Capuzzi and Stauffer (2016) are on the view that modern psychology has a broad range of therapies, approaches, and techniques that are based on distinct models and human behavior and development theories. Thus, as far as counseling is concerned, the counseling psychologists should be armed with various tools which allow them to have flexibility and use different techniques according to the problems of an individual and the situational needs of each client. In psychology, there are various counseling theories. Examples of the theories include person-centered approach by Carl Rogers, Sigmund Freud’s psychodynamic approach, and cognitive behavioral theory by Ellis and Beck. The essay seeks to assess two counseling theories and explain how they contrast. Thus, each theory will deal with the description of the theory, leading proponents of the theories and factors that resulted in the introduction of the theory, the interpretation of human nature, essential elements distinct to each theory, the therapeutic objectives, and the function and the role of the therapist. Other aspects that will be included in each approach include the experience of the client in therapy, relationship between the client and therapist, interventions to the theory, multicultural perspective to the theory, contributions to each theory, and limitations and criticism of each theory. The last part of the essay will deal with the theory which best addresses my case scenario and ethical reflection.
Case Scenario
James and Lisa are two couples aged 42 years. The two couples had issues with their relationship. A point came when the two wanted to dissolve their relationship. However, the fact that they had three kids aged 7, 9, and 12 years, they were determined to save their relationship. James and Lisa were married for 18 years. To save their marriage, the two decided to visit a marriage counselor. Upon visiting the therapist, both couples presented their grievances. The counselor listened to them and did not side with any party. What the counselor did is to provide an open space for James and Lisa to express their feelings and listen to each other without interruption. In the process of counseling, the two realized that their relations had their roots in their childhood. Initially, Lisa withheld her feelings from her spouse because she thought that he would be mad at her. Her childhood experiences were that she had to clench her feelings not to make James angry. When Lisa held her Feelings, James would note that something was wrong with her. Therefore, his reactions would be getting angry and not speaking with Lisa for some days. After eight sessions of counseling, Lisa revealed that one of her family members harassed her sexually when she was a child. The counselor invited James to comfort Lisa. Initially, James appeared to be devastated. James was filled with fear and tension after hearing Lisa’s story. James realized that while Lisa was not in a position to express her feelings he was scared of Lisa’s feelings. After the two had understood their fears, their relationship took a turning point since they acknowledged that their behaviors were driven by fear. After one year of intense therapy, the James and Lisa discovered that honesty and support are essential to a successful relationship.
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Psychodynamic Theory
According to Colarusso and Nemiroff (2013), psychodynamic theory is an approach that is used when it comes to counseling to understand the behaviors of a particular client. The theory argues concentrates on the thoughts (unconscious views) of various individuals that arise from their childhood experiences and currently affect individual’s thoughts and behaviors. The desires that drive a person come from the unconscious mind and the chances of people repeating the same patterns of the behavior are usually very high. In reference to my case scenario, this theory can be used to understand the case of Lisa and James. As discussed in the situation, Lisa always feared to express her feeling whenever James angered her. Lisa was not aware of that, and when James sensed that things were not auguring well, Lisa denied it which is a clear indication that Lisa’s feelings were unconscious. Additionally, the feelings emanated from her childhood experiences after being raped by one of her family members. Lisa’s behaviors of not expressing her feelings can be related to that childhood experience. Sigmund Freud argued that in most cases, the emotional problems experienced when one was a child continue to disturb a person in the adult stage. Unless the problems are resolved, they will continue haunting the person. From the case scenario, the idea is manifested. When Lisa was a child, she was sexually harassed by one of her family members and this feeling haunted her until she was an adult. Fears were responsible for Lisa’s conflicts in her marriage.
Background of the Major Founder(S) & the Influences That Led To the Creation of the Theory
Psychodynamic theory is also known as the historical perspective theory that was initially proposed by Sigmund Freud (Colarusso, & Nemiroff, 2013). The primary reason why Sigmund Freud introduced this theory is to determine the role played by people’s past in their current situations. In 1923, Sigmund Freud introduced psychoanalysis model that had three components. That is the id, ego, and superego. Thus, according to Freud, all behaviors of a person are determined by the id, ego, or superego (Colarusso, & Nemiroff, 2013). Freud had a view that unconscious forces drive people's behaviors.
View of Human Nature
According to Capuzzi and Stauffer (2016), the first and the most important idea in of Freud’s concept of the view of human nature is the idea of unconsciousness (Capuzzi, and Stauffer, 2016). Freud argued that consciousness entails two aspects. The first issue involves the preconscious which people are not conscious about but can remember when needed. The second point is that he argued that it is hard for the unconscious states to be converted to conscious. Sigmund Freud explained that people’s minds have some elements which they are not aware of, but such elements have a lot of influence on these individual’s life. According to Freud, some aspects of the unconscious mind may have been initially conscious. Freud gives an example of a distressing event in one’s childhood and explains that the elements may have been repressed. Thus, Sigmund views human nature as that which is driven by conscious forces.
Key concepts Unique to the theory
The theory has some unique ideas that make it different from the other counseling theories. For instance, it is the only theory that relates our childhood experiences and the effects they have on later adult development. Secondly, it builds its arguments on unconscious forces that lead to the development of a particular behavior ( McLeod, 2013). According to McLeod, (2013), t he unconscious forces include the id, superego, and the ego. Thirdly, as far as therapy is concerned, the techniques used include interpretation, analysis of a dream, and transference.
Therapeutic Goals
In psychodynamic theory, the goal of therapy is to make the unconscious conscious and to make the client gain an understanding of her problems. If it were not for counseling, James and Lisa could not understand what was causing issues in their relationship. After the counseling process, the two realized that fear led to the emergence of these problems and learned how to overcome it by practicing honesty and supporting each other. The other goal of the theory is that it aims at the formation and the foundation of different psychological processes to ease symptoms and improve lives of people. The other purpose of the theory includes determining an individual’s self-awareness and having an understanding of how their past behaviors affect the present conduct. That is to mean that the theory helps a person to examine his or her unresolved conflicts that emanate from the past relationships.
Therapist’s Function and Role
According to this role and the function of a counselor is to help different parties present their problems to him or her without fear ( McLeod, 2013) . From the case scenario, this role is evident where the counselor provided a favorable atmosphere for the two couples to present their grievances regarding their relationship with minimal fear. The therapist exercised his or her role and function effectively. The therapists are also supposed to get information from the clients about their relationship through the use of free association ( McLeod, 2013) . When it comes to free association, an individual presents a clear description of his or her life without having the fear ( McLeod, 2013) . In Lisa’s case, the therapist demonstrated this role by allowing Lisa and James to give an account of their life through the use free association to determine the primary cause of the issues in their marriage.
Clients Experience in Therapy
Most clients view their counselors as safe and trustworthy when they are free to open up and reveal their anxieties and secrets. In simple terms, the patients need to have a protected space for them to feel safe and trust their therapists when sharing their secrets with them. When this is achieved, the patients can share a lot with the counselor ( Dryden, 2002) . According to Dryden (2002), if a client believes that a therapist meets his obligations, they tend to view their experiences to therapy as being helpful.
Relationship between Therapist and Client
For many clients, the most important function of therapy is the unique choice of expression. When the clients assume that their counselors are competent, the clients tend to share their feelings with the counselor without the fear of being judged negatively or experiencing criticism ( Dryden, 2002) . Dryden (2002), goes further to argue that most counselors recognize that a successful therapy is characterized by empathizing with the clients.
Techniques unique to the theory
According to Barber and Solomonov (2016), the only technique that is unique to psychodynamic theory is the manner in which it works. As discussed above, psychodynamic therapy works using techniques such as therapeutic transference, free association, and interpretation.
Multicultural Perspective
Colaruss and Nemiroff, (2013) explains that people from different walks of life have their constructions of the appropriate strategies that should be used in the alleviation of various symptoms. At times, the culture of the client may be different from that of the therapists (Colarusso & Nemiroff, 2013). The cultural differences affect psychodynamic therapy especially when the therapist imposes biases when treating or counseling the patient. Thus, when it comes to treatment and counseling, the therapist should associate his or her culture to be similar with that of the client to avoid imposing bias when counselling or treating the client (Colarusso & Nemiroff, 2013).
Contributions to the Theory
According to Dryden (2002) , the psychodynamic theory has significantly contributed to modern psychology. Today, many psychotherapists have used this theory to understand the feelings of the clients. The counselors try to get the patients expose their true feelings so that they can understand and explain them ( Dryden, 2002) . For instance, in the case scenario, the feelings of Lisa and James could be realized through the utilization of this theory. Psychodynamic approaches are widely used in cases where clients present numerous problems ( Dryden, 2002) . The theory has also contributed to child development and how it relates to later adult development ( Dryden, 2002) . An example can be seen in the case study above. From the scenario, Lisa’s case childhood bad childhood experiences affected his adult development.
Limitations and Criticisms
According to Barber and Solomonov (2016), Sigmund’s Freud’s theory faced a lot of criticisms and constraints. One of the criticisms of the theory was that apart from having explanatory powers, it could not be scientifically proven (Barber & Solomonov, 2016). For instance, Freud argued that are motivated by unconscious forces. However, this aspect cannot be validated scientifically because Freud does not provide the audience with supportive evidence that is needed to support the theory (Barber & Solomonov, 2016). An example of how the theory cannot be scientifically tested is how it’s hard to study concepts such as the unconscious mind. Instead of concentrating on finding evidence from science, the theory focused on trying to get into people’s minds to interpret their experiences, their relationships, and change their perceptions about how they see the world. Freud based much of his ideas on subjective evidence. The other limitation of the theory is that it depends heavily on the interpretation of the therapy concerning the information provided by the client (Barber & Solomonov, 2016). According to Freud, if an individual accepted the interpretation of the therapist, then it was highly likely to be correct. Further, the theory was also biased.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy
Cognitive counseling theory concentrates on how people’s perceptions and thoughts affect the way they behave and feel. The theory also maintains that human beings are reactive in nature and respond to various external stimuli and their behavior is a consequence of conditioning and learning ( McLeod, 2009) . Since behavior is learned, it can also be unlearned. The theory also assumes that individuals can be helped to recognize their patterns of negative thoughts and through this; they can learn new positive ways of thinking which can eventually affect their behaviors and feelings (Leichsenring et al., 2006). From the case scenario presented above, it is evident that Lisa’s thoughts about James influenced the away she felt. Since human beings are reactive in nature as proposed by the theory, Lisa reacted by deciding to keep quiet. On the other hand, James responded by going silent and not talking to Lisa and hence, one cannot blame the behaviors of these two couples. However, these behaviors can also be unlearned. Lisa and James unlearned their behaviors after the intervention of a counselor. As a result of the counseling process, they learned other constructive actions. The counselor helped them recognize that their actions were driven by negative thoughts such as fear. In this case, Lisa’s thoughts were that James would be angered after she exposed her feelings towards him. These are some of the examples of negative emotions exhibited by the couples. However, the counselor helped them realize that their relationship issues emanated from fear and helped them in developing positive behaviors that would reunite their relationship.
Background of the Major Founder(S) & the Influences That Led to the Creation of the Theory
Cognitive behavior therapy was proposed by Albert Ellis who presented his analytical method for treatment at the American Psychological Association (APA) convention held in 1957. This theory was introduced as a reaction to Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. Ellis was not satisfied with the psychoanalytic theory due to inefficiency and lack of effectiveness. Ellis claimed that he concurred with Sigmund that irrational forces might affect the behavior of a particular person (Farmer & Chapman, 2016) . However, Ellis believed that such forces are not as a result of early childhood unconscious conflicts and this is what led to the development of cognitive behavior theory (Farmer & Chapman, 2016) .
View of Human Nature
Cognitive behavior therapy adopts the idea that an individual has the capability of being sensible, rational, crazy, or irrational (Farmer & Chapman, 2016). The second view was that Ellis was majorly concerned with the irrational thinking and to be more specific, the one that created irrational or upsetting thoughts. Thirdly, each person has the capability of controlling their feelings, actions, and thoughts. Thus, to attain this control, a person should understand their self-talk about a particular situation or event. The last view is that human cognitions about events or situations are grouped into four categories; neutral, positive, mixed, or negative (Clark, 2004).
Key concepts Unique to the theory
Cognitive behavior therapy is used to treat anxiety, depression, fears, and emotional reactions (Farmer & Chapman, 2016) . Secondly, it is the only counseling theory that is used in the alleviation of psychological symptoms, change behaviors and thoughts that lead to a dysfunctional response and creating behaviors that are more adaptive. Lastly, it deals with positive, negative, rational and irrational behaviors (Farmer & Chapman, 2016) .
Therapeutic Goals
According to Barber and Solomon (2016), the central goal of treatment is to assist patients to live healthy and productive lives ( Barber & Solomon, 2016). The other goal is to help individuals understand that their difficulties in life are created by their beliefs and thoughts about various events but not the situations or events themselves. Cognitive behavior therapy also helps the clients understand the correct emotional reaction to a certain event or situation ( Barber & Solomon 2016) . For instance, in the case scenario, the counselor made Lisa know that being silent about issues is not the right response to their problems. Rather, the therapist made them understand that speaking out was the only solution. Cognitive behavior therapy also helps individuals change their cognitions or behaviors ( Barber & Solomon, 2016). Finally, the theory advocates for tolerance and recognition of self and other people to attain the goals.
Role and Function of the Therapist
According to Clark (2004), the counselors who are involved in the cognitive behavior therapy are supposed to be active and direct in their endeavors to correct the cognitions of the clients. Ellis asserts that a good counselor should be persistent, knowledgeable, empathetic, bright, and be willing to help ( Barber & Solomon 2016) .
Clients Experience in Therapy
According to Barber and Solomon (2016), c lients experience in cognitive behavior therapy is a multi-faceted one because when this approach is used in therapy, not all clients show experiences of effectiveness ( Barber & Solomon, 2016). Thus, decreasing such events into fewer groupings would undermine the richness of the patients’ experiences and the complication of the dynamics of the counseling process.
Interventions/Techniques Unique to the Theory,
According to Farmer and Chapman (2016), one of the techniques peculiar to this approach is that the patient learns how to identify the automatic and negative thoughts and replace them with useful ones (Farmer & Chapman, 2016). For instance, from the case scenario, Lisa learned how to replace fear with positive thoughts such as trust and support. The other technique is a change in the belief system where the counselors help the clients change their beliefs concerning self and the world that lead to the negative thoughts.
Multicultural Perspective of the Theory
The issue of cultural disparities affects the cognitive behavior therapy (Branch & Willson, 2010). People from various cultures usually think about various things in a different manner, and they use distinct cognitive processes. The aspect of cultural differences has an impact on cognitive behavior therapy when the thoughts of a client are different from hers. The different cultural norms of the therapist and the patient affect their personal interaction and the therapeutic relationship. Thus, when the worldview, expectation, and the experience of the therapist are not the same as those of the client, the healing process becomes complicated.
Contributions to the Theory
Cognitive behavior therapies have been used to treat addictions such as those caused by smoking tobacco (Branch & Willson, 2010). Thus the therapy has been promising because of their reliance on learning new behavior. Secondly, it has been used by therapists to treat patients who have anxiety and depression.
Limitations and Criticisms
One of the limitations of cognitive behavior therapy is that it does not fix behavioral problems ( Persons, 2012). Counselors should show their expertise when using this approach in treatment and clients will benefit when they cooperate with the therapist ( Persons, 2012) . Thus, individuals who have complex behavioral issues may not benefit from therapy. In some instances, emotional issues should be addressed before commencing the cognitive work. According to Persons (2012), people who tend to have normal emotions such as sadness which lack specific symptoms may also not access cognitive behavior therapy ( Persons, 2012). Persons (2012) also argues that individuals who have long-term health problems such as chronic fatigue symptom may use cognitive behavior therapy to manage their illness. However, the physical signs of the disorders may not be alleviated with the use of cognitive behavior therapy ( Persons, 2012) . According to Persons (2012), t he last limitation is that cognitive behavior therapy may be able to help a patient in therapy to develop positive habits and patterns ( Persons, 2012) . Nevertheless, when a traditional method is not applied in treatment, the patient may not have deeper insights into emotional and psychological underpinnings of his or her behavior.
Theory that best Addresses My Case Scenario
Although both approaches address my case scenario, the theory that addresses my case study better is the psychodynamic theory ( Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2016). After the two couples explained their case scenario, their marriage issues could be effectively related to the psychodynamic theory ( Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2016) . The major problem facing the two couples emanated from childhood experiences ( Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2016) . Psychodynamic therapy explains that problems encountered by individuals can be linked to people’s childhood experiences. Lisa’s fear in her relationship was as a result of rape. After being raped by one of her family members in her early childhood stages, Lisa developed anxiety and this affected her marriage.
Faith/Ethical Reflection
How Faith can be integrated into the Chosen Theories
My faith can be easily integrated to my chosen theories. First and foremost, I usually believe that our behaviors and thoughts are affected by our childhood experiences. Thus, my belief can be integrated to psychodynamic theory and will not negatively affect me when it comes to treatment since I hold views similar to that proposed by the theory. Similarly, I also believe that my thoughts and perceptions change the way I feel. I believe that every individual is reactive and people respond to events differently.
How Counseling Theories are Consistent or Not Consistent with my Faith
My counseling theories are consistent with my faith my beliefs because the issues highlighted in the theories are the ones I hold. Due to the consistency of my faith with the chosen theory, I believe therapy and counseling becomes easy. When the beliefs of a therapist and those of patients differ, the patient and the therapist take a lot of time before harmonizing their views. However, the end result is that the patient will work with the patient.
Spiritual Beliefs and how they affect My Views of Working with a Patient with a Problem Similar to the One Described in my Scenario
My religious belief is that all people are made in the image of God and Christ unites all people. When working with a client who has an issue as the one described in the case study, my spiritual beliefs will make me understand that each and every patient needs equal therapy. When cultural differences exist between the client and me, I will not impose biases when dealing with a patient who has an issue as the one described in my case scenario because my spiritual belief does not allow me to do so. Since I believe that we are all equal in the eyes of God, I would treat all the patients’ equally.
ACA codes of ethics
ACA codes of ethics explain the principles which should be used by counselors and professionals in therapy ( American Counseling Association, 2005). ACA emphasizes that counselors should utilize on cultural contexts in therapy to make ethical decisions. As a counselor, when interacting with clients who are different from me I would use cultural contexts as far as making ethical decisions is concerned.
In conclusion, counseling has very many theories. Examples of these theories include the psychodynamic and cognitive behavior theories. Each of these theories has different views on human nature, its therapeutic goals, limitations and criticisms, and various functions and roles of therapists. The theories have contributed in various fields such as counseling. When it comes to counseling, therapists should understand clients come from different cultures and backgrounds. Thus, when dealing with clients from diverse cultures, therapists should not be biased when counseling the clients. Effective therapy happens when bias is eliminated.
References
American Counseling Association. (2005). ACA code of ethics: As approved by the ACA Governing Council, American Counseling Association. Retrieved from http://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/library-archives/archived-code-of-ethics/codeethics05.pdf?sfvrsn=4
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Leichsenring, F., Hiller, W., Weissberg, M., Leibing, E. (2006). Cognitive-behavioral therapy and psychodynamic psychotherapy: Techniques, efficacy, and indication: American Journal of Psychotherapy, 60(3), 233-59. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/213135027?accountid=1229
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