Captain Cook had a treatment plan

Diagnosis and treatment in psychotherapy

  • Roy Bowden
DOI: https://doi.org/10.9791/ajpanz.2005.16

Abstract

This paper highlights questions regarding the relevance of diagnosis and treatment methods within psychotherapy. (Psychotherapy is viewed as a separate profession with links to psychoanalysis, psychiatry and clinical psychology). The theses are as follows; Diagnosis and treatment are concepts which prevent therapists from viewing the client as a whole person. Therapists who diagnose client difficulties overlay client presentations with their own favoured perceptions. Treatment plans are usually made according to a defined modality which views the world through a set of theories instead of ideas created by client and therapist together. Diagnostic formulations and treatment plans are also culturally bound instruments which may result in therapeutic colonisation.

Author Biography

Roy Bowden

As recorded in 2005.

A. Roy Bowden teaches counselling and therapy in a degree programme in Wellington. His focus on the need for psychotherapy to explore cultural meanings has led him to publish in international publications and accept invitations as a keynote speaker at international conferences. During the last two years he has been teaching therapeutic processand theory through dialogue with Maori health professionals at Takapuwahia Marae, Porirua. Roy is the New Zealand-Pacific Vice-President for the World Council for Psychotherapy, a former President of NZAP and enjoys part-time private practice in Plimmerton. He published A Psychotherapist Sings in Aotearoa in 2001.

Published
2005-09-30
How to Cite
Bowden, R. (2005). Captain Cook had a treatment plan: Diagnosis and treatment in psychotherapy. Ata: Journal of Psychotherapy Aotearoa New Zealand, 11(1), 210-222. https://doi.org/10.9791/ajpanz.2005.16
Issue
Vol. 11 No. 1 (2005): Forum: The Journal of the New Zealand Association of Psychotherapists (Inc.)
Section
Articles