The conception of therapy is a popular one. It is about a basic set up of a client, a couch and a psychologist holding a pencil and a notepad in hand.
While some therapy approaches usually make use of this method, there are several types of treatment that one can use to help a client live past a problem.
In almost all cases, the goal of the therapy session is to offer a nonjudgmental environment that lets the therapist and client work hand-in-hand towards a goal that is mutually agreed upon.
The following are some of the many different forms of therapy available.
Psychoanalytic Therapy
Psychoanalytic therapy is currently one of the most popular treatment modalities, and it is also one of the forms of therapies that is mostly misunderstood by mental health patients.
Sigmund Freud founded the psychoanalytic theory, and psychoanalytic therapists usually spend most of their time listening to patients talk about the problems they have in their lives, which is why this form is often called “talk therapy.”
Those who provide therapy will search for patterns or events that are significant and may play a vital role in the difficulties that the client may currently face.
Psychoanalysts believe that unconscious feelings and childhood events, motivations and thoughts play an essential role in maladaptive behaviors and mental illness.
While this form of therapy has been criticized by people who claim that psychoanalytic therapy is quite time-consuming, generally ineffective and expensive, this treatment possesses several useful benefits as well.
The therapist in psychoanalytic therapy will offer a nonjudgmental and empathetic environment where the client will feel safe in revealing their actions or feelings that may have led to the stress or tension he or she is feeling.
Frequently, merely sharing these emotional and mental burdens with another person can have all a person needs to get better.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive-behavioral therapists are another popular method of psychotherapy that is commonly used for solving specific problems.
These therapists are of the view that faulty perception or irrational thinking is responsible for specific dysfunctions.
A cognitive therapist will most likely work with a client to change his or her thought patterns. CBT is widely used and most effective for clients who are dealing with anxiety or depression.
Behavioral therapists offer the services of changing problematic behaviors that have been nursed through several years of reinforcement.
A good instance of behavioral therapy would a person needing the services of a therapist to overcome a fear of water.
The therapist, in this case, would have to encourage the client to take gradual steps in facing their fear of water through experience or incremental exposure to the object that is feared.
The client might first imagine standing by the poolside or going to the beach to watch the water and people playing in it.
Next, the client would have to expose themselves slowly to greater and greater amounts of water until the phobia starts to diminishes or entirely disappears.
Cognitive and behavioral approaches can be very useful when treating patients with specific problems.
Often, there may be a combination of cognitive and behavioral approaches when treating a particular disorder.
A therapist who is treating a person with social anxiety may assist the client in forming a more accurate pattern of thinking as well as pay attention to specific behaviors, such as social avoidance.
Group Therapy
Group therapy is popular as a form of psychotherapy that involves two or more clients working with one or more counselors or therapists.
This method is a standard treatment format for support groups, where members of the group can learn from the experiences of other people and even offer advice.
This is also a more cost-effective method than individual psychotherapy and is usually sufficient for specific types of problems.
It is a standard therapy method for treating those who have a mental illness or have a problem behavior to isolated, alone, or different.
Group therapy can also be helpful to clients by offering a peer group of individuals that are also dealing with the same symptoms or those who have recovered from a problem of that kind.
Group members can also be of emotional support to each other, and make the group a safe forum to practice new behaviors and measure recovery progress.
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