How is the cognitive approach different from psychoanalytic?

Nội dung chính Show

• What is the difference between psychodynamic psychotherapy and cognitive behavior therapy?
• What are two differences between the cognitive and psychodynamic approaches to psychology?
• What is the difference between psychoanalytic and cognitive theory?
• What are two differences between the cognitive and psychodynamic approaches to psychology quizlet?

Psychologists generally draw on one or more theories of psychotherapy.

A theory of psychotherapy acts as a roadmap for psychologists: It guides them through the process of understanding clients and their problems and developing solutions.

Approaches to psychotherapy fall into five broad categories:

• Psychoanalysis and psychodynamic therapies. This approach focuses on changing problematic behaviors, feelings, and thoughts by discovering their unconscious meanings and motivations. Psychoanalytically oriented therapies are characterized by a close working partnership between therapist and patient. Patients learn about themselves by exploring their interactions in the therapeutic relationship. While psychoanalysis is closely identified with Sigmund Freud, it has been extended and modified since his early formulations.

• Behavior therapy. This approach focuses on learning's role in developing both normal and abnormal behaviors.

  • Ivan Pavlov made important contributions to behavior therapy by discovering classical conditioning, or associative learning. Pavlov's famous dogs, for example, began drooling when they heard their dinner bell, because they associated the sound with food.

  • "Desensitizing" is classical conditioning in action: A therapist might help a client with a phobia through repeated exposure to whatever it is that causes anxiety.

  • Another important thinker was E.L. Thorndike, who discovered operant conditioning. This type of learning relies on rewards and punishments to shape people's behavior.

  • Several variations have developed since behavior therapy's emergence in the 1950s. One variation is cognitive-behavioral therapy, which focuses on both thoughts and behaviors.

• Cognitive therapy. Cognitive therapy emphasizes what people think rather than what they do.

  • Cognitive therapists believe that it's dysfunctional thinking that leads to dysfunctional emotions or behaviors. By changing their thoughts, people can change how they feel and what they do.

  • Major figures in cognitive therapy include Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck.

• Humanistic therapy. This approach emphasizes people's capacity to make rational choices and develop to their maximum potential. Concern and respect for others are also important themes.

  • Humanistic philosophers like Jean-Paul Sartre, Martin Buber and Søren Kierkegaard influenced this type of therapy.

  • Three types of humanistic therapy are especially influential. Client-centered therapy rejects the idea of therapists as authorities on their clients' inner experiences. Instead, therapists help clients change by emphasizing their concern, care and interest.

  • Gestalt therapy emphasizes what it calls "organismic holism," the importance of being aware of the here and now and accepting responsibility for yourself.

  • Existential therapy focuses on free will, self-determination and the search for meaning.

• Integrative or holistic therapy. Many therapists don't tie themselves to any one approach. Instead, they blend elements from different approaches and tailor their treatment according to each client's needs.

Adapted from the Encyclopedia of Psychology

Date created: 2009

                                  Comparing Developmental Theories
Psychoanalytic Theory

In psychoanalytic theories early childhood experiences, especially the influences of close relationships such as family and caretakers, contribute in large part to development of the individual (Corey, 2009). In psychoanalytic theory, the unconscious is at least as influential in development as is the conscious, more accessible part of the mind (Santrock, 2008). Both Freud and Erikson perceived development through stages, although Freud saw them as related to deep sexual thoughts and experiences, whereas Erikson perceived them as related to socialization (Corey, 2009). Freud's theory derived from his idea that eroticism was an influential part of development, whereas Erikson as well as cognitive and ethological theories did not account for such sexual experiences in development (Santrock, 2008).

Cognitive Theory

Cognitive theory emphasizes thought processes, reasoning, and language as the most contributory aspect of development (Santrock, 2008). Like cognitive theory, both Freud and Erikson theories described stages primarily driven by thought processes, but cognitive theory's focus is on the more overt cognitive processes and their changes during development. Whereas cognitive theory emphasizes individual active cognitive construction in the present, Freud's theory determines that individuals construct the present consciously and unconsciously as a result of past experience. Cognitive theory focuses on the active processes of thinking and the construction of understanding, whereas psychoanalytic theory perceives thought processes as under the influence of past experiences and unconscious directives (Corey, 2009). Cognitive theories address life changes through new and better organized ways of perceiving experiences, whereas psychoanalytic theory attempts to ameliorate distress by bringing subconscious directives into the conscious mind for processing. Erikson's theory agreed with the cognitive perspective that determined people have the ability to change throughout the lifespan, whereas Freud had a deterministic perspective of change (Berger, 2008).

Ethological Theory
Both psychoanalytic and cognitive theories are based on internal processes, such as psychoanalytic theory's focus on internal emotions and drives, and cognitive theory's emphasis on the internal processes of the mind. Ethological theory, however, includes the powerful influence of evolutionary processes on human development, which is a less personal, albeit intrinsic, influence (Santrock, 2008). One might add, though, ethological and cognitive theories are similar because both account for developmental change according to intrinsic thought processes. Cognitive theory emphasizes the power of the mind or brain, whereas ethological theory focuses on the same powers from a broader perspective of cognition as it has developed over time and through adaptive evolutionary processes. Ethological theory describes critical periods of development, which are necessary for learning, however cognitive and psychoanalytic theories fail to address critical learning periods (Santrock, 2008). Unlike the gender bias often criticized in Freud's psychoanalytic theory, ethological theory perceives humankind as an evolving species and from a scientific perspective, without typical gender bias.

                 Psychoanalytic Theory through a Constructive Developmental Lens
Although I believe that each theory is incomplete in and of itself, and the more accurate perspective of human development derives from the multi-dimensions of a variety of theories, my personal choice is psychoanalytic theory and the idea that we perceive our surroundings according to early life experiences. I cannot, however, implement this theory in practice without the addition of cognitive theory. Furthermore, I must consider the evolving nature of humankind as described by Dr. Kathleen Taylor (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.). Humans are adaptive, and as life becomes more complex, some people have the opportunity to evolve their understanding of reality, or how such reality exists in relation to their perceptions. Perhaps this is an example of human adaptation and its effort to match, or adapt to, the current complex nature of human life.

Kegan (1980) described constructive developmental theory as "the study of the development of our construing or meaning-making activity" (p. 373). It explains the evolving human capacity of some individuals ability to perceive reality other than the way they have traditionally perceived it. Intersecting the psychoanalytic perspective with constructive developmental theory, individuals are able to transcend their traditional perceptive lens that is created early in life. Some individuals are able to function from a new consciousness and circumvent personal perspectives, in effect, "transforming our epistemologies, liberating ourselves from that in which we are embedded" (Kegan, 1994, p. 34). Most people see life as they are, rather than how it is; however, some learn to see life without perceiving it through a lens tainted by personal affect. They become the authors of their lives.

Conclusion

Perhaps the next frontier in human development is determining why some individuals have the ability to make the leap in consciousness and grasp the deeper aspects of the human capacity to apply chosen meaning to one's environment or to apply none. There are tremendous implications to realizing this consciousness. If meaning is a contrived product of perception, grave responsibility lies with those who understand and can implement the authorship described in constructive developmentalism.

References

Berger, K. S. (2008). The developing person through the life span (7th ed.). New York: Worth Publishers.

Corey, G. (2009). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thompson Brooks/Cole.

Kegan, R. (1980). Making Meaning: The Constructive-Developmental Approach to Persons and Practice. Personnel & Guidance Journal, 58(5), 373-379.

Kegan, R. (1995). In over our heads: The mental demands of modern life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n. d.). Constructive Developmental Theory [Streaming Video]. Baltimore: Author.

Santrock, J. W. (2011). A topical approach to life-span development (3rd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

What is the difference between psychodynamic psychotherapy and cognitive behavior therapy?

Psychodynamic therapy is talk therapy that has a focus on the unconscious mind and emotions, and considers past experiences. CBT is therapy that works on the thinking and behavior patterns that a person has.

What are two differences between the cognitive and psychodynamic approaches to psychology?

Cognitive behavioural therapy sees the process of change as being a relatively short-term process whereas psychodynamic therapy is a long term process of change. The aim of psychodynamic therapy is for the client to gain insight and the aim of cognitive behavioural therapy is change.

What is the difference between psychoanalytic and cognitive theory?

Cognitive theory focuses on the active processes of thinking and the construction of understanding, whereas psychoanalytic theory perceives thought processes as under the influence of past experiences and unconscious directives (Corey, 2009).

What are two differences between the cognitive and psychodynamic approaches to psychology quizlet?

> Cognitive approach looks at people as conscious logical thinkers, where as the psychodynamic approach focuses on unconscious thoughts. > Cognitive approach looks at information processing and has little focus on emotions. Where as psychodynamic focus on emotional life and childhood experiences.

What is the difference between cognitive and psychoanalytic?

What is the difference between cognitive and psychodynamic?

What do cognitive and psychoanalytic perspectives have in common?

Is psychoanalytic theory cognitive?