Person Centered Counseling - Essay Example

1 Person Centered Counseling Carl Roger's "philosophy" has been matched with that of Zen Buddhism, the Bach Flower remedies, as well as with the Christian doctrine of original sin, and the New Testament virtues. His professional struggle against orthodox psychiatry has reminded a scholar of Martin Luther's stand against the catholic church. Roger's person centered approach (to psychotherapy; to education; to small encounter groups; and to larger groups assembled for the purpose of improving transitional understanding, exploring intergroup conflicts, and learning the nature of culture and its formation) has been committed to such contortions. For example, there is a proposal to wed the person-centered approach with Taoism's technique of the "microcosmic orbit", and no less serious, coupling the person-centered approach with a French Physician's philosophy of human development based on the architecture of the human inner ear. Another past time is to construct elaborate arguments to show Rogers was in the Existentialist line of dissension and then scold him for not admitting his debt to his forbearers. The fact is what are called existential attitudes and behaviours in his approach developed independently of any contact with the philosophy of extentialism. It was while he was director of the counseling center at the University of Chicago and Roger's major work on psychotherapy was well established that his intellectual trajectory intersected with the Extentionalists. Rogers related, "at the urging of my students, I became acquainted with Martin Buber (first from his writings and then personally) and with Soren Kierkegaard. I felt greatly supported in my new approach, which I found to 2 my surprise was a home grown brand of existential philosophy". (Rogers, 1980 p.30). His intention as a psychotherapist and his research methods concentrated on the phenomenon of effective therapy. Thus, one may find many examples of phenomenology in his work.. The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, while writing on the "collective unconscious", is said to have coined the term translated "transpersonal". Like most of psychology, transpersonal psychology intends to help individuals realize deeper self-understanding, improve the health of their minds and bodies and lead more effective lives. In working with individual clients, transpersonal psychologists are said to be dealing with more than just the mere persona. Thus, they focus their attention on the whole person: "Spirit, mind and body". Though this may be the goal of other psychotherapies, it is the means that transpersonal psychologists may differ from their colleagues. To accomplish their objectives, they may analyze dreams, explore "peak experiences", or delve into paranormal phenomena, such as revelations from "past lives". Other methods may involve provoking altered states of consciousness through the use of drugs, hypnosis, guided fantasies, breathing exercises, meditation, and other "spiritual" practices. It is unlikely that Rogers would have approved of some of these activities, particularly where the therapists exerts authoritarian control over the client. Certainly he could not be considered to be a transpersonal psychologist in an unqualified sense. Roger's world view and his practice of psychotherapy should be understood as a integrated approach that he cultivated over his entire life. His (person-centered) approach evolved over time out of a specific stance or way of being, which can be described as consisting not only of certain beliefs and attitudes, but also abilities that improved with 3 experience and varied information when dealing with different phenomena (such as psychotherapy, education, small and large group work). His attitude was," not in truth already known or formulated but in the process by which truth is dimly perceived, tested and approximated". (Rogers 1974) "He maintained a tolerance for uncertainty or ambiguity". (Keats 1899,p.222) Shakespeare is the example: That is, to have negative capabilitycapable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason. And he was willing, within reason, to be changed by him as far as it is legitimate.". (Keaton) His "way of being was both the means and the end: he tried to do what was necessary to help people know and be true to self. Person-Centered counseling as created by Rogers is the type of humanistic counseling that deals with the ways people perceive themselves consciously rather than having a counselor try to interpret unconscious thought or ideas. There are many different components and tools used in person-centered counseling, including "active" listening, genuiness, paraphrasing, and more. The real point is that the client already has the answers to the problems and it is the job of the counselor to listen without making any judgments, without giving advice, and simply help the client feel accepted and understand their own feelings. The psychodynamic counselor sees counseling as helping the person explore their relationships with others, and it is achieved through the client becoming more aware of his/her internalized aspects of personality. As much of this mental activity is unconscious the aim of the counselor is to bring internalized conflict into conscious awareness and thus enable the person to deal more effectively with the 4 demands of external reality. Counseling is not only about looking at the past, it is also about building a sustainable future that is spiritually, intellectually and emotionally fulfilling. This may require an exploration of the transpersonal as well as the attitudes, behaviours and feelings associated with everyday experience". (PCC) This process certainly precludes the use of meds, specifically prozac. Medication would inhibit this preliminary molding process, because a thorough introspection by the client would conjure up the reality which is false. In the minds eye of the client, he/she would see themselves being propped up by "temporary" security. One which will dissipate as the hours pass, so this reality will eventually evaporate, it will again be hidden internally. How can I say who I am, when it is not I who is saying Dr. Candace Pert, Research professor at Georgetown University Medical Center, past head of brain chemistry department at the National Institute of Health, and author of the new book, Molecules of Emotion, sounded an alarm in TIME, October 20. She stated, "I am alarmed at the monster that Johns Hopkins neuroscientist Solom Snyder and I created when we discovered the simple binding assay for drug receptors 25 years ago. Prozac and other anti-depressant serotonin-receptor-active compounds may also cause cardio vascular problems which has become common practice despite the safety studies, as we believe these drugs produce effects only in the brain". Dr. Pert accuses the medical profession of oversimplifying the action of these drugs and adds that "the public is being misinformed about the precision of these selective-serotonin-uptake inhibitors". (Pert) Sigmund Freud, initially working in collaboration with Joseph Breuer, Freud elaborated the theory that the mind is a complex energy-system, the structure 5 investigation of which is proper province of psychology. He articulated and refined the concepts of the unconscious, of infantile sexuality, of repression and proposed a tri- partite account of the minds structure, all as a part of a radically new conceptual and therapeutic frame of reference for the understanding of human psychological development and the treatment of abnormal mental conditions. Notwithstanding the multiple manifestations of psychoanalysis as it exists today, it can in almost all fundamental respects be traced directly back to Freud's original work.". (Encyclopedia) Freud was the first thinker to apply deterministic principles systematically to the sphere of the mental, and to hold that the broad spectrum of human behaviour is explicable only in terms of the (usually hidden) mental processes or states which determine it. Thus instead of treating behaviour of the neurotic as being casually inexplicable - which had been the prevailing approach for centuries - Freud insisted, on the contrary, on treating it as a behaviour for which it is meaningful to seek an explanation by searching for causes in terms of the mental states of the individual concerned. Hence the significance which he attributes which he attributes to a slip of the tongue or pen, obsessive behaviour, and dreams - all, he held, are determined by hidden causes in the persons mind, and so they reveal in covert from what would otherwise not be known at all. The postulate that there are such things as unconscious mental states at all is a direct function of Freud's determinism, his reasoning here being simply that the principle of causality requires that such mental states exist, for it is evident that there is frequently nothing in the conscious mind which can be said to cause neurotic or other behaviour. An unconscious mental process or event, fro Freud, is not one which merely happens to be 6 out of consciousness at a given time, but rather one which can not, except through protracted psychoanalysis, be brought to the forefront of consciousness. The postulation of such unconscious mental state entails, of course, that the mind is not, and can not be, identified with consciousness or that which can be an object of consciousness". (Encyclopedia) You may have lost sight of your vision for yourself, or of the things you would like to make a permanent feature in your life; those experiences which make you look forward to the day ahead, and allow you to retire to sleep with a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment. Person centered therapy provides you with an opportunity for you to come to terms with your difficulties and challenges, your hopes and your dreams. In Aldus Huxley's Brave New World, they would disperse (soma pills) joy medication, in defiance of the go forth and multiply dictum. Prozac is being used to deliberately stop people from dealing with their problems. It's a condescending pat on the heads over the real problems in the world. We're encouraged to down our problems with prozac or other mood altering drugs. It is a natural tendency by mankind to take the easy way out of a difficult situation. Instead of doing the hard work required to get to the root of the problem, we give it a quick fix by treating the symptoms. The U. S. Surgeon General's report on Mental Health, states; "The precise cause (etiology) of mental disorders are not known", and that there is definitive lesion, laboratory test, or abnormality in brain tissue that can identify the mental illness". Mental Health experts in the British Medical Journal (15 July 2005), reported "recent studies show that SSRI's [anti depressants] have no clinically meaningful advantage over 7 placebo [sugar pill]furthermore, claims that anti depressants are more effective in more severe conditions is not strong, while data on long term out of depression and suicide do not provide convincing evidence of benefit". (Stotland) Just as you can reduce the fever without clearing up the infection that causes it, psychotherapeutic medications act by controlling symptoms. Like most drugs they correct or compensate for some malfunction in the body - Psychotherapeutic medications do not cure depression. On the other hand, Brown University psychiatry professor Peter D. Kramer, MD is the author of "Listening to Prozac and against Depression", offers his assessment on the effects of drugs on depression, he states; "the connection between what these drugs do and what seems to be useful in the treatment of mood disorders is just as strong today as it was 13 years ago when I wrote "Listen to Prozac". Dr. Kramer goes on to say that there is still much to be learned about the impact of brain chemistry on depression and other mental illnesses. it is unlikely that serotonin imbalance alone explains depression, but he adds, that Prozac and other anti-depressants that target serotonin clearly help many people". (Kramer) The kind of depression that will most likely benefit from treatment with medications is more than just the "blues". It is a condition that is prolonged, lasting two weeks or more, and interferes with a persons ability to carry out daily tasks and to enjoy activities that previously brought pleasure. In a newly published essay, anatomy professor Jonathan Leo, along with colleague Jeffrey Lacasse, say that SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors - Prozac) information is often misleading. He says, "the information typically claim the SSRI's restore the serotonin balance of the brain but adds, that there is, "no such thing as a 8 scientifically established correct balance of serotonin". (Leo) Dr. Lee also points out that there are studies, suggesting that non drug treatments, including psychotherapy and exercise, may be as effective as drugs for treating certain mental illnesses. Dr. Mairi Scott, Chair of the Royal College of GP in Scotland, however, said cognitive behaviour therapy was time consuming and those who practiced it was a scarce resource. "Everyone would say we have to expand the availability of cognitive behaviour therapy, it is a long term investment If people can understand and manage themselves it is much more efficient than giving them drugs". (Scott) Echoing the professional assessment of Dr. Scott, the Scottish Association for Mental Health say that drugs alone are not the most effective way of tackling depression, but unless more resources are invested in alternative and talking therapies the trend of anti-depressant prescribing will continue to rise.(Preskorm) Amid growing concern about the soaring number of people prescribed drugs such as prozac, clinicians in Renfrewshire have adapted a U S system for dealing with depression. Under the project GP's use 10 standard questions to calculate the level of a patient's depression. Those with milder illnesses are offered cognitive behaviour therapy instead of drugs.(Que) Barbara Brodley is a psychotherapist presented in her article, "What a people centered practice is and what it is not", presents her perception of what Roger's intent was, she says; "Rogers did not set out to found a school of psychotherapy with a set practice. Instead, he worked with his clients, reflected on the therapy process and, at a certain point he advanced a set of hypothesis (1957) about the causes of constructive 9 personality change. He presented the theory so it could be tried out by others and so it could be used as a basis for further research on psychotherapy, Rogers thought that his theory was an approximation to the truth about therapy. But, he was, also, committed to protecting and encouraging a spirit of experimentation, discovery and creativity about psychotherapy. He did not want people-centered therapy to be "frozen" but, rather to be a working hypothesis, a stimulus to further inquiry about the therapy process". (Brodley) Barbara Brodley had this to say about Roger's promotional and public relations style: "Rogers always has been committed to promoting openness, growth and change. In the pursuit of truth about the therapeutic process. He has always encouraged and supported research projects and theorizing with others. And, very importantly, his presentation of the theory in terms of attitudinal conditions, not techniques, festered openness to different ideas about therapeutic practice. His theory left it up to the practioner to choose which behaviours or techniques could be used to communicate the therapeutic attitudinal conditions to the client". (Brodley) This development in people centered theory opened the way for practitioners from many different therapeutic schools to incorporate the basic premise and hypotheses of attitudinal conditions into their own therapy without abandoning their original orientations. It also set the stage for a variety of new therapeutic methods based on the fundamental principles of people centered theory. Freud's theory of infantile sexuality must be seen as an integral part of a broader development theory of human personality. This had its origins in, and was a generalization of, Breuer's earlier discovery that traumatic childhood events could have devastating negative effects upon the adult individual, and took the form of the general 10 thesis that early childhood sexual experiences were the crucial factors in the determination of the adult personality. From this account of the instincts or drives it followed that from the moment of birth the infant is driven in his actions by the desire for bodily/sexual pleasure, where this is seen by Freud in almost mechanical terms as the desire to release mental energy. Initially infants gain such release, and derive such pleasure, through the act of sucking, and Freud accordingly terms this the 'oral' stage of development. This is followed by a stage in which the locus of pleasure or energy release is the anus, particularly in the act of defecation, and this is accordingly termed the 'anal' stage. Then the young child develops an interest in his sexual organs as a site of pleasure ('the phallic stage'), and develops a deep sexual attraction for the parent of the opposite sex, and a hatred for the parent of the same sex. (The Oedipus Complex) This Freud believed, is the sequence or progression implicit in normal human development, and it is to be observed that at the infant level the instinctual attempts to satisfy the pleasure drive are frequently checked by parental control and social coercion. The development process then, is for the child essentially a movement through a series of conflicts, the successful resolution of which is crucial to adult mental health. Many mental illnesses, particularly hysteria, Freud held, can be traced back to unresolved conflicts experienced at this stage, or to events which otherwise disrupt the normal pattern of infantile development. For example, homosexuality is seen by some Fruedians as resulting from a failure to resolve the conflicts of the Oedipus complex, particularly a failure to identify with the parent of the same sex; the obsessive concern with washing and personal hygiene which characterizes the behaviour of some neurotics 11 is seen as resulting from unresolved conflicts/repressions occurring during the anal stage. Freud's account of the unconscious, and the psychoanalytic therapy associated with it, is best illustrated by the famous tri-partite model of the structure of the mind or personality (although we have seen, he did not formulate this until 1923) which has many points of similarity with the account of the mind offered by Plato over 2000 years earlier. The theory is termed tri-partite simply because, again like Plato Freud distinguished three structural elements within the mind, which he called if, ego, and super-ego. The id is the part of the mind which are situated the instinctual sexual drives which require satisfaction: the super-ego is that part which contains the conscience, socially acquired control mechanisms (usually imported in the first instance by the parents) which have been internalized; while the ego is the conscious self created by dynamic tensions and interactions between the id and the super-ego, which has the task of reconciling their conflicting demands with the requirements of external reality. It is in this sense that the mind must be understood as a dynamic energy system. All objects of consciousness reside in the ego, the contents of the id belong permanently to the unconscious mind, while the super-ego is an unconscious screening mechanism which seeks to limit the blind pleasure - seeking devices of the id by the imposition of restrictive rules. Freud also followed Plato in his account of the nature of mental health or psychological well-being, which he saw as the establishment of a harmonious relationship between the three elements which constitute the mind. If the external world offers no scope for the satisfaction of the Id's pleasure drives, or, more commonly, if the satisfaction of some or all of these drives would indeed transgress the moral sanctions 12 laid down by the super-ego, then an inner conflict occurs in the mind between its constituent parts or elements - failure to resolve this can lead to later neurosis. A key concept introduced by Freud is that the mind possesses a number of defence mechanisms to attempt to prevent conflict from becoming acute, such as repression (pushing conflicts back into the unconscious) sublimation (channeling the sexual drives into the achievement socially acceptable goals, in art, science, poetry, etc.,) fixation (the failure to progress beyond one of the development stages) and regression (a return to the behaviour characteristic of one of the stages). The difference between normal repression and the kind of repression which results in neurotic illness is one of degree, not of kind - the compulsive behaviour of the neurotic is itself a behavioural manifestation of an instinctive drive repressed in childhood. Such behavioural symptoms are highly irrational (and may even be perceived as such by the neurotic), but are completely beyond the control of the subject, because they are driven by the now unconscious repressed impulse. Freud's position to key in on the repressions for both the normal individual and the neurotic, in the first five years of childhood, and, of course, hold them to be essentially sexual in nature - as we have seen impressions which disrupt the process of infantile sexual development in particular, he held lead to a strong tendency later for a neurosis in adult life. The task of psychoanalysis as a therapy is to find the repressions which are causing the neurotic symptoms by delving into the unconscious mind of the subject, and by bringing them to the forefront of consciousness, to allow the ego to confront them directly and this to discharge them.(enc) Dr. Aaron T. Beck developed Cognitive Therapy in the 1970's, it is a state of the 13 art, highly effective approach to psychological treatment. It is aptly described as focused problem solving therapy. Earlier in his career as a psychiatrist, Beck practiced from a psychoanalytical tradition and found himself frustrated by the painfully slow progress of his patients. He strove to develop a more direct and potent approach to therapy, which has widely become known as Cognitive Therapy which has become widely known as (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or CBT). Cognitive Therapy is essentially a method that identifies and helps a person to correct specific errors in what he or she is thinking that produces negative or painful feelings. These erroneous or distorted thoughts also influence the person on a behavioural level, and result in maladaptive choices or reactions. In treating a person who is experiencing psychological difficulties, it has been found that the most effective point of intervention is at the level of the persons thoughts, and that if changes are made in thinking (automatic thoughts, assumptions, and core beliefs), changes in emotional behaviour will follow. Furthermore, behavioural techniques and strategies are employed as needed to enhance the treatment outcome (i.e., anger management, relaxation training, graduated exposure to feared situations, assertiveness training). The course of treatment is typically brief and people usually experience relatively rapid relief and enduring progress.(MHN) One case in point of the public's faith in CBT was revealed in a 16 May 2006 article which appeared in the Biopolar Mental Health Psychology/Psychiatry magazine. The article touted an end to the Prozac nation and went on to say; "More counseling, more therapy less medication to treat depression. People suffering from depression will be able to have better access to counseling and talking therapies under a 14 major new program, according to UK Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt. "At the moment many people with mild to moderate depression find it difficult to access talking therapies, with services patchy and spread across the country. This is despite clinical evidence showing better access to therapies such as CBT can help cure depression. Patients also prefer to receive talking therapies rather than medication". (Hewitt) Another form of therapy is Traditional and brief therapy for individuals, couples, and families. The psychotherapist is usually psychodynamic, which is an adaptation of classical Freudian psychoanalysis. The Aim is to uncover the roots of ineffectual thoughts and behaviours which are causing conflict in the life of the individual(s). Often the conflict will be found in the origins of long held patterns that are no longer useful. This approach focuses on unearthing unconscious thoughts and feelings and bringing them to conscious awareness. Access to these hidden thoughts allows the client to reduce their impact as a result of this newly heightened insight. The process has shown positive results from individuals suffering from such challenges as depression, anxiety, addiction, grief and relationship issues. (MHN) In Roger's mind the following basic hypotheses and therapeutic conditions which distinguish the person centered approach are as follows: The central hypotheses of this approach can be briefly stated. It is that the individual has within her or himself vast resources for self understanding, for altering his or her self-concept, attitudes, and self-directed behaviour - and that these resources can be tapped if only a definable climate of facilitative psychological attitudes, can be provided. There are three conditions which constitute this growth - promoting climate, 15 whether we are speaking of the relationship between therapist and client, parent and child leader and group, teacher and student, or administrator and staff. The conditions apply in fact, in any situation in which the development of the person is a goal". (Rogers) The first element has to do with genuineness, realness, or congruence. The more the therapist is him or her self in the relationship, putting up no professional front or personal faade, the greater is the likelihood that the client will change and grow in a constructive manner. The second of importance in creating a climate for change is acceptance, or caring or prizing-unconditional positive regard. It means that when the therapist is experiencing a positive, non-judgment, accepting attitude toward whatever the client is at that moment, therapeutic movement or change is more likely. The third facilitative aspect of the relationship is emphatic understanding. This means that the therapist senses accurately the feelings and personal meanings that are being experienced by the client and communicates this acceptance understanding to the client". (Rogers) Freud's account of the sexual genesis and nature of neurosis led him naturally to develop a clinical treatment for such disorders. This has become so influential today that when people speak of psychoanalysis they frequently refer exclusively to the clinical treatment; however, the term properly designates both the clinical treatment and the theory which underlies it. The aim of the method may be simply stated in general terms - to re-establish a harmonious relationship between the three elements which constitute the mind by excavating and resolving unconscious repressed conflicts. The actual method of treatment pioneered by Freud grew out of Breuer's earlier discovery. That when a hysterical patient was encouraged to speak freely about the earliest occurrences of her 16 symptoms and fantasies, the symptoms began to abate, and were eliminated entirely, she was induced to remember the initial trauma which occasioned them. Turning away from his early attempts to explore the unconscious through hypnosis, Freud further developed this "talking cure", acting on the assumption that the repressed conflicts were buried in the deepest recesses of the unconscious mind. Accordingly he got his patients to relax in a position in which they were deprived of strong sensory stimulation, even of keen awareness of the presence of the analyst (hence the famous use of the sofa and the analyst virtually out of sight), and encouraged them to speak freely and uninhibited, preferably without forethought, in the belief that he could thereby discern the unconscious forces lying behind what was said. This is the method of free association, the rationale for which is similar to that involved in the analysis of dreams - in both cases the super-ego is to some degree disarmed, its efficiency as a screening mechanism is moderated, and material is allowed to filter through to the conscious ego which would otherwise be completely repressed. The process is necessarily a difficult and protracted one, and it is therefore one of the primary tasks of the analyst to help the patient to recognize, and to overcome, his own natural resistances, which may exhibit themselves as hostile towards the analyst. However Freud always took the occurrence of resistance as a sign that he was on the right track in his assessment of the underlying unconscious cause of the patients condition. The patients dreams are of particular interest, for reasons which we have already partly seen. Taking it that the super-ego functioned less effectively i8n sleep, as in free association, Freud made a distinction between the manifested content of a dream (what the dreams appeared to mean on the surface) and its latent content (the 17 unconscious, repressed desires or wishes which are its real object). The correct interpretations of the patients' dreams, slips of the tongue, free associations, and responses to carefully selected questions leads The analyst to a point where he can locate the unconscious repressions producing the neurotic symptoms, (Ency) invariably in terms of the patients passage through the sexual developmental process, were handled, and the libidinal content of his family relationships. To effect a cure, he must facilitate the patient himself to become conscious of the unresolved conflicts buried in the deep recesses of his mind, and to confront and engage with them directly. Additional assumptions, beliefs and hypotheses that are central to the person centered approach are the following: Belief that human nature is basically constructive. Belief that human nature is basically social. Belief that self-regard is a basic human need and that self regard autonomy and individual sensitivity are to be protected in helping relationships. Belief that persons are basically motivated to perceive realistically and to pursue the truth of situations. Belief that perceptions are a major determinant of personal experience and behaviour and thus, to understand one must attempt to understand them emphatically. Belief that the individual person is the basic unit and that the individual should be addressed, (not groups) families, organizations, etc.) in situations intended to foster growth. 18 Belief in the concept of the whole person. Belief that persons are realizing and protecting themselves as best they can at any given time and under the external circumstances that exist at that time. Belief in abdication of the pursuit of control of authority over other persons and, instead, a commitment to strive to share power and control. A commitment to open mindedness and humility in respect to theory and practice.( Brodley) The concept of person centered therapy implicitly lends itself to open communication, which is honest and client generated, and there is neither implicit nor implicit mention of medication. However, there is mention in the belief that persons are basically motivated to perceive realistically and to pursue the truth of situations. That being said, it is plausible to assert that an individual might not possess the ability to perceive realistically if they were spiked with a SSRI in general, or Prozac in particular. Concerns within the mental health community are mounting over the high incidence of prescriptions and usage of SSRI's in the treatment of depression. A matter of fact, there is misinformation and debate among the doctors and scientists on whether anybody knows exactly what the identified target requires. What has now become clear is that SSRI's should not be the first line of pharmacological treatment for depression. As the London Times reported (Oct 20,05), the over prescribing of anti-depressants has grown to alarming proportions since the dawn of Prozac, and as British drug authorities recently concluded, physicians should not be prescribing antidepressants for "normal problems of life". I find it absolutely astounding that this wonder drug which has netted the Eli 19 Lilly company billions of dollars, has been approved by all the necessary governmental regulatory entities, and in spite of the fact that it has some serious baggage; "high blood pressure, increased appetite, loss of memory, palpitations, ringing of the ears, and sleep disorders, common mild side effects generally include, abnormal ejaculation, abnormal vision, anxiety, diminished sex drive, dizziness, dry mouth, flu-like symptoms, flushing, gas, headache, impotence, insomnia, itching, loss of appetite, nausea, nervousness, rash, sinusitis, sleepiness, sore throat, sweating, tremors, upset stomach and weakness". (MDN) It would appear that this list includes everything negative which could happen to the human body, except suicide and death. Of which there have been at last count over 44,000 deaths. Medication is not a substitute for psychotherapy. Medication and psychotherapy attack different problems and achieve different ends. While medication can and sometimes does have a calming affect, no SSRI can attempt to get to the core of the depression problem. Psychotherapy can have an encompassing impact and if one has chosen the proper therapy, it can have a long-term effect. Professors Herb Hutchins and Stuart A. kirk, authors of Making us Crazy conclude; "The public at large may gain false comfort from a diagnostic psychiatric manual that encourages belief in the illusion that the harshness, brutality, and pain in their lives and in the communities can be explained by a psychiatric label and eridiacated by a pill. Certainly, there are plenty of problems we all have and a myriad of peculiar ways that we struggle to cope with them. But could life be any different Far too often the psychiatric bible has been making us crazy - when we are just human" ( Kutchins and Kirk) 20 One thing to keep in mind, is that a therapist who claims to be a strict Freudian is likely to have a rather rigid point of view about what made you the person you are and what your symptoms mean. Works Cited Brodley, Barbara What is client centered counseling, what it is not Retrieved on line on August 12, 2006, from www.world.std.com Cognitive Therapy Behavioural Counseling,Retrieved on line on August 12, 2006, from www.cognitive-therapy-associates.com Considerations when Responding to 10 Questions and Requests retrieved on line on August 12,2006, from www.world.std.com DRUGS Retrieved on line on August 12, 2006, from www.cchr.org End of the Prozac Nation Retrieved on line on August 12, 2006,from www.medicalnrewtoday.com Frank, Jeffrey, Psychotherapist, Washington, D.C. Retrieved on line on August 12,2006, from www.districttherapy.com Freud, Sigmund [internet encyclopedia] philosophy Retrieved on line August 12,2006, from www.iep.utm.edu Hewitt, Patricia, UK Health Secretary Retrieved on line on August 12, 2006, from www.psychiatryonline.com London Times Anti-Depressants, October 20, 2005 Retrieved on line on August 12, 2006, from www.londontimes.com Mental Disorder Network- Prozac Retrieved on line on August 13, 2006, from www.mnd.org Person Centered Counseling Retrieved on line on August 12, 2006, from www.person-centered-counseling.com Prozac, Rtrieved on line on August 13, 2006, from www.zine.dal.net Rogers, Carl, Transpersonal Psychology,Retrieved on line on August 12, 2006, from www.world.std.com Read More