All about Psychology

  Aaron Temkin Beck is an American psychiatrist who is professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. He is regarded as the father of both cognitive therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. Early Life Aaron Temkin Beck was born on July 18, 1921, in Providence, Rhode Island. He was the youngest of five children. Both of his parents were Russian Jewish immigrants to the United States. Two of Beck's siblings had died before his birth, an older brother in childhood and an older sister in the influenza pandemic of 1919. As a result of these tragedies, Beck's mother was chronically depressed for several years and became overprotective of her youngest son. Beck came to think that he was a replacement for his sister, and that his mother was disappointed that he was not a girl. Beck developed several phobias in the course of his childhood. One was a blood/injury phobia, which he related to his experience with surgery for his broken arm at age seven. D

Therapeutic techniques ❖ Repetition & Exaggeration Repetition and exaggeration: If there is repetition such as the example of the client tapping their feet on the ground, the therapist would get them to exaggerate the movement and talk about feelings that come up. This in turn focuses on the emotion and should help to release the blocked awareness. ❖ Role playing This is a role-playing exercise that allows a client to imagine and participate in a conversation with another person or another part of themselves. Sitting across from the empty chair, the client enters into a dialogue as if they were speaking with that other person or that other part of themselves. This enables client to gain self-awareness and express repressed thoughts. ❖ Open chair technique It is sometimes called as empty chair technique. In this technique, therapist places a person in therapy across from an empty chair. He or she is asked to imagine that someone (such as a boss, spouse, or relative), th

  Gestalt therapy is a humanistic, holistic, person-centered form of psychotherapy that is focused on an individual's present life and challenges rather than delving into past experiences., emphasizes personal responsibility, and focuses upon the individual's experience in the present moment, the therapist–client relationship, the environmental and social contexts of a person's life, and the self-regulating adjustments people make as a result of their overall situation. It was developed by Fritz Perls, Laura Perls and Paul Goodman in the 1940s and 1950s, and was first described in the 1951 book Gestalt Therapy. It rejects the dualities of mind and body, body and soul, thinking and feeling, and feeling and action. Gestalt is a highly positive and practical integrative therapeutic approach. Broadly ... It has the sense that meaning cannot be found from breaking things down into parts but rather interpreted as a whole. Goals of gestalt therapy Goals of therapy is to enab

Gestalt theory emphasizes that the whole of anything is greater than its parts. That is, the attributes of the whole are not deducible from analysis of the parts in isolation. The word Gestalt is used in modern German to mean the way a thing has been “placed,” or “put together.” There is no exact equivalent in English. The development of Gestalt psychology was influenced in part by Wertheimer's observations one day at a train station. He purchased a toy stroboscope which displayed pictures in a rapid sequence to mimic the appearing movement. He later proposed the concept of the Phi phenomenon in which flashing lights in sequence can lead to what is known as apparent motion. In other words, we perceive movement where there is none. Movies are one example of apparent motion. Through a sequence of still frames, the illusion of movement is created. "The fundamental 'formula' of Gestalt theory might be expressed in this way,” Max Wertheimer wrote. "There are whol

• Introduction: Fritz Perls was a 20th century psychiatrist who founded Gestalt therapy in collaboration with his wife, Laura Perls.Frederick or Friedrich Salomon Perls (July 8, 1893, Berlin - March 14, 1970, Chicago) entered the history as Fritz Perls, a famous psychiatrist and psychotherapist. He was a Jew born in Germany, who developed absolutely new approach in psychotherapy. He reacted against the structuralist, behaviorists and psychoanalysts. According to this theory, one of the primary objectives of Gestalt therapy is the ability to restore the self-awareness which is lost when a psychological disorder becomes evident. This is accomplished by restoring the individual's ability to differentiate, which helps the individual to identify what is and what is not a true part of the self, what provides the individual with a sense of self-realization and achievement and what leads to frustration. Due to him term of Gestalt therapy came into view. It is based on Gestalt psycholog

There are a number of behaviors and tendencies that are promoted by our culture in men and women. In this section we will discuss some of those, with reference to the labels that they may acquire. • Women Reaction to Phobias: 1.       Women are more prone than men to essentially all anxiety disorders. Simple phobia is twice as common in women as in men. Phobic objects tend to be the same for men and women (animals, heights, blood, airplanes), but women score somewhat higher on fear questionnaires such as the Fear Survey Schedule commonly used to assess the severity of phobias. 2.       From very early childhood, girls learn to be scared of insects, animals, strangers, and strange situations. Besides, a feeling of dependence on the ‘perceived protectors’, mothers as role models are possible contributory factor. Young boys do not have fathers as role models for phobias and fears. 3.       Girls are kept protected, much more than boys. • Women Reaction to PSTD: 1.       A lar

Psychopathology 1. Psychopathology refers to mental disorders, or mental illness. 2. Stereotypically speaking there are marked gender differences in psychopathology. 3. However empirical research does not support this view. 4. Men and women, both have an equal risk of developing any mental disorder.   5. Many mental health professional and researchers are of the view that it is the diagnostic criteria that are designed in such a manner that women are more likely to be diagnosed with certain mental health problems than men. Women Reaction to Stress 1) Men and women may experience different types and levels, of physiological strain from stressors. 2) Men have been found to show more reactivity as compared to women when psychologically stressed. 3) Gender differences have been reported in how people respond to stress and influence of stress on illness. 4) Men in general have higher blood pressure than women and show greater B.P variations in stressful situations. 5)

  1 ) Although, as said earlier, no significant gender differences exist. Some gender differences in some disorders have been found. We present here some facts pertaining to specific disorders in males and females. 2 ) Major depression is more common in women with a 2:1 ratio. 3 ) Dysthymia is more prevalent in women with a ratio of 2-3:1. The prevalence of depression in women is almost double as compared to the prevalence in men. 4 ) The rate of personality disorders is higher among men. 5 ) In case of Substance Related Disorders, men are higher in Alcohol dependence. 6 ) Women are at a higher risk in sedatives, hypnotics, or anxiolytics. 7 ) Women are at a higher risk of panic attacks. 8 ) There are no gender differences in obsessive compulsive disorder or posttraumatic stress disorder. 9 ) Conversion Disorder is substantially more common in women than in men. 10 )Women account for 95% of somatization disorder patients. In the U.S, this diagnosis is rare in men, but

  1. Meaning of Psychosis and Neurosis Psychosis: The psychosis is a severe mental illness. Neurosis: The neurosis is a less severe mental illness. 2. Personality Changes of Psychosis and Neurosis Psychosis: The psychoses lead to the change of the personality. Neurosis: The neuroses are purely functional diseases and do not affect the personality. 3. Contact with Reality in Psychosis vs. Neurosis Psychosis: The contact with reality is totally lost or changed. Neurosis: The contact with reality is partially intact, though its value can be changed. 4. Awareness of the Own Condition in Psychosis vs. Neurosis Psychosis: The person with psychosis does not realize his/her disorder. Neurosis: The person with neurosis is aware of his/her personal problems and difficulties. 5. Language and Communication in Psychosis and Neurosis Psychosis: The thought and speech processes are disorganized, incoherent, and irrational. Neurosis: The neurosis does not affect language, c

  “The therapy, which is defined as treatment of a condition, illness, or maladjustment is called logo therapy.” This type of therapy can be used and applied in broad areas: 1. Create something . Just as Frankl suggested, creating something (e.g., art) gives you a sense of purpose, which can add meaning to your life. 2. Develop relationships . The supportive nature of spending time with others will help you to develop more of a sense of meaning in your life. 3. Find purpose in pain . If you are going through something bad, try to find a purpose in it. Even if this is a bit of mental trickery, it will help to see you through. For example, if a family member is going through medical treatments for a disease, view your purpose as being there to support that person. 4. Understand that life is not fair . There is nobody keeping score, and you will not necessarily be dealt a fair deck. However, life can always have meaning, even in the worst of situations. 5. Freedom to f

  The three main techniques of logo therapy are: 1. Dereflection : Dereflection is used when a person is overly self-absorbed on an issue or attainment of a goal. By redirecting the attention, or dereflecting the attention away from the self, the person can become whole by thinking about others rather than themselves. 2. Paradoxical intention: Paradoxical intention involves asking for the thing we fear the most. For people who experience anxiety or phobias, fear can paralyze them. But by using humor and ridicule, they can wish for the thing they fear the most, thus removing the fear from their intention and relieving the anxious symptoms associated with it. 3. Socratic dialogue : Socratic dialogue is a technique in which the logo therapist uses his own person's words as a method of self-discovery. By listening intently to what the person says, the therapist can point out specific patterns of words, or word solutions to the client, and let the client see new meaning in

Origin Logo therapy is a term derived from “logos,” a Greek word that translates as “meaning. Definition             “The theory which states that humans are motivated by something called a "will to meaning," which equates to a desire to find meaning in life is called logo therapy.” This theory is founded on the belief that human nature is motivated by the search for a life purpose and is the pursuit of that meaning for one's life. Frankl argued that life can have meaning even in the most miserable of circumstances and that the motivation for living comes from finding that meaning. Taking it a step further, Frankl wrote: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances.” This opinion was based on his experiences of suffering and his attitude of finding meaning through suffering. In this way, Frankl believed that when we can no longer change a situation, we are forced to

  Viktor Frankl was born March 26, 1905, and died September 2, 1997, in Vienna, Austria. He was influenced during his early life by Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler. Frankl earned a medical degree from the University of Vienna Medical School in 1930.              He was a visiting professor at Harvard and Stanford, and his therapy, named "logo therapy," was recognized as the third school of Viennese therapy after Freud's psychoanalysis and Alfred Adler's individual psychology. In addition, logo therapy was recognized as one of the scientifically based schools of psychotherapy by the American Medical Society, American Psychiatric Association, and the American Psychological Association (APA). “Striving to find meaning in one’s life is the primary motivational force in man” (Frankl 1992, p. 104) Man's Search for Meaning, the Will to Meaning and the Doctor and the Soul is some of his major contributions. He is the one who gave the concept that “Man is ultimately s

Psychology of Men:       The new psychology of men has emerged over the past 15 years within the larger fields of men's studies and gender studies. Informed by the academic breakthroughs of feminist scholarship, the new psychology of men examines masculinity not as a normative referent, but rather as a problematic construct. In so doing, it provides a framework for a psychological approach to men and masculinity that questions traditional norms of the male role and views some male problems as unfortunate byproducts of the male gender role socialization process. This article introduces this new field, covering the gender role strain paradigm, masculinity ideology, and the 3 varieties of male gender role strain-- discrepancy-strain, dysfunctionstrain, and trauma-strain. Implications for practice are presented.  Masculine Psychology:       Masculine Psychology is a relative term sometimes used to describe and categorize issues concerning the gender related psychology of human male ide

       REBT is an effective therapy that focuses on changing individual’s irrational and dogmatic cognitions by using technique Which are of three types? • Cognitive Methods • Behavioral Methods • Emotional Methods Cognitive Methods      REBT says that an individual has a set of negative, irrational and disturbing set of self statements which he has to dispute, debate, and challenge, interpret and explain. At times the therapist even uses techniques of: 1-Disputing of Irrational Beliefs 2-Cognitive Homework 3-Changing One’s Language (should and must) Behavioral Methods Behavior therapy includes techniques such as Self Management, Systematic Desensitization, Biofeedback,  Modeling, and Behavioral Homework.  Clients actually perform or act difficult things in real life so that they have insights in form of concrete actions. Emotional Methods Clients are not provided with sympathy nor are their long tales of woes encouraged 1-Rational Emotive Imagery (inappro

 The Interview Kelly’s primary assessment technique was the interview. As he put it, “If you don’t know what is going on in a person’s mind, ask him; he may tell you!” (1958, p. 330). Adopting what he called a “credulous attitude,” Kelly accepted the client’s words at face value, believing this was the best way to determine the person’s constructs. He also recognized that a person might deliberately lie or distort the reported version of events. However, what the client said must be respected, even if not always fully believed. Self-Characterization Sketches: Another technique used to assess a construct system is to have the person write a self characterization sketch. Kelly’s instructions to the client were as follows. “I want you to write a character sketch of [client’s name] just as if he were the principal character in a play. Write it as it might be written by a friend who knew him very intimately and very sympathetically, perhaps better than anyone ever really could know him”

  Kelly's definition of a  psychological disorder : "Any personal construction which is used repeatedly in spite of consistent invalidation." The behaviors and thoughts of neurosis, depression, paranoia, schizophrenia, etc., are all examples. So are patterns of violence, bigotry, criminality, greed, addiction, and so on. The person can no longer anticipate well, yet can't seem to learn new ways of relating to the world. He or she is loaded with anxiety and hostility, is unhappy and is making everyone else unhappy, too. If a person's problem is poor construction, then the solution should be  reconstruction , a term Kelly was tempted to use for his style of therapy. Psychotherapy involves getting the client to reconstruct, to see things in a different way, from a new perspective, one that allows the choices that lead to elaboration. Kellian therapists essentially ask their clients to join them in a series of  experiments  concerning the clients' life styles.