The humanistic vs cognitive side of psychological intervention: is one better than other?

Introduction

In the practice of psychological counseling, the psychotherapist's theoretical framework will always influence, since, from the initial stages of approaching the client, the psychotherapist will have the posture and attitudes of each theoretical framework. Likewise, it will also influence the diagnostic framework and even the treatment and results obtained. In most cases, psychotherapists adopt a vision based on a specific theory, which they maintain in all their interventions, regardless of the characteristics and psychological problems of the client. But there are other cases in which the psychotherapist tries to use different theoretical frameworks until establishing which one stablishes a better approach in the management of the client.

In this sense, it is important to have points of comparison of how a psychological theory can show advantages over others. Although the currently theories have been used for decades, there is a raised necessity to investigate the effectiveness of each intervention in the recovery of the client's stability. In this writing, a clinical case will be shown, and the pertinent analysis will be carried out in order to compare the benefits of each one (Walters & Corey, 1980, pp 18-20).

Case report

Afterward, the characteristics of the clinical case that will be addressed in this writing will be shown. The client is a 26-year-old male with a heterosexual sexual orientation, single, and of white ethnicity. The client comes to counseling for depression that interferes with his quality of life. The problems presented by the client are suicidal thoughts and feeling extremely sad. He was close to his mother, who died from cancer a little over two years ago. Last night, he confided to his roommates that he had researched suicide methods on the internet. His roommates accompanied him to his appointment and waited in the lobby.

Two weeks ago, he lost his job as a retail store clerk because he showed up late because of oversleeping. He reported that he had completed many online job applications but currently had zero energy for the job search. He indicated that his roommates were paying household bills until he gets back on his feet. He became tearful when saying he does not want to be “a burden” to his roommates from him. He said he knows suicide could cause his family and roommates great suffering and he does not want to hurt them. A maternal uncle died by suicide when he was young. He reported no access to guns or drugs he could use to overdose. He said he is rarely alone because he lives with four roommates. He disclosed that he does not want to die and hopes counseling will help him enjoy his life with friends and family again.

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