds work and therefore its advancement (Barbara, 2008). 

ii) The notion of fixation
One resilient notion of Freuds work is the notion of succession between different stages.  Though they do not necessary cohere on time and expected repercussions, both theorists agree that people at different stages must go through them successfully or get fixated (Hayes, 2004).  Fixation as Henry (2009) point out denotes the inability to progress since latter stages are entirely dependent on the previous stages success.  Erickson argued that all stages present an individual with two negating outcomes positive and negative.  For example between year five to eleven, Erickson indicated that a successful individual will become industrious while the unsuccessful ones will suffer inferiority (Laura and Pam, 2007). 

b) Lacanian theory
In his work, largely referred to as the return of Freud, Emile Lacans concepts appear to be fully defined by the former (Adam, 2008).  Though Lacan strongly criticized the Freuds separation of the conscious (ego) and unconscious (id), he largely employed the same concepts in his work.  Lacan argued that the conscious and unconscious considerations of the mind were not different, but operated from a highly sophisticated and complex outline compared to Freuds consideration.  Locan mirror as Brickman (2009) and Gottdiener (2008) conclusions suggest is formative and a derivative of the experience an individual gets during development.  Therefore, the paradigm of the imagery to be effective during the younger years as opposed to the old age which is more subjective fits the Freudian connotation of development persisting only to the genital stage. 

Development of psychoanalytic theory and its application was largely based on practical experience of Freud with his patients.  As a result, the derivatives of latter theorists such as Lacan largely guided their application in therapies from Freud (Clara et al, 2008).  For instance, the Lacan three orders appear to directly replicate prior Freuds work.  Clara et al (2008) continues to say that Lacan view saw Freudian ego and its relation with the depicted image as a key source of alienation.  Therefore, Lacan pointed psychoanalytic theory to be restrictive and maintained a unit directional (less rigid) treatment orientation which he considered less effective (Karen, 2008).  As a result he proposed symbolism arguing that it presented a more expounded plane for understanding psychological disorders affecting the people. 

Summers and Jacques (2009) point out that Lacan consideration of symbolism expounds the signifier where various elements lack the positive existence, but are constituted in respect to their mutual differences.  As psychoanalytic theory underscores the behavioral construct of the people especially from the unconscious considerations, Lacan symbolism incorporates culture that has key drivers which control an individuals behavior.  Adolf (2007) argues that like Freud, the immediate environment in Locan view plays a critical role in determining the ultimate behavior and indeed the ability to address related disorders. 

The real and desire as Busch (2009) noted in their review, are equivalents of Freudian superego which seeks to gather further understanding in search for perfection.  Lacan considers real to lack the needed mediation and therefore a major object to anxiety.  As a result, anxiety as Busch (2009) further indicate, facilitates therapists understanding of psychological disorders and deriving mechanisms for addressing them. 

c) Cathy Caruth.
Over the years, the rising numbers of people suffering from psychological disorders has created a critical need for further extrapolation of Freuds work which appears central in addressing them.  Cathy Caruth in her trauma theory as Barbara (2008) noted set to create a reverse model of focusing to different problems that psychologically disturbed are faced with.  As a result, she concurs with Freuds notion of the subconscious and unconscious mind in deriving the possible causes of their psychological problems.  In an example highlighted by Kanofsky and Lieb (2007) and Adam (2008), Cathy postulates that in addressing post traumatic stress disorders, therapists should use survival as opposed to death.  Whereas this indeed appears as a major paradox, it facilitates the survivor to get the reality of what heshe went through by reflecting on it and therefore conquering the sense of defeat presented by the superego (Lieberman, 2007). 

Comparison of psychoanalytic theory with other theories
The superiority of psychoanalytic theory is even more evident when compared to other theories applied in different therapies. 

a)  Social cognitive theory
This theory was developed after a long period of observation on how an individual behavior develops.  Albert Bandura pointed out that though the environment is very crucial in determining the overall behavior, the resulting behavioral outsets are equally influential on the environment (Busch, 2009).  In a reciprocal model, the theory indicates that it is possible to change either of the two key factors (environment or behavior) by adjusting one of them.  Henry (2009) and Hayes (2004) argue that though the theory is indeed correct, it presents a narrow approach to holistically address behavioral problems.  Particularly, Laura and Pam (2007) acknowledge some factors that emanate internally from an individual and therefore not easily understood from the environmental point of view.  As a result, Siegfried (2010) explains that though application of social cognitive theory is effective, it requires major support from psychoanalytic theory in understanding the behavior arising from the unconscious mind. 

b) Theory of operant conditioning
Development of any theory as Nelson-Jones (2005) puts it is aimed at addressing a given societal problem.  Theory of operant conditioning seeks to address behavioral problems through conditioning the resulting behaviors by an individual.  Therefore, the voluntary behaviors (operant behaviors) are subject to key antecedent conditions that are progressively defined through reinforcement.  As a result, BF Skinner argued that by reinforcing a given particular behavior, it is possible to encourage greater frequency of its application by an individual.  On the other hand, punishing a given behavior reduces its overall application (Summers and Jacques, 2009). 

While this theory has gained great acceptance in different realms of behavioral changes outsets, analysts argue that it leaves out key underpinnings for greater efficacy application.  To begin with, it looks at an individual from only one dimension, conditioning the behavior, but does not gather a deeper understanding of the innate drivers (Karen, 2008).  As a result, psychoanalytic theory becomes superior in that it incorporates the environment as postulated by Skinner in explaining the deeper setup of psychological problems drivers.  Freuds notion of the id as Horney (2008) and Busch (2009) concur, calls for greater understanding of the unconscious mind and therefore difficult to address through conditioning.

Ofra and Hanoch (2009) differ with Marrie and Janneke-van (2007) on conditioning by indicating that it often fails to conclusively address personality and developmental problems arising from fixation at different stages.   Conversely, Adolf (2007) suggests that psychoanalytic theory brings a therapist to a clearer point of understanding the cause of a given condition and therefore addressing it for normal growth and behavior to resume.  Similar to social learning theory, operant conditioning theory requires effective input from psychoanalytic theory for it to be complete. 

c) Theory of moral development
Kohlberg s theory of moral development as Lieberman (2007) put it is perhaps one of the closest to Freuds psychoanalytic theory in that it underscores the role of moral reasoning to be the basis of the ethical behavior.  In a simplistic model, Kohlbergs three developmental stages (pre-conventional, conventional and post conventional) greatly borrow psychoanalytic theory outlook.  In the pre-conventional level, the notion of self interest can be compared to the id in the Freudian work.  An individuals interests at this time are innate and therefore unconsciously controlled by the mind.  In the second level, Marrie and Janneke-van (2007) point out that Kohlberg considered the environment to take a more defining role for personality through conforming to societal norms.  This level coheres with the ego stage of psychoanalytic theory when an individual senses become subject to the environment and therefore invoking reality in himher.

In the third level, post convention stage, this theory invokes an even higher level of sense making for individuals whose mental abilities are expected to be greater in foreseeing what is right or wrong.  The nature of self becomes subject to further criticism by considering implications that particular actions infer to others (Clara et al, 2008).  In a similar mode, psychoanalytical theory super-ego focuses on an expanded platform for an individual that dictates their ability to associate with others.  As a result, the two theories create an important understanding on mechanisms that therapists can use to steer psychologically disturbed people in reducing their problems.  However, the emphasis on justice in the moral development theory has excluded key values while inadequately addressing others that fall outside its jurisdiction (Nelson-Jones, 2005 Adam, 2008). 

Application of psychoanalytic theory in various therapies
Psycho analytic theory as Horney (2008) and Gottdiener (2008) emphasize, is applied in many therapies for addressing the behavioral and psychological disorders.  Such therapies include the following.

a) Psychoanalytic therapy
According to Karen (2008), psycho analytic therapy is a treatment model that is directly derived from psychoanalytic theory.  In this model, a therapist makes the patient lie in a relaxed position and listens to them as they talk.   In this case, psychoanalysis therapy focuses largely on identifying the major events that led to the problem.  As a result, a therapist is able to grasp not only the origin but figure out its further progression in an individual.  Adolf (2007) argues that owing to the fact that this therapy gathers information on a long time basis, conclusive resolutions are easily arrived at.  In a Freudian manner, (Barbara, 2008) explains that this therapy is based on the belief that experiences that occur during an individuals growth, unconscious feelings, and even motivations are crucial factors in maladaptive behaviors as well as mental illnesses.  In his view, Adam (2008) differs with some scholars who indicate that this therapy is time consuming and expensive.  In particular safe and calm environment creates an effective model for patients to offload and share their burden with therapists. 

b) Behavioral therapy 
Behavioral therapy is a major therapy applied to facilitate change of behavior for an individual.  Notably, this therapy is based on the work of BF Skinner whose experiments indicated that through contingency management behavioral activation and restriction can be achieved (Hayes, 2004).  This therapy as indicated earlier, borrows greatly from psychoanalytic theorys reference of the conscious mind as an important aspect in behavioral change.  Incorporating social skills training further builds on the ego which facilitates greater reasoning, acceptance of reality and ultimate assimilation of a more acceptable behavior in the society. 

c) Cognitive therapy
Reference to psychoanalytic theory in cognitive therapy is evidenced from its orientation to invoke the unquestioned thoughts (unconscious mind) for a mentally disturbed person.  According to Busch (2009), this therapy entails modification of beliefs and ultimate change of behaviors.  A therapist therefore establishes a close collaborative relationship with his patient and then moving out of it as he brings the reality and subjects him to change.  At this point, reaching the unquestioned thoughts challenges the mode of thinking which invokes a greater sense of reality.  Therapists argue that application of the cognitive therapy in addressing depression, the negative schema for most people are acquired during the early ages of their childhood or adolescence.  The depressive attitudes must therefore be looked from a psychoanalytic theoretical point of view in creating an acceptable model for the patient (Summers and Jacques, 2009).  By considering the patients past experiences, psychoanalytic theory forms a major platform for focusing on realities and therefore avoiding resilience of similar problems.   

d) Group psychotherapy
Over the years, Nelson-Jones (2005) reports that group therapy have continued to gather momentum due to its inherent efficiency in addressing mental disorders.  The therapys efficacy as many analysts agree is largely derived on its application of psychoanalytic theory ideals.   To begin with, analysts consider the ability to explore the unconscious mind and then subjecting it to the present environmental delineation as critical in drawing new mechanisms of addressing similar issues.  While conducting group therapy, a group of clients are treated together where they learn about each others problems (Adolf, 2007).  By opening up about their problems, patients realize that they are not alone in their suffering.  They develop a sense of identity and the need to maintain the bond as they seek common solutions.  With the help of their therapists, patients are able to build up on the success stories of other members and therefore own them.  Nelson-Jones (2005) further applauds this therapy by creating the needed internal self driving force that makes them easy to face latter challenges.

e) Parent-Infant Psychotherapy
Kanofsky and Lieb (2007) explain that children who suffer from different psychological disorders can only be addressed through a careful understanding of the unconscious mind.  However, this can only be done through evaluating the intimate relationship they hold with parents or immediate caretakers.   Parent-child psychotherapy therefore employs Freuds stages of development through understanding the parents experience during childhood, their expectations and relationship with others that are part of the childs environment.  Horney (2008) explains that in a psychoanalytic system, a therapist plays the role of an observer between the parent and a child in order to provide an alternative means for a child.  By bringing about the parents memory as a child, a therapist easily makes the parent to avoid possible issues that could have caused problems and therefore set a better platform for the infant to relate even with others (Marrie and Janneke-van, 2007).

Criticism of the theory and its application
Superiority of this theory consideration would be incomplete without talking about various criticisms presently referred as Freud wars.  Ofra and Hanoch (2009) point out that psychoanalytic theory can only be said to be pseudoscience because major claims attached to it are neither testable nor refutable therefore they cannot be falsified.  Then, Joanna (2005) claims that psychoanalytic theory lacks the empirical clinical evidence like that depicted by others such as social cognitive theory and operant conditioning.  However, application with high efficiency in addressing psychological disorders as Ofra and Hanoch (2009) further point out appears to greatly outweigh the critics. 

Conclusion and recommendations
It is from the above discussion that this paper concludes by supporting the thesis statement, psychoanalytic theory forms the strongest of all theories because the rest are largely derived from it and provides a holistic understanding of human development at different stages which makes it highly effective when applied in various therapies.  It came out from the discussion that psychoanalytic theory is the main baseline upon which key latter theories in psychological and personality development are based on.  Particularly, later theorists used the notion of Freuds consideration for conscious and unconscious mind to develop their theories.  Indeed, even those who strongly criticized Freudian work could not deviate from using some of his theoretical delineations.

In its application on different therapies, psychoanalytic theory superseded other theories by giving major results as per the expectations of the psychologists.  It further came out that though many therapists do not purely employ psychoanalytic theory to their patients it is assimilated at one instance of another in deriving better understanding of the problem and establishing more workable solutions.  Though the critiques indeed have a strong case against the theory and application of related therapies, the results speak for themselves.  Its wide acceptance by more psychologists indicates not only its ability to create better understanding of the psychological problems, but forms a baseline for application with highly definite results.  However, there is need for further research into the theory and application in psychology.