What Is Therapy
Types of Therapy and Modalities
Choosing to seek out therapy is a big enough step without having to navigate all the acronyms that come with it. We congratulate you on taking that leap and we are here to help you make sense of it.
The commonly sought out counselling and therapeutic services are child, teen, adult individual counselling, family counselling, and couples counselling. Therapists employ various evidence based approaches such as CBT, DBT, EFT and EMDR in these services. These can be further explored below.
Other-Modalities
There are numerous therapies available to be utilized in psychological interventions and many more continue to be introduced.This is by no means an extensive lists rather an overview of some of the commonly used approaches.
Interpersonal Therapy
At the focal point of interpersonal therapy are the interpersonal relationships of the depressed person.It is mostly utilized to treat depression. This therapy works under the premises that that depression can be treated by improving the communication patterns and how people relate to others as we are relational beings.
Psychodynamic Therapy
Psychodynamic therapy, also known as insight-oriented therapy, it concentrates on unconscious processes as they are manifested in a person’s present behavior. The goals of psychodynamic therapy are to bring these unconscious processes to the client’s self-awareness and understanding. In its brief form, a psychodynamic approach enables the client to examine unresolved conflicts and symptoms that arise from past dysfunctional relationships and manifest themselves in the need and desire to abuse substances.
Solution focused Therapy
Unlike other forms of therapy that take time to explore problems, pathology and past life events,Solution-Focused Brief Therapy focuses on finding solutions in the present time and exploring one’s hope for the future so they can find quicker resolution of one’s problems. This method takes the approach that you already have the solutions to improve your own life and, with the appropriate guidance and questioning, one is capable of finding the best solutions and desired steps.
Narrative Therapy
Narrative therapy views people as separate from their problems. This allows clients to get some distance from the issue to see how it might actually be helping them, or protecting them, more than it is hurting them. With this new perspective, individuals feel more empowered to make changes in their thought patterns and behavior and “rewrite” their life story for a future that reflects who they are, what they are capable of, and what their purpose is, separate from their problems.
Play Therapy
Play therapy as the name implies, utilizes play. It is often employed to help children between the ages of 3 and 12 to explore, express and process feelings through play. Therapeutic play normally takes place in a safe, comfortable playroom, where very few rules or limits are imposed on the child, encouraging free expression and allowing the therapist to observe the child’s choices, decisions, and play style. The goal is to help children learn to express themselves in healthier ways, become more respectful and empathetic and discover new and more positive ways to solve problems.
Sandplay Therapy
Sand play therapy is a form of play therapy that incorporates both talk therapy and play therapy that uses a sandbox with figurines to help with the expression of feelings, thoughts and experiences. The sand tray is central to the therapy as the client uses toy figurines to create scenes of miniature worlds that reflect a person’s inner thoughts, struggles, and concerns.