M2 – Compare two psychological approaches to health and social care service provision
In this assignment, I will be comparing two psychological approaches to health and social care service provision. The
psychological approaches I will be discussing are the behaviourist approach and the psychodynamic approach. Also, the
setting I will be discussing is a mental health clinic which is where psychologists wor.
Behaviourist approach
I will be discussing how the behaviourist approach would be applicable in a mental health clinic. The behaviourist
approach loos at observed behaviour and states that we behave the way we do due to classical and operant
conditoning. This could be useful in a mental health clinic because it could help people with phobias which is very
helpful because some people have phobias so severe that they cannot functon in their day to day life. For example, a
person with severe social anxiety would not be able to do everyday actvites such as going to school, wor or shopping
for groceries because there would be too many people around them. Classical conditoning can help individuals
overcome phobias through systematc desensitsaton. This is a type of behavioural therapy which is used to help people
overcome phobias by using relaxaton techniques. The frst step for a patent who is undergoing systematc
desensitsaton is to relax by doing muscle relaxaton techniques and breathing exercises such as controlling breathing,
muscle de-tensioning and meditaton. This conditons the patent to associate the object or situaton that causes fear
with relaxaton instead. The next step is to create a hierarchy of fear with the most feared tas at the top and the least
feared tas at the botom. For example, a person with social anxiety might have leaving their house at the botom and
doing a presentaton in front of their class at the top. The third step would be for the patent to wor their way up the
hierarchy and practcing relaxaton techniques along the way untl they get to the top. The practtoners that would help
individuals overcome their phobias are psychologists. They would wor with individuals by questoning them about their
phobia, helping them create a hierarchy of fear and helping them wor their way up it. For example, by getting the
patent to imagine themselves being exposed to the phobic stmulus or getting them to actually expose themselves to
the phobic stmulus.
Psychodynamic approach
I will be discussing how the psychodynamic approach would be applicable in a mental health clinic. The psychodynamic
approach interprets what the person says and does. This could be useful in a mental health clinic because it could help
understand anxiety. Freud believed that whenever desires from the id threaten to come out through thoughts or actons
anxiety is generated. The anxiety is almost lie a signal which causes the ego to mobilise defence mechanisms such as
repression, regression, denial and displacement in order to bloc or disguise the anxiety. For example, a person who has
a fear of dogs may wet themselves when they have an encounter with a dog, which is regression into an earlier stage of
development. If this person came to a mental health clinic to overcome their fear practtoners that wor there could
help them by carrying out psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis is a type of therapy which brings repressed fears and conficts
into the conscious mind through dream interpretaton and associaton. Freud stated that the main purpose of
psychoanalysis was to strengthen the ego, to mae it more dominant than the id and to mae it independent from the
superego. He believed that anxiety was caused by unrestrained fears. Psychoanalysis would bring more atenton to
these fears, which maes suferers of anxiety more tolerable of their emotons and ultmately able to accept themselves.
The practtoners woring at a mental health clinic would be psychologists. They would wor with patents who have
anxiety by helping them bring their fears out of their unconscious mind into their conscious mind through dream
interpretaton and associaton. Dream interpretaton is the process of giving meaning to dreams. The psychologist would
interpret a patentts dream by frst asing them about what happened in their dream and breaing the dream up into
smaller sectons. Then, they would give associatons to each secton which would reveal the patentts latent ideas and
could be used to explain their anxiety.
To conclude, there are similarites and diferences between the two approaches. One similarity between the
behaviourist and psychodynamic approach is that they both believe that behaviour is determined by past experiences.
In this assignment, I will be comparing two psychological approaches to health and social care service provision. The
psychological approaches I will be discussing are the behaviourist approach and the psychodynamic approach. Also, the
setting I will be discussing is a mental health clinic which is where psychologists wor.
Behaviourist approach
I will be discussing how the behaviourist approach would be applicable in a mental health clinic. The behaviourist
approach loos at observed behaviour and states that we behave the way we do due to classical and operant
conditoning. This could be useful in a mental health clinic because it could help people with phobias which is very
helpful because some people have phobias so severe that they cannot functon in their day to day life. For example, a
person with severe social anxiety would not be able to do everyday actvites such as going to school, wor or shopping
for groceries because there would be too many people around them. Classical conditoning can help individuals
overcome phobias through systematc desensitsaton. This is a type of behavioural therapy which is used to help people
overcome phobias by using relaxaton techniques. The frst step for a patent who is undergoing systematc
desensitsaton is to relax by doing muscle relaxaton techniques and breathing exercises such as controlling breathing,
muscle de-tensioning and meditaton. This conditons the patent to associate the object or situaton that causes fear
with relaxaton instead. The next step is to create a hierarchy of fear with the most feared tas at the top and the least
feared tas at the botom. For example, a person with social anxiety might have leaving their house at the botom and
doing a presentaton in front of their class at the top. The third step would be for the patent to wor their way up the
hierarchy and practcing relaxaton techniques along the way untl they get to the top. The practtoners that would help
individuals overcome their phobias are psychologists. They would wor with individuals by questoning them about their
phobia, helping them create a hierarchy of fear and helping them wor their way up it. For example, by getting the
patent to imagine themselves being exposed to the phobic stmulus or getting them to actually expose themselves to
the phobic stmulus.
Psychodynamic approach
I will be discussing how the psychodynamic approach would be applicable in a mental health clinic. The psychodynamic
approach interprets what the person says and does. This could be useful in a mental health clinic because it could help
understand anxiety. Freud believed that whenever desires from the id threaten to come out through thoughts or actons
anxiety is generated. The anxiety is almost lie a signal which causes the ego to mobilise defence mechanisms such as
repression, regression, denial and displacement in order to bloc or disguise the anxiety. For example, a person who has
a fear of dogs may wet themselves when they have an encounter with a dog, which is regression into an earlier stage of
development. If this person came to a mental health clinic to overcome their fear practtoners that wor there could
help them by carrying out psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis is a type of therapy which brings repressed fears and conficts
into the conscious mind through dream interpretaton and associaton. Freud stated that the main purpose of
psychoanalysis was to strengthen the ego, to mae it more dominant than the id and to mae it independent from the
superego. He believed that anxiety was caused by unrestrained fears. Psychoanalysis would bring more atenton to
these fears, which maes suferers of anxiety more tolerable of their emotons and ultmately able to accept themselves.
The practtoners woring at a mental health clinic would be psychologists. They would wor with patents who have
anxiety by helping them bring their fears out of their unconscious mind into their conscious mind through dream
interpretaton and associaton. Dream interpretaton is the process of giving meaning to dreams. The psychologist would
interpret a patentts dream by frst asing them about what happened in their dream and breaing the dream up into
smaller sectons. Then, they would give associatons to each secton which would reveal the patentts latent ideas and
could be used to explain their anxiety.
To conclude, there are similarites and diferences between the two approaches. One similarity between the
behaviourist and psychodynamic approach is that they both believe that behaviour is determined by past experiences.
