Psychological Therapies
When deciding on an appropriate counsellor or psychotherapist, it can be useful to understand the different therapies they may use. Although all can be effective, you may find one approach more appealing than another, or find that some approaches are better for a certain area of counselling or psychotherapy than others.
Psychological therapies generally fall into three categories. These are behavioural therapies, which focus on cognitions and behaviours, psychoanalytical and psychodynamic therapies, which focus on the unconscious relationship patterns that evolved from childhood, and humanistic therapies, which focus on self-development in the 'here and now'.
This is a generalisation though and counselling or psychotherapy usually overlaps some of these techniques. Some counsellors or psychotherapists practice a form of 'integrative' therapy, which means they draw on and blend specific types of techniques. Other practitioners work in an 'eclectic' way, which means they take elements of several different models and combine them when working with clients.
Below is a summary of some of the psychological therapies available. To find out further information on any approach, click on the link at the bottom of the relevant section.
Behavioural Therapy focuses on an individual's learnt, or conditioned, behaviour and how this can be changed. The approach assumes that if a behaviour can be learnt, then it can be unlearnt (or reconditioned) so is useful for dealing with issues such as phobias or addictions.
Cognitive Therapy deals with thoughts and perceptions, and how these can affect feelings and behaviour. By reassessing negative thoughts an individual can learn more flexible, positive ways of thinking, which can ultimately affect their feelings and behaviour towards those thoughts.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) combines cognitive and behavioural therapies. The approach focuses on thoughts, emotions, physical feelings and actions, and teaches clients how each one can have an affect on the other. CBT is useful for dealing with a number of issues, including depression, anxiety and phobias.
Find out more about Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies.Psychoanalysis was developed by Sigmund Freud and focuses on an individual's unconscious, deep-rooted thoughts that often stem from childhood. Through free associations, dreams or fantasies, clients can learn how to interpret deeply buried memories or experiences that may be causing them distress.
Based on Psychoanalysis, Psychoanalytic Therapy also focuses on how an individual's unconscious thoughts are influencing them. However, Psychoanalytic Therapy is usually less intensive than Psychoanalysis.
Psychodynamic Therapy evolved from Psychoanalytic Therapy and seeks to discover how unconscious thoughts affect current behaviour. Psychodynamic Therapy usually focuses on more immediate problems and attempts to provide a quicker solution.
Find out more about Psychoanalytical and Psychodynamic Therapies.Person-Centred Counselling focuses on an individual's self worth and values. Being valued as a person, without being judged, can help an individual to accept who they are, and reconnect with themselves.
Gestalt Therapy can be roughly translated to 'whole' and focuses on the whole of an individual's experience, including their thoughts, feelings and actions. Gaining self-awareness in the 'here and now' is a key aspect of Gestalt Therapy.
Transactional Analysis is based on the theory that we each have three ego states: Parent, Adult and Child. By recognising ego-states, Transactional Analysis attempts to identify how individuals communicate, and how this can be changed.
Transpersonal Psychology means “beyond the personal” and seeks to discover the person who transcends an individual's body, age, appearance, culture etc. Psychosynthesis aims to discover a higher, spiritual level of conciousness.
Find out more about Humanistic Therapies.