PSYCHODYNAMIC & PERSON CENTRED APPROACHES

Psychodynamic and Person Centred Counselling: Comparison and Contrast

Table of Contents

Introduction1

Discussion3

Key Components3

Philosophical Base7

1.Constructivism:8

2.Social Constructivism:8

3.Post Structuralism:8

4.Post Modernism:9

Comparison9

Contrast10

Conclusion11

References14

Psychodynamic and Person Centred Counselling: Comparison and Contrast

Introduction

Of all the theoretical approaches to counselling, the traditional school of thought of the psychodynamic approach to counselling, which is based on Sigmund Freud's theory of psychoanalysis and the psyche, is particularly interesting. It is compared and contrasted with Carl Roger's Client-Centred approach, or Rogerian as it is commonly called now (Cherry, 2012).

The client centred approach to counselling focuses on the concepts of empathy, unconditional positive regard, and congruence being there within the client. Six conditions are mentioned which are necessary to be present for the therapy to be done successfully. The psychodynamic approach is based on Freud's concept of the psyche, which is basically another name for the human mind, spirit, feelings, thought processes. The psychodynamic approach emphasizes that any psychological conflict has its roots in the unconscious part of the mind, (Dryden & Mytton, 1999, p.17) which is linked with repressed memories and disturbances in one's childhood. The methods of psychodynamic therapy include analyzing dreams, free association technique, and transference-counter transference (Nevid et. al, 2007). Gerard Egan's Skilled Helper model has been discussed. It stands on the concept that the client should be enabled to be able to solve his or her own problems. The model has three stages and each stage has been further divided into three levels.

The philosophical base of these two approaches follows from four philosophical perspectives which include constructivism (the unique way in which each individual designs his or her own reality), social constructivism (how the culture and society shape one's views), post structuralism (every event or behaviour has a design or structure), and post modernism (sceptic views of the society becoming more widely accepted in opposition to the cultural concept of universal beliefs).

The psychodynamic and the client centred approach have various similar concepts. They serve the basic purpose of resolving the conflict the client is facing. For that purpose, they both tend to focus on the emotional crisis the client is undergoing. They both encourage the client to speak up about his or her own problems on a self-initiative basis. They both act as ventilators to emotions, although differing in methodology. The relationship that gets established between the client and the counsellor is of prime importance within both the counselling approaches. The motivation of the client is also necessary for either of the approaches to be successful in practice (Owen, 1999).

The basic difference between both the approaches is that the psychodynamic approach to counselling deals with the unconscious mind of the client, whereas the client-centred approach deals with their conscious mind. Also, the client does not practice active self-disclosure in psycho dynamism; it is rather accessed through psychoanalysis. The client-centred approach is more optimistic (Anon, 2011) in the sense that it believes that the client has the power to change his or her own self, whereas the psycho dynamic approach has the classical view that every problem has ...