Symbolic Therapy

Introduction
 After few years of studying the early childhood education and expose in the different theory of development and different approaches, I come up with the idea of having a therapy wherein it centers on the symbolical representation of a human problem encompasses their whole aspects. It derives from the idea of Seigmund Freud, the psychoanalytical theory or therapy. In this approach,you will encounter different symbolical representation regarding to the clients concern. And we will try to solve those problems using different treatments.

View of Human Nature
  Me, myself and I believe that every individual possesses such problems that encompasses with different symbolical cause that they are not aware of. People are neither good nor bad. Like what the psychoanalytic therapist view that humans are symbolically predetermine in nature.

Goals of the Therapy 
  The goals of the symbolic therapy is to determine the clients problem by putting it into a symbolical representation. We have to identify those symbolical cause and to introduce or strengthen meaningful behaviors that enable him or her come up with those problems.

Functions of the Therapist
  The functions of the therapist in this approach is to be an active adviser. He or she serves as a  consultant, a good listener, a model and a supporter. Functionally, the symbolic therapist will going to define the problem, gather developmental history of the client, his or her past experiences and those people who are involve in that matter and determine the best method to be  use for the treatment.

Methods and Techniques
  Because its tasks is to resolve client problem regarding to their behavior like insecurities, lack of self esteem, misbehaving and etc., there are some therapy techniques that can be use:
 
  Problem Assessment
    As a counselor, you have to determine first what is the problem of your client all about. You have to assess the behavior of your client in order to identify what kind of treatment you are going to apply. List down some important things that you think will give you an idea about the concern of your client.

  Intervention 
     This will focus on the verbal interaction of the therapist and the client. The client will going to confess everything regarding to his or her problem, his or her thought and feelings and the therapist will give some advice. There will be an active interaction between the therapist and the client.

  Reality Check
      In this method, the therapist will going to site some reality instances that will help the client realize and appreciate everything around him or her. Things that may have connection to the problem of the client. This will serve as a reinforcement and a lecturing as well. By giving symbolical treatment that relates to the clients concern, you are giving him or her the chance to recognize what is the cause of his or her problem.

  Meditation
      Let your client relax in a period of time.Give him or her time to refresh his/herself. This is good also to relax has muscles. This may help to lessen the stress or pressure he/she feels.

Application 
  This therapy is effective in treating some behavioral problems like insecurities, lack of self esteem, anger and anxiety.

Summary of Behavior Study

Behavior Study

Biography

 Skinner(1904-1990) spent most of his professional life at Harvard. He has been described as the most influential psychologist of this century and he certainly set the stage for the development of behavior therapy. Wolpe(1915-) receive his medical degree in South Africa and, after studying Pavlov, rebelled against his psychoanalytic training and devoted his career to an empirical approach to psychotherapy. He is best known for devising systematic desensitization. Bandura(1925-) has taught psychology his entire career at Stanford University, where he has developed a broader perspective on behavior therapy by bringing in a social learning component.

Historical Development 

 The beginnings of behavior therapy cab be found at the crossroads of the rise of behaviorism as a philosophical view and empiricism as a growing method in psychology. With the advent of systematic desensitization in the 1950s, however, behavior therapy came into its own and grew quickly during the 1960s as an alternative to psycho dynamic approaches.

View of Human Nature 

 Behavior therapists view humans as products of their experience. people are neither good nor bad. But the behavior therapist does view humans as hedonistic in nature., responding to requests to end or decrease personal suffering or to promote greater pleasure and enjoyment in life. Behavior therapist have no model of optimal human functioning toward which clients are led.

Development of Maladaptive Behavior

 Psychopathology, from the behavior perspective, is defined as behavior that is disadvantageous or dangerous to the individual and / or to other people. It can result from insufficient cues to predict consequences or from inadequate reinforcement. One of the most painful of a maladaptive behaviors stems from an overly severe set of self-standards, and the resulting excess of self-criticism.

Goals of Therapy 

 The goal of behavior therapy is to extinguish the client identified maladaptive behavior and to introduce or strengthen adaptive behavior that can serve as a replacement and enable him or her to live a productive life. The key to reaching this goal is learning new behaviors. This relies on 3   paradigms that can stand alone but are often integrated in this approach respondent learning, operant conditioning, and social modeling.

Function of the Therapist 

 The behavior therapist is generally very active in counseling. He or she serves as a consultant, a supporter, a resource and model. Functionally, the behavior therapist facilitates a process involving four major  steps: accurately defining a problem, gathering a developmental history of client, establishing specific goals, and determining the best method for change.

Major Methods and Techniques 

 Because its tasks is to resolve client symptom there are literally dozens and dozens of behavior therapy techniques. Some of the most common methods include behavioral assessment, positive reinforcement, token economies, assertiveness training, modeling, relaxation training, systematic desensitization and flooding.

Application 

 Research has shown different forms of behavior therapy to be effective in treating anger, obsessive-compulsive disorders, phobias, depression, alcoholism, sexual dysfunctions, paraphilias, marital distress, and childhood disorders. It has been used successfully in a wide variety of settings. The case of "Mr. B" summarized  by Joseph Wolpe illustrates the effectiveness of systematic  desensitization and assertiveness training.

Critical Analysis

 Behavior therapy provides a relatively coherent conceptual framework of psychotherapy. It is committed to systematization, objectively, evaluation,and a solid research base. It privies clients with an understanding of the treatment process and also supplies the practitioner with a abundance of effective techniques.  

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