What is Psychotherapy? Types of Psychotherapy

 Psychotherapy, or talk therapy, is a way to help people with a broad variety of mental illnesses and emotional difficulties. Psychotherapy can help eliminate or control troubling symptoms so a person can function better and can increase well-being and healing. Problems helped by psychotherapy include difficulties in coping with daily life; the impact of trauma, medical illness, or loss, like the death of a loved one; and specific mental disorders, like depression or anxiety. There are several different types of psychotherapy and some types may work better with certain problems or issues. Psychotherapy may be used in combination with medication or other therapies.

Therapy Sessions: Therapy may be conducted in an individual, family, couple, or group setting, and can help both children and adults. Sessions are typically held once a week for about 30 to 50. Both patients and therapists need to be actively involved in psychotherapy. The trust and relationship between a person and his/her therapist are essential to working together effectively and benefiting from psychotherapy. Psychotherapy can be short-term (a few sessions), dealing with immediate issues, or long-term (months or years), dealing with longstanding and complex issues. The goals of treatment and arrangements for how often and how long to meet are planned jointly by the patient and therapist. Confidentiality is a basic requirement of psychotherapy. Also, although patients share personal feelings and thoughts, intimate physical contact with a therapist is never appropriate, acceptable, or useful. Please visit Minds Therapy center and know more about Therapy.

Depression, anxiety, and anorexia nervosa: Meta-analyses of psychodynamic psychotherapy studies indicated that short-term treatment improved symptoms of depression, anxiety, and anorexia nervosa (Busch, Rudden, & Shapiro, 2004). When patients were reassessed nine months after treatment, the effect size of psychodynamic therapy had increased, indicating lasting psychological changes that yielded further benefits as time passed (Busch et al., 2004).

Cognitive Therapy: Cognitive therapy is based on the belief that people react to their interpretation of their experiences, which may not always align with reality. Emotional disturbances are considered to emerge from unhealthy and/or unrealistic interpretations of these experiences. Cognitive therapy aims to bring conscious awareness to these challenging cognitive processes and modify or eliminate the challenging belief systems. Cognitive therapy makes use of questioning in an approach known as the Socratic dialogue, or guided discovery. This process is intended to clarify the problem; assist the client in understanding their thoughts, images, and assumptions; explore the client’s interpretations, or meanings, of events; and assess the consequences of maintaining potentially dysfunctional interpretations.

Humanistic Therapies: Influenced by humanistic philosophy, humanistic therapies encourage people to think about themselves in a more positive light and improve their self-awareness. The humanistic approach champions people’s ability to make rational choices and develop their optimal potential and capacity. Three primary types of humanistic therapy include client-centered therapy, gestalt therapy, and existential therapy. In client-centered therapy, therapists emphasize their concern, care, and interest to help clients change. Gestalt therapy promotes the importance of being aware of the present moment and accepting personal responsibility in one’s life. Existential therapy emphasizes “free will, self-determination, and the search for meaning.

Humanistic Therapies: Influenced by humanistic philosophy, humanistic therapies encourage people to think about themselves in a more positive light and improve their self-awareness. 1 The humanistic approach champions people’s ability to make rational choices and develop their optimal potential and capacity. Three primary types of humanistic therapy include client-centered therapy, gestalt therapy, and existential therapy. In client-centered therapy, therapists emphasize their concern, care, and interest to help clients change. Gestalt therapy promotes the importance of being aware of the present moment and accepting personal responsibility in one’s life. Existential therapy emphasizes “free will, self-determination, and the search for meaning.

Collaborative Minds Psychotherapy LLC

New Jersey