WATCH THE EXPERT SERIES
This video is one in a series portraying leading theories of psychotherapy and their application. Each video in the series presents a master therapist working with a real client who has real problems. By showing several of the videos in this Experts series , you can expose viewers to a variety of styles and approaches, allowing them an opportunity to see what fits best for them.
More Videos with this Client: In this video, Dr. Scharff works with a client named Phil. Phil is featured as a client in another video in this Experts series: Family Systems Therapy with Kenneth V. Hardy, PhD. It can be particularly enlightening for viewers to watch these two therapists work with the same client to see how their styles, personalities and theoretical orientations play out differently. If you
have viewers write a Reaction Paper – see number 7, above – you can ask them to also address what differences they notice in how Scharff and Hardy work with Phil, and how these differences affect the outcomes of the two sessions.
Therapy Theories and Models: A theory is a framework that helps us understand something or explains how something works. Just as there are many different people and personalities, there are different theories of understanding how people live and how change occurs, each with its own guidelines for understanding and procedures for
operation. The primary differences between these theories are related to the relative importance each theory places on cognitive , behavioral , and affective factors. We might also add the roles of the interpersonal, family, social, cultural and political worlds. And finally, to what extent does the theory focus on problems vs. solutions, the past, the present and/or the future?
Other videos in the series use different therapeutic models. We can reflect upon the differences among these models by exploring the following questions:
• How does the model explain the therapeutic process?
• What assumptions does the model imply about the purpose of therapy?
• How is theory translated into practice in real-life situations?
• What is the role of the therapist?
• How does the therapist build an alliance with the client(s)?
• What outcomes are associated with successful therapy?
