Introduction to Counseling Psychology
Module III: Theories and
Techniques of Counselling
Topics to be covered
Psychodynamic Approaches
Freudain
Neo Frendian
Existentialism
Client centered
Psychodynamic Therapy
• Psychodynamic therapy, also known as
insight-oriented therapy, focuses on
unconscious processes as they are
manifested in a person’s present behavior.
• The goals of psychodynamic therapy are a
client’s self-awareness and understanding
of the influence of the past on present
behavior.
• Brief Psychodynamic Therapy
• The healing and change process
envisioned in long-term psychodynamic
therapy typically requires at least 2 years
of sessions. This is because the goal of
therapy is often to change an aspect of
one’s identity or personality or to integrate
key developmental learning missed while
the client was stuck at an earlier stage of
emotional development.
• Practitioners of brief psychodynamic
• The number of sessions varies from one
approach to another, but brief
psychodynamic therapy is typically
considered to be no more than 25
sessions (Bauer and Kobos, 1987).
• Crits-Christoph and Barber included
models allowing up to 40 sessions in their
review of short-term dynamic
psychotherapies because of the
Core Principles of
Psychodynamic Therapy
• In psychodynamic therapy, therapists help
people review emotions, thoughts, early-
life experiences, and beliefs to gain insight
into their lives and their present-day
problems and to evaluate the patterns they
have developed over time. Recognizing
recurring patterns can help people see
how they avoid distress or develop
defense mechanisms to cope so that they
can take steps to change those patterns.
Gain access to the Unconscious
• To keep painful feelings, memories, and
experiences in the unconscious, people
tend to develop defense mechanisms,
such as denial, repression, rationalization,
and others.
• Psychodynamic therapists encourage
people to speak freely about their
emotions, desires, and fears to reveal
vulnerable feelings that have been pushed
Existential Therapy /
Psychotherapy
• Existential therapy (or existential psychotherapy) is based on some of the
main ideas behind existentialism as a philosophy, including:
• We are responsible for our own choices.
• We are all unique individuals due to the choices we make, and we are
constantly remaking ourselves through these choices.
• We make our own meaning in life.
• Anxiety is a natural feature of human life.
• We must come to terms with this anxiety to live authentically (Burnham &
Papandreopoulos, n.d.).
•
• Built on these foundations, existential therapy aims to aid clients in
accepting and overcoming the existential fears inherent in being human.
These fears include:
• Freedom and responsibility
• Death
The Right Circumstances for
Existential Therapy
• Existential therapy is not appropriate for every individual or for every
situation. Like all other forms of treatment, there are circumstances in which
this therapy is most effective and circumstances in which another type of
therapy would be advised.
• Existential therapy is an excellent method for treating the psychological and
emotional instabilities or dysfunctions that stem from the basic anxieties of
human life (as noted above, freedom and responsibility, death, isolation, and
meaninglessness). This can include depression and anxiety, substance
abuse and addiction, and posttraumatic stress.
• It will be especially effective for people who are open-minded and willing to
explore the heavier themes in life, as well as those searching for and
struggling to find meaning (Vallejos, 2016).
• Due to the nature of existentialism, existential therapy is likely to help clients
bring about a lasting change in their perspective, rather than encouraging
short-term effort that the client may lose motivation to continue as soon as
the sessions end.
The Existential Therapy
Relationship
• While the therapeutic relationship is vital in
any form of therapy, it is especially
important in existential therapy. As
mentioned earlier, the therapist is not a
distant expert who is magnanimously
guiding a client through self-discovery;
rather, he or she is a fellow human who
has also experienced existential anxiety
and fear, and aims to guide others through
the difficult process of accepting and living
Rogerian Client Centered
Therapy