Psychotherapy is the process of making some favorable personal change using
psychological means. Psychotherapy is a process involving multiple contacts
over a period of time between a psychotherapist and a patient. It is possible that
the whole change process could take place in one meeting but this is not
common. Most patients require a certain amount of time to mull things over and
to explore alternate possibilities before they are ready, willing and able to make
some important change.
The patient is usually someone who is dissatisfied with the present situation and
is interested in making some favorable change in personal, social or vocational
life.
The psychotherapist is someone who holds himself out to the public as having
the skill, the experience and the credentials to be able to help the patient make
changes in the areas noted above. A meeting between a patient and a person
who does not have the requisite skills, experience and credentials is not
psychotherapy even if favorable change is an outgrowth of the meeting. Friends
may give each other aid, comfort and advice but this is not psychotherapy;
neither are the heartfelt remarks from the barber or the guy on the other bar
stool.
The relationship between the patient and the therapist is a professional one. A
meeting between them should focus on changing the patient’s faulty thoughts,
feelings or behaviors, so as to achieve better outcomes in personal, social and
vocational life. When a meeting is used to gratify personal or social needs it is
probably not psychotherapy.
A psychotherapist who is a Clinical Psychologist may use any of a group of
procedures to change faulty thoughts, feelings or behaviors that are associated
with psychological disorders. These procedures are well described in Journals,
books, lectures and elsewhere in the psychological literature. New approaches
often appear in the professional literature as well as new “tweaks” to older forms
of psychotherapy. Most jurisdictions require varying amounts of participation in
Continuing Education programs in order to maintain licensure.
As I come across useful or interesting material, I will Post it to this web site
Comments