A Synthesis of Psychoanalytic Method and Cognitive Behavioral Theory Research Paper

A Synthesis of Psychoanalytic Method and Cognitive Behavioral Theory - Research Paper Example From personal experiences, it seems that counseling psychologists are most effective when they facilitate a discussion with patients, rather than interrogating them. Psychoanalysis provides the opportunity for a psychologist to guide a patient to those insights relevant to the underlying problem; however, in the act of psychoanalysis, autonomy of insights is removed from the patients and trusted to the psychoanalyst for the solution. Although CBT allows some autonomy for the patient to draw his own conclusions, it ignores the role of psychoanalytic transference, which seems to be an important issue to be addressed in a counseling session.Human NatureThe idea that patients ought to be given the autonomy to interpret their own unconscious, once it has been questioned by the counselor, is based on a view of human nature as metaphysically free. With a free will, human beings are not bound by the rules and laws set forth by their unconscious; in fact, people have the inherent power to cha nge the subconscious conclusions and philosophies that affect their emotional livelihood. However, the status of thoughts and cognitions in the unconscious leaves them inaccessible to the patient by his own devices. For that reason, he needs an active intervention from the counselor, which is a defining feature of cognitive behavioral therapy. On this second premise, human nature is also seen as fundamentally social: that, in order to resolve their psychological difficulties, human beings must seek.