Key Terms
Psychotherapy
Professional treatment through communication and insight techniques
Free association
Talking without filter; therapist listens for unconscious patterns
Dream analysis
Interpreting dream symbolism to access unconscious content
Insight
Patient's understanding of the unconscious causes of their disorder
Resistance
Patient uses defense mechanisms to avoid painful unconscious material
Transference
Patient redirects feelings from a past relationship onto the therapist
Best for
Generalized anxiety, mood disorders, people who want to feel better about themselves overall.
Person-centered (client-centered) therapy
Rogers' approach; therapist provides a comfortable, nonjudgmental environment
Therapeutic alliance
The trust-based working relationship between therapist and client
Behavioral therapy
Treatment based on learning principles
Operant conditioning approach
Use reinforcement to build new skills. Token economies are one example (tokens earned for target behaviors, exchanged fo
Exposure therapy
Confronting feared stimuli to extinguish fear response
Flooding
Immediate full-intensity exposure to feared stimulus
Systematic desensitization
Gradual exposure paired with relaxation; uses hierarchy of fears
Counterconditioning
Replacing a conditioned fear response with a relaxation response