Deciding to begin therapy can be hard for many yet is necessary for growth. When people do choose to begin therapy, they must decide which therapist to choose or even decide what type of therapy can be beneficial. Most of the time the therapist makes that decision for you but imagine if you knew more about therapy approaches and could choose for yourself.
There are many different therapy techniques that can be used, which are, but not limited to, Person Centered therapy, Acceptance and Commitment therapy, Cognitive Behavioral therapy, Dialectal Behavior therapy, Strength Based therapy, Trauma-Focused Therapy, Interpersonal therapy, Motivational Interviewing therapy. All these types of therapy are evidence -based and have been used effectively for numerous years. Learn more about them below!
Person-Centered
Person-centered therapy uses a non-authoritative approach that allows clients to take more of a lead in discussions so that, in the process, they will discover their own solutions. The therapist acts as a compassionate facilitator, listening without judgment and acknowledging the client’s experience without moving the conversation in another direction. The therapist is there to encourage and support the client and to guide the therapeutic process without interrupting or interfering with the client’s process of self-discovery.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a type of psychotherapy that helps you accept the difficulties that come with life. ACT is a form of mindfulness-based therapy, theorizing that greater well-being can be attained by overcoming negative thoughts and feelings. Essentially, ACT looks at your character traits and behaviors to assist you in reducing avoidant coping styles. ACT also addresses your commitment to making changes, and what to do about it when you can’t stick to your goals.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Cognitive-behavioral therapy stresses the role of thinking in how we feel and what we do. It is based on the belief that thoughts, rather than people or events, cause our negative feelings. The therapist assists the client in identifying, testing the reality of, and correcting dysfunctional beliefs underlying his or her thinking. The therapist then helps the client modify those thoughts and the behaviors that flow from them. CBT is a structured collaboration between therapist and client and often calls for homework assignments. CBT has been clinically proven to help clients in a relatively short amount of time with a wide range of disorders, including depression and anxiety.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is the treatment most closely associated with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Therapists practice DBT in both individual and group sessions. The therapy combines elements of CBT to help with regulating emotion through distress tolerance and mindfulness. The goal of Dialectical Behavior Therapy is to alleviate the intense emotional pain associated with BPD.
Strength-Based
Strength-based therapy is a type of positive psychotherapy and counseling that focuses more on your internal strengths and resourcefulness, and less on weaknesses, failures, and shortcomings. This focus sets up a positive mindset that helps you build on you best qualities, find your strengths, improve resilience, and change worldview to one that is more positive. A positive attitude, in turn, can help your expectations of yourself and others become more reasonable.
Trauma Focused
Trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) helps people who may be experiencing post-traumatic stress after a traumatic event to return to a healthy state. This therapy technique helps you to write a narrative of events and work through those details with a professional.
Interpersonal
Interpersonal therapy helps people to work through current and past relationships. This gives the client a chance to work through accountability and discuss ways to better their communication skills. The here and now is worked on within the therapy session and the professional can use their therapeutic relationship to help encourage change.
Motivational Interviewing
Motivational Interviewing helps people prepare for the change that they want to see in their lives. This gives client a chance to decided where they are in the stages of change, precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, or maintenance. In the therapy sessions, the therapist works with the client help them to identify where they are along with help them move along to preparing to work on changing the habits or behaviors.
