6 Types Of Psychotherapy With Little Or No Proven Effectiveness
The world of psychotherapies and therapeutic approaches to psychological problems contains a wide variety of proposals. Some of them have proven to be very effective, but others exist more as a tradition or as a way of expressing a philosophy of life than as solutions that will offer guaranteed results.
That is why it is good to know both the psychological therapies with more proven effectiveness and those whose clinical usefulness is more questioned. Below we will see the second ones: psychotherapies with little or no proven effectiveness.
Psychological therapies with little scientific validity
It must be taken into account that the fact that these therapies are not well supported scientifically It does not mean that they cannot be pleasant or motivating experiences. for some people.
This fact is what leads some patients to believe that feeling good in the sessions is indicative of the therapeutic advances being made, but this is not the case. Psychotherapy has an objective defined by the field of intervention to which it belongs: clinical and health psychology, and therefore its effects must be noted in the way in which psychological disorders and problems in general are expressed.
That said, let’s look at some types of psychotherapy that have less empirical validity than they often appear. These therapies do not appear ordered in a certain way.
1. Regression therapy
Regression therapy was born in the 19th century with the theories of the French neurologist Pierre Janeta figure who had a lot of influence on Sigmund Freud. That is why it falls within the forms of therapy linked to psychoanalysis and the psychodynamic current in general.
Like Freudian psychoanalysis, regression therapy places great emphasis on the importance that past experiences have on the present mental state. However, this is characterized by the idea that those memories that have been stored in memory and that condition what the person is in the here and now are, in reality, false, distortions of what really happened. .
The phenomenon of spontaneous modification of memories is something that both neuroscience and cognitive science have been verifying for some time, and yet, the theory on which regression therapy is based assumes that this deformation of memories It is due to the conflicts of the unconscious.
Currently, there is no comprehensive research or meta-analysis demonstrating the effectiveness of regression therapy.
2. Psychoanalytic Therapy
This type of therapy has its origins in the initial ideas of Sigmund Freud, and is based on the analysis of unconscious conflicts that originate in childhood according to the ideas of this neurologist. Psychoanalytic therapy focuses on the search for understanding instinctive impulses that, according to Freudian theory, are repressed by consciousness and that are stored in the subconscious, affecting the patient.
The psychoanalytic therapist uses techniques such as free association, which attempts to help the patient express their cognitions (thoughts, ideas, images) and emotions without any type of repression, which would lead the patient towards emotional catharsis. Nowadays, this form of psychotherapy is used less and less in Europe, but in some countries, such as Argentina, it is still extremely popular.
It is currently considered that psychoanalysis There is no solid evidence of its effectiveness.among other things for the same reasons that led philosopher Karl Popper to criticize this approach: if the sessions do not produce the expected effect, you can always appeal to the deceptions of the client’s unconscious.
However, the social impact that psychoanalysis has had has been such that it has been claimed outside the field of health as a tool to interpret stories, artistic forms of expression and social phenomena in general. For example, it has had a great impact on radical feminism.
You can delve deeper into this therapeutic theory in our article: “Sigmund Freud: life and work of the famous psychoanalyst”
3. Psychodynamic Therapy
Psychodynamic therapy derives from psychoanalysis, but leaves the classical vision behind. It focuses on greater therapeutic brevity and focuses attention on the most prominent conflicts of the patient’s current condition. With the intention of leaving behind the classic psychoanalytic approach, it includes aspects of the analytical approach to the self or that of object relations of the Kleinian current.
Some psychologists such as Alfred Adler or Ackerman have participated in the development of this form of therapy, and despite the changes, the objective remains to Help the patient gain insight into their conflicts hidden.
There are a number of differences between psychodynamic and psychoanalytic therapy. Psychodynamic therapy is characterized by:
As with traditional psychoanalysis-based therapy, this approach nor does it have sufficient empirical evidence indicating its clinical usefulness.
4. Humanistic Therapy
Humanistic therapy emerged in the mid-20th century and is influenced by phenomenology and existentialism. Its main exponents are Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, and it adopts a holistic approach to human existence and pays special attention to phenomena such as creativity, free will and human potential. It is presented as a tool that encourages self-exploration and visualization of yourself as a whole person.
While Abraham Maslow emphasized a hierarchy of needs and motivations, Carl Rogers was the one who created the person-centered approachmore focused on psychotherapy. In humanistic therapy, the therapist takes an active role and tries to facilitate the patient (called client) becoming aware of the real experience and restructuring of his or her self, through the establishment of a solid therapeutic alliance.
humanistic therapy It has been used to treat a wide range of mental health problemsincluding depression, anxiety, relationship problems, personality disorders and various addictions. However, there is no firm evidence about its effectiveness. However the wishful thinking and the application of “common sense” to therapy lead many people to believe that being guided by positive life principles that we can intuitively relate to the idea of happiness is equivalent to following a truly effective therapy.
5. Gestalt Therapy
Gestalt therapy is developed under the influence of humanistic philosophy, but unlike Carl Rogers’ therapy, its focus is on the thoughts and feelings of the here and now, on self-awareness. The creators of this therapeutic model are Fritz Perls and Laura Perls.
Gestalt therapy is a type of holistic therapy that understands that the mind is a self-regulating unit. Gestalt therapists use experiential and experiential techniques to attempt to improve the patient’s self-awareness, freedom, and self-direction. However, It has nothing to do with Gestalt psychology.emerged before the Perls’ proposals and focused on the scientific study of perception and cognition.
Unfortunately, this approach It is based more on ethical principles and abstract ideas about what “the mind” of a happy person is rather than a scientifically formulated model about how mental processes and behavior work. His proposals are based on intuitive ideas about what it means to “live in the present” and gain awareness of what is happening, so it escapes any attempt to verify its effectiveness in a relatively objective way.
6. Transactional Analysis
Transactional analysis is a type of humanistic psychotherapy that, despite originating between the 50s and 60s, is still applied today. It was baptized as a model of social psychiatry, in which the unit of social relationship is the transaction. It is a form of therapy that is presented as a very versatile tool, and can be proposed in a multitude of contexts.
Transactional analysis attempts to work directly in the here and now, while proposing initiatives to try to help patients develop day-to-day tools to find creative and constructive solutions to their problems. In theory, the ultimate goal is to ensure that patients regain absolute autonomy over their lives, thanks to the development of spontaneity, awareness and intimacy.
However, part of the theory on which this therapy is based uses extremely abstract or directly esoteric conceptsso it is not surprising that its scientific validity and effectiveness have proven to be very poor or practically nonexistent.
