Ok im goin to type up a model answer for psycholodynamic in treating mental disorder:
outline and evaluate one or more therapies derived from the psychodynamic model of abnormality.
psychoanalysis is a 'talking cure'ntherapy based on the psychodynamic model of abnormality. The therapy places great importance on childhood and repressed impulses and conflicts. The goal of psychoanalytic therapy is to bring these repressed feelings into conscious awareness (' to make the unconscious conscious') where the patient (also called the analysand) can deal with them. through gaining 'insight' in this way the analysand can work through any buried feelings they have.
The two main techniques used in psychoanalysis are free association and dream analysis. Free association involves an analysand lying on the couch and talking about whatever come to mind. the analysand can say absolutely anything regardless of whether it appears unimportant, embarrassing, shameful or dirty. The therapist usually doesn't react at all. It's assumed that by using this technique the internal 'censor' of the unconscious will relax so unconscious material can emerge, at least, symbolically. the analysand's collection of thoughts provide the analyst with clues to help understand their unconscious conflicts.
word association is a realted technique that involves single words being presented to the analysand who has to respond as quickly as possible with the first word that comes to mind. Words thought to be emotionally significant to the analysand are included. The significance of the response is judged subjectively. A long delay in responding suggests that resistance or a censoring of thoughts is occuring.
Freud believed dreams were 'the royal road into the unconscious' that influences so much of our lives. Freud believed that uised in during sleep the ego defences are lowered, allowing repressed material to surface, in a disguised, symbolic form. It's disguised in order to stop unacceptable thoughts from waking us up (e.g. dreaming of a lollipop rather than a penis). Anxieties and concerns are 'hidden' (the latent content) in dreams whereas the manifest content is what is immediatley apparent in the dream (what we can recall). The analyst guides the analysand in recalling and analysing their dreams with the goal being to reveal the latent content.
key therapeutic processes that occur during psychoanalysis include transference,interpretation and insight. Transference invloves the analysand transferring attitudes from the past toward the therapist. Analysands respond to the analyst as though they were one of the important people in their past. freud believed that transference is a vital technique for explaining to analysands the childhood origin of some of their anxieties and fears. The analysand must work through the transference process if sucess is to be achieved. Interpretation is where the analyst points out and interprets the hidden meanings in what the analysand is on the verge of making. The analyst may point out what certain reportes memories, events or dreams really mean. insight occurs when the analysand gains self-knowledge and understanding into the nature and origin of their neurosis.
There are a number of problems with psychoanalysis. A key aspect is that there is no agreed way of measuring its effectiveness. some studies use analysand self report; others rely on the analyst to judge the treatment outcome. This is likey to lead to either demand characteristics or a self-serving bias. Allied to this problem of measuring outcomes, there are also problems of lack of addition, it has been claimed that the sucess of psychoanalysis sometimes only becomes apparent some years after the treatment has ended. One of the most cited studies of the effectiveness of psychoanalysis was that published by Eysenck (1952). eysenck included patients who had dropped out of therapy prior to completeion and judged the 'sucess' level at 39%. Bergin (1971) did not include such patients and arrived at a 91% sucess rate. Eysenck even went on to claim that 'sponataneous remission rates' ( people who improve over time without undergoing any treatment) are better than those who undergo psychoanalysis. he stated that: 'the more psychotherapy , the smaller the recovery rate'.
A more recent review showed that, at the end of psychotherapy, the 'average' patient is better off than 80% of untreated patients (Lambert & Bergin, 1994) and that this beneficial effect is such an effective treatment that it would be unethical to withold it from patients. There are many associated benefits of psychoanaltic therapy. Dossman et al. (1997) found in a study of 666 patients that therapy decreased medical visits by 30% lost work days by 40% and days in hospital by 66%.
There are also questions as to how appropriate psychoanalysis is for certain disorders. It's suggested that neurotics (e.g. those with anxiety disorders) are helped more by psychoanalysis that psychotics (e.g. tose with severe personality disorders such as schizophrenia). Even freud maintained that psychoanalysis would not work with schizophrenics because they ignore their therapist's insights and are resistant to treatment. Indeed, if one accepts some biological cause to certain mental disorders such as schizophrenia then it might be considerd ridiculous to think that a 'talking cure' can have and effect.
Psychoanalysis is based on freudian theory and this, in turn, has been criticised for its lack of scientific evidence. the methods of free association and dream analysis are incapable of being scientifically tested and are based on subjectve speculation on the part of the analyst. In addition, psychoanalysis tends to be costly, time consuming (several sessions per week) and lengthy ( often a number of years). from a practical point of view, this is hardly ideal especially given the controversies outlined above surrounding both its appropriatness and effectiveness.
ouch my fingers are hurting now :/ well hope that helps btw this is not my answer just one in my text book. i really hope psychoanalysis comes up.