Psychology2016

Psychological Therapies 607

Does Psychotherapy Really Work?

There sure are a lot of psychotherapies, but do any of them really

work?

In the 1950s, Hans Eysenck did one of the earliest studies of the effectiveness of therapy.
His conclusion: that the people receiving psychotherapy did not recover at any higher

Practice Quiz How much do you remember?

Pick the best answer.

1. Which of the following may be an effective option for some con-
   cerns if there isn’t a therapist available in your local community?
   a. family therapy
   b. group therapy

c. self-help group

d. psychodynamic therapy

2. Erika and William, along with their children Maximillian and Stella,
   are all seeing a psychologist to help work through some difficulties
   that have been occurring in their home. From time to time, their
   therapist opts to work with one of them instead of all four at once.
   This group of individuals is receiving ____ therapy.
   a. family therapy
   b. group therapy

c. self-help group

d. psychodynamic therapy

3. Catherine runs a weekly meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous, and
   several dozen members come every week. In addition, each
   week some new members show up to see what the group is all
   about, and some members who were there the previous week

do not return. Which of the following is most likely true about

Catherine?

a. Catherine has probably never experienced a substance-related

problem herself.

b. Catherine is probably a licensed psychologist.

c. Catherine is probably a licensed psychiatrist.

d. Catherine has likely experienced some problems with alcohol in

her past and is probably not a professional therapist.

4. Which of the following is not a noted advantage of group
   psychotherapy?
   a. Group therapy is less expensive than individual psychotherapy.
   b. Group therapy offers social support from people facing similar
   challenges.
   c. Group therapy is appropriate for anyone, so it is more “available”
   to those with personal struggles.
   d. Group therapy offers emotional support from people facing simi-
   lar challenges.

self-help groups may also be effective; do not have a therapist directly involved

evaluation: advantages include lower cost, exposure to ways other people view and handle

same type of problems, social and emotional support; disadvantages include greater exposure,

less one-on-one contact with therapist, and some problems hard to treat in group setting

family therapy

problem-based groups

Group Therapies

alternative to individual therapy; group of clients meet together

to discuss similar problems with a single therapist or pair of therapists

may use a variety of styles, but person-centered, Gestalt,

and behavioral seem to work best; may also take several

different forms

Concept Map L.O. 15.6, 15.7

Interactive

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when used to promote skilled social interactions rather than as an attempt to decrease
the more bizarre symptoms of delusions and hallucinations (Evans et al., 2000). It is also
important to note that group therapy can be used in combination with individual and
biomedical therapies.