Information On The Different Types Of Therapies example essay topic

Therapy Today many people seek professional therapy or counseling for a limited amount of time in order to deal with different life crises. Others seek professional help for the majority of their lives in order to deal with a psychological disorder. After reading this chapter on Therapy, I learned that this was not always the case, and that the way our society views therapy, and the meaning of therapy, has changed dramatically of the years. This chapter not only explains the evolution of therapy, it explores the different therapeutic approaches.

I found chapter thirteen to be very interesting. Learning about the different types of therapy was very helpful. I chose to write about this chapter because of the first section, "The History of Therapy". I spent a considerable amount of time reading over this short section and then doing a little research of my own. I googled "St. Mary of Bethlehem Hospital in London" and read more about the visitors that only had to pay two pence to be amused by the antics of patients. I found that piece of information to be the most interesting because I could not personally imagine being amused by another person's suffering.

However, if that was the norm, I am sure many people did not think twice about just that. I also chose to write about this chapter because it explains the current methods of dealing with personality and psychological disorders. Aside from the bit of information I learned about St. Mary of Bethlehem Hospital in London, the information I found to be most surprising in this chapter was the captioned information below the pictures in the margins. Trephining was the most disturbing picture.

I am still amazed that people thought that anything whatsoever could be solved by chiseling away at a person's head. The picture of the skull was extremely disturbing: I cannot even fathom how horrible it would have been to be a patient of such practices. Also one would think that after the first gaping hole in a person's head with no results, the chiseling would stop. However it is obvious by the number of holes in the skull that this was a procedure that was tried multiple times on one patient. Other than the trephined skull, I also found it unusual that bloodletting was such a common practice. It was particularly troubling to learn that it was used for treating mania, which is something I have experienced.

All of the information on the different types of therapies has helped me to more fully understand psychology. This chapter is dedicated to explaining the current methods of treating people with psychological disorders in order to help them through a rough time in life. This chapter on therapy shows the side of psychology that is the result of the hard work of a multitude of psychologists and doctors. Earlier this year I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, which entitles me to long hours of therapy to help me understand and deal with my illness.

Although I have had some counseling in the past, the majority has been subsequent to being diagnosed with Bipolar. I have done individual counseling, family counseling, and most recently group counseling. Needless to say, it is very interesting to know the different "features" of group therapy and the different therapy techniques, and be able to recognize and pin point them. The different types of therapies and the techniques used during therapy are the key ideas from chapter thirteen. All of these ideas and methods for dealing with life can be applied in many different ways. I'm sure that most students found chapter thirteen to be both interesting and informative.

In my case, however, it hit a little closer to home. I was able to relate the material in a much more personal and profound way.