A Beginner's Guide to Psychotherapy - Part 2

Choosing the type of therapy you want can be just as difficult as choosing a therapist. So how do you choose?

We use therapy/psychotherapy as a catchall term for a client meeting with a clinician to address psychological concerns. However, therapy is not one-size-fits-all. There are many types/styles of therapy underpinned by even more theoretical approaches, which is what really determines what you will experience when you go to one therapist versus another.

Photo credit: Samson Katt

Think of it this way:
Theoretical approach- how the therapist thinks about how the mind works and how/whether emotions and behavior are related.
Therapeutic style- how the therapist interacts with you based on their understanding of the role of therapist and the role of the client.

Therefore, when choosing a type of therapy, consider the following:
- Do you want short-term therapy or do you want to be in therapy indefinitely?
- Do you want to focus on your current emotions, thought process, and/or behaviors, or focus on your unconscious mind and your past experiences?
- Do you want the therapist to offer suggestions or mostly listen and reflect what you say?
- Do you want homework between sessions?

After you answer those questions you will be better equipped to choose between the most common therapy styles, which are:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a form of short-term therapy that focuses on addressing how our thoughts and behaviors interact to affect how we feel and, ultimately, our mental health. For instance, if you think "I can't trust anyone," you are likely to turn away people who try to get close to you, which will result in you feeling unsupported, isolated, angry and thinking even more that you can't trust anyone. In CBT, the therapist would work with you to identify and disrupt that problematic/maladaptive cycle of thought, behavior, and feeling. The therapist might assign homework to practice the new ways of thinking and behaviors you discuss during your sessions. The therapist will help you to replace maladaptive thoughts or behaviors with adaptive ones; they won't spend a lot of time exploring the root causes of those thoughts and behaviors.

Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamic Therapy are closely related. Both are rooted in the idea that psychological problems are rooted in the unconscious. Psychoanalysis, based on the theories of Sigmund Freud, is a very long-term intensive form of therapy that calls for multiple sessions per week for many years. Psychoanalysis focuses on sexuality, libido, and childhood experiences. Psychodynamic therapy combines Freud's theories with the work of other theorists such as Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, and Karen Horney. It is shorter term (6 months to 1 year) and requires only one session per week. Psychodynamic therapy focused less on sex and more on the influence of social environment.

Humanistic Therapy focuses on the importance of being your true self in order to lead the most fulfilling life. In humanistic therapy, the client is considered the expert on their difficulties and the therapist's role is helping the person as a whole rather than focusing on a diagnosis. "A humanistic therapist will often do this through active listening. This means that they’ll listen carefully to your words, making sure they fully understand what you’re saying. They may stop you to ask follow-up questions." Sessions focus on the client's day-to-day life rather than focusing on past events. Some common forms of humanistic therapy are Narrative Therapy, Gestalt Therapy, and Person-centered Therapy.

Integrative Therapy combines ideas and methods from various theoretical approaches and therapeutic styles based on each individual client and their context. Integrative therapy is sometimes referred to as holistic therapy because it aspires to consider an individual’s mental, physical, and emotional health in a unified way.