Individual Essay: Comparing Two Counselling Theories - Psychology 4

This essay delves into two prominent counseling theories: cognitive behavioral theory (CBT) and psychodynamic theory. It begins by outlining the fundamental principles of CBT, emphasizing the role of cognitive processes in shaping behavior, as proposed by figures like Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck, and its applications in treating disorders such as anxiety and depression. The essay then contrasts this with psychodynamic theory, which focuses on the unconscious mind, childhood experiences, and the influence of past events on present behavior, as originally conceptualized by Sigmund Freud. The essay highlights the objectives, methodologies, and therapeutic goals of each approach, including techniques like dream interpretation and analysis of transference. Furthermore, the essay explores the similarities and differences between the two theories and provides a personal perspective on their relative strengths and weaknesses, concluding with a discussion of the evidence supporting each approach. The essay emphasizes the importance of understanding these theories for counselors and therapists and their impact on client outcomes.

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Topic- Individual essay comparing and contrasting two different theories in counselling
The Psychotherapy theories help to give a framework to the therapists and the
counsellors for interpreting the behaviour, feelings, and thoughts. These are necessary for
navigating the journey of a client from diagnosis to post-treatment. The theoretical approaches
can be considered as an essential part of the entire therapeutic process (Capuzzi & Stauffer,
2016). Various theories of counselling help the practitioners in working with their clients and
have positive outcomes. There are various theories of counselling. This essay will compare and
contrast the cognitive behavioural theory and the psychodynamic theory
The human behaviour is found to be the enigma. The behaviour of a person is recognized
by the individual thought process, response to certain situation and emotional quotient. Hence, it
is important to understand what cognitive behaviour all about is. The cognitive psychology is
found to be a huge subject which deals with the cognitive behaviour(Grzanka, Santos & Moradi,
2017). The subject concentrates on the way people think, then way they perceive from vision
and hearing and the way they react to a particular stimuli. In simple words, the cognitive
behavioural therapy is also closely related with the linguistics, neuroscience and philosophy.
This theory deal with the enhancement of decisive ability of a specific person and also the
capacity to retain the memory. Albert Ellis revealed that cognitive thought process in a human
being is more determined by the beliefs which are mostly irrational. In the late 1960s, Aaron
Beck who was a well-known psychiatrist explored the untouched arenas of the human
personality as procrastination and depression (Sharf, 2015). He came up with the cognitive
behavioural therapy to treat those patients suffering from anxiety disorders and depression. This
theory has also been used for the development of modern day cognitive behavioural therapies.

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On the other hand, the psychodynamic theory concentrates on the unconscious thought of
individuals which stem from the childhood experiences affecting the present thoughts and
behaviors of them. The particular urge which drive people to emanate from the unconscious and
people are driven by those repeat the behaviour patterns. The therapy consists of the analysis of
transference and resistance, and free association too(Sommers-Flanagan & Sommers-Flanagan,
2018). It further covers the dream interpretation and is a long term process. Its specific goal is
to transform the unconscious a conscious for the client to gain proper insight. This approach
consists of all the theories in the field of psychology which perceive the human functioning
founded on the interactions of forces and drives within a person.
The originator of this theory is Sigmund Freud. The psychoanalysis has been considered
as the original psychodynamic theory. However, the approach of psychodynamics as a whole
consists of all the theories that were based on the ideas. There are some confusions regarding
psychoanalytic and psychodynamic. The theories of Freud were psychoanalytic but the term
psychodynamic suggests the theories and the followers of the theories. The psychoanalysis of
Freud is a theory and a therapy too.
In short, the cognitive behavioural theory is a study that is quite descriptive regarding the
way the concept of cognition has a significant role in determination of the behavioural patterns
of a specific person. The goal of the cognitive behaviour theory is to understand the way people
get back to doing what they want to do, how they can get their daily lives back and things which
they enjoy (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2016). It is also aimed at helping people to solve the problems in
their lives and reduce negativity from their lives. This theory is further concentrated on the
adapting things which are happening to them and adjust their behaviour according to the
problems. This leads people to become more productive and more positive.

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The psychodynamic theory says that childhood events of a person leave greater impact on
the lives of the adults having shaped the personality. Those events occurring in the childhood
even in the unconscious state can cause issues for the adults. This theory is aimed at determining
the human behaviors caused by the unconscious factors (Sharf, 2015). The specific objectives of
the psychodynamic theory are to focus on the unconscious processes manifested in the present
behaviour of a person.
The cognitive-behavioral therapy is deeply rooted in the principles of individual
cognition playing a significant role in the maintenance of behavioural and emotional responses
(Sommers-Flanagan & Sommers-Flanagan, 2018). The cognitive-behavioral therapy is used in
treating the post-traumatic stress disorder. It is also used for treating the bipolar disorder. It has
also become an essential element in the programs which address the antisocial actions and
thoughts, criminality and violence, the substance abuse and other types of risky behaviors
(Palminteri, Wyart & Koechlin, 2017).
The psychodynamic theory is deeply related with the psychodynamic theory aiming at the
self-awareness and learning of the influence of past on the behaviour of present. The
psychodynamic approach in short helps the client to analyse the unresolved conflicts along with
the symptoms arising from the previous dysfunctional relationships (Ng & Lucianetti, 2016).
This therapy is a global therapy having holistic focus on the perspectives of the client. It is
different than the problem –based therapies such as the cognitive behavioural therapy. It is aimed
at eliminating the symptoms instead of exploring the deep-seated needs of the client , their
desires or the urges (Grzanka, Santos & Moradi, 2017).It is in contrast to the behavioural therapy
as it facilitates a patient with rewriting of the life narrative, his past , the present and the future to

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address the depth of an individual experience. Those patients suffering from anxiety diagnoses,
depression are treated with the psychodynamic therapy.
As far as my views are concerned, I have found the psychodynamic theory to be more
plausible. This is because the therapy generating from this theory helps people to have a more
plausible view of the world and the self. This is the ability to provide the patients with corrective
emotional experiences which help them to reduce the traumatic influence of the past life.
However, I also find some similarities between the behavioural therapy and the psychodynamic
approaches. This is because there are some firm evidences of the behaviour therapy being
effective on a range of psychological disorders. The evidence based therapy for anxiety and
depression is the CBT. It has proven to be effective for generalized anxiety disorder and few
other disorders. The evidences for the psychodynamic theories have been taken from the case
studies of Freud.

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References
Capuzzi, D., & Stauffer, M. D. (2016). Counseling and psychotherapy: Theories and
interventions. John Wiley & Sons.
Grzanka, P. R., Santos, C. E., & Moradi, B. (2017). Intersectionality research in counseling
psychology. Journal of counseling psychology, 64(5), 453.
Ng, T. W., & Lucianetti, L. (2016). Within-individual increases in innovative behavior and
creative, persuasion, and change self-efficacy over time: A social–cognitive theory
perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 101(1), 14.
Palminteri, S., Wyart, V., & Koechlin, E. (2017). The importance of falsification in
computational cognitive modeling. Trends in cognitive sciences, 21(6), 425-433.
Sharf, R. S. (2015). Theories of psychotherapy & counseling: Concepts and cases. Cengage
Learning.
Sommers-Flanagan, J., & Sommers-Flanagan, R. (2018). Counseling and psychotherapy theories
in context and practice: Skills, strategies, and techniques. John Wiley & Sons.