PSY 4C 14: COUNSELLING PSYCHOLOGY
UNIT–I: Introduction to Counseling
Class Notes
TOPIC:
COURSES OF PSYCHOTHERAPY: INITIAL,
MIDDLE AND FINAL PHASE
, Definitions of psychotherapy are often bridled to fields of disciplinary
operation, e.g., psychiatry, psychology, casework, etc., sanctuaries for
such characterizations being sought in specialized societies. Diffuseness,
in definition, has converted the arena of psychotherapy into a swamp of
murky ideas, fostering many divergent theories and techniques. Yet a
brief and precise description of therapy is important if no more than to
circumscribe boundaries of operation and for purposes of hypothetical
construction and empirical study. A comprehensive working definition
might be the following:
Psychotherapy is the treatment, by psychological means, of problems of
an emotional nature in which a trained person deliberately establishes a
professional relationship with the patient with the object of
(1) Removing, modifying, or retarding existing symptoms,
(2) Mediating disturbed patterns of behavior, and
(3) Promoting positive personality growth and development.
, I. Diffuseness, in definition, has converted the arena of
psychotherapy into a swamp of murky ideas, fostering many divergent
theories and techniques. Yet a brief and precise description of therapy is
important if no more than to circumscribe boundaries of operation and
for purposes of hypothetical construction and empirical study. A
comprehensive working definition might be the following: The primary
goals of the initial interview are
i. To establish rapport with the patient.
by supplying the proper emotional climate for the interview
by structuring the purpose of the interview
by clarifying misconceptions about psychotherapy
by dealing with inadequate motivation
by handling other resistances and preparing the patient for
psychotherapy
ii. To get pertinent information from the patient.
by listening to the patient’s spontaneous account
by focusing on selective data
iii. To establish a tentative clinical diagnosis.
iv. To estimate the tentative dynamics (in terms of inner conflicts,
characterological distortions, mechanisms of defense and their
genetic origins).
v. To determine the tentative etiology.
UNIT–I: Introduction to Counseling
Class Notes
TOPIC:
COURSES OF PSYCHOTHERAPY: INITIAL,
MIDDLE AND FINAL PHASE
, Definitions of psychotherapy are often bridled to fields of disciplinary
operation, e.g., psychiatry, psychology, casework, etc., sanctuaries for
such characterizations being sought in specialized societies. Diffuseness,
in definition, has converted the arena of psychotherapy into a swamp of
murky ideas, fostering many divergent theories and techniques. Yet a
brief and precise description of therapy is important if no more than to
circumscribe boundaries of operation and for purposes of hypothetical
construction and empirical study. A comprehensive working definition
might be the following:
Psychotherapy is the treatment, by psychological means, of problems of
an emotional nature in which a trained person deliberately establishes a
professional relationship with the patient with the object of
(1) Removing, modifying, or retarding existing symptoms,
(2) Mediating disturbed patterns of behavior, and
(3) Promoting positive personality growth and development.
, I. Diffuseness, in definition, has converted the arena of
psychotherapy into a swamp of murky ideas, fostering many divergent
theories and techniques. Yet a brief and precise description of therapy is
important if no more than to circumscribe boundaries of operation and
for purposes of hypothetical construction and empirical study. A
comprehensive working definition might be the following: The primary
goals of the initial interview are
i. To establish rapport with the patient.
by supplying the proper emotional climate for the interview
by structuring the purpose of the interview
by clarifying misconceptions about psychotherapy
by dealing with inadequate motivation
by handling other resistances and preparing the patient for
psychotherapy
ii. To get pertinent information from the patient.
by listening to the patient’s spontaneous account
by focusing on selective data
iii. To establish a tentative clinical diagnosis.
iv. To estimate the tentative dynamics (in terms of inner conflicts,
characterological distortions, mechanisms of defense and their
genetic origins).
v. To determine the tentative etiology.
