Psychoanalysis Contrasted with Psychodynamic and Behavior Therapies

Abstract

Gill’s chapter comparing psychoanalytic, psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, and behavior therapies was a joy to read because of his clear definitions of each of them. He states that the central task of psychoanalysis is the analysis of the patient’s experience of the relationship with the analyst, in contrast to behavior therapy in which the goal is the direct alteration of the patient’s symptom or behavior. Psychodynamic therapy is defined as the exploration of the patient’s mental content that involves the analysis of contemporary relationships outside the therapy as well as analysis of the transference. The degree of the therapist’s activity also constitutes a crucial difference among the three. Whereas the psychodynamic therapies share the goal of examining the meaning of behavior, behavior therapy attempts to alter that behavior directly. Gill sees cognitive behavior therapy as “a hybrid” that attempts to integrate exploration of mental content and direct alteration of behavior.