Developmental methods of psychotherapy are. Psychotherapy is usually divided into general and private, or special

When solving problems of psychotherapy, the therapist uses methods and forms of psychotherapy. It is necessary to distinguish between methods and forms (techniques) of psychotherapy.

Method of psychotherapy - a specific method of implementation general principle treatment, resulting from an understanding of the essence of a mental disorder within the framework of a certain concept of psychotherapy.

In total, there are currently more than 400 independent methods of psychotherapy. One of the reasons for existence various methods psychotherapy is the lack of sufficiently convincing criteria for the greater effectiveness of some methods compared to others. Their range is very wide: conversational psychotherapy and other psychotherapeutic approaches of a humanistic orientation, a large number of behavioral techniques, psychodrama, various schools of psychoanalytic direction, etc. Each psychotherapeutic approach claims to be effective in treating almost all areas of psychopathology. The choice of a specific method of psychotherapy is determined by the mutual influence of specific clinical indicators of the patient and the disease, the characteristics of his personality and other psychological characteristics, the level of socio-psychological adaptation of the patient, as well as the structural and organizational form of psychotherapy.

For example, the concept of neurosis as a delusion of the mind, erroneous thinking gave rise to the method of rational psychotherapy. The idea of ​​neurosis as a disorder caused by being stuck in the unconscious realm of affect experienced in the past gave rise to the method of catharsis. The understanding of neurosis as a manifestation of infantile sexual desire repressed into the unconscious gave rise to psychoanalysis.

D.V. Aleksandrovich (1979) made an attempt to analyze the variety of meanings in which the concept of method is used in psychotherapy:
- methods of psychotherapy that have the nature of techniques (hypnosis, relaxation, psycho-gymnastics, etc.);
- methods of psychotherapy that determine the conditions that help optimize the achievement of psychotherapeutic goals (family psychotherapy, etc.);
- methods of psychotherapy in the sense of a tool that we use during the psychotherapeutic process (such a tool can be a psychotherapist in the case of individual psychotherapy or a group in group psychotherapy);
- methods of psychotherapy in the meaning of therapeutic interventions (interventions), considered either in style parameters (directive, non-directive) or in parameters theoretical approach(learning, interpersonal interaction, dialogue).

There are a huge number of classifications of psychotherapeutic treatment methods. Let's identify some of them.

Classification of psychotherapy methods according to their goals, developed by L.R. Volberg, distinguishes 3 types of psychotherapy:
1) supportive psychotherapy, the purpose of which is to strengthen and support the patient’s existing defenses and develop new, better methods of protective behavior that allow restoring mental balance;
2) retraining psychotherapy, the purpose of which is to change the patient’s behavior by supporting and approving positive forms of behavior and disapproving of negative ones;
3) reconstructive psychotherapy, the goal of which is to understand the intrapsychic conflicts that served as the source of personality disorders, and the desire to achieve significant changes in character traits and restore the fullness of individual and social functioning of the individual.

Classification of methods of psychotherapeutic treatment developed by I.Z. Velvovsky et al. (1984), includes the following sections:
1. Psychotherapy in the natural state of wakefulness (rational-associative forms and techniques; emotional-pitique and game methods; training-volitional forms; suggestive forms).
2. Psychotherapy in special conditions higher parts of the brain (hypnosis-rest according to K. Platonov; suggestion in hypnosis; post-hypnotic suggestion; various forms of autohypnotechniques; methods of autogenic training; relaxation according to Jacobson; narco-hypnosis; hypnosuggestion during electric sleep, etc.).
3. Psychotherapy for stress caused by: 1) psychically- fright, acute positive or negative experience; 2) pharmacological or pain agents; 3) physical agents (cauterization with a thermal cautery); 4) “attack by surprise”, through an ethereal mask, according to A.M. Svyadosch, enhanced hyperpnea, according to I.Z. Velvovsky and I.M. Gurevich.
Of the variety of psychotherapy methods among practitioners, the following are now the most common:
1) suggestive psychotherapy (suggestion while awake, natural sleep, hypnosis, emotional stress psychotherapy, drug psychotherapy);
2) self-hypnosis ( autogenic training, Coue method, Jacobson method);
3) rational psychotherapy;
4) group psychotherapy;
5) play psychotherapy;
6) family psychotherapy;
7) conditioned reflex psychotherapy.

Psychoanalysis, transactional analysis, gestalt therapy, etc. are increasingly used. Within each of these methods there are dozens, hundreds of techniques, this is explained by the fact that, as S. Skoda notes, the dream of every ambitious psychotherapist is to create a new, unusual technique, to make his own original contribution to history of psychotherapy.

There is a classification of principles for choosing a method of psychotherapy depending on the disease (Strotska, 1986):
- in case of acute hysterical symptoms, suggestion is used;
- for autonomic disorders - autogenic training;
- at life's difficulties- "talking" therapy;
- for phobias - behavioral therapy;
- for characterological disorders - gestalt therapy, psychodrama;
- for disorders associated with family problems, family psychotherapy;
- for complex disorders with the presence of a previous predisposition - deep-seated psychological methods.

The method of applying a particular method of psychotherapy is called a form of psychotherapeutic influence. The form of psychotherapy is the organization and structure of interaction between the therapist and the patient in the process of implementing a particular method of psychotherapy.

For example, the method of rational psychotherapy can be used in the form of an individual conversation with a patient, in the form of a conversation with a group, or in the form of a lecture. The method of suggestion can be used while awake or in hypnosis. Psychoanalysis is applied in the form of flow observation free associations, association studies, dream analysis, in the form of an associative experiment, etc. The same form of psychological influence can serve different methodological guidelines. Thus, hypnosis can be used both for the purpose of suggestion and for the purpose of catharsis.

A complex of various methods of psychotherapy, united by a common principled approach to treatment, forms the direction of psychotherapy. In certain areas of psychotherapy, separate methods are distinguished, and within each method there are various techniques and techniques.

Psychological methods of influence in psychotherapy include primarily linguistic communication, which, as a rule, is implemented during a specially organized meeting between a psychotherapist and a patient or group of patients.

Great importance is also paid to the means of non-verbal communication. In general, the psychological tools of psychotherapy include such means and forms of influence that can influence the patient’s intellectual activity, his emotional state and behavior.

Classification of psychotherapy methods according to Aleksandrovich: 1) methods that have the nature of techniques; 2) methods that determine the conditions that contribute to the achievement and optimization of the goals of psychotherapy; 3) methods in the sense of a tool that we use during the psychotherapeutic process; 4) methods in the meaning of therapeutic interventions (interventions).

There are different methods of psychotherapy that reveal the causes of conflicts and methods that do not reveal them (this refers to the different positions of psychotherapists in relation to unconscious complexes and conflicts). Methods that reveal the causes of conflicts are basically identical to psychoanalysis or methods oriented towards psychoanalysis; they assume that important role plays the unconscious component of the personality.

For the practical application of certain methods of psychotherapy, their classification according to their goals is important. Wohlberg distinguishes 3 types of psychotherapy: 1) supportive psychotherapy, the purpose of which is to strengthen and support the patient’s existing defenses and develop new, better ways of behavior to restore mental balance; 2) retraining psychotherapy, the purpose of which is to change the patient’s behavior by supporting and approving positive forms of behavior and disapproving of negative ones. The patient must learn to better use his existing capabilities and abilities, but this does not set the goal of truly resolving unconscious conflicts; 3) reconstructive psychotherapy, the goal of which is to understand the intrapsychic conflicts that served as the source of personality disorders, and the desire to achieve significant changes in character traits and restore the fullness of individual and social functioning of the individual.

The most well-known and widespread psychotherapeutic methods are: suggestive (hypnosis and other forms of suggestion), psychoanalytic (psychodynamic), behavioral, phenomenological-humanistic (for example, Gestalt therapy), used in individual, collective and group forms.

Verbal and non-verbal methods of psychotherapy. This division is based on the predominant type of communication and the nature of the material received. Verbal methods are based on verbal communication and are aimed primarily at analyzing verbal material. Nonverbal methods rely on nonverbal activity, nonverbal communication and concentrate on the analysis of nonverbal products.

Verbal methods of group psychotherapy usually include group discussion and psychodrama, non-verbal methods include psychogymnastics, projective drawing, music therapy, choreotherapy, etc.

Formally, the division of group psychotherapy methods into verbal and nonverbal is justified, but almost any interaction in a group includes both verbal and nonverbal components. Taking into account and analyzing nonverbal behavior and interaction in the process of using verbal methods (for example, group discussion) allows us to more fully and adequately reveal the content of a particular verbal communication. In connection with the development of psychotherapeutic trends, based primarily on direct emotional experiences, there has been a partial identification of the term “verbal” with the terms “rational”, “cognitive”, “cognitive” and the opposition of the last three to the concepts of “non-verbal”, “emotional”, “experienced” "(in the sense of direct experience).

The distinction between methods of group psychotherapy is largely conditional and is advisable only from the point of view of the predominant type of initial communication.

Psychotherapeutic persuasion. The method that is most conducive to the formation of a connection with the patient creates a system of their relationships that has an impact on the emotional side of activity, on the intellect and personality of the patient as a whole.

Such an impact provides the broadest connections between the words spoken by the doctor and the patient’s experience, with his ideas about the disease, life attitudes, and can prepare him for the intelligent processing of everything said by the doctor, and can contribute to the assimilation of the doctor’s words. Using the method of psychotherapeutic persuasion, the doctor can influence not only the patient’s ideas and views on the disease, but also influence personality traits. In this influence, the doctor can use criticism of the patient’s behavior, his inadequate assessment of the situation and those around him, but this criticism should not insult or humiliate the patient. He should always feel that the doctor understands the patient’s difficulties, sympathizes and has respect for him and a desire to help.

Misconceptions about the disease, about relationships with others, about behavioral norms are formed in a person over the years and to change them requires repeated dissuading. The arguments given by the doctor must be understandable to the patient. When persuading the patient to change the current situation, it is necessary to take into account his real opportunities, life attitudes, ideas about morality, etc. A conversation conducted with a patient should evoke an emotional reaction in him, contain an element of suggestion, and should be aimed at actively stimulating him and restructuring his behavior.

Using this method, the doctor can inform the patient about the causes of the disease, the mechanisms of its occurrence, in a form understandable to the patient. painful symptoms. For clarity, the doctor can use drawings, tables, graphs, give examples from life and literature, but must always take into account the principle of the strength and accessibility for the patient of the facts that are reported.

If a doctor uses an unknown term or talks about incomprehensible patterns, the patient may not ask what this means, for fear of showing his illiteracy or lack of culture. Conversations that are insufficiently understandable to the patient usually cause harm instead of benefit, since the patient, who is emotionally attuned to his illness, tends to evaluate the doctor’s incomprehensible words not in his favor.

Suggestion. Presentation of information that is perceived without critical evaluation and influences the course of neuropsychic and somatic processes. Through suggestion, sensations, ideas, emotional states and volitional impulses are evoked, and also influence vegetative functions without active participation personality, without logical processing of what is perceived. The main means is the word, the speech of the suggestor (the person making the suggestion). Non-verbal factors (gestures, facial expressions, actions) usually have an additional influence.

Suggestion used in the form of heterosuggestion (suggestion made by another person) and autosuggestion (self-suggestion) is aimed at relieving emotional neurotic symptoms, normalizing mental state a person during periods of crisis, after exposure to mental trauma and as a method of psychoprophylaxis. It is effective to use suggestive methods of psychotherapy to remove psychological maladaptive types of an individual’s response to somatic disease. They use indirect and direct methods of suggestion. In case of indirect, they resort to the help of an additional stimulus.

Classification of suggestion: suggestion as self-hypnosis; suggestion is direct or open, indirect or closed; suggestion is contact and distant.

IN medical practice Appropriate techniques of suggestion are used in the waking state, in a state of natural, hypnotic and narcotic sleep.

Suggestion in the waking state is present to varying degrees of severity in every conversation between a doctor and a patient, but can also act as an independent psychotherapeutic influence. Suggestion formulas are usually pronounced in an imperative tone, taking into account the patient’s condition and character clinical manifestations diseases. They can be aimed both at improving general well-being (sleep, appetite, performance, etc.) and at eliminating individual neurotic symptoms. Usually, waking suggestions are preceded by an explanatory conversation about the essence of therapeutic treatment and convincing the patient of its effectiveness. The stronger the effect of suggestion, the higher the authority of the doctor making the suggestion in the patient’s eyes. The degree of implementation of the suggestion is also determined by the characteristics of the patient’s personality, the severity of the mood, the belief in the possibility of influencing some people on others with the help of unknown to science means and methods.

Suggestion in the waking state. With this method of psychotherapeutic influence there is always an element of persuasion, but the decisive role belongs to suggestion. For some hysterical disorders, a therapeutic effect can be obtained (one-time). For example, a suggestion is made in the form of an order: “Open your eyes! You can see everything clearly!” etc.

Suggestive methods. Suggestive methods include various psychological influences using direct or indirect suggestion, i.e. verbal or non-verbal influence on a person in order to create a certain state in him or encourage him to take certain actions.

Suggestion may be accompanied by a change in the patient’s consciousness, creating a specific mood for the perception of information on the part of the psychotherapist. Providing a suggestive effect implies the presence of special qualities in a person mental activity: suggestibility and hypnotizability.

Suggestibility is the ability to uncritically (without the participation of the will) perceive the information received and easily succumb to persuasion, combined with signs of increased gullibility, naivety and other traits of infantilism.

Hypnotizability is the psychophysiological ability (susceptibility) to easily and unhinderedly enter a hypnotic state, to succumb to hypnosis, that is, to change the level of consciousness with the formation of transitional states between sleep and wakefulness. This term refers to the individual ability to be subjected to hypnotic influence, to achieve a hypnotic state of varying depth.

The patient's hypnotizability is important in determining indications for various types suggestions. P. I. Bul (1974) notes the dependence of hypnotizability on the patient’s suggestibility in reality, the patient’s personality traits, the environment in which the hypnotherapy session takes place, the experience of the psychotherapist, his authority and degree of mastery of the hypnotization technique, as well as the degree of the patient’s “magical mood.”

Hypnosis is a temporary state of consciousness, characterized by a narrowing of its volume and a sharp focus on the content of suggestion, which is associated with a change in the function of individual control and self-awareness. The state of hypnosis occurs as a result of special influences of the hypnotist or targeted self-suggestion.

The French neurologist J. Charcot interpreted hypnotic phenomena as a manifestation of artificial neurosis, i.e. a disease of the central nervous system, psyche. His compatriot Bernheim argued that hypnosis is a suggested dream.

Hypnosis is considered as partial sleep, which is based on a conditioned reflex inhibitory process in cortical cells. At the same time, with the help of a report (verbal communication between a doctor and a patient), it is possible to evoke various reactions from the human body in a state of hypnosis. This is possible because the word, thanks to the entire previous life of an adult, is connected with all external and internal stimuli that come to him. cerebral hemispheres brain, signals all of them, replaces all of them and therefore can cause all those actions, reactions of the body that cause these irritations. Having revealed the physiological mechanisms of sleep, transitional states and hypnosis, I. P. Pavlov gave a scientific explanation to all phenomena that had been considered mysterious and enigmatic for centuries. The teachings of I. P. Pavlov about signal systems, about the physiological power of words and suggestion became the basis for scientific psychotherapy.

There are three stages of hypnosis: lethargic, cataleptic and somnambulistic. With the first, a person experiences drowsiness, with the second - signs of catalepsy - waxy flexibility, stupor (immobility), mutism, with the third - complete detachment from reality, sleepwalking and inspired images. The use of hypnotherapy is justified for hysterical neurotic, dissociative (conversion) disorders and hysterical personality disorders.

Rational psychotherapy is a method that uses the patient’s logical ability to make comparisons, draw conclusions, and prove their validity.

In this, rational psychotherapy is the opposite of suggestion, which introduces information, new attitudes, instructions, bypassing a person’s criticality.

“I call rational psychotherapy that which aims to act on the world of the patient’s ideas directly and precisely through convincing dialectics” - this is how Du Bois defines rational psychotherapy. The goal of rational psychotherapy is a distorted “internal picture of the disease,” creating an additional source of emotional experiences for the patient. Removing uncertainty, correcting inconsistency and inconsistency in the patient’s ideas, primarily regarding his illness, are the main links in the impact of rational psychotherapy.

Changing the patient’s misconceptions is achieved by certain methodological techniques. The essential quality of rational psychotherapy is its construction on logical argumentation; it can be seen in all its modifications and distinguishes it from other methods of psychotherapy.

Various options for rational psychotherapy are highlighted. In some cases, the patient is led to a certain programmed result, while the psychotherapist shows high activity in argumentation, refuting the patient’s incorrect arguments, encouraging him to formulate the necessary conclusions. A major role in such a situation can be played by the Socratic dialogue technique, in which questions are asked in such a way that they assume only positive answers, on the basis of which the patient himself draws conclusions. In rational psychotherapy there is also an appeal to logical thinking patient, a significant role is also assigned to response and behavioral learning.

The main forms of rational psychotherapy are:

1) Explanation and clarification, including interpretation of the essence of the disease, the causes of its occurrence, taking into account possible psychosomatic connections, previously, as a rule, ignored by patients, not included in the “internal picture of the disease”; as a result of the implementation of this stage, a clearer, more defined picture of the disease is achieved, removing additional sources of anxiety and opening up the opportunity for the patient to more actively control the disease; 2) persuasion – correction of not only the cognitive, but also the emotional component of the attitude towards the disease, facilitating the transition to modifying the patient’s personal attitudes; 3) reorientation - achieving more stable changes in the patient’s attitudes, primarily in his attitude towards the disease, associated with changes in his value system and taking him beyond the disease; 4) psychogogy - reorientation of a broader plan, creating positive prospects for the patient outside of the disease.

Hypnotherapy. A method of psychotherapy that uses a hypnotic state for therapeutic purposes. The widespread use of hypnotherapy reflects its therapeutic effectiveness for various diseases.

The main complications of hypnosis are loss of rapport, hysterical attacks, spontaneous somnambulism, and the transition of deep somnambulistic hypnosis to hypnosis.

The success of treatment depends on the patient’s personality characteristics; increased suggestibility, his preparedness for such a conversation, the doctor’s authority, and the patient’s faith in him are also important.

From the time of Delirium to the present day, hypnotherapy uses the method of verbal suggestion and sometimes fixation of the gaze on a shiny object to induce hypnotic sleep; later, for greater effect, they began to use monotonous, monotonous stimuli affecting the visual, auditory and tactile analyzers.

Autogenic training. Active method psychotherapy, psychoprophylaxis and mental hygiene, aimed at restoring the dynamic balance of the system of homeostatic self-regulating mechanisms of the human body, disturbed as a result of stress. The main elements of the technique are muscle relaxation training, self-hypnosis and self-education (autodidactics). The activity of autogenic training opposes some of the negative aspects of hypnotherapy in its classical model - the patient’s passive attitude to the treatment process, dependence on the doctor.

As a therapeutic method, autogenic training was proposed for the treatment of neuroses by Schultz in 1932. In our country, it began to be used in the late 50s. The therapeutic effect of Autogenic training, along with the development as a result of relaxation of a trophotropic reaction, characterized by increased tone of the parasympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system and helping to neutralize the stressful state, is also based on a weakening of the activity of the limbic and hypothalamic areas, which is accompanied by a decrease in general anxiety and the development of anti-stress tendencies in trainees ( Lobzin V.S., 1974).

There are two stages of autogenic training (according to Schultz): 1) the lowest stage - learning to relax with the help of exercises aimed at inducing a feeling of heaviness, warmth, and mastering the rhythm of cardiac activity and breathing; 2) the highest level - autogenic meditation - the creation of trance states of various levels.

The lowest level, autogenic training, consists of six standard exercises, which are performed by patients in one of three poses: 1) sitting position, “coachman’s pose” - the trainee sits on a chair with his head slightly lowered forward, hands and forearms lie freely on the front surface of the thighs, legs spread freely; 2) lying position - the trainee lies on his back, his head rests on a low pillow, his arms are slightly bent in elbow joint, lie freely along the body with palms down; 3) reclining position - the trainee sits freely in a chair, leaning on the back, hands on the front of the thighs or on the armrests, legs freely apart. In all three positions, complete relaxation is achieved; for better concentration, the eyes are closed.

The lesson can be conducted collectively, with 4-10 people in a group. Before the start of the training, the doctor conducts an explanatory conversation, talks about the features of the nervous autonomic system, its role and manifestations in a person’s life. In a form accessible to the patient, an explanation is given for the characteristics of motor reactions and especially the state of muscle tone depending on mood. Examples of muscle tension in various emotional states are given. At the same time, it is necessary for the patient to clearly understand the difference between the functions of the autonomic nervous system and the animal one. He must understand that he can make voluntary movements and cannot force his stomach or intestines to move. He must learn to control some vegetative functions in the process of autogenic training.

Training is carried out by patients - lying down, reclining or sitting. Depending on the disease, the training posture is chosen. Autogenic training requires long-term work with patients, since it takes two weeks to practice one exercise. As a rule, the doctor meets with patients twice a week to check how they are mastering the exercises and explains new ones. The patient must independently conduct three sessions per day. After the patient has mastered the lowest level, one can move on to targeted self-hypnosis against painful disorders.

Usually the effect is achieved after months of home training. The highest level of training helps the patient manage his emotional experiences.

Autogenic training can be indicated in cases in which it is necessary to teach a rapidly depleted patient to restore performance, reduce or relieve mental stress, functional disorders internal organs and in cases where it is necessary to teach the patient to control himself. It is used for stuttering, neurodermatitis, sexual disorders, for pain relief during childbirth, eliminating or softening preoperative and postoperative emotional layers.

Autogenic training refers to activating psychotherapy, since when using it, a person himself is active and has the opportunity to become convinced of his capabilities.

Group psychotherapy (collective). A psychotherapeutic method, the specificity of which lies in the targeted use of group dynamics, i.e. the entire set of relationships and interactions that arise between group members, including the group psychotherapist, for therapeutic purposes.

Collective hypnotherapy was proposed by V. M. Bekhterev. With collective hypnotherapy, suggestibility is enhanced through mutual suggestion and imitation. This must be taken into account when selecting a group for collective hypnotherapy. It is desirable that among the patients there be highly hypnotizable and recovering ones, who would influence the rest positive influence. The use of collective hypnotherapy makes it possible to implement therapeutic suggestions for most patients during one session. This type of psychotherapy is widely used in outpatient practice.

Fundamentally, group psychotherapy is not an independent direction in psychotherapy, but is only a specific method in which the main instrument of psychotherapeutic influence is a group of patients, in contrast to individual psychotherapy, where only the psychotherapist is such an instrument.

Music therapy. A psychotherapeutic method that uses music as a therapeutic agent.

The healing effect of music on the human body has been known since ancient times. First attempts scientific explanation this phenomenon dates back to the 17th century, and wide experimental studies- to XIX. S. S. Korsakov, V. M. Bekhterev and other famous Russian scientists attached great importance to music in the system of treating mentally ill patients.

Art therapy is a method of psychotherapy that involves using art as a therapeutic factor. The importance of the method is increasing due to the increasing role of art in the life of modern man: more high level education, culture determines interest in art.

The question of whether art therapy is occupational therapy or psychotherapy various authors are solved differently, since art therapy sessions combine therapeutic effects of various kinds.

When using art therapy, patients are offered a variety of arts and crafts activities (wood carving, chasing, sculpting, burning, drawing, making mosaics, stained glass, all kinds of crafts from fur, fabrics, etc.).

Bibliotherapy is a therapeutic effect on the psyche of a sick person through reading books. Reading treatment is included as one of the links in the system of psychotherapy. The method of bibliotherapy is a complex combination of bibliology, psychology and psychotherapy - as defined by V. N. Myasishchev.

Start using book reading with therapeutic purpose refers to the century before last; the term began to be used in the 20s. last century in the USA. The definition adopted by the US Hospital Libraries Association states that bibliotherapy is “the use of specialized

but the material selected for reading as a therapeutic agent in general medicine and psychiatry for the purpose of solving personal problems through guided reading.”

Functional training. This is a version of psychotherapy in the waking state. When treating patients who, for example, are afraid to go outside for fear that something will happen to their heart or they may suddenly die, a complex training system is used. For example, gradually expanding the area in which the patient decides to take walks, the doctor convinces the patient by walking with him or giving him the task to walk or drive a certain section of the path. In further work, the achieved successes are used and the complexity of tasks is built on them. This training should be considered as activating and stimulating psychotherapy. The main goal of psychotherapy is to restore the activity lost by the patient, restoring his ability to live a full active life, which is always associated with a person’s correct assessment of his capabilities. Psychotherapeutic training has as its goal both “a direct impact on nervous dynamics and a restructuring of the patient’s attitude towards the functions being trained, towards himself as a whole.

Play psychotherapy - the study of children's play through observation, interpretation, structuring, etc. made it possible to realize the uniqueness of the child’s way of communicating with the world around him. Thus, the game was used as the basis for a method of treating emotional and behavioral disorders in children, called play psychotherapy.

Children's lack of verbal or conceptual skills in to the extent necessary does not allow effective use of psychotherapy with them, almost entirely based on recitation, as is the case in psychotherapy for adults. Children cannot freely describe their feelings; they are able to express their experiences, difficulties, needs and dreams in other ways.

Psychotherapeutic methods – These are special techniques of influencing a person’s consciousness in order to assist him in resolving his psychological problems. The classification of these methods as empirical is justified by the fact that they most directly implement main feature this group of methods of psychological research (and examination)

– contact with the object being studied (the person who asked for help) and collection of psychological information about him.

18.1. General idea of ​​psychotherapy

Traditionally, psychotherapy is interpreted as treatment of the patient, carried out during his contacts with the doctor. So, in textbook According to medical psychology, psychotherapy is defined as “the purposeful use of mental influences to treat diseases.” However, in Lately Another interpretation coexists, applicable to situations when a person in need of psychological help is considered not as a patient, but as a client who consumes this type psychological services. The client appears not so much as a person who received this or that psychological trauma, requiring treatment and development special measures psychological protection, how many people striving for peace of mind, psychological comfort and improvement. The main indications for psychotherapeutic intervention are disorders social connections(workplace, friendship, family) and difficulties in communication and social adaptation, which can result in neuroses. This approach removes the negativity provoked by a person’s awareness of his inferiority as a patient, increases his self-esteem and has a more beneficial effect on the psychotherapeutic effect. This option is typical for the humanistic direction in psychology. Thus, the concept of psychotherapy, originally associated with the treatment of mental and psychosomatic diseases psychological means, V last years generally applies to any cases of mental ill-being ( internal conflicts, depression, anxiety, fears, communication disorders), including within medical standard.

Conventionally, psychotherapy is divided into clinical and personal. The first is aimed mainly at eliminating or mitigating the symptoms of the disease. This is primarily the field of medicine and medical psychology. Personal psychotherapy is focused on helping the patient (client) change his relationship to the social environment and his own personality. Here lies the interests of both general and social psychology. The main technique is the analysis of a person’s experiences, allowing one to reveal the reasons conflict situations, discomfort states, unsuccessful activities, communication defects, etc. The client’s understanding of these reasons allows one to relieve internal tension, and often outline ways out of psychological crises.

In medical practice, a distinction is made between general and private (special) psychotherapy. By general we mean the whole complex of mental factors affecting a patient with any disease, which is aimed at increasing his strength in the fight against the disease. In this case, psychotherapy is an auxiliary means that creates a favorable atmosphere, against the background of which all other types of treatment (surgical, physiotherapeutic, medicinal, etc.) are carried out. Private or special psychotherapy is a set of methods of mental influence that have the nature of the main methods of treatment.

Psychotherapeutic influence can be carried out in three forms: individual, group and collective. This demarcation of methods of mental influence on the client (patient), in our opinion, should be considered precisely as different forms of psychotherapy, and not as its individual methods. The fact is that almost any specific psychotherapeutic method can be used both in the form of individual and group influence. Dividing methods according to the criterion of the number of subjects is a general principle applied to any combination of methods, as already mentioned in the section “Classification of methods”. In this case we are talking about breeding specific scientific (special) methods. By the way, the problematic nature of considering group psychotherapy as a separate method is clearly expressed by W. Hulse, quoted in: “Group psychotherapy is not a very clearly defined therapeutic method, which includes numerous and varied procedures that have little in common with each other.”

Individual psychotherapy is a method of special influence (suggestion, hypnosis, conversation, training, game) by a specialist on a patient (client) in order to achieve physical and

psychological well-being in conditions of isolation from other people.

Group psychotherapy is the impact of a specialist on a group of patients. The main connection is “vertical”, i.e. along the specialist (doctor, psychologist) – patient line. Relations between group members (horizontal connections) are more or less elementary: imitation, induction, increased attention in the group. A variation of this form can be considered mass psychotherapy, the peculiarity of which is the lack of formality and weak structure of the group, and there is only a mechanical crowd of people (for example, an audience at a doctor’s lecture, a crowd of people during cultural events, etc.)

Collective psychotherapy– a method that combines the influence of a specialist with the mutual influence of group members on each other. The second type of communication (“horizontally”) predominates, but is directed by the leader of the psychotherapeutic session. Such types of collective therapy as family therapy, therapy in work, play and sports groups, in rehabilitation centers and clubs, etc.

Basic psychotherapeutic methods: hypnotherapy, autogenic training, rational psychotherapy, play psychotherapy, psychoaesthetic therapy, narcopsychotherapy, social psychotherapy.

18.2. Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy is the influence of a person's consciousness through hypnosis for therapeutic purposes. Hypnosis is a temporary state of consciousness characterized by a narrowing of its volume and a sharp focus on the content of the suggestion carried out by the hypnotist. Associated with changes in the functions of self-awareness and individual self-control.

Distinguish three stages of hypnosis: mild (drowsiness), moderate (hypotaxia) and deep (somnambulism). For the practice of hypnotherapy, the third stage is interesting, when, according to G.V. Gershuni, it is possible to change the functional state higher parts of the central nervous system, without causing any damage. “At present it is difficult to imagine anything other than the somnambulistic stage of hypnosis, which could allow, by simplifying human thought, to decompose it into constituent elements in the form of a most complex natural phenomenon that is controlled and subordinated to scientific research tasks.” The role of hypnosis as a research method in the study of unconscious, spheres of mental life not controlled by our consciousness.

Distinguish two types of hypnotization– imperative, based on the hypnotist’s strict directive instructions and strong non-verbal stimuli, and cooperative, involving soft forms of suggestion using weak, “repetitive” stimuli and “persuasive” verbal expressions.

There are many various techniques hypnotization. But any of them uses any of the three basic procedural principles (or combinations thereof): fascination, fixation, or verbal immersion.

The method of fascination (English: fascination - “charm”) is a gaze into the eyes of the hypnotized person. The method is based on a “secret”: the hypnotist himself does not look into the patient’s eyes, but looks at the bridge of his nose, thereby creating for himself a more comfortable conditions. Currently, this method is not used often.

The fixation method is euthanasia by influencing any analyzer (visual, auditory, skin). Thus, the hypnotized person can be asked to fix his gaze on some shiny object (Brad’s technique), a colored light bulb (V. Bekhterev), etc. When exposed to auditory analyzer use various monotonous sounds (the sound of a metronome, the ticking of a clock). Thermal effects are often used: passes with hands or gentle heating devices along the body and face of the subject. Hand passes at a distance of 2-4 cm above the patient’s hands and face are especially effective. As a rule, all types of influence in various combinations are used in a session.

Methodology verbal immersion- suggestion through verbal formulas. Usually this is a description of the sensations experienced by a person falling asleep. You need to speak not loudly, measuredly and calmly, but firmly and confidently. Individual words (such as “Sleep!”) are highlighted by intonation and volume, they are given the connotation of an order (imperative). The session usually lasts 15–20 minutes, and their number and frequency in the cycle of assistance (or course of treatment) are determined strictly individually (from 1 to 20) with a frequency usually no more than 2–3 times a week.

Having placed a person in a hypnotic state, the researcher can begin to obtain the necessary information through the verbal responses of the hypnotized person and his various mental and physiological reactions. If the diagnostic stage has already been passed, then the hypnotist

can have a therapeutic effect. The areas of perception (positive and negative illusions, subjective time), memory (forgetting or remembering facts and events, activation of memorization), attention (increased concentration and distribution), thinking (violations of logic), imagination (increased creative potential), may be affected. affective sphere(changes in mood) and personality (changes in motivation, habits, individual personal characteristics, images of other people). The stronger the influence of the hypnotist, the closer his connection with the hypnotized. A connection with a high degree of receptivity to the hypnotist's suggestions and insensitivity to influences from other sources is called rapport.

Particular attention should be paid to the stage of removing the patient from hypnosis in order to exclude Negative consequences session.

A type of hypnotization is autohypnosis, when the subject enters a state of hypnosis as a result of self-hypnosis.

18.3. Autogenic training

Autogenic training, proposed in its final form as a psychotherapeutic method by the German doctor G. Schulz in 1932, is based on the effect of self-hypnosis.

The technique involves two stages: lower and higher. In therapeutic practice, they are usually limited to the first stage. Here, first, through self-suggestion, relaxation of the tone of the skeletal muscles, called relaxation, is achieved. Then self-hypnosis is carried out aimed at regulating various functions body: sensations of heaviness - lightness, warmth - cold of various parts of the body are evoked, which indicates the controllability of vegetative reactions; mastery of the regulation of the rhythm of breathing and heartbeat is achieved. As a result, not only the skeletal muscles, but also the muscles of the internal organs (both striated and smooth) relax, and emotional tension is significantly reduced.

At the highest level, called autogenic meditation (self-contemplation), one achieves vivid visualization of ideas, extreme concentration of attention, and control of involuntary mental activity. Ultimately, the subject can achieve immersion in a state of “nirvana”, close to the highest stage of hypnosis (somnambulism).

Autogenic training is used not only for medicinal purposes, but also for mental hygiene and psychoprophylaxis healthy people. The main effects obtained with this

psychotherapeutic method:

1) reduction of emotional tension, states of anxiety and excitement;

2) regulation of sleep functions;

3) short rest;

4) activation of the body;

5) mobilization of psychological resources (perceptual, intellectual, mnemonic, attention, will); 6) correction and development of mental functions.

More details about the methodology can be found in the work of Yu. I. Filimonenko.

18.4. Rational (explanatory) psychotherapy

This is the verbal influence of a specialist on the subject through a conversation, lecture, etc. forms of explaining the essence of his problem. Hence the second name of the method – explanatory psychotherapy.

However, many researchers separate these concepts. The main difference they see is that explanatory therapy is carried out in cases where the client does not oppose the specialist in explaining his problems. Then the conversation is didactic (instructive) in nature. Rational therapy is used to correct a person’s misconceptions regarding his problems, especially if he does not agree with the specialist. Then the influence is made through logical (rational) belief. The conversation takes on the character of a convincing dialectic based on logical argumentation, demonstration of errors in the views of the patient (client) and proof of the rightness of the specialist. We will distance ourselves from these subtleties. This method, in addition to clarification and persuasion, includes emotional influence, suggestion (suggestion), techniques for studying and correcting personality, and various rhetorical techniques. Like other methods of psychotherapy, this method involves a two-stage process of working with the client: diagnostic and therapeutic. In explanatory therapy, it is very important for the specialist to present the person being studied as an individual.

It is a postmodern practice, an alternative to academic psychology. Because therapists rarely find useful information in research, they are forced to develop their own knowledge base. They do this not on the basis of skills that are used in academic psychology, but on observations of the environment, using their own schemes to construct a system of knowledge that can find practical application.

Psychotherapy as a theoretical and applied direction of psychology

Psychotherapy has the following definitions:

• direction practical psychology, based on a system of objective (scientific) knowledge about the possibility of psychological influence on a child and his adult environment;
• a system of active measures and influences aimed at correcting (changing) deviations (disorders, defects, disturbances) in the mental development of the individual, preserving his individuality, correcting the behavior of the child and adult members of his environment;
• a method of working with patients (clients) in order to provide them with assistance on modification, change, and weakening of factors that interfere with their normal life.

Subject, purpose and objectives of psychotherapy

The subject of the specialist’s consulting activity is determined by the symptoms and causes of deviations in the development and behavior of the client, therefore psychotherapy is focused on:

• human development (psychomotor, emotional, cognitive, personal, competence, communication, etc.);
• behavioral reactions, actions, acts, manifestations;
• strengthening of voluntary regulation;
• improvement of adaptation indicators to educational institution(including readiness for school, lyceum or college);
• stabilization of personal emotional state;
• structuring thinking;
• memory activation;
• broadcasting development;
• regulation of psychomotor functions, etc.

The general goal of psychotherapy is the return of the individual to internal well-being. Most important task What psychotherapy implies is to help people who are faced with their own inability to achieve goals and who experience frustration, deprivation, despondency and anxiety in connection with this, to create their own assets and liabilities and teach them to use their capabilities effectively, namely:

• recognize your own potential;
• to use him;
• remove obstacles to its implementation (in particular, discard what prevents you from living with a feeling of pleasure, joy and happiness).

The objectives of psychotherapy can be presented as a list:

• information about certain psychological phenomena and characteristics of the psyche and behavior;
• training (training) in new actions, ways of making decisions, expressing feelings, etc. (these are programs aimed at enhancing life skills, communication skills in the field of human relations, problem solving, providing support in choosing a healthy lifestyle);
• development of the activity component of the personality: its skills, abilities and abilities;
• promoting the formation of age-related psychological formations (assistance in the formation of identity and personal development);
• correction of emotions and behavior;
• optimization of the social development situation;
• eliminating (reducing) anxiety, overcoming depression, stress and their consequences.

History of the development of psychotherapy

In ancient times, the first psychotherapists were shamans, magicians and sorcerers. Ceremonies, rituals, dances, fortune telling, etc. helped people whose illnesses were not so much physical as emotional. In the Middle Ages, the prevailing belief was that mental illness was caused by evil demons and diabolical forces that took possession of a person. The birth of psychological science is marked by the emergence of researchers' interest in the patterns of functioning of the psyche, and subsequently by the emergence of ideas about emotions as the cause of mental disorders. At first, scientists were interested in:

• how an ordinary person experiences the world around him;
• how a person plans his actions;
• how it really works.

Subsequently, psychology came to the conclusion about the existence of individual differences (they are the subject of differential psychology and psychodiagnostics). Further, with the advent of the doctrine of emotions as the cause of mental disorders, the focus of attention shifted towards the uniqueness and unpredictability of a person, which are not subject to typification. Then the scope of research shifted from individual differences to differences in the way people conduct discussion and dialogue. The next step is inclusion in the context of analysis social environment in which a person lives, as well as the society of which he is a member (the subject of social psychology).

Individual therapy arose simultaneously with ideas about the dyadic relationship between doctor and patient (“therapeutic alliance”). Counseling psychology emerged in the mid-20th century. In the first stages of its development, it was natural to be interested in the reality that the patient faces and which gives rise to problems and troubles that force him to see a doctor. This is where organizational psychology, family psychotherapy, etc. originated. Focusing on the “consultant-client” dyad posed the task of developing norms and rules for their interaction.

Interdisciplinary connections of psychotherapy

Areas of psychotherapy (including advisory) are based on the following branches of psychological science:

• general, age, children;
• social, clinical and differential;
• personality psychology;
• psychodiagnostics (in particular, testology);
• counseling psychology.

According to traditional ideas about psychological influence on a child in the context of successful ontogenesis, we can say that psychotherapy is a set of means and methods themselves designed to create optimal opportunities and conditions for the full and timely development of a growing individual. In this context, the activities of a specialist are represented by: psychocorrection, psychoprophylaxis, psychohygiene (preservation and strengthening of neuropsychic health), psychorehabilitation.

Counseling psychology as a theoretical and methodological background and direction of psychotherapy

Theoretical and methodological psychotherapy is advisory psychology, that is, a branch of systemic scientific and applied knowledge. As for providing assistance in the form of a conversation, it is usually provided:

• persons of various ages, including children;
• parents and teachers on issues of development, training and education.

Psychological counseling is most often understood as mental assistance to healthy people, which is provided with the goal of helping them cope with various internal and interpersonal difficulties that arise in the process of organized interaction. As a type of medical practice, this is a system of communicative interaction between a doctor and people who turn to a specialist (at the request of the administration of the institution, parents, teachers), and the process may be limited to advisory assistance. Such counseling does not have a common understanding of its essence. It is divided into two groups. This:

• counseling as influence (directive psychotherapy);
• counseling as interaction (non-directive psychotherapy).

Psychological counseling and psychotherapy include: the activity of the client, the activity of the consultant and the result of this process - psychological new formations activated (formed) in the personality of the person seeking help. In this case, five main groups of questions are considered:

• about the essence of the process that arises between the client (the person who finds himself in a difficult situation and needs specialized help) and the therapist (the person who provides this help);
• about the personal traits, attitudes, knowledge, and skills of the doctor;
• about reserves, which are the client’s internal forces, provided that they can be activated;
• about the peculiarities of the situation that has developed in the client’s life and led him to the psychotherapist;
• about the methods and techniques that the consultant will use to provide assistance to the client.

Basic models of psychotherapy

In modern psychotherapy, there are two approaches to the essence of the therapeutic process - medical-biological and psychological. There are also two basic models of psychotherapeutic influence - medical and psychological.

The medical-biological model is an emphasis on the somatic characteristics of the client. It is assumed that only a specially trained psychiatrist or psychotherapist has the right to use it. This condition must be followed strictly. Here is what psychological psychotherapy includes:

• customer centered;
• “coexistence” (when the main thing is not the general activity interaction between the therapist and the client in the advisory process, but the exchange of thoughts and emotions);
• “internal comprehension” (when the client moves in his personal space along a trajectory that he himself determines);
• “unconditional acceptance” (the doctor and the patient enter into a special relationship of intimacy based on empathy, love, respect).

Particular importance is attached to methodology practical work. Methods of psychotherapy (in particular those used according to the methodology of psychoanalysis), knowledge (theory) become the main guidelines of the advisory process. Most often, the doctor can tell everything about the patient: about the characteristics of his relationships in childhood, the processes of overcoming and protecting, his trauma, etc., but he cannot convey his “life spirit.”

Theory-oriented behavioral psychotherapy becomes the best means of achieving a goal within the behavioral model. On the other hand, this knowledge about the client does not guarantee that internal changes will occur in him, does not promise to “awaken” his internal processes. This is only possible in the case of something important, something that is not subject to conceptualization, which is almost impossible to learn, but without which deep behavioral psychotherapy cannot occur.

Psychological models

Within psychological model, in turn, stand out:

1. Social-psychological model. This is an approach that is based on social impact, in which it is possible to work out social forms behavior.
2. Person-centered model (client-centered), which provides for special interpersonal interaction between the therapist and the client. The doctor uses psychological theories and special communication techniques to solve the client’s personal problems.

Areas of psychotherapy

In advisory practice it is understood that illnesses, conflicts, stress, problems are a fact of life for every person, and this must be accepted and recognized. Positive psychotherapy is the direction of maintaining and restoring the mental health of citizens. Its main purpose is to take care of the social, physical, and spiritual health of an individual, family and social group. In this regard, you need to understand that people are endowed with abilities thanks to which they can find ways out of the most difficult problems and situations. Positive psychotherapy emphasizes a holistic view of the individual's life and an optimistic perception of its nature. Human existence is the unity of body, mind, spirit and emotions. A doctor who works in this field will not seek to “make a diagnosis”, but will try to understand the patient in his life problems, due to which he developed diseases or disorders.

Cognitive psychotherapy is a direction that involves improving a person’s understanding of the world around him and himself. The fact is that depression, for example, sometimes makes you perceive reality biased. According to practitioners, cognitive psychotherapy allows the client to remove from himself negative thoughts and always think positively. Therefore, melancholy disappears. During classes, the doctor identifies negative thoughts and helps to assess the real state of affairs. He will be the leader of the training on mastering new ways of understanding the world, and will also help consolidate the ability to evaluate this or that event in a new way.

Group psychotherapy involves conducting classes in a group where each member has a certain deviation. For example, this direction is used to eliminate harmful addictions (tobacco use, alcohol use). At the same time, efficiency increases, since, being together, patients increase the influence on each other of the desire for treatment. Thus, group psychotherapy assumes that the group not only becomes an object of influence on the part of the therapist, but also itself influences each of its members.

Family psychotherapy uses a set of techniques that are focused not only on problematic family situations, but also have the goal of analyzing the client’s past, reconstructing some events and the structure of relationships, etc. The current direction in development is the development of methodological foundations, relying on which will help avoid randomness, fragmentation and intuitiveness.

Clinical psychotherapy is a discipline whose goal is to eliminate various disorders and disorders, somatic diseases. This direction studies the mental and moral aspects of health: individual differences, the influence of environmental factors on the patient’s condition and the course of treatment, mental characteristics of experiences. Theoretical basis this technique of psychotherapy: biopsychosocial concept of pathology; research methods in medical psychology; the concept of the “illness - health” continuum.

Features of bioenergy

In the last century, bodily psychotherapy was replenished with a new method of influence, which was called bioenergetics. One of the students of the famous Dr. Reich, Alexander Lowen, developed this approach. By using a slightly different conceptual apparatus, for example, “bioenergy” instead of the concept of “organ,” the doctor to a certain extent neutralized the resistance of other therapeutic directions. His system became more widespread in the United States than Reich's similar teaching. At the same time, he included in his concept the theory of breathing developed by the teacher, and part of his techniques aimed at achieving emotional uninhibition through the use of blows, screaming, and tears.

Body-oriented psychotherapy, developed by Lowen, places the concept of bioenergy at the center. It unites the body and psyche in a functional way. The second important definition on which body-oriented psychotherapy is based is “muscle armor.” It interferes with the spontaneous flow of energy throughout the human body, so there is a set of exercises to help get rid of it.

Basic methods of psychotherapy

An ordinary patient who has never encountered the work of psychotherapists has a very vague understanding of what happens in a session. There are many methods of psychotherapy. Let's learn about the main ones.

1. Art therapy. Today this is a very popular method. Art therapy is suitable for establishing a psychological connection between the patient and the therapist. This method is very effective for almost any deviation. It is especially often used when working with children. With the help of art therapy, the patient reveals all his hidden problems to the therapist. The technique uses various techniques, such as dynamic synthetic drawing, metaphorical drawing, symbolic destruction of obsessions and many others.
2. Autotraining. The beginning of the use of this method can be dated back to the 30s of the last century, but the basics were borrowed from ancient eastern developments. It is used in the treatment of adults only.
3. Suggestion. This method can be called the basis of treatment. Almost not a single case in psychotherapeutic practice is complete without suggestion. When using suggestion, the consultant must take into account the various individual characteristics of the patient. For children there is a special method called fixation.
4. Self-hypnosis. This method is related to many religious rituals and meditative techniques. Before the patient begins to practice self-hypnosis, the therapist works with him, using the suggestion technique.
5. Hypnosis. This method of psychotherapy is the most controversial, but it is very effective. Used since the mid-20th century. In psychotherapy, there is a difference between hypnotherapy and hypnosis. There are also classical and Ericksonian methods. Hypnotherapy has enough wide list contraindications.
6. Play psychotherapy. Play therapy is more often used to treat children. The following games are used: sociocultural, biological, interpersonal.
7. Rational psychotherapy. This is a technique in which the consultant convinces the client of something, using logical explanations and citing facts. Rational psychotherapy is sometimes used instead of suggestive methods. The effectiveness of this technique depends directly on the charisma of the doctor. Rational psychotherapy is more often used in the treatment of adult patients.
8. Talk therapy. During the session, the patient speaks out loud about those problems that cause him the strongest feelings. In the process of delivering a speech, there is a rethinking of what is happening.
9. Desensitization. This method of psychotherapy is based on the fact that learned manipulations are replaced by others. To begin with, the client masters the relaxation technique. He then brings to mind an image that frightens him. After this, also in thoughts, a picture of calmness appears. This takes about 30 minutes. Patients over 10 years of age can be treated with desensitization.

Psychotherapy is effective method cure many diseases, including somatic ones. It also relieves personal and social problems. However, a person who seeks help from a specialist must understand that miraculous healing he won't get it. Psychotherapy is not a magic pill. In order to achieve the desired result, you need to work on yourself.

Psychotherapy is psychological methods of treating mental disorders. There are many different treatment methods in psychotherapy, such as psychoanalysis, group or family therapy, and behavioral therapy. The ultimate goal of the doctor is to assist in the development of personality, and not just in eliminating the symptoms of the disease. The basis of any psychological assistance is a conversation between the doctor and the patient. In addition, psychotropic drugs may be used to treat the patient. medications, various instruments and other aids.

Currently, psychotherapy is a recognized treatment method that is not only effective, but also widespread. 10-15% of all residents need the help of a psychotherapist at least once in their life of Eastern Europe, and about 2-3% suffer from severe mental illness. To them it is necessary to add people with painful attractions.

Classification of psychotherapy methods

Psychotherapy is a mental influence on a patient for therapeutic purposes. Today psychotherapy sometimes complements somatic treatment, and for neuroses it is the only means of treatment. In the 20th century, various forms of psychological assistance were created. There are many psychotherapeutic methods that can be classified in different ways.

Methods by method of treatment

According to the method of treatment, psychotherapeutic methods are divided into “detecting (revealing) and not detecting (ignoring) the cause of the disease.” The first group includes depth therapy, with the help of which they try to detect underlying reasons disease and at the same time treat the disease itself. The second is behavioral therapy, using which only the symptoms of the disease are treated, deliberately not paying attention to the cause of the disease. Other treatment methods involve learning, such as autogenic training or gestalt therapy, where problems are modeled, for example, through play.

Methods according to patient age

The methods used in psychotherapy largely depend on the age of the patient, so there is psychotherapy for children, adolescents and adults. Also distinguished psychological assistance, individual and group therapy.

Methods that do not analyze the cause of the disease

Using these methods, they try to change a person’s ideas and thus help him. These forms of psychotherapy include heterosuggestion (i.e., suggestion “from the outside”), autogestion (self-hypnosis) or hypnosis. These methods are called non-analyzing because they do not attempt to discover the cause of the disease. Such methods can be especially effective in the treatment of psychosomatic diseases.

Psychotherapy training

When using these methods, relaxation should help the patient recover. Most known method- autogenic training, during which a person completely relaxes. Other methods include exercise, massage and breathing exercises. These methods are recommended for people who experience heavy work loads or suffer from increased fatigue.

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Methods that analyze the cause of the disease

When using these methods, they try to discover the cause of the disease. The best known of these methods is psychoanalysis. The goal of psychoanalysis is to help the patient find the subconscious roots of his problems, generated by suppressed conflicts, so that the patient, freed from the emotions associated with them, can recreate his personality.

Gestalt therapy

According to the founder of Gestalt therapy, Perls, mental disorders in people are caused by the fact that their personality does not form a single whole. Gestalt therapy seeks to encourage a person to experience their own fantasies, become aware of their emotions, etc. The goal of this method is the formation of a holistic, harmonious personality - an individual who is aware of what he wants to do and is able to accept any situation. This method is aimed at individual independence and freedom. When using Gestalt therapy, a patient with a mental illness draws, draws, sculpts or models. Everything he does will be interpreted later by a psychotherapist.

Behavioral therapy

When using any behavioral therapy method, the first important thing is training. Behavioral therapy can be used in almost all cases of abnormal behavior and neuroses. It is used as individual, partner, family and group therapy. It is used to treat various phobias, alcoholism, and also to treat patients with neurotic disorders.

Which method of psychotherapy should I choose?

The choice of psychotherapy technique depends on the nature of the mental illness. Educational methods and behavioral therapy often provide quick results, but their use most often does not contribute to identifying the cause and eliminating mental illness. Gestalt therapy is more suitable for these purposes, which helps to identify the causes of the disease, but treatment can last more than one year.

Only specialists can provide qualified psychotherapeutic assistance, so you need to consult a psychiatrist or psychotherapist. Recommendations on where to go for help family doctor or local doctor.

The effectiveness of psychotherapy

Using psychotherapy, you can cure even severe mental illness. However, there are no guarantees here, unlike drug treatment for many physical illnesses. The fact is that the human psyche is very complex and many of its areas are still poorly understood. Psychotherapeutic methods are effective, but complete recovery does not always occur; usually only an external improvement in the patient’s condition can be achieved.

Unfortunately, it still exists today prejudice to psychotherapy. People who have undergone psychotherapy usually don’t tell anyone about it. Many do not seek the help of a psychotherapist for fear of being branded as not quite normal. However, there are problems that a person cannot cope with on his own. Insomnia, cheating on a husband or wife, problems of a young family, nervous breakdowns, hysteria, phobias, fear of death, emotional stress - in this case, you need the help of a psychologist who will help relieve stress, overcome fear and return to normal life.

When various mental disorders(especially if these violations are constantly repeated), the person should consult a doctor. If a doctor, after examining a patient, prescribes psychotherapy, then treatment should not be delayed and it is necessary to consult a psychotherapist.

Some methods of psychotherapy are used to prevent mental disorders, one of them is self-hypnosis. Special family courses are organized where parents and their children master auto-training techniques and learn to maintain calm and inner harmony.

Parents should monitor their children for developmental disorders or abnormalities. With timely treatment, severe mental disorders can often be avoided.