Psychotherapeutic Diagrams PDF Download

Author: Jeremy Shapiro
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 287

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Book Description
Psychotherapeutic diagrams are drawings that summarize therapy material in a visual-spatial form. The therapist distills the essence of a client issue or a change strategy and presents this essence in a drawing, usually labeled with words. Diagrams make abstract ideas concrete, complement language with a non-verbal medium of thought and communication, help clients understand their problems and the strategies used in therapy, and point the way toward change. This ebook presents a number of diagrams, procedures for creating individualized drawings for clients, and explanations of how to use these tools in therapy. Visual models can be woven into almost any type of therapeutic work. The ebook explains how diagrams can be used in cognitive-behavioral, family systems, dialectical behavior therapy, and psychodynamic forms of intervention. This resource also describes some basic findings of neuroscience research and shows how diagrams can help clients understand how their brains work. While diagrams might be most important with clients whose verbal skills are limited, everyone thinks visually to some extent, so spatial metaphors can make a contribution to counseling with most clients. This method is useful with children and adults across a wide range of diagnoses, and the ebook presents diagrams with specific relevance to anxiety, depression, perfectionism, conduct disturbance, aggression, bullying, and common marital and parent-child problems. One useful type of diagram is the familiar 10-point scale with verbal anchors, constructed in a certain way. These scales can be used to conceptualize the dimensions of behavior, cognition, and emotion that have been troublesome for the client and to locate her difficulties on these spectrums. Many disturbances result from extreme styles of functioning that fall close to one or the other ends of these continuums, while most adaptive styles are moderate and balanced, with locations in the mid-range. As an example, think of the spectrum of possible responses to conflict: Passivity and aggression are located at opposite extremes, and assertive behavior is in the middle. Diagrams based on 10-point scales can be used to define treatment goals that clients find comfortable, attainable, and compatible with their existing styles. These graphic representations provide an effective, insightful form of guidance toward change. The ebook also presents a number of diagrams based on the concept of the positive feedback loop. These diagrams harness the explanatory power of systems theory to help couples and families understand the dynamics that have kept them locked in dysfunctional patterns of interaction. Then, therapists can help clients diagram their way out of these conflictual, unhappy cycles. This ebook is a remarkable resource unlike anything you have read before. It combines verbal and visual-spatial thinking, draws on diverse sources of ideas ranging from psychotherapy research to Aristotle to cognitive science, and brings these ideas to life with lots of case material, model therapist statements, and counselor-client dialogue. This resource is theoretically innovative, with numerous illustrations of how non-linear forms of thinking can help us make sense of client problems and plan effective strategies for change. At the same time, the ebook is down-to-earth and practical, with an emphasis on clinically effective techniques that you can use immediately. As an unusual bonus, there is an epilogue in which the ideas developed in the context of psychotherapy are applied to dysfunctional dynamics in American politics!