Psychodynamic Theory, Cognitive-Behavioral Theory and Rogerian Theory in Young People Mental Health - Literature review Example

Running Head: PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY, COGNITIVE-BEHAVIOURAL THEORY AND ROGERIAN THEORY Comparing and contrasting psychodynamic theory, cognitive-behavioural theory and rogerian theory in young people mental health social work practice Name Institution Date Table of Content Running Head: PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY, COGNITIVE-BEHAVIOURAL THEORY AND ROGERIAN THEORY 1 Comparing and contrasting psychodynamic theory, cognitive-behavioural theory and rogerian theory in young people mental health social work practice 1 Introduction 3 The Role of Social Work 4 The cognitive-behavioural theory 8 The Rogerian theory 11 Conclusion 16 References 17 Stallard, P.( 2008). Anxiety: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy with Children and Young People. London.Routledge 18 Introduction 3 The Role of Social Work 3 The Psychodynamic theory 4 The cognitive-behavioral theory 7 The Rogerian theory 10 Conclusion 14 References 15 Introduction According to Stallard ( 2008), social work is a professional activity not only important for helping groups, communities or people to regain their social functioning, but also forming societal conditioning that support this goal. He also asserts that social work practice is composed of applying professional values of social work, techniques and also principles to aid individuals in getting tangible services; psychotherapy as well as counselling with people, families and also groups; supporting communities to improve processes. Social work practice requires in depth knowledge of behaviour and development of people, knowledge of economic, cultural and social institutions; as well as how these factors interact. Thorne (1992) argues that this profession is concerned with social institutions and the interactions between people and these institutions for the greater benefit to the society. Even though for a long time social work has undergone dismissal by majority, especially by being considered a vocation and not a profession , with the social workers being viewed as inept-meddlers or good-doers who mean well, social work has had tremendous positive changes in the society that cannot be dismissed, especially when considering its roles within the society. The Role of Social Work The main functions of social work include enhancing people’s problem-solving as well as developmental capacities, ensuring that the systems responsible for provision of services and resources are properly managed and operate well; and also ensuring better link between people and providers of opportunities, resources and services. Not only Latest theories, but also the findings of research on the social work and the fields related to it are synthesized by the social work practice (Emery, 2005). Social work also serves to demonstrate the application of the information on the clients. It has often been associated with promotion of social changes and promotion of individual well being by empowering as well as liberating them. It makes use of the theories of people’s behaviour and the social systems existing among individuals while it also puts emphasis on rights of individuals and as well as social justice. This profession is wider than most disciplines with considerations on the range of problems it addresses, the work setting, practice level, the population served and also the interventions used. However, social work is still evolving so as to meet the social needs of the changing world (Gibelman, 1999). Psychodynamic theory, cognitive behavioural theory and Rogerian theory have often been used in social work with substantial results, however the way they operate in social work situations involving young people differ from each other that only close scrutiny at each of them could highlight this (Emery, 2005). The Psychodynamic theory Thorne (1992) notes that it could be termed as a study done in a systematic way and the theory governing the working of psychological forces responsible for the behaviour of individuals, while putting more emphasis on conscious motivation and unconscious motivation as well as how they interplay. The psychodynamic term refers to the wide theory groups emphasizing overriding effects of instinctive forces and the instinctive drives as well as the value the developmental experience has in personality shaping. Sigmund Freud was the person who originally developed the psychodynamics concept which suggested that there was psychological energy flows in the complex brain during psychological processes hence making psychodynamics be based on libido(the psychological energy).according to this theory, there is solidification of personality during childhood, especially below five years with five psychosexual development stages which are oral stage, latency stage, anal stage, phallistic stage and the genital stage. There is sensual pleasure or sexual gratification gain in every stage from a specific body part and that there are conflicts in each stage hence the way children handle these conflicts affects their personalities (summers, 2009). ­ According to Little & Siobain (1995), fixation to a particular stage may occur in case the child is praised or frustrated very much in that particular stage, hence when the child reaches adulthood, the child will mostly focus on the over-gratified or over- frustrated needs. In as much as there does argument exist that the theory of social work is associated with politics whereby those who support theoretical perspectives are already discoursed, the position of psychodynamic theory in these politics has greatly varied throughout the phases of the theoretical development of the social work. There is dependence of psychodynamic therapy on the internal conflicts that end up surfacing in emotions or behaviours, with one of the conflicts being subconscious. According to psychodynamic theory, children who are to receive treatment get viewed in an illness model aiming at finding out the thing that the child might have lack of. The people are formed by a dynamic beginning in their early childhood with progress throughout life. However, this is too shallow for psychoanalytical thinking which is rigid and conservative and which also emphasizes the direct link in relation between adult problems and childhood events. Currently, there are very limited numbers of therapists who carry out strict psychoanalysis, especially psychiatrists who have undergone the same psychoanalysis as well as attended psychoanalysis institute (Sharpe, 2001). The recent theory strongly emphasizes on conscious experience as well as how it interacts with the unconscious among children; on top of the functions the social factors have in the development interpretation like defence, dreams and interference. The therapy entails a session for fifty minutes every week with treatment duration ranging from three months to two years in order to gain the symptom relief as well as the change in personality of the child. There are theoretical constructs with basis on force that can be compared to referee (the ego), a conscious mind containing the thoughts of the judgment and memory of the child. Freud likened these to the wheels as well as the escape valve which releases the steam; conscience(the superego), which he described as the rules of the society and conscience voice of the child, while thermodynamics could relate it to the lid covering the container having water for steam generation; and the id (present in everybody and tends to act against the process of thinking) which functionally link up to form the personality as well as emphasize the functions of the unconscious, which had been described by Freud as the biological requirements and motives for instance sex, hunger and thirst which he also claimed that provide the system’s energy (Little & Siobain, 1995). Consideration of later Adult personality is on whether the child successfully passed through the stage of psychosexual in their childhood development which is also the reason why it is hard for the adults to realize whether they are developing problems and hence might even not know whether they already have psychological disorders like the stress or even mental disorder. A number of psychotherapists frequently view young people with variance in the degree of severity (Drysdale, 1993). The concepts in the psychodynamic theory emphasizes basis of concern on psychological processes that are internal, the value of the experiences of early childhood, unconscious motivational presence, presence of morality and rationality, and also defence mechanism. Therefore, psychodynamic psychotherapy has always been classically indicated in treating the unresolved conflicts in the early stages of life, as present in both non-psychotic as well as the disorders in the individual’s personality. It bases its strength on the belief that the behaviour and relationship of children are determined by the conscious as well as unconscious influences. The psychodynamic therapies may sometimes be applied in the treatment of children who are under depression with the emphasis of treatment on providing solution to the conflicted feelings of the child. The perspective of psychodynamic theory on treatment of children is that studying human behaviour is a crucial part and should involve factors like internal processes, motivation and the drives, value of the childhood experiences and also personality. The classical theories on the function of unconscious sexual as well as aggressive drives are already re-evaluated so they focus on the conscious experience with the result of, for instance, formation of ego psychology. In as much as this theory appears appealing and more descriptive, it has failed to gather evidence that is substantial concerning the superiority it has above the other treatment forms (Little, 1995) The cognitive-behavioural theory Is a concept by Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck emphasizing that cognition has a pivotal role in changing behaviour of individuals. It claims that the cognition or the thoughts of the children affect their behaviours with thoughts that are negative or the beliefs that are negative resulting in complications and difficulties for the behaviour of the children to be transformed positively. In order to provide solutions to the different varieties of psychological as well as behavioural problems it uses the combination of cognitive strategies as well as behavioural strategies. This particular class of thought recognizes the importance of changing the irrational thinking in children and their behaviours by providing education to them as well as reinforcing the experiences that are positive which results in fundamental transformations in the way the child copes. It therefore brings about the importance of changing the way young people think so as to achieve clarity in their choices as well as the type of behaviours they are involved in. It therefore links the mental disorder and individual’s development from early childhood to adult to the thoughts of the individual (Freeman, 2003). The cognitive behaviourists actually believe in the importance of social education in the development of children, and modelling as well as reinforcement of ideas .The personality of children are derived from the experiences whereby they have involvement with critical learning, identifying feelings as well as thoughts that are inappropriate and appropriate, and the consequences of the behaviours, feelings and the thoughts. This also tries to indicate the child’s behaviour as a copy of the parents’ behaviours since the learning in children mostly involves observation as well as imitation, according to the theory of social learning. However in case of improper development and reinforcement using social interactions that are not right and also not healthy then the child might dysfunctionally learn methods of dealing with depression or problems in life. This also extends in cases where the child has learned given patterns of irrational or unhealthy thinking which also receive reinforcement from parents, knowingly or unknowingly, throughout the child’s development (Wright, 2003). In case the child is brought up in an environment that has maladaptive qualities, or if the child doesn’t learn better skills of coping, then chances of them developing mental disorders later in life are very high. This theory views individuals as purely neutral and that decision of moulding children into unhealthy or even healthy people lies with the kind of environmental setting in which they are brought up or live in, as well as people with whom the child grows (Wright, 2003). Therefore the Cognitive- behavioural therapy aims at transforming the child’s faulty behaviour and irrational thinking by offering learning as well as strengthening the positive experiences which will eventually fundamentally alter the way the child copes. An example is when a child suffering from depression due to the difficulties and problems the child is having, he can start developing negative thoughts which may also be irrational due to the way the child is taught or if the child is untaught while being brought up, hence resulting not only in lethargic actions, but also depressive feelings. Even though many people have always targeted the intervention of behavioural therapy as a source of treatment of feelings and transforming these feelings, only some do (for instance RET). Generally, feelings have only been altered and transformed with the respective return of the normal thoughts and behaviours. The cognitive-behavioural theorists do help the patients know the irrational thoughts, work against them and support the child’s change of unproductive behaviour as well as frustrating behaviour through the use of techniques like reinforcement, role play and modelling. The therapists who apply this therapy in their working (always short–term based, 10-35 sessions or 3-9 months) tend to be more direct compared to the psychodynamic therapists while still acting mostly as therapists or teachers (Stallard, 2008). The cognitive behaviourists employ several techniques which may also rely on the problem presentation by the child, for instance the therapists may not use the very technique in resolving the problem of fear of heights as the ones used for providing solutions to a depressed child. This therapy has received tremendous success with various disorders including depression, phobias and anxiety hence its empirical validation currently on the market (Emery, 2005).  A simple demonstration of the processes involved in cognitive behavioural theory. The theory is very influential in transforming cases of behaviours that are voluntary and which an individual can change, however, this theory has very limited effect, if any, on behaviours resulting from head injuries that need practical medical interventions like drug administration. The Rogerian theory This theory was developed by Carl Rogers, an American psychologist. His approach was person-cantered and therefore had uniqueness in understanding personality as well as the individual relationship thereby finding great applications in several domains like counselling and psychotherapy. This is a clinical theory which Rogers formed from his experience after working on his clients for so long. Apart from this, there are similarities between this theory and psychodynamic theory, for instance they both have maturity and richness, and they are nicely thought-out as well as having broader applications (Thorne, 1992). The differences that exist between the two theories include the difference in perception of children where Rogers views them as normal and healthy and that mental health is just a normal continuous progress in life. Mental sickness and other problems affecting children is that they are the natural tendency distortions. When the two theories are considered, Rogers’ theory is very simple and based on a ‘force of life’ he terms as actualizing tendency. The actualizing tendency is the motivation that is built-in and which every life form has for the development of their potentials to the much of their capability. The theory states that all creatures work out ways to maximize their existence, of which in case they fail, then it could be because of a different reason than inexistence of the desire (Wright, 2003). The theory puts emphasis on the conflicts within a child as well as emphasizing the conflicts and the children who attend therapy as unique people whose perception on life is so idiosyncratic that there could be a lot of difficulty in grouping them in a particular theory or developmental. It also emphasizes the application of the child’s weaknesses and strength to a specific problem hence is based on individualism. As a result of the individualism, this theory supports helping children provide their own answers to their personal problems with no probability of any answers being the same .In this theory the therapists don’t act as teachers but as guides assisting the children not only to learn about themselves but also helping them understand the relationship between their actions and the consequences. The therapy may take duration of few weeks to few years; however it is likely to take a longer period due to the broadness of its focus (Barry, 2002). In his study of the behaviour of children, he asserted that positive regard exists in form of the things that the children value including attention, love, nurturance, affection among others therefore suggesting the necessity not only of love, but also affection among babies hence this could be the reason for their death( in case they don’t receive these), hence being in line with Rogers’ belief that they certainly fail to succeed in thriving hence they can’t reach the full potential of their true self. The other issue is that while children grow up, positive self regard becomes very crucial and includes self worth, self esteem, and also a positive personal image which are experienced when the child receives positive regards from others throughout their years of development. This theory also suggests that in case there is no positive self regard then the child feels very insignificant as well as helpless, and worst still the child fails to be all he/she could have been (Haggbloom, 2002). With similarity to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Rogers suggested that in case organisms have options; they will frequently consume things that they view as good for themselves, consuming these in proportions that are balanced. This is also true with babies who frequently want some things while displaying how they like these things. This theory also emphasizes the presence of conditions of worth where as children grow up they are expected to fulfill some requirements especially societal ones, mostly from parents, peers, media, teachers and others in order to prove they are worthy of being given the needs they require, hence they are given what they need from the society, rather than just having them due to the reason that they need them. This could also extend to love as well as affection where they might only be given when the child behaves according to set expectations (Wright, 2003). Due to the need for positive regard, there is formation of conditional positive regard among children leading to conditions being fulfilled in order to attain the positive regard. The conditions might be very influential thereby leading to transformation of the child not through the child’s actualization tendency or their organismic value but by the society which can or cannot consider the best interest of the child hence even though the child is good, the child might be sad. Conditional positive regard might also lead to conditional positive self regard due to the creation of the standards which are not mindful of children, it has become harder to fulfil such conditions hence the child is likely to be unable to maintain the self-esteem. Rogers asserts that the aspect of a child founded in actualizing tendency, which also needs hence receives positive regard as well as self regard, and which obeys organismic valuing is the real self, which also is what they are supposed to be in case everything work well (Sharpe, 2001). The ideal self develops when the child has to survive by the conditions that don’t support the his/her organismic valuing as well as receives conditional positive regard and self regard only. This suggestion isn’t real since it will always be away from our reach and hence remains a standard we are unable to fulfil. Another suggestion that seems unreal is the fact that the incongruity, which he likens to neurosis, and which is also the gap in the ideal and real self varies with the increase in gap corresponding to increase in the incongruity, which is really hard since the child cannot be out of synch with him/her self (Barry,1998). It has also been supported due to the existence of a threatening situation in case of incongruity between ideal and real self. The expectation of the threatening situation also brings about anxiety hence for the children to avoid anxiety they use defences like denial where by the child blocks the situation that is threatening for example by refusing to accept its existence. The other way used to avoid the situation is the perception distortion where the situation is made less threatening by re-interpreting it. Using this theory, Rogers also tries to explain the reasons for psychosis which he claims comes about due to the overwhelming of a child’s defense hence resulting in shattering of the self-sense into disconnected tiny pieces. However there is little consistency in this since the child may seem to have “psychotic breaks” which are inappropriate behaviour episodes. He/she may have inappropriate emotions, have problems with differentiating self and non-self, as well as end up not only disoriented but also passive. In description of children, he asserts that fully functioning children have openness to experience, essential living, organismic trusting, and experiential freedom and also have creativity (Drysdale, 1993). According to Freeman (2003), these theories have greatly transformed the way different mental situations are viewed; the psychodynamic theory can be influential in giving some justification for some cases of mental health. However, it has setbacks when applied to children due to the assumption that children characteristics later in adulthood are as result of the way they handle the current situation. This doesn’t apply much to children since most of their decisions are made by parents and other authorities relevant in their lives. The assumption that the characters that are praised or rebuked in young people may lead to fixation which is for or against the person is not substantial since change has been witnessed among young people with consequent growth due to factors like environmental change. On the other hand, the Rogerian theory asserts that individuals should be encouraged to provide answers for their mental health situations which, in essence, can’t work for children whose minds are still developing. Even when the young ones are deprived of what they need, they will learn to live without them and not die as the Rogerian theory shows. Therefore cognitive behavioural theory offers the best solutions for problems of mental health among the young ones because it emphasizes on reinforcing positive behaviour as well as providing education for the young people, given that children mostly learn through imitation and observation, which is the most effective method of moulding young people to become the adults expected of them and attain the behaviours required (Freeman, 2003). Conclusion The psychodynamic theory, cognitive-behavioural theory and rogerian theory are all theories trying to give reasons for the different behaviours in individuals as well as providing solutions for the desired behaviour change, however when the change of behaviour desired is on young people then cognitive behavioural theory works best. References Summers, F. (2009). Psychodynamic Therapy, New York: Gilford press. Sharpe, C. (2001). In Care, in Therapy? MA Dissertation. University of Sheffield, England Little, M. & Siobain K. (1995). A Life without Problems: The Achievements of a Therapeutic Community. Aldershot: Arena. Drysdale, D. (1993). Therapy and Consultation in Child Care. London: Free Association Books. Freeman, A. (2003). Cognitive Therapy of Personality Disorders. New York: The Guilford Press. Wright, J.H. (2003). Cognitive Therapy with Inpatients: Developing a Cognitive Milieu. New York: The Guilford Press. Emery, G. (2005). Anxiety Disorders and Phobias: A Cognitive Perspective. New York: Springer Publishing Company. Barry, P. (2002). Mental Health and Mental Illness. (7th ed.) New York: Lippincott. Barry A. (1998). The psychotherapy of Carl Rogers: cases and commentary. New York: Guilford Press. Thorne, B. (1992).Carl Rogers - Key Figures in Counselling and Psychotherapy series. London: Sage publications. Gibelman, M. (1999). The Search for Identity: Defining Social Work—Past, Present, Future. Social Work. Haggbloom, S.J. et al. (2002). The 100 Most Eminent Psychologists of the 20th Century. Review of General Psychology. Stallard, P.( 2008). Anxiety: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy with Children and Young People. London.Routledge Read More