Editing Psychotherapy (section)

== Definitions ==
The term ''[[wikt:psychotherapy|psychotherapy]]'' is derived from [[Ancient Greek]] ''[[Wikt:psyche|psyche]]'' ([[Wikt:ψυχή|ψυχή]] meaning "breath; spirit; soul") and ''therapeia'' ([[Wikt:θεραπεία|θεραπεία]] "healing; medical treatment"). The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' defines it as "The treatment of disorders of the mind or personality by psychological means...", however, in earlier use, it denoted the treatment of disease through hypnotic suggestion.<ref name=OED>[http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/153946?rskey=jNoItF&result=1 "psychotherapy, n.".] OED Online. March 2015. Oxford University Press. (accessed 23 May 2015)</ref>{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}} Psychotherapy is often dubbed as a "talking therapy" or "talk therapy", particularly for a general audience,<ref>{{cite web |website=nami.org |url=http://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Treatment/Psychotherapy |title=Psychotherapy |publisher=[[National Alliance on Mental Illness]] |access-date=29 March 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329185701/http://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Treatment/Psychotherapy |archive-date=29 March 2015 }}</ref> though not all forms of psychotherapy rely on [[verbal communication]].<ref>[http://www.yourdictionary.com/talk-therapy 'Talk Therapy'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716002816/http://www.yourdictionary.com/talk-therapy |date=16 July 2015 }} The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition</ref> Children or adults who do not engage in verbal communication (or not in the usual way) are not excluded from psychotherapy; indeed some types are designed for such cases.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

The [[American Psychological Association]] adopted a resolution on the effectiveness of psychotherapy in 2012 based on a definition developed by American psychologist [[John C. Norcross]]: "Psychotherapy is the informed and intentional application of [[Clinical psychology|clinical methods]] and [[Interpersonal relationship|interpersonal stances]] derived from established psychological principles for the purpose of assisting people to modify their behaviors, cognitions, emotions, and/or other personal characteristics in directions that the participants deem desirable".<ref name=resolution>{{cite journal | vauthors = Campbell LF, Norcross JC, Vasquez MJ, Kaslow NJ | title = Recognition of psychotherapy effectiveness: the APA resolution | journal = [[Psychotherapy (journal)|Psychotherapy]] | volume = 50 | issue = 1 | pages = 98–101 | date = March 2013 | pmid = 23505985 | doi = 10.1037/a0031817 | url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236058462 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160101111335/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236058462_Recognition_of_Psychotherapy_Effectiveness_The_APA_Resolution | archive-date = 1 January 2016 | df = dmy-all }} The full text of the resolution: {{cite web |url=https://www.apa.org/about/policy/resolution-psychotherapy |title=Recognition of Psychotherapy Effectiveness |date=August 2012 |website=www.apa.org}}</ref> Influential editions of a work by psychiatrist [[Jerome Frank (psychiatrist)|Jerome Frank]] defined psychotherapy as a healing relationship using socially authorized methods in a series of contacts primarily involving words, acts and rituals—which Frank regarded as forms of [[persuasion]] and [[rhetoric]].<ref>Frank, J. D., & Frank, J. B. (1991, 3rd ed. First published 1961). [https://books.google.com/books?id=vnMBQiOyTn0C Persuasion and healing: A comparative study of psychotherapy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723051414/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vnMBQiOyTn0C |date=23 July 2015 }}. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Page 2.</ref> Historically, psychotherapy has sometimes meant "interpretative" (i.e. [[Freudian]]) methods, namely [[psychoanalysis]], in contrast with other methods to treat psychiatric disorders such as behavior modification.<ref>{{cite book |title= Oxford Companion to the Mind |series= [[Oxford Companions]] |editor-last= Gregory |editor-first= Richard L. |editor-link= Richard Gregory |last= Eysenck |first= Hans |author-link= Hans J. Eysenck |pages= 92–3 |year= 2004 |edition= 2nd |orig-year= 1999 |publisher= Oxford University Press |isbn= 978-0198602248}}</ref>

Some definitions of [[counseling]] overlap with psychotherapy (particularly in non-directive client-centered approaches), or counseling may refer to guidance for everyday problems in specific areas, typically for shorter durations with a less medical or "professional" focus.<ref>[http://counsellingresource.com/lib/therapy/types/history/ History of Counselling & Psychotherapy] Greg Mulhauser, CounsellingResource Library, 2014</ref> [[Somatotherapy]] refers to the use of physical changes as injuries and illnesses, and [[sociotherapy]] to the use of a person's social environment to effect therapeutic change.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=WCSunMx7EJ8C Theory and Practice of Nursing: An Integrated Approach to Caring Practice] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723054936/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=WCSunMx7EJ8C |date=23 July 2015 }} Lynn Basford, Oliver Slevin, Nelson Thornes, 2003. Page 533</ref> Psychotherapy may address [[spirituality]] as a significant part of someone's mental / psychological life, and some forms are derived from spiritual philosophies, but practices based on treating the spiritual as a separate dimension are not necessarily considered as traditional or 'legitimate' forms of psychotherapy.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=QFEWmuja1CwC Psychotherapy in a Traditional Society: Context, Concept and Practice] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716111045/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=QFEWmuja1CwC |date=16 July 2015 }} Vijoy K Varma, Nitin Gupta. Jaypee Brothers Publishers. 2008. Page 230</ref>