THERAPY FRAMEWORKS

Millon and Lerner (2002) define psychotherapy as the treatment of psychological disorders or maladjustments by a psychological technique, such as psychoanalysis, group therapy, or behavioral therapy. The term, according to the authors, does not normally include what they refer to as "biological procedures" or therapy which they categorize as physiological interventions, such as drug therapy or electroconvulsive therapy. However, it is noted that these methods are often used in combination with psychotherapy. The purpose of this paper is to describe and compare the major models of psychotherapy including the biological, psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive, and humanistic approaches.

Nevid (2003) reports that biological therapy, in general medical terms, refers to the injection of the substances which produce a biological reaction in the organism as a response to the treatment of physiological diseases. However, when applied to psychological and psychiatric models, biological therapy refers to techniques, practices, and methods that operate to correct psychologi