Joseph Rhinewine, PhD, LLC 522 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 725, Portland, Oregon 97204 One Centerpointe Drive, Suite 110, Lake Oswego, Oregon 97035 503-222-2361 • drjoe.rhinewine@yahoo.com | |||||||||
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About Therapy (more) There are literally hundreds of established therapy methods, and thankfully, most of them are available in the Portland, Oregon metro region. One way they can be classified is into three categories, each of which has its strengths. I will provide a brief explanation of each of these below. At the bottom of this page, I will also include a paragraph on Family Therapy, which really is its own, separate kind of treatment and doesn't fit well into the three categories that I explain here. Cognitive-Behavioral therapies are based at least in part on behavioral science, and on accumulated data from controlled clinical trials. These approaches tend to focus on the present, and examining one's thinking and behavior. Change is accomplished by recognizing ways in which one may "talk to one's self" more helpfully, and by widening one's repertoire of behaviors, practicing new (or feared) ways of interacting. Thus, Cognitive-Behavioral therapies are highly "change-oriented" as opposed to "insight-oriented", and devote more time to learning and practicing skills and less time on self-exploration than do Psychodynamic therapies. I make extensive use of Cognitive-Behavioral approaches early in treatment, when reduction of presenting symptoms (such as anxiety and depression) is a primary goal. Humanistic/Existential/Spiritual therapy approaches include a very wide range of modalities that have in common a commitment to working with the whole person, including body, mind, and "spirit," or the essence of a person. These approaches tend to emphasize the meaningfulness of the presenting problem, and aim to help the individual transform the problem, using it as a way of exploring the deepest and fullest possible experience of life. In doing so, symptom relief is also accomplished, as the individual is restored to wholeness and balance. Mindfulness training straddles the boundaries between this "spiritual" domain, and that of mainstream Cognitive-Behavioral therapies, as it is supported by a large amount of scientific research, and deals with one's thoughts, feelings and behaviors in the present moment rather than the past. I offer Mindfulness training to many clients, as a way not only to reduce stress, but to increase one's ability to enjoy life and experience a vibrant sense of being-present. Psychodynamic therapies are based on theory and on accumulated clinical experiences of the field. They tend to focus on past events, and gaining insight into one's own motivations so that one may have greater freedom to choose how one behaves and relates to others. Treatment goals are typically more ambitious than in Cognitive-Behavioral approaches, and thus treatment typically takes somewhat longer to yield benefits. I draw on psychodynamic theory in the way I conceptualize problems, and in my view of human development. In longer-term work, especially work focused on how one relates to others, I make use of psychodynamically-oriented methods, including examining the interaction between client and therapist, and encouraging the client to examine the relationship between present and past events. Family Therapy For families with children and adolescents under 16 or so, my preferred mode of treatment is family therapy. Just as there are many kinds of individual therapy, so there are also many kinds of family treatment. The kind of family work that I do is based on Systems Theory. Briefly, Systems Theory assumes that every member of a family (or any other social group such as a school or city) influences every other member. The health of the family is a product of the interactions among all the family members, not just the individual who appears to be having the most problems. So much of family therapy using a systems model involves examining communication patterns among family members and seeking to improve the quality of communication. This does not mean that family therapy involves blaming the parents for their child or adolescent's problems, nor does it mean that the parents, or any other family member, are doing a "bad job" if their child or adolescent has problems. In fact, the philosophy of family systems therapy is that everyone is always doing the very best that she or he can do at any given moment. However, most people would benefit from examining how they interact with their families, and in learning how to help their families grow more happy and healthy. If a member of the family suffers with a significant mental, behavioral, or emotional problem, it can be very hard on the other family members. Literally thousands of good scientific studies show that family members may, despite their best intentions, behave and communicate in ways that are not ideal for the individual who is having problems, and may even make those problems worse. Thankfully, further studies have shown that family therapy can significantly improve outcomes for the child or adolescent who is having difficulty. Thus, the family can be powerful "medicine," promoting the well-being of their behaviorally or mentally troubled offspring. Local Internet Marketing by Web Wise Media |
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