Page 2 - LN 2_Therapuetic Approaches

▪ Modality of Treatment-
➢ Transference and Interpretation are the means of treating the patient.
➢ The client in the process of free association and dream interpretation starts
identifying the therapist with the authority figures of the past, usually
childhood.
➢ The therapist may be seen as the punitive father, or as the negligent mother.
➢ The process of transference happens when the therapist maintains a non-
judgmental yet permissive attitude and allows the client to continue with this
process of emotional identification.
➢ When the client acts out her/his emotions which s/he could not express at one
point in time in the past as the therapist becomes a substitute for that person in
the present. This stage is called transference neurosis.
a) A full-blown transference neurosis is helpful in making the therapist
aware of the nature of intrapsychic conflicts suffered by the client.
b) There is the positive transference in which the client idolises, or falls in
love with the therapist, and seeks the therapist’s approval.
c) Negative transference is present when the client has feelings of hostility,
anger, and resentment towards the therapist.
➢ Since the process of transference exposes the unconscious wishes and conflicts,
the client resists transference.
➢ Due to resistance, the client opposes the progress of therapy in order to protect
herself/himself from the recall of painful unconscious memories.
➢ Resistance can be conscious or unconscious.
a) Conscious resistance is present when the client deliberately hides some
information.
b) Unconscious resistance is assumed to be present when the client
becomes silent during the therapy session, recalls trivial details without
recalling the emotional ones, misses appointments, and comes late for
therapy sessions.
➢ The therapist overcomes the resistance by repeatedly confronting the patient
about it.
➢ Interpretation is the fundamental mechanism by which change is effected.
a) Confrontation and clarification are the two analytical techniques of

interpretation.
b) In confrontation, the therapist points out to the client an aspect of
her/his psyche that must be faced by the client.
c) Clarification is the process by which the therapist brings a vague or
confusing event into sharp focus. This is done by separating and
highlighting important details about the event from unimportant ones.
d) Interpretation is a more subtle process. It is considered to be the pinnacle
of psychoanalysis.
➢ The repeated process of using confrontation, clarification, and interpretation is
known as working through.