Trreatment & Therapy (Chap 17)

1. Trreatment & Therapy (Chap 17) Third Lecture Outline: Group interventions Community-based approaches Effectiveness of therapy Psychotherapy videotape

2. Group therapy • What group therapies are you aware of? • Example: Parenting group • Anger, Agoraphobia groups • Advantages: Less expensive, group support, social pressure to change • Disadvantages: Less intensive, conflicts within group, side-tracking • Focus on teaching skills or support

3. Family Therapy Dad Looses job Dad Looses job Mom Gets depressed Julie Parent conflict Joe Trouble at School

4. Couples therapy • Focus on interpersonal communication • What does the other person think? • How is your behavior actually seen by another? • Concerns raised as “I feel” instead of “you should” • Growth and change in relationship • Empathy • What does the other person feel? • What kind of behavior is “sensitive”

5. Treatment Effectiveness • Short-term treatment for common problems is usually sufficient • Psychotherapy better than doing nothing • Motivation, therapeutic alliance, and (lack of) severity are related to effectiveness • Therapy can be harmful if • therapist is out of realm of competence • has biases against person • is behaving unethically (e.g., sexual intimacies with clients used to be common, now seen as a most serious breech of professional responsibility) • Problems are induced such as false memories for trauma

6. Effectiveness of an intervention Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Follow up Group of 150 similar clients Supportive counseling (Attention) Follow up Random assignment Wait-list control (Time) Follow up

7. Client-intervention interaction • Different therapies are effective for different people • If you are verbal, “talking” therapy is fine because insight is needed • If intelligence is low, behavioral approach may be more appropriate • Group/couple therapy only if you have a group • Self-help: Motivation, organization

8. Community psychology • Example: Dealing with teen depression • Primary prevention • Prevent disorders before they happen • Teens could have self-esteem groups in school • Secondary prevention • Detect disorders early on • Screen for depression in schools using BDI • Tertiary prevention: Treat known problems and thus “prevent” ongoing problem

9. Other community-based approaches • “Hotlines” such as suicide hotlines, 911 • Trauma response teams in response to disasters • Psychologists were at Peggy’s Cove • Community mental health clinics • Support groups for high risk clients • Parents of chronically ill children • Transition homes to deal with family violence

10. Self-help • Bibliotherapy: Self-help books from the bookstore • Surf the net: You can join “chat lines” of people with similar problems • Videotapes: How to parent, how to communicate, how to be assertive are at “Blockbuster” • Lifestyle: General health and fitness improves mental health