Psychotherapy as a Form of Treatment

Psychotherapy, in general, is a form of treatment, in which a trained psychologist or other qualified mental health providers will form a professional relationship with a patient, in order to understand their problems and remove or alleviate troubling symptoms, thoughts, beliefs or behaviors. Professionals will aim to achieve symptom relief and increase overall wellbeing of the patient (Weiner, 1998). There are several different types of psychotherapy, such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), ego psychology and psychodynamic therapy. These are available to a wide range of individuals to help with numerous problems, such as the impact of trauma, depression, and self-harm and can be used in a variety of settings. Therapy may be conducted in groups, with families or a single patient and may take place in schools, prisons, hospitals, and clinics depending on the situation and individuals involved (Burns and Burns-Lundgren, 2015).

Over the last 40 years, research into psychotherapy approaches has shown that overall clients who remain in the treatment for a few sessions benefit more than those who are receiving no treatment or are involved in a placebo intervention. Research shows on average 65% of patients who have taken part in some form of psychotherapy make improvements, compared to around only 10%, who are found to deteriorate during treatment (Whiston and Sexton, 1993). However, critical psychologists deem some psychotherapies problematic due to their focus on the individual as the cause of the problem and not on other external factors constituting to the mental illness, such as the individual's background. One example critical psychologists believe individualizes the problem is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).

Cognitive therapy, now synonymously known as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a dominant form of psychotherapy used in mainstream health systems. CBT was first developed by American Psychiatrist Arron Beck, in the 1960s. Beck, at the time, was a practicing psychoanalyst but grew skeptical of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory as he could not find reliable studies of success rates. As a result, he performed a series of experiments investigating the dreams of depressed patients. He believed these experiments would generate the validation needed for these theories to become empirically valid and accepted. However, his results created the opposite, leading him to look for alternative explanations for depression. Beck drew on a number of sources, such as Albert Ellis’ Rational Emotional Behaviour Therapy (REBT) to develop the psychotherapy CBT. Since then, Beck and others have adapted the therapy, using the same theoretical assumptions to suit a variety of individuals and numerous disorders, such as depression and anxiety (Beck, 2011).

The treatment (CBT) is a method of talking therapy, which is a short-term, structured therapy, focused on solving existing problems and altering behavior and dysfunctional beliefs people have about themselves, the world and others (Beck, 1964, cited in Beck, 2011). CBT is based on the assumption that the way individuals think influences how they feel, both physically and mentally and what actions are taken in response. For example, having a negative view of something might result in a person to experience that situation negatively and consequently, behave in a certain way. It is a collaborative approach, where the trained therapist will work with the patient to overcome current difficulties (NHS, 2016).