Gorey (2000) defines psychotherapy as the provision, by qualified practitioners, of a formal and professional relationship within which clients can profitably explore difficult and often painful, emotions and experiences toward the goal of helping the clients to gain an increased capacity for choice, more autonomy and more self-determination. While this general definition to some extent applies to all types of psychotherapy, there are some distinct differences in approaches. These differing views are often reviewed to as schools of thought.
The main schools of psychotherapy, according to Ford and Urban (1998) are the psychodynamic models, the cognitive-behavioral models, and the humanistic models. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the main schools of psychotherapy, emphasizing their positive aspects but also discussing their similarities and differences as these relate to their basic concepts, aims, practices and methods.
Basic Concepts, Goals, Methods and Practices
The psychodynamic approach to psychotherapy began with Sigmund Freud. Pervin and John (2000) report that Freud characterized the human being as an energy system whose single goal was that of maximizing pleasure through the gratification of instincts (drives) while simultaneously avoiding pain. Freud's perspective on the structure of the human mind was that it was composed of the id (instincts), ego (conscious mind) and superego (moral values and beliefs learned from caregivers). The id and the ego were mostly unconscious. Freudian theory held that it was the unconscious structures of mind that were primarily involved in determining behavior.
Pervin and John (2000) also pointed out that in Freudian theory, the healthy mind was characterized as a mind in which the goal of obtaining pleasure while avoiding pain was not excessively frustrated or thwarted. Frustration and thwarting of this goal was said to result in tension, anxiety. If the frustration...