Definition:
According to Lewis
Wolberg "Psychotherapy
is the treatment, by psychological means, of problems of an emotional nature in
which a trained person deliberately establishes a professional relationship with
the patient with the object of (1) removing, modifying, or retarding existing
symptoms, (2) mediating disturbed patterns of behavior, and (3) promoting
positive personality growth and development."
(Wolberg, The Technique
of Psychotherapy, 1977). Individual
psychotherapy consists of two people sitting in a room talking - working
together to help one of them make changes in their life. Psychotherapy is
similar to counseling, and the two terms are often used interchangeably.
Psychotherapy is often reserved for actual treatment of mental disorders, while
counseling is often used even when there is no mental disorder
present.
Also Known As:
therapy, counseling, individual therapy, group
therapy, psychoanalysis (a narrower term for a specific type of psychoanalytic
psychotherapy)
Common Misspellings:
psycotherapy
Related Resources:
Psychotherapy
What is it? How can it help mental disorders?
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