‘Person-centred and psychodynamic counsellors have a lot to offer each others…..however when the differences between the approaches are examined there are significant areas of contradiction and incompatibility’
Wheeler and McLeod (1995) briefly compare the key principles of Person Centred and Psychodynamic approach and critically evaluate where the approaches part company with one another
Person centred and psychodynamic counsellors, both have one main aim -to help people develop in a positive way and to move forwards , however the methods they use to reach this goal varies .I will give a brief description of both of the key concepts and compare them ,then evaluate how these differences make the two approaches separate .
The Psychodynamic Approach focuses on our mind soul and spirit and how our past can influence these aspects especially our childhood experiences and unresolved childhood conflicts can lead to anxiety and problems when older. Psychodynamic is very much about looking into our unconscious it also delves into how people deceive themselves as to our intentions desires and beliefs and how these deceptions can cause conflict between our expressed goals and our actions. Important aspects of Freudian theory has been the idea that these traumatic experiences are actively repressed and therefore clients are likely to repeat behaviours .the key concepts address psychosexual stages that occur in the childhood stages of development , the id, ego, super ego and ego defences mechanisms, Freud believed all of these unconscious thought processes lead to a persons present behaviour. Psychodynamic counsellors goal is to make the client aware of there unconscious and dive into there early childhood conflicts .Interpreting transference is often used to link these past conflicts to the present problems, dream analysis may be used to achieve this, free association and possibly transference is used to unlock past conflicts
The Person Centred Approach is more...