Therapy isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Different patients have different needs and requirements. Many options are available depending upon what will be the most beneficial to the patient and in successfully treating the mental health issue.
What is Psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy is the clinical term used to describe talk therapy, with or without the use of medication. Shortened to therapy, a patient speaks with a licensed and trained mental health professional that helps determine what factors trigger the mental illness and how to work through them.
What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)?
CBT is a type of psychotherapy that focuses on thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and the role they play in your life. This type of therapy is used to help you improve your insight and create and implement solutions to problems.
Although CBT focuses on the present, oftentimes it is essential to revisit the past to determine the reasoning for certain feelings, thoughts and behaviors. Once the root of these has been revealed, learning to manage them in the present will allow patients to live more peaceful lives.
What is Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)?
DBT was initially developed to treat chronic suicidal patients who have been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD). It’s a cognitive behavioral treatment that is now the gold standard of treating this type of mental illness. DBT has also been proven effective in treating substance abuse, depression, PTSD, and eating disorders.
This type of therapy utilizes skills training group, individual treatment, phone coaching and includes a therapist consultation team. The skills training group focuses on teaching clients behavioral skills and often functions like a traditional classroom. The DBT individual therapy is not unlike traditional individual therapy.
Phone coaching is available to provide immediate coaching to help clients cope with difficult moments that arise in every day life. The therapist consultation team is essentially therapy for the therapists. This serves as a support system for the therapists, which, in turn, helps support clients.
What is Schema Therapy (ST)?
Schema Therapy was developed by Dr. Jeffrey Young in order to treat personality disorders, chronic depression, and other mental illnesses. It integrates elements of CBT, object relations, and gestalt therapy into one treatment.
ST helps clients understand why they act and feel certain ways. It helps clients make changes so that they can feel more satisfied with life. Schemas are patterns of feelings or memories that are influenced by childhood. Some schemas are helpful while others are not.
The purpose and goal of this therapy is to uncover those schemas that aren’t helpful, understand how they interfere with life, and work on changing them.
What is Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)?
Mindfulness therapy combines cognitive therapy with meditative practices to help those who suffer from repeated bouts of depression and chronic unhappiness. This therapy works by becoming acquainted with the parts of the mind that characterize mood disorders and learning to develop new relationships to them.
MBCT promotes mindfulness so that the client is aware and present in the moment instead of dwelling on past events, thoughts, and feelings.
What is Motivational Interviewing (MI)?
This type of therapy is more focused and goal-directed than nondirective therapy. MI works to elicit behavior change in clients by helping to explore and resolve ambivalence. It is the client’s responsibility to resolve ambivalence; the therapist listens and asks questions based on what the client says.
What is Hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapy, better known as hypnosis, is an aid to psychotherapy. Under hypnosis, clients often explore painful thoughts, feelings, and memories that they may have blocked from their conscious mind. There are two types of hypnosis; suggestion therapy and analysis.
During suggestion therapy, the client is able to respond to suggestions made by the hypnotist. This enables the possibility of changing certain behaviors, such as quitting smoking. It may also help people change perceptions and it’s particularly useful in treating pain.
Analysis is more of a relaxed state of hypnosis in which the client and therapist explore the root cause of a disorder or symptom, such as a traumatic event. Once the trauma has been revealed, the healing process can take place in psychotherapy.
What is Neurofeedback (NFB)?
Simply put, neurofeedback heals the brain. Combined with psychotherapy, NFB can create lasting change and recovery for clients. It improves brain function so that clients can better participate in psychotherapy, which allows making more conscious, healthy decisions.
NFB, also known as EEG Biofeedback, has been around since the 1960s and offers additional treatment for people with eating disorders, addictions, mood disorders, anxiety and attention deficit disorder.
Types of Therapy
Generally speaking, therapy is often an individual endeavor. However, there are other types of therapy available.
Family therapy is a great way for the entire family to be involved in the healing process of mental illness. This type of therapy educates the rest of the family on mental illness and how to help their loved one.
Couples therapy is designed to help partners or spouses understand how to communicate more effectively with their mentally ill loved one. This may help prevent breakdowns in communication leading to a happier relationship.
Group therapy is when two or more patients participate in therapy simultaneously. Group therapy is offered at CPCH upon demand. If CPCH is currently not offering group therapy at the moment, rest assured that we will help you find a group.
The goal of therapy is to provide treatment for mental illness. The type of therapy needed may vary but the goal remains the same. At CPCH, we’re committed to providing our patients with the best treatment options available.
Live Mentally Healthy,
Dr. Jennie Byrne