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APA Psychotherapy Training Videos are intended solely for educational purposes for mental health professionals. Viewers are expected to treat confidential material found herein according to strict professional guidelines. Unauthorized viewing is prohibited.
Dr. Yapko's approach is to help the client become an agent in their personal fight to beat depression. Depression is classified as a mood disorder, but it affects much more than mood: it can affect all parts of a person's life, including their behavior, relationships, and physiology. It is a common disorder, making it important for all therapists to be aware of its symptoms and ways for treating it. The goal behind activating the agent role in the client is to reduce the feeling of helplessness that accompanies depression. The therapist should increase clients' flexibility so that they can respond in new ways to the situations they face instead of feeling they "can't do anything," a thought pattern that usually leads to deeper depression. Dr. Yapko's approach is to introduce clients to the notion that they already have the ability to choose, so the path to depression need not be the path a client follows. This approach teaches the client to be flexible in responses, to read situations better, and to know when a situation requires an emotional or a logical response. The main goal of therapy is to build positive expectancy to counter the hopelessness and to encourage a sense of agency—the ability to choose. Dr. Yapko uses cognitive–behavioral therapy combined with Ericksonian techniques involving hypnosis to treat depression. Some psychoeducation is involved because it is important to make sure that the client understands the nature of depression, as the client cannot beat what he or she does not understand. Light hypnosis is used to guide the client through a series of images of positive future life events. This is inspired by Erickson's use of hypnosis to help introduce new possibilities to clients and shift their focus away from past pain toward positive alternatives. Knowledge about depression is important for both therapists and clients. Dr. Yapko suggests reading up on depression, and viewers can use the suggested reading list as a start. He recommends checking the bibliographies of these books for other good resources. |
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