Theory Comparison Essay Example for Free

Theory Comparison Essay It has been a long established fact that man is a unique being. Not only is he different in his ethnic background, man also has variations in his behavioral pattern. Thus, man should be viewed and treated as an exclusive being. For a long time, Psychology can be said to have noticed this rather distinct attribute of man and have sought to understand man from this perspective. This they have attempted to do by proposing various theories that seek to tell us ways by which we should view the individual in the society. Notable pioneering leaders in the field of psychology, whose works and theories have greatly affected the growth of the field of study, are Sigmund Freud and Alfred Alder. These scholars propounded psychodynamic and Adlerian approaches to counseling respectively. Historically, both scholars lived during the same period and as expected, they were colleagues in the profession. Making a comparison of booth theories propounded by them, in counseling children, psychodynamic approach in counseling children and adolescents seeks to know the explanation of the behavioral pattern of the child while making an attempt to understand how the growth of children and adolescents can be affected by their experiences and relationship withy their caregivers. Psychodynamic approach also uses the dreams to infer probable disorders and based on this provide a course of treatment. On the other hand, Adlerian approach basis its therapy on the improvement of self-esteem. In counseling children and adolescent, the therapist encourages the patient or client in overcoming his or her inferiority complexes and self-centeredness. In addition to this, Adlerian approach seeks to help children to gain insight into their goals as well as ways of attaining them. In the counseling process, the counselor attempts to identify the fantasies that children and adolescent might have and also identify goals that are far from reach to the growing child. The counselor then attempts to redirect these goals so that they will not lead to other psychological disorders informed by the reality of not being able to achieve these goals. Because these theories are both theories in psychology, there are some aspects of these theories that are relatable. To begin with, both theories are psychoanalytic theories that aim at the same goal – which is to provide an answer to thinking or mental disorders. Apart from this, both psychodynamic and adlerain theories recognizes that people man sometimes have some desires that are higher than him. In the case of psychodynamic approach, counseling seeks to identify some disorders based on fantasies that the patient has built around himself/herself. In the case of Adlerian approach, the tool used deals with the identification of goals set that are higher than the patient or client which when not met tends to build frustration. However, Freud’s psychodynamic approach is based on the assumption that disorders can be attributed to one’s personal developmental experiences which causes unconscious conflicts that are directly responsible for the patient’s condition. On the other hand, in Adlerian approach, disorders are attributed to frustrations informed by inferiority complex. Apart from this, in diagnosing disorders, the method used in the psychodynamic approach is that of interpretation. Here, the therapist or physician listens to dreams, fantasies etc of the patient and seek to interpret the words of the patient. The physician seeks to link these dreams and fantasies as being the responsible for the present position of the patient. However, the method of diagnosis in Adlerian approach is not as interpretative as the psychodynamic approach. Also, the psychodynamic approach can be said to apply a â€Å"past looking† method in diagnosis while in the case of Adlerian approach it is a â€Å"becoming† or â€Å"forward looking† way of diagnosing. In addition to this, the techniques used are different. In the case of psychodynamic approach, different forms of interpretations are used. For instance, it uses transference interpretation, genetic interpretation, and dream interpretation to understand the condition of the patient. On the other hand, the Adlerian approach uses psychotropic medications to ease the overpowering fantasies, encouragement to stay live. It also uses motivation as a tool and seeks to build the patient’s superiority complex. Reference: Mitchell, S.A., Black, M.J. (1995). Freud and beyond: a history of modern psychoanalytic thought. Basic Books, New York