This 6 page paper provides an overview of a case study that demonstrates the application of self psychology. Bibliography lists 4 sources
Name of Research Paper File: MH11_MHAlcCas.rtf
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
Theorists like Freud, in his psychodymanic theory, have developed strategies and methods that have been used for the treatment of behavioral and psychosocial problems, including alcoholism. There are distinct
differences, though, in these two therapeutic perspectives, and assessing both of them relative to a particular case study provides a basis for understanding these differences. This paper is based
on a case study of "Richard," a 44 year old man who has been referred to a counseling situation by his primary care physician because of the physicians belief that
he has a substantial drinking problem with familial and social underpinnings. Richards initial resistance to the belief that he has a drinking problem led him to assess himself as
"depressed," but referrals led to the clinical setting, in which both relational theory and traditional psychoanalysis were applied to a view of Richard and his drinking problem.
Self Psychology Mitchell (1997) recognized that the traditional psychoanalytic relationship is often dominated by influential practitioners, individuals capable of directing the process of assessment and the therapeutic modality. Maintaining
the autonomy of the patient in the psychoanalytic process, then, has been a central element related to the use of self psychology modalities. Richards alcoholic tendencies developed as
a part of a familial process. Recognizing his parents patterned alcohol consumption, Richard found the behavior normative and began participating in alcohol consumption at an early age, sometimes directed
by the behaviors of his parents and with their permission. These facts were related at the early assessment of Richards condition through information conveyed by his family practitioner.
Also noted in his file was the statement that his parents died of alcohol-related issues: his father was killed in a car accident while driving under the influence; and