Cbt (Skinner) vs. Psychotherapy (Freud)

Evan Hall ECPY 421 CBT (mule skinner) vs. Psychotherapy (Freud) Introduction. Freud, being the father of psychology, has had an impact on the development of more or less every other possibility to fallow his own Psychotherapy. This is primarily beca aim most recognizable psychological theorists began their culture under virtually form of Psychotherapy. B. F. mule driver was one of the some theorists affected by Freud and his theories. However, even though muleteer originally studied Psychotherapy he eventually decided to stray from Freudian possibility and develop his of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.Being derived from Psychotherapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy sh ars some ideas but has many differences. Both theories business deal with altering the thoughts and doingss of lymph glands but on different levels and in different ways. Differences. Freuds theory of Psychotherapy focuses wholly on the unconscious(p) promontory and works to help the client to acquire some insi ght on their unconscious beliefs and behaviors. Measurement of the unconscious mind can be difficult considering its questionable existence.However, Freud was convinced that the unconscious mind was an imperative part of peoples lives and greatly exercises their behavior and mental health. Freuds therapeutic technique was for the therapist to be a blank slate and keep up absolutely no effect on the client. The client was then allowed to free associate, verbally expressing anything and everything that came to mind. It was Freuds belief that everything expressed was an classical clue to attaining the insight needed to relieve the problems which were troubling the client.Freud in like manner believed that nothing said or through with(p) by the client was unintentional or a mistake. Freud believed that these Freudian slips were actually the unconscious mind, or the Id, gap through the barriers created by the Ego and Superego. Freud believed that these barriers were created to cont rol the impulses of the unconscious thereby protecting the individual from the morals of the meet society and vice versa. Freuds technique was non-confrontational in that the therapist provided no guidance to the client. The therapist would precisely ask the client to consider the ossible hidden meanings to their trail of thought they had verbally expressed during their free association. (Dilman, 1988) Skinner on the other hand, considered the mind to be a black box and believed it was impossible to be metric or even considered when analyzing human behavior. thus far though Skinner started off under Psychotherapy, he true his theory of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy without any consideration of the unconscious mind. Skinner believed that all human behavior was learned and that the thought process refer in enacting the behavior could be conditioned.Skinners theory involved the use of the Skinner box. In the Skinner box all a rat or a pigeon was trained to perform a specific beha vior in order to receive a regimen reward. Skinner used the food as living to promote the repetition of a specific behavior. Skinner created this form of operant conditioning after fallowing Pavlovs studies in operant conditioning. Skinner believed that the unconscious mind was irrelevant when attempting to understand human behavior because all behaviors are learned using conscious cognition, which has no place in the unconscious mind.Skinner believed that all people are born as blank slates and that they are shaped and molded by the environment they live in. (Gelso & Fretz, 2001) Similarities. There are very few comparableities in the specifics of Freud and Skinners theories. The final stage of Freuds theory is for the client to gain insight on their unconscious impulses and behaviors so that the client may bring their unconscious behaviors into their conscious mind, allowing them to control or edit those behaviors to their liking.Skinner also attempts to alter human behavior, although in a more direct manner. Both of the theories focus on the onetime(prenominal) experiences of the clients. Freud believed that all unconscious behaviors and impulses are primal and imprinted in our brains at birth, but they are only flexible during the first five years of life. Skinner also focused on the clients past and how they may have been taught to behave through operant conditioning. Both theories end goal consist of altering or subjugate undesired behaviors.Psychotherapy uses the acquiring of insight to allow the client to observe their unconscious behaviors bringing them into their conscious thoughts so that they may edit or suppress those behaviors. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy used the techniques of reinforcement and extinction to either promote or discourage specific behaviors. (Gelso & Fretz, 2001) Skinners Theory in Depth. Skinners main theory of reinforcement is based in the behavioral approach where the theorists focus mainly on the overt behaviors of peo ple and how they can be measured to some stimulus in our environment.An individuals personality develops mostly in response to how they are reinforced or punished for responding to their environments. Due to honest restrictions Skinner was not able to fully test operant conditioning with his Skinner box on humans, but he claimed that rats and pigeons would suffice because they share the same elemental processes as humans. This could be considered a helplessness of Skinners theory because one may argue that humans may have similar elemental processes they also have much more developed cognitive processes that vastly exceed the limitations of rats and pigeons.One of the strengths of Skinners reinforcement theory is its effectiveness on young children. Most farms today still use a system of rewards and punishment to condition their childrens behavior, reinforcing the good behavior and discouraging the bad. Todays jobs also use a system of rewards and punishment to condition employee s to follow the rules the company seeks to enforce. If an employee follows the rules and displays the appropriate behavior, they could be rewarded with a pay raise, a promotion, or positive acknowledgement.If an employee doesnt follow the rules they could be reprimanded with negative feedback, demotions, or cut hours for part time employees. Another weakness of Skinners reinforcement theory is its inability to be use in most forms of therapy. Its difficult for a therapist to manipulate a clients behavior with a system of rewards and punishments simply because the therapist cant be around the client at all times. Reinforcement theory is best used in a self-regulated system of rewards and punishment. However, without some sort of external monitoring there is no certainty to the reinforcement.A final strength of the reinforcement theory is its usefulness in behavioral modification when dealing with individuals with behavioral issues. Whether a therapist or parent is dealing with an unr uly young child or a rebellious and troubled teen, Skinners reinforcement theory can be used to edit ones behaviors to promote the desired and discourage the undesired. (Toates, 2009) Conclusion. Even though Freud could be considered the father of psychology, his old theory of Psychotherapy has had at least some effect on almost all of the theories to follow his own.Skinners theory of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and reinforcement is no exception when considering Freuds influence. However, it would seem that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Psychotherapy are on opposite ends of the therapy spectrum. though the two theories do share some similarities, they have a vast amount of differences. Although Skinners theory of reinforcement is still used to help modify the behaviors of individuals with behavioral issues or the behaviors of younger children or young teens, it has many limits.Skinners reinforcement theory has little application in a therapist-client relationship because of time constraints and other tangible limitations. Reinforcement theory also has limitations when considering experiments with human subjects. The theory could be seen as unethical and inhumane because it goal is to manipulate and shape the behaviors of people while ignoring their emotions and opinions. However, even with these limitations people still use Skinners reinforcement theory when molding the behaviors of their children to fit the values and rules of the environment they will be growing up in.