ABSTRACT
Symptoms can also be the result of traumatization, when normal functioning has been disrupted by an assault or overload. The treatment model consists of eliminating the noxious agent, restabilizing the system, and reprocessing the overload at a manageable pace. That approach applies whether one is talking about biologically focused interventions for drug toxicity, shock, and exposure; behaviorally focused desensitization techniques for paralyzing phobias; or systems-focused shifts from hot to cool reactor modes for crisis management. A final paradigm is conflict, that is, distress, inefficiency, or paralysis caused by competing feelings, beliefs, motivations, or goals. The treatment strategy for this paradigm is to uncover the competing elements and the logic, feeling, and beliefs behind the dissonance. This treatment strategy is contained in behavioral approaches, cognitive approaches, psychodynamic approaches, humanistic approaches, systems approaches, and biological approaches. This way of conceptualizing underlying disturbance, then, allows for complexity and a mix of theoretical perspectives, while at the same time offering practical directions for treatment.
