Approaches And Strategies: Identifying And Confronting Mental Disorders

Submitted By onez
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Pages: 5

Psychological Approaches and Strategies Identifying and confronting mental disorders are required approaches to treatment and recovery. A person’s thoughts and beliefs are essential to recovery, and intervention can only be effective when a person’s degree of thought is understood. A change in thoughts enables healthier automatic thinking and belief systems; which will enhance behavior. Following are approaches and strategies that will be discussed. They will include: Cognitive Therapy, Behavior Therapy, Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, Reality Therapy, Gestalt Therapy, Rogerian Therapy (Client-Centered), Harm Reduction Approach, and Motivational Interviewing Style. Cognitive Therapy will be the first of these approaches and strategies discussed. Cognitive therapy is useful in treating substance abusers because it identifies and helps a person to correct thoughts that produce negative or painful feelings, the influence it has on his/her behavior, choices him/her make, and his/her reactions to their thoughts. (CD) Cognitive distortion is one technique that is used that has proven to be very effective, it includes predicting the worst, jumping to conclusions, or just simply blowing things out of proportion. Example: (CD thought) I can’t express my feelings; everyone will think I’m stupid. (Realistic thought) No one has ever done that before, so it’s unlikely that they will now. Behavior Therapy is the next approach and strategy of discussion. Behavior Therapy is useful in treating substance abusers because it enables the substance abusers to get in touch with how they behave and react in a situation that triggers their anxiety. Behavioral therapy is best described as being the way our thoughts affect how we feel, rather than the present situation we’re involved with determining how we feel, but our perception of the situation. Example: imagine that you’ve just been asked to be a speaker at an event, consider ways of thinking about the invitation and how those thoughts would affect your emotions. #1. Speaking sounds like something I would love to do. I love speaking and meeting new people! (Happy and excited motion). #2, Speaking isn’t my thing, I’d much rather stay home and sleep. (Neutral emotion). #3. I might mess up and make myself look bad (anxious and sad emotion). Next we will discuss Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy is useful in substance abusers because it enables the abuser to inclusively focus on resolving emotional and behavioral problems and aid them to live happy, fulfilled lives. Example: the people in my circle must always be in approval of my ingeniousness, if they’re not, they’re rude, mean, and inconsiderate; I won’t be able to sustain it, and my life will become worthless. Reality Therapy is the next useful counseling technique in individual counseling that will be discussed. Reality Therapy is useful in substance abusers because it enables the abusers to accept and realize that they have the capacity to be rational and responsible for their actions. Example: (problem) substance abusers complain of not being able to enjoy himself without being intoxicated. (Intervention) encouragement and assisting the abusers to make a value judgment about his/her own inability for enjoyment without being intoxicated; relating to current issues and present behavior=without analyzing the past, or the reasons that the substance abuser adopted his/her present form of behavior, and discussing behavior rather than feelings are relevant to this approach. Once the abuser accepts his/her present behavior is unacceptable, formulate a positive plan of action. Next, comments on the Gestalt Therapy will be discussed. Gestalt Therapy is useful in substance abusers because it enables the abusers to increase self-awareness, accept ownership of their experience, and accept the consequences of their actions. Example: (on more than one session a substance abuser discusses a