PSYCHOTHERAPY, CONCEPTS OF TREATMENT

The simplistic explanation of psychotherapy is that it deals with the treatment of disorders of emotion or personality by psychological methods. There are arguments about the effectiveness of psychotherapies, but it is generally agreed that success depends on a secure, confiding relationship between the therapist and patient and on a shared confidence in the capacity of the therapist and his or her theory to explain and eliminate the problem.

In recent times psychotherapy gained recognition as a theory of and therapy for the mental disorders known as neuroses, and a general theory of personality and emotional development constructed by the many schools of behavioural sciences.

Although the theories which psychotherapists follow are arguably the most inclusive in psychology, they still have fundamental conceptual weaknesses. Never-the-less, it is consider effective alongside the other forms of therapy, i.e. behavioural therapy, and treatments offered by psychiatry.