Abnormal Psychology – PSY404 VU
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LESSON 20
PSYCHOTHERAPY I
Psychotherapy refers to special and systematic process for helping people to overcome their psychological
difficulties.
Example: Some psychological difficulties include anxiety, fear and phobia. All forms of Psychotherapy
have three things in common:
1- Sufferer who seeks help whom we call patient or client
2- A healer who is the therapist and
3- A series of contacts between the client and therapist (number of sessions between the client and
the therapist)
A system of therapy is a set of principles and techniques employed in accordance with a particular theory of
change. As many as 400 distinct forms of therapy are being practiced today. Two broad categories are
1. Global Therapies
Global therapies help people recognize and change general features of their personalities that the therapist
believe are the root cause of their problem. They are
• Psychodynamic or psychoanalytic
• Humanistic
• Existential
• Client centered therapy
• Gestalt
2. Problem Focused Therapies
Problem focused therapies focus on the symptoms and specific complaints of the person. They include
• Behavioral therapies
• Cognitive therapies
• Biological therapies
Therapy format is
• Individual therapy
• group therapy
• family therapy
• Couple therapy
Individual therapy is in which the therapist sees the alone for some period of time usually weekly.
Group therapy is in which the therapist sees the group of clients such as psychodrama and self help
groups.
Family therapy is a format in which the therapists meet with all members of family and point out
problematic behavior and interactions and work on whole family to change.
In couple therapy the therapist works with two people who share a long term relationship.
Whether the psychotherapy is beneficial or not
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