Psychotherapeutic Approaches Assignment Paper

To prepare:
Review this week’s Learning Resources and reflect on the insights they provide on group therapy for addiction.
View the media, Levy Family: Sessions 1-7, and consider the psychotherapeutic approaches being used.
The Assignment
In a 2- to 3-page paper, address the following:

Identify the psychotherapeutic approach that the group facilitator is using and explain why she might be using this approach.
Determine whether or not you would use the same psychotherapeutic approach if you were the counselor facilitating this group and justify your decision.
Identify an alternative approach to group therapy for addiction and explain why it is an appropriate option.
Support your position with evidence-based literature.

Psychotherapeutic Approaches to Group Therapy for Addiction

Part 1. Identify the psychotherapeutic approach that the group facilitator is using and explain why she might be using this approach.

The case is presented for the Levy Family with a focus on the interactions in the psychotherapy sessions. Reviewing the interactions and the psychotherapy approaches applied by the therapist reveals that the psychodynamic model was applied. There is significant evidence to support this claim with the key being that the therapist focused on clarifying the development, growth and behavior aspects of the group members. The model has been applied to explore the indicators of addiction within the family unit, particularly the progression and effects of the addiction. Through the interactions, it is clear that the therapist has applied the model to gain a contextual awareness of the family members as a unit and as individual, as well as the existing addiction concerns and associated nuances as the psychological concerns that occasioned the psychotherapy (Busch, Rudden & Shapiro, 2016). Besides that, the therapist has applied the model to evaluate the social functioning of the family members over time, particularly with regards to how their development, growth and behavior has changed over time. In addition, the psychodynamic model helps to acknowledge that the changes occur in the face of unconscious influences that determine the addiction aspects to include efforts, energies and motivations. In applying the model, the therapist lays the groundwork for applying a targeted approach to explore the unique aspects of addiction and its nuances within the Levy family thereby ensuring that the family is well understand and intervention measures are more effective. As a result, the interactions in the therapy sessions reveal that the therapist has applied the psychodynamic model in exploring and understanding the problems plaguing the family, and developing a therapeutic relationship that leverages acceptance, empathy and understanding to form a structure that allows the family members to express themselves with greater confidence, trust and honesty (Busch, Rudden & Shapiro, 2016).

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Part 2. Determine whether or not you would use the same psychotherapeutic approach if you were the counselor facilitating this group and justify your decision.

The psychodynamic model is not appropriate for the Levy family case. The model presents the idea that unconscious thoughts are translated into behaviors so that behaviors are the result of the unconscious thoughts. With this understanding the model goes on to focus on applying logical sequential steps to manipulate the unconscious thought process. This helps in identifying the initial problem and its nuances before presenting the appropriate solutions that address the root causes (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2015). The psychodynamic model is not appropriate for the present case since it applies a generalized approach that is likely to ignore the addict within the family. Psychotherapeutic Approaches Assignment Paper  In fact, the model would help the family better accept and live with the addict and addiction rather than countering the action by developing more appropriate behaviors. The more appropriate psychotherapy approach is the person-centered model since it focuses on the conscious thoughts and how they influence both desirable and undesirable behaviors. In reviewing the case details of the Levy family, it is clear that the family has come in for psychotherapy because of an addiction problem that has negatively affected the family relationships and interactions. It is clear that Mr. Levy suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of his war experiences as a soldier, and this is the root cause of the addiction concerns that the family presents. Having developed PTSD, Mr. Levy has presented symptoms of anxiety and depression that were noted when he was discharged from the armed forces. He has had a problem with adjusting to a civilian life, and coupled with the PTSD, anxiety and depression, Mr. Levy has now turned to alcohol consumption as his coping mechanism (Cooper et al., 2014). Even as the PTSD, depression and anxiety remain unaddressed with Mr. Levy turning to alcoholism, he has become more tolerant to the alcohol and become an addict who consumes larger quantities of alcohol and require it to function. Applying person-centered model is appropriate for the case since it enables the therapist to address the PTSD, depression and anxiety as root causes that must be addressed alongside the addiction to prevent a future reoccurrence. In applying the model, Mr. Levy would be better able to adjust to a civilian live with the family being enabled to support him in the recovery. Besides that, it helps with identifying constructive activities and positive coping mechanisms that help Mr. Levy to avoid alcohol and improve relationships and interactions with the other family members. Also, applying the person-centered model would improve the social, physical, intellectual and moral capacities of the family members thereby improving social functioning and allowing the Levy family to have better interactions with each other, talk about their problems, and develop solutions together (Cooper et al., 2014).

Part 3. Identify an alternative approach to group therapy for addiction and explain why it is an appropriate option.

The Levy family has been subjected to group therapy. An alternative approach to group therapy is to use medication targeted at the addiction. These are prescription drugs that are approved by the FDA to counter alcohol addiction by suppressing the craving for alcohol and the withdrawal symptoms. Some of the prescription drugs for use in this case include naltrexone, disulfiram and acamprosate (Gorski, 2016). Other pharmaceuticals include quetiapine, baclofen, sertraline, aripiprazole, ondansetron and topiramate. In addition to using pharmaceuticals to address the addiction, prescription medication can also be used to address the PTSD anxiety and depression (Rutan, Stone & Shay, 2014).

References

Busch, F., Rudden, M., & Shapiro, T. (2016). Psychodynamic Treatment of Depression (2^nd ed.). American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.

Capuzzi, F., & Stauffer, M. (2015). Foundations of Couples, Marriage, and Family Counseling. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Cooper, M., O’Hara, M., Schmid, P., & Bohart, A. (Eds.) (2014). The Handbook of Person-Centred Psychotherapy and Counselling (2^nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.

Gorski, T. (2016). Problem-solving group therapy: a group leader’s guide for developing and implementing group treatment plans. BookBaby/Self-Help.

Rutan, S., Stone, W., & Shay, J. (2014). Psychodynamic group psychotherapy (5^th ed.). Guilford Publications.  Psychotherapeutic Approaches Assignment Paper