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History of psychotherapy
In the modern world, psychotherapy is used to help a patient with their specific psychological problems. Treatment techniques include experiential relationship building, dialogue, and behavior modification. But who developed the methods and practices of psychotherapy? Psychotherapy dates back to the time of the ancient Greeks, who were the first to classify mental disorders as illnesses. Before this revelation, mental disorders were steeped in superstition. Any abnormal behavior was seen as a sign of malevolent entities. After the fall of Rome, the ancient belief that the supernatural was involved rose again, leading to torture to try to extract a confession from the demons...
History of psychotherapy
In the modern world, psychotherapy is used to help a patient with their specific psychological problems. Treatment techniques include experiential relationship building, dialogue, and behavior modification. But who developed the methods and practices of psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy dates back to the time of the ancient Greeks, who were the first to classify mental disorders as illnesses. Before this revelation, mental disorders were steeped in superstition. Any abnormal behavior was seen as a sign of malevolent entities. After the fall of Rome, the ancient belief that the supernatural was involved rose again, leading to torture to attempt to obtain a confession from the demons. Nevertheless, some enlightened physicians such as Paracelsus began to support the idea of psychotherapy to treat patients.
The English psychiatrist Walter Cooper Dendy came up with the term psychotherapy in 1853. Sigmund Freud then revolutionized the field of psychotherapy with descriptions of unconscious, childlike sexuality, dreams, and his model of the human mind. After extensive work with neurotic patients, Freud came to believe that mental illness was due to the suppression of thoughts and memories in the unconscious. He also believed that treatment should include listening to the patient about his problems so that memories can surface and symptoms can subside.
Freud's methods and practices were practiced primarily in the field of psychotherapy for over fifty years. With the growth of American psychology, new cases of active therapeutic treatments emerged.
Behavioral therapy, which helps treat emotional and behavioral problems, places much greater emphasis on a person's thoughts and feelings. As such, this has become a major treatment type for a variety of different psychiatric illnesses.
In the 1940s, Carl Rogers focused on offering genuine acceptance as part of his interpersonal therapy. By the time the 1970s arrived, over sixty different types of psychotherapy had been adapted. Psychotherapy is now used worldwide to treat patients with various mental disorders.
Alternative practitioner psychotherapy
The best place to find alternative practitioners psychotherapy is in our free alternative practitioner directory. To view all alternative psychotherapy practitioners, please click here.