[ Chapter 13 Supplement ] Chapter Slides ---- Review test --- Interactive Test Chapter Audio Introduction
Videos: Freud and Dreams Carl Rogers on Therapy The SSRI History
Now that we have learned about the psychological disorders, the pressing question is, how do we treat psychological disorders? Therapy has a long history that has not always been marked by great advances or even compassion. Nowadays treatment is provided by a number of therapists including psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers.
The therapies can be divided into two categories: psychologically-based therapies and biomedical therapies. The major psychologically-based therapies are psychoanalysis, cognitive therapy, and behavior therapy; whereas the biomedical therapies involve drugs, psychosurgery, and electroconvulsive therapy.
Psychoanalysis, developed by Sigmund Freud, attempts to bring unconscious conflicts to the conscious level. Humanistic therapies emphasize the here and now and the individual's subjective experience. The goal of these forms of therapy is to establish an environment in which an individual can feel comfortable in seeking to deal with his or her problems.
The cognitive therapies focus on how we think about
situations and include rational-emotive therapy, which is a very active
form of therapy designed to attack a client's irrational thoughts. 
The behavior therapies use classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and modeling to establish new more appropriate behaviors. For example, systematic desensitization is used for treating phobias; aversion therapy is used for treating alcoholism; and token economies are used to reestablish behaviors among patients suffering from schizophrenia. Therapy is also offered in a group setting, which has certain advantages such as opportunities to try out newly developed behaviors.
One of the major questions is, does therapy work? After decades of study, the consensus is that therapy is effective. Moreover, the characteristics of the therapist seem to be especially important. However, therapy needs to change to address the needs of an increasingly diverse group of clients. Clients need to understand that different symptoms respond to treatment at different rates.
The most frequently used biomedical therapies are drugs: antianxiety, antidepressant, mood stabilizers, and antipsychotic. These drugs are often effective in reducing symptoms; however, side effects often accompany their use. Moreover, drug therapies often do not work alone. There is an increasing focus on the influence of ethnicity and sex on how individuals respond to drugs. Two other forms of biomedical therapy are psychosurgery, which is infrequently used, and electroconvulsive therapy, which is frequently used for severe forms of depression.