Just as different perspectives made different predictions about motivation and personality, they will make different predictions about the cause of abnormality and will suggest different treatments. Exercise 1 Review the different perspectives and describe the type of therapy that would be commonly used by each. Briefly list the types of therapy that would be recommended or used by psychologists who support each of the following perspectives. While many therapies work well for the same problem some seem to be better for particular problems or particular people. Behavioral therapies are often effective with a wide variety of people and have been used successfully in people who are mentally retarded and in young children.
Drug therapies seem to be most effective with schizophrenia.
Sometimes the same person might need different types of therapy at different times for the same problem. The careful matching of therapy, therapist, person, and problem is an important part of effective treatment. A great deal of research has been done on treatments and their effectiveness. When looking for a therapist or treatment for a problem, use your critical thinking skills and look into the evidence for the effectiveness of the treatment. Remember that recommendations from former patients are not enough to document the effectiveness of a treatment.