Psychotherapy is a type of treatment in which the doctor uses the word as a tool to influence the patient's psyche. In the broad sense of its understanding, this area covers the communication of the patient and the doctor as a whole. Indeed, in the treatment of diseases of any profile, the doctor, communicating with his patients, inevitably exerts a psychological effect on them. That is why the moment of establishing contact is so crucial, as well as a personal approach to each person, taking into account the characteristics of his personality and specific social conditions.
The main advantage of rational psychotherapy is the elimination of the manifestations of the disease by changing the person’s attitude to himself, to his condition and to everything around him.
Ways to cure a word
What are the main areas that are elements of psychotherapy? They are represented by the following main methods of eliminating diseases:
- Rational psychotherapy.
- Suggestive psychotherapy. This method includes a waking suggestion that occurs when a person is in a state of hypnotic sleep, as well as self-hypnosis, which is called autosuggestion.
- Group or collective psychotherapy. She is home and behavioral, gaming. Imagotherapy and psychoesthetotherapy are also distinguished.
- Narcopsychotherapy.
All of the above methods will have the maximum effect on the patient when combined with other types of elimination of the disease, including drug treatment, physiotherapeutic procedures, occupational therapy, exercise therapy, etc.
The direction of rational psychotherapy
To get rid of diseases, the doctor can act on the patient with the help of explanations. The main thing is that they be logically reasoned. A similar method is known in medical practice under the name "rational psychotherapy." When using it, the doctor must explain to his patient that he does not understand and does not know, and that he can shake his false beliefs.
Along with the direct verbal impact of rational psychotherapy, indirect suggestion also accompanies. For example, the method of clarifying the situation is sometimes applied to other persons in the presence of the patient. This allows you to achieve that the therapeutic effect will be achieved indirectly. In addition, rational psychotherapy uses various didactic techniques, as well as emotional impact.
Most often, treatment is a dialogue that a doctor conducts with his patient. Such an interview allows the person to clarify the circumstances that led to the disease. In this case, the doctor describes the nature and prognosis of the intended treatment. The therapist needs to maintain simplicity and clarity in his argument. Moreover, he, applying any facts and indicators that indicate even slight improvements, should try to inspire the patient and help him overcome the pessimistic ideas that are taking place.
The success of using the method of rational psychotherapy largely depends on the personality of the doctor, on his interest in treating the patient, as well as on sincerity, the ability to persuade and listen patiently, to gain sympathy and trust.
The first experiments in which the application of a similar technique was considered were carried out on the basis of the classical and operant conditioning described by I.P. Pavlov, as well as B. Skinner. The basic formulation of these concepts consisted of a chain “stimulus - reaction” and adhered to the postulate that it stated that behavior leading to the achievement of the desired result should be fixed, and, on the contrary, not leading to it, to fade away or weaken.
Today, there are a large number of methods of rational psychotherapy. Consider those that are most widely used in practice.
Paul Dubois Method
The rational therapy proposed by this Swiss neuropathologist is the most affordable way to cure a patient. It is used not only by narrow specialists, but also by general practitioners.
Rational psychotherapy Dubois uses the patient's ability to draw logical conclusions, make comparisons, and also prove the validity of the facts. This method was an alternative to treatment by suggestion. Moreover, rational psychotherapy primarily relied on the patient’s thinking and mind.
Paul Dubois believed that the origins of the development of neurosis lie in the errors of judgment and weakness of intelligence. Of course, at present, these theoretical conclusions are not accepted unconditionally. Nevertheless, many of the recommendations and conclusions of Dubois, which he made on the basis of numerous observations, have great practical value. An example of this is the description of a conversation by a Swiss neuropathologist with his patient, who suffered from insomnia. You can get acquainted with it in the book of A. M. Svyadoshch “Neuroses”: “Do not think about sleep - it flies away like a bird when they chase it; destroy your empty worries with common thinking and end the day with some simple thought that will allow you to fall asleep calmly. ”
In his practice, Dubois relied entirely on logic. Using this scientific direction about the laws of thinking, he quite convincingly demonstrated to his patient the mistakes that took place in his reasoning and were associated with an incorrect assessment of the pathological condition. A similar effect on the patient is the basis of this method. But in addition to this, the rational psychotherapy of Dubois includes emotional impact, suggestion, study and further correction of personality, as well as rhetorical didactic techniques.
Albert Ellis Method
This psychologist has developed a method of rational-emotional psychotherapy. It is based on three main aspects of human mental activity. These are thoughts, or cognitions, as well as behavior and feelings.
In rational-emotional psychotherapy, Ellis stands out:
- Descriptive cognition. These thoughts contain that objective information that was perceived by the individual.
- Evaluation cognition. This type of thought reflects a person’s attitude to reality.
According to the provisions of the methodology of rational emotional psychotherapy by A. Ellison, the two types of cognition indicated above have connections of varying degrees of rigidity. Negative and positive emotions are not caused by objective events, but by their assessment. In this regard, many psychopathological disorders and symptoms in the emotional sphere can be considered as the result of violations in the cognitive field, which is called irrational attitudes. They are rigid links between descriptive as well as evaluative cognitions. These violations are expressed in instructions and requirements, orders, etc., and do not correspond to reality either in terms of quality or strength.
Being unrealized, irrational attitudes provoke the emergence of negative emotions in inappropriate situations, which complicate the life of an individual and prevent him from achieving his goals. For the normal functioning of the psyche, it is necessary to create a rational system of evaluative cognitions. Flexible connections connecting such thoughts with descriptive ones are also important.
What is a method of rational-emotive psychotherapy? It includes the identification of irrational attitudes taking place, the confrontation with them, as well as the revision of flexible (rational) attitudes and the consolidation of their functioning. A patient who has successfully passed this path begins to adequately respond to events.
A. Ellison outlined his main ideas in the book “Humanistic Psychotherapy: A Rational-Emotional Approach”. In it, he pointed out that any person is able to control and influence their own emotional reactions in the form of behavior and feelings. Moreover, since he himself, albeit involuntarily, but forced himself to suffer, he is also able to do everything to stop it. The book teaches its reader not to give in to suggestion and not to depend on circumstances. To do this, you just need not to think about how many people around feel.
Aaron Beck Method
This researcher has developed a method of cognitive psychotherapy. It is based on the assertion that mental disorders and emotional reactions occur in connection with cognitive skills and structures that were acquired by a person in the past.
According to the claims of the American professor A. Beck, those psychological disorders that preceded neurophysiological disorders have a direct connection with thinking aberration. By this term, the researcher understood the incorrect processing of information, which as a result contributed to the distortion of a person’s vision of a situation or object. Such cognitions are the main cause of false beliefs. As a result, the patient has inadequate emotional reactions.
Unlike other methods of rational psychotherapy, the method created by A. Beck contains rules for regulating behavior, which is based on two main parameters, namely danger / safety, as well as pain / pleasure. The axis of the first of these two combinations of elements includes those events that are associated with psychosocial, psychological and physical risk. However, the rules of regulation of behavior in most cases do not take into account the real situation. This leads to the fact that the individual has various problems. Using the method of rational psychotherapy by A. Beck, it becomes possible to modify the existing rules, make them more flexible and less personalized, that is, bring them into line with existing reality.
Cognitive Addiction Psychotherapy
The real scourge of modern society is alcoholism and drug addiction. These are diseases that can be caused by a genetic factor or are a model of behavior of people who are not able to solve their problems, and relieve tension in the body using psychoactive substances.
And here, individual rational psychotherapy of drug addicts and people who drink excessively can come to their aid. What is this method? This is a cognitive-rational psychotherapy aimed at identifying the main triggers, which are thoughts, situations and people that trigger the mechanism of drug or alcohol use. This method allows a person to get rid of addictions. This happens due to awareness of one’s own thoughts, careful study of the situation and further change in behavior.
The Psychodrama of George Moreno
Psychotherapy in rational therapy can use a group approach. This distinguishes the method of J. Moreno, based on the theory of sociometry that he created, which is called upon to become the key to solving many social problems. When applying this method, the doctor offers his patients a role-playing game. In its course, it creates conditions that force a person to spontaneously express their feelings about a problem that is relevant to him. The main postulate of this method is the assertion that any individual has a natural ability to play.
Thanks to this, when playing this or that role, he can independently influence his problem and even stop the crisis situation. Such a psychotherapeutic process leads to overcoming unconstructive behavioral stereotypes and ways of emotional response, forming an adequate and deep self-awareness in the patient.
Behavior modeling
This method relates to cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy. With its help, the patient is stimulated to independently solve his existing problems. Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy is carried out in three stages:
- Self-observation with elements of self-control.
- Conducting an analysis of problematic behavior with the determination of its source (teachers, parents, environment, etc.).
- Conclusion of a psychotherapeutic contract. This is a kind of contract, which is a register of planned changes, as well as protocols achieved after performing independent home exercises.
Rational Psychotherapy Techniques
How can a person get rid of negative emotions? To do this, he will need to apply one of the techniques of rational psychotherapy. Most of them are used by professionals to treat neuroses in their patients. Sometimes, with their help, the elimination of psychoses is also possible.
The most common causes of such pathologies are accumulated negative emotions. The patient is fixed on traumatic situations, which is why he experiences excessive acute experiences that cause illness.
The techniques of rational psychotherapy are most shown with resentment caused by unfulfilled hopes. By the way, a person often completely unconsciously resorts to this technique. He shares his grief with relatives, friend, and sometimes even with a stranger. First of all, he hopes to justify his own position in the conflict. However, the main thing here is not at all. It is important to understand the reasons for what happened, why it may turn out that the offended person is to blame for what happened. And this means that there is no one to be offended.
Abstraction
In this life, people also resort to this method completely unconsciously. We try not to think about the traumatic situation. However, it can be quite difficult to do.
The distraction method allows you to get the maximum effect with mild, but constantly acting negative stimuli. In this case, negative emotions can gradually accumulate, leading a person to nervous breakdowns and neuroses.
How to escape from a traumatic situation? For this, it is recommended:
- Sport games. Tennis, soccer or volleyball perfectly relieve irritation and eliminate grievances.
- The use of aesthetic. In a state of frustration, it is recommended to visit an art exhibition, watch a good comedy, listen to talented music.
- A visit to meet good friends. Such a step will eliminate the anger accumulated in the soul and not tear it to relatives.
- Communication with nature. Negative emotions are especially well eliminated by the river, in the forest, in the mountains and in other beautiful places where peace of mind returns to a person.
In case of prolonged exposure to negative factors, it is recommended to change the situation, taking a vacation and going on a trip.
Role-based auto-training
When using this method, the patient will need to get used to the image of a cheerful or calm person. This method perfectly helps in the quality of prevention of upcoming conflict and stressful situations. However, only a person with an artistic nature can feel its effectiveness.
In order to enter the role, you will need to choose a suitable ideal for yourself. Either a real person or a movie character can become a model. But it is worth remembering: in order to use this method to remain calm in various situations, you will need preliminary training.
Muscle relaxation
This method, which is also called autogenic training, is especially popular with psychotherapists. Often people use it when they work independently to solve their problems. Autogenic training is an independent method proposed in 1932 by a psychotherapist from Germany I. Schulz.
The main objective of this method is maximum relaxation with the simultaneous instillation of certain sensations, as well as training in the management of the functioning of internal organs. Lightning muscle relaxation allows you to quickly eliminate nervous tension, and do it in any situation.