It seems almost ingrained into our culture that every time a person is experiencing an issue or problem in their life, they’re told to “get therapy.” While recognizing that you or a loved one is dealing with more than they can cope with on their own is an important first step to solving a problem, it’s often unhelpful to tell a person they need therapy. Many people who have never worked with a mental health professional before don’t have a clear picture of what a person would do during therapy, much less what to look for in a therapist or what type of therapy to ask for.
The truth is that hundreds of different types of therapy are available, but it can be difficult to determine exactly which type of therapy is right for you. This is a list of some of the most common types of therapy, but other, less well-known techniques may be a better fit than any of the options.
Therapy for Trauma
If you have recently experienced an event such as a death in the family, been the victim of violence, or had another type of traumatic experience, there are several options available for mental health counseling. These options include Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing or EMDR, Prolonged Exposure Therapy, or Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy.
These types of therapy are typically done under the supervision of a mental health doctor or psychologist trained specifically in administering these procedures. These types of therapies are usually used in conjunction with other types of therapies on this list.
Therapy for Logical Thinkers
If you’re someone who prefers to solve their problems logically, typically by thinking through all of the parts of an issue and then arriving at a solution that is practical to implement, then you may want to try Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT, or a type of therapy known as Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy.
These types of therapy are some of the most popular, and therefore they are often the easiest to find practitioners for. They are often used in conjunction with other therapies but can also be used independently.
Therapy for Creative Persons
Several types of therapy involve painting, drawing, sculpture, music, and even dancing. Typically, these therapies are most successful with people comfortable expressing themselves this way. Still, they are by no means limited to professional artists or musicians.
Remember that these therapies are more than simply creating artwork and discussing how it makes you feel. Depending on the patient, practitioners of these types of therapies may ask you to recreate scenes from past life events or imagine an event expressed through a variety of mediums.
Therapy to Help Control Emotions
Some individuals have trouble dealing with strong emotions such as sadness or anger. There are treatments available to deal with these types of emotions. Anger management therapy is perhaps the most well-known of this category of treatments, but the category can also include Dialectical Behavioral Therapy or DBT and Emotion-Focused Therapy.
This type of therapy focuses on helping a patient express negative emotions more positively.
Therapy to Improve Relationships
Plenty of people immediately think of couples counseling when the subject of therapy to improve relationships comes up. Still, there are many different types of therapy in this category. Relationship therapy can improve relationships between siblings, parents, and even co-workers.
Many people use a type of family or relationship therapy when they are considering marriage. This type of therapy is ideal for working out issues between a couple before marriage, and it is strongly recommended for people who have children from previous relationships. This type of therapy can also be used to help families get through a divorce, move, the arrival of a new sibling, or another major family event.
Relationship therapy can also be used to help companies that have issues among co-workers or even business partners.
Therapy to Solve an Immediate Problem or Issue
If you have a specific issue you need help with, techniques such as Solution-Focused Therapy or Motivation Enhancement Therapy might be good solutions. Remember that while these therapies can help a patient discover an answer quickly, it may also be necessary to participate in a “longer” type of therapy if the issue is deeper than originally thought.
Therapy to Examine Your Subconscious
People may wish to examine their subconscious for various reasons, including wanting to find repressed memories or the source of a profound fear. Therapies such as Psychoanalysis, Psychodynamic Therapy, Core Process Psychotherapy or CPP, and Jungian Psychoanalysis have been able to help with these questions. Still, patients have reported a wide degree of success with these problems.
The best way to determine the type of therapy that will help you or your loved one the most is to meet with a mental health professional. During the first appointment, it will often be possible to determine which type of mental health professional would serve you the best. It may also be possible to determine an initial course of therapy. Remember that it may become necessary to change treatments or approaches during treatment.
Contact us today if you’re looking for a place to start your mental health journey. Our staff has years of experience helping people from all walks of life who have faced various problems.
