Different Approaches to Stress, Essay Example

The purpose of this paper is to examine the different ways in which the dual fields of community psychology and traditional psychotherapy approach the matter of stress. While the latter has been around for decades, community psychology only came into being officially in 1965 at a meeting of psychologists at the Swampscott Conference. Although community psychology deals with solving problems much like clinical psychology, it is not so much focused on solving individual problems as it “is devoted to understanding the underlying social issues that contribute to these problems” (Cherry). Consequently, it tries to understand and deal with the social issues that contribute to people’s stress levels. One of the things it might do is “to help disadvantaged or disenfranchised individuals feel more connected with their local communities” (ibid.). There are degrees of being disadvantaged. For some it may simply mean not having all of the technology their peers have nor the latest clothes. For others, however, it may mean the food bank and even homelessness. Obviously, such people are experiencing a great deal of stress, something community psychology people believe they can reduce by improving the negative underlying social issues.

Psychotherapy, on the other hand, is “personal counselling with a psychotherapist, an intentional personal relationship used by trained psychotherapists to aid a client in problems of living” (Traditional Psychotherapy). Consequently, if a client presents with a high level of stress, the therapist might possibly begin by informing the person with what some of the stressors are as many people only recognize a couple of them. Now the client is in a position to identify most—if not all—of the stressors in his or her life and to eliminate them or at least to reduce them. The psychotherapist would also help the client to better manage his or her stress.

References

Cherry, K. What is Community Psychology? Retrieved on April 14, 2012, from http://psychology.about.com/od/branchesofpsychology/a/community-psy.

Traditional Psychotherapy. Retrieved on April 14, 2012, from http://www.nyneurofeedback.com/treatmentoptions/psychotherapy.aspx.