Psychology Addict # 17| A Brief History of Counselling and PsychotherapysteemCreated with Sketch.

in #psychology7 years ago (edited)

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Counselling vs Psychotherapy

Counselling and psychotherapy’s fundamental concepts have reached the general public mainly through TV shows and movies, with the most represented form being psychoanalyses. However, there is still a lack of understanding towards its several kinds of approaches. Perhaps, this is why whenever this topic emerges, there is an immediate association of a distressed individual lying on a couch talking his/her sorrows away.

Still, is there any difference between counselling and psychotherapy?

There are many similarities in the jobs of counsellors and psychotherapists; they both meet their patients (normally someone in distress) on a one-to-one basis in a private environment with the objective of listening to them and understanding the source of their angst. The counsellor/psychotherapist then works on changing the patient’s perspective on their situation in order to ultimately help them to cope with it. Although there are bodies that establish the distinction between these two, the majority agree upon the fact that they are more similar than not.

The BACP, for instance, declares:

... it is not possible to make a generally accepted distinction between counselling and psychotherapy. There are well-founded traditions which use the terms interchangeably ... BACP, 2009.

Where does this approach come from, then?

Throughout history people traditionally expressed their emotional troubles through means such as personal journals, letters, art, etc... Also, in a more ritualised means of outpouring mental problems, people resorted to confessions and prayers; a practise seen within the religious context that permeated Europe until the eighteenth century and it is still existent across cultures nowadays.

However, with time, science replaced religious values and the awake of the industrial revolution contributed to the domination of capitalism. Michael Foucault discusses that this sparked a social change that saw people moving about during their lifetime as opposite to remaining their entire lives in their home-towns or villages; which, in turn, brought a need for developing a self-identity that could accompany individuals wherever they went. Consequently, people started to develop more individualistic goals, rather than shared ones, also while pursuing pleasure and rewards in this life. The old general belief in an afterlife was no more. All in all, the way human distress was perceived completely changed as a result of these shifts.

It was in the midst of this new context that looking into the inner-life of the individual began to make sense, paving the way for the fundamental basis of counselling and psychotherapy. Although, note that here, angst began to be regarded as a ‘medical’ condition, rather than a ‘moral’ one. Personal troubles and afflictions started being medicalised as well as medically treated; as they were now seen as ‘illnesses’. In 1887 a new field emerged in psychiatry: psychoanalyses. Sigmund Freud is credited with popularising it and coherently hypothesising what kick-started the most relevant aspect of the majority of therapeutic methods at present: the ‘talking cure’. He fitted this approach into a reasoned theoretical model which made therapy applicable not only to the ‘mad’, but to everyone.

Things changed in the middle of the twentieth century, though. Post second world-war various psychoanalysts left for the USA and the U.K. Academic psychology impacted greatly on psychotherapy, an emphasis on research and behaviourism saw many abandoning Freudians theories. From this point forward, Erikson and Berne contributed to the development of psychoanalyses, Rogers and Maslow redesigned it into a humanistic model; and finally, Beck and Ellis adapted it into cognitive-behavioural therapy. Factors that ultimately contributed to the three main models of psychotherapies currently available: psychodynamic therapy (a methods that stems directly from psychoanalyses), humanistic psychotherapy and cognitive behavioural therapy. Each of which delivers different levels of progress, approval and success.

[Original content by Abigail Dantes - 2017]

Thank you for reading :)

Reference List:

British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (2009). What is counselling? |Online|. Available: https://www.bacp.co.uk/student/what.php

Foucault, M. (1975). Discipline and punish. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

Pennebaker, J.W (1990) Opening up: The healing power of expressing emotions. New York: The Guilford Press.

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Interesting sidenote that not a lot of people realize: the father of modern advertising, PR, and propaganda, Edward Bernays, was Freud's nephew and he used a lot of Freud's ideas in crafting his campaigns to motivate the masses.

YES!! @geke, very well put! For those who don't have time to read into his works I highly recommend the series The century of the self by Adam Curtis, he goes really deep into this topic and how Edward Bernays put into practice his understanding of psychoanalyses to persuade the masses.
Best :)

Great post @abigail-dantes. We really need more awareness to psychotherapy and how it works. By the way, there is a fourth type of psychotherapy! ;) Relational-Historic Psychology, started by Lev Vygotsky, a russian psychologist interested mainly in the origins of our superior nervous functions. The psychotherapy model is based on the fact that those functions, necessary for our individual growth, have its origins on the first relations the child has right before birth. She has inate iniciatives searching for a respondant caretaker that will start shaping her human brain :) If that pattern is interrupted, she will start having difficulty adjusting into our chaotic world! In therapy, the psychologist functions as that first caretaker, starting re-shaping the person's brain into a more meaningful one, in order to a better adjustment that makes sense to that person :) This therapy is not as well-known as the other three probably because the other three have their basis in a more scientific pattern, better accepted by the society. But it is being well applied in some psychology communities in Portugal and Brazil, and well studied in Russia. Sorry for the lecture! :D But had to share this also!

Thank you for this post. I will like to know if both are courses offered separately in Universities?

When studying psychology, you can opt for taking up theses classes @turpsy. Of course, if you plan to become a clinical psychologists or a counselor/therapist these classes are mandatory! Thank you for stopping by :)
All the best!

Ok, that is great. I used to have a friend that studied psychologists, we did masters together in thesame university. Aside from Medical institutions. How far can a clinical psychologist stand without government jobs.?

I suppose it depends a lot on the general culture of the country you are in @turpsy, as you know, some professions are more valued in certain places than others ... as far as I know clinical psychologists are very well paid in the US, for example; particularly those who decide to work in the military services. Overall, I do believe this is a profession with a very promissing future 🙂.

Yeah, you are right. Thank you for the wonderful details.

A few days ago I thought about the genesis of psychotherapy, it was very useful and interesting to read your reasoning. And Foucault's "Discipline and punish" is brilliant book! If you have not read his book "Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason" , I recommend it to you. It is a bit difficult to read, but the topic he examines is infinitely interesting.

Oh @godflesh! Yes, Discipline and Punish IS brilliant. I trust your judgement ... I should definetly take a deep breath and read Madness and Civilization, I have heard from someone else too that the read is not exactely smooth ... thank you so much for your comment. Let me just say once again: your blog is amazing!!
Best ❤️

Oh, don't say that again, you make me feel uncomfortable! :D Thanks. And yes, for Foucault you must have a lot of free time to read him, hehe.

All the best to you as well!

I get what you're saying about the transition to individual goals. I think that the period we're upon is much deeper in that it's about not just goals but identity. Who are we, why are we who we are, what does that mean to us. And, I'm not talking about religion. Love ya to pieces smarty pants! :)

❤️😍❤️ Your comments always bring a nice warm feeling to my heart. Thank you for your great input always @karencarrens.

You have a lot of awesome posts, but this is by far one of your best ones man. I needed this one today! Thanks.

Incredibly kind words @lahcen80 . Thanks a lot!! 😊

With My Pleasure.

Great article, @abigail-dantes!

@somethingburger, thank you for stopping by. I saw your blog for the first time yesterday and started following you immediatelly after reading your post on Understandying Impulsive Decisions. I am now looking forward to your post about neuroimaging!!! :D
Best

Thank you! Looking forward to more posts from you too :)

Another good article. I would be interested to hear more about the three therapies your mentioned at the end. From my own experience I went through the first type, psychodynamic therapy, and it ended up making my condition worse. It wasn't until I did CBT and ERP almost 8 years after that I began to improve.

Thank you so much for your comment @timspeer 😊. I will definetly be discussing humanistic and cognitive-behavioural therapy here in the future! Your account interests me, I do believe, when it comes to therapies, one size does NOT fit all. It is great to hear you found the approach that suited your needs.
Best 🙂

Cool history...didn't know about this but with you@abigail-dantes an steemit have been able to acquire

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