Interpers Approaches to Psychpthlgy & Psychthrpy

Catalog description

Several major developments have contributed to increasing interest in recent years in approaches to psychopathology that focus on a person’s personal relationships and also approaches to psychotherapy that focus on those relationships and the therapist-patient relationship as well. These developments include research documenting that most patients seek therapy for interpersonal problems; recognition that the alliance between patient and therapist is the most reliable predictor of treatment outcome; increasing interest in personality disorders, in which interpersonal processes play key roles; and the fact that some interpersonal approaches to therapy have been designated empirically supported treatments. This course examines a variety of interpersonal approaches, with emphasis on several recent theoretical perspectives (adult attachment theory, models about ruptures and repairs of the therapeutic alliance, and others) that provide very helpful guides for research and practice. Substantial clinical material from actual psychotherapy cases is integrated in class discussions as a way to vividly illuminate readings about theory and research.