In this course, students will be introduced to those treatment approaches most frequently used in mental health treatment settings in the United States. These will include psychoanalytic, Rogerian, behavioral, and other common treatment systems. Western concepts will be compared with approaches from other cultures. The development, theoretical framework, guidelines, and uses of each approach will be considered. The class will review case studies demonstrating each approach.

Course reflection:

         This class enabled me to learn and use different approaches. I found the most interesting approach would be the Person-Centered Approach. What I liked the most about the approach was that it requires the therapist to give unconditional positive, genuine regard, and to have empathy. However, living in a big city, no matter what relationship people have, they will always lack what I mentioned above. It is being real. How would I understand a person if I do not have empathy with his/her situation? How could I encourage a person when I keep talking about negative things? This really helped me grow on my profession. The other thing I liked was to learn about Gestalt therapy. After I learned this therapy I became aware of my body language. I started to be aware of other’s body language too. I was amazed when I found out that lots of people do not mean what they say and often hide their true feelings. Body languages really does speak louder than words. The last one and the most useful one for my personal life would be the REBT approach. At first, I did not like the approach much. After I studied more about the approach, the more I found the approach was talking about me. The approach explained how people’s unnecessary negative ideas create unhealthy emotions. This approach disputed negative ideas and to become more aware of negative self talk. I have an older sister and most of her friends were very smart and were able to accomplish a lot at a young age. This always made me think that I was not good enough and that I was a failure. After I learned this approach, I realized that I am, I am the only one who thinks I am a failure. I have my own accomplishments --- they're not as much as my sister's, but this does not mean I am a failure. I really saw my professional and personal growth in this class.