Summary Of Psychodynamic And Psychodynamic Approaches

A reflection on two approaches Both psychodynamic and Focusing-oriented therapies regard trauma as a painful and challenging experience. They understand trauma as something that can alter a person’s sense of self. They both acknowledge the survivor’s attempts to avoid the pain. Also, both approaches note that there is an adaptive aspect to the survivor’s responses (as they attempt to avoid the pain) (see Mackay, 2002; Vantarakis, 2014). These approaches aim to help the clients to integrate their traumatic experiences and (re)establish healthy (or adaptive) lives. They seem to agree that gaining insights or understanding of the experience can propel the client to overcome the pain (see Onkun, 1990; Safran & Kriss, 2014; Vantarakis, 2014). The quality of the therapeutic relationship influences the outcome of treatment according to both theories (see Gendlin, 1981, 1996; Safran & Kriss, 2014; Vantarakis, 2014). The psychodynamic approach places emphasis on the clients’ past experiences and how they influence the present situations. Uncovering suppressed and unconscious materials from the past is a significant focus of this approach (Mackay, 2002; Onkun, 1990; Safran & Kriss, 2014). On the other hand, Focusing-oriented therapy emphasizes on the clients’ own
By utilizing both approaches in the treatment of trauma, the clients would be able to address both past and present materials. The clients would be likely to benefit from exploring their experiences intellectually as well as experientially. It seems to be beneficial for the clients to be able to understand their experiences from multiple approaches. Such eclectic and integrative approaches seem to help them to integrate intellectual and experiential understanding of their