Page 499 - Understanding Psychology

What Is Psychotherapy?
Reader’s Guide
Exploring Psychology
When Should You Seek Help?
Her husband had brought her to the hospital because she had refused to eat for about three days, slept fitfully, and spent long hours staring off into space. She would speak to those around her, but only after more or less continuous coaxing. In very slow monotonous speech, she com- mented that she was talking to her dead sister who was wearing a white gown, but with a face eaten up by worms and with part of her eyesocket missing. This hallu- cination was intermixed with some discus- sion between the patient and God that seemed to center around a mixture of pleading with Him to do something about her sister and reprimanding Him for let- ting her get into that condition.
—from Abnormal Behavior, Psychology’s View by F.B. McMahon, 1976
s Main Idea
Psychotherapy is a general term for the several approaches used by mental health professionals to treat psychologi- cal disorders.
s Vocabulary
• psychotherapy
• eclectic approach • placebo effect
• empathy
• group therapy
s Objectives
• Explain the nature of psychotherapy. • Describe the role of a therapist.
At certain times of transition and crisis in life, we may feel an urgent need to find someone trustworthy with whom to share our doubts and problems. A parent, relative, or close friend is often helpful in such times of need. Many psychological problems, however, are too bewildering and complex to be solved in this way. When people become dissatisfied or distraught with life and suspect that the reason lies within themselves, they are likely to seek help from someone with train- ing and experience in such matters. These people seek therapy, which refers to treatment of behavioral, bodily, or psychological disorders. Mental health professionals who have been trained to deal with the psy- chological problems of others include psychologists, psychiatrists, and
Chapter 17 / Therapy and Change 485