The vitality of mental health is as profound as that of physical health and well-being. The age-old taboo attached to the treatment of mental illnesses has done a lot of harm over centuries and it’s time we start paying more heed to our mental health and its various realms.
If you’ve been wondering whether you should be going to therapy or not and what’s it exactly about, read along, you’re at the right place. We’ll be discussing the types of psychological therapy and their features in this article.
What is Psychotherapy?
Psychological Therapy is a proven method to treat psychological or mental illnesses and discomforts. Such a method refers to the one-to-one conversation between the patient and a doctor or a group session involving more than one patient and the doctor or the mental illness professional.
Mental health professionals can be psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, etc. Such a session aims to determine the causes behind a particular psychological disorder and also to deduce ways of curing it by observing and noting down the plethora of symptoms and unique characteristics exhibited by the patient.
Why is it Important?
Whenever you opt to undergo psychotherapy, there are usually four objectives backing that decision:
- To study the actions and expressions of the patient and focusing on how to relieve their distress and make them feel comfortable to initiate conversation.
- To find the root cause of the problems that lead to mental illnesses and breakdown. The causes may be of diverse natures and are associated with one’s innermost thoughts and emotions.
- Once the primary cause is known, the outline of the treatment process is chalked out and the cure is achieved by taking slow, gentle steps. Psychological therapy can extend from a few months to a few years depending on the type and intensity of the illness.
- Ensuring that once cured, the recurrence of the illness should not happen. Consistency in progress is the key.
4 Different Types of Psychological Therapy
Professionals employ several psychological therapy types, with regards to the disorder, its causes, and the case history of the patient. Some of the methods are widely used while the others are used only in special circumstances.
We have listed down a few below.
1. Interpersonal Therapy
This type of therapy involves the study of the patient’s relationships with other individuals, that is, the relationship dynamics. In most cases, interpersonal therapy is done between the patient and their immediate group of people who have a direct contribution to a person’s well being.
Such interpersonal therapy can result in a wide range of issues that have primarily got to do with suppressed sadness, anger, jealousy, etc, emerging from unhealthy, toxic bonds.
2. Group Therapy
Group TherapyGroup therapy is an extremely effective way of approaching mental health issues. In a group therapy session, different people gather to share and discuss their problems with an aim to incorporate instances and ideas proposed by others, in their milieu, to be able to deal with their problems better.
The therapist coordinates the discussions and notes down the behavioral characteristics of the patients while encouraging them to open up and talk. Group therapy is known to boost the confidence of patients, given that initiating a conversation with people needs a lot of effort, more so, when it comes to revealing personal views and experiences.
3. Family Therapy
This type of therapy is quite common and requires the participation of all the members of a family even if only one individual has complications. The treatment procedure needs the presence of the whole family because the dynamics people share with each person are important and play a big role in ensuring the complete cure of the patient.
Marital or couple therapy is a part of family therapy that involves the participation of two partners who talk about their day-to-day issues that tend to affect their mental health and how they can improve the way they react to certain situations.
Family TherapyRecommended Read: Challenges Of A Mother With Mental Illness
4. CBT or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
This is one of the challenging forms of psychological therapy types. The treating process is based on the patient’s behaviors and the incidents that cause those behaviors.
Getting rid of trauma-induced triggers is difficult and time-consuming as well. A new channel of thoughts is introduced to the patient’s psychological horizon in an attempt to bring about changes in the way the patient perceives a situation and subsequently reacts to it.
To achieve behavioral changes, one has to first pay attention to the instances that make the patient react in a particular way and provide insights as to why viewing that very instance differently is important.
Guidelines for Making the Most of Psychological Therapy Sessions
- Communication is the key – Be clear and honest while stating your complications.
- Regularity – Do not miss out on sessions unless there’s an emergency and there’s no way you can attend a particular session.
- Taking notes – Be attentive during the sessions and take notes if needed. Following the therapist’s instructions is the only way you can get better.
- Patience – Before beginning with therapy, you should be aware of the fact that therapy takes time, and expecting instant results is not the right approach to it.
- Positive Outlook – The desired results are achieved way sooner and more effectively if the patient radiates positive vibes, irrespective of their illness.
Psychological TherapyThe different types of psychological therapy can help cure illnesses like Anxiety, Depression, OCD or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, Dementia, etc. Certain illnesses need lifelong sessions of psychological therapy for the patient to have a stable lifestyle.
Normalizing the need for therapy begins at home and as aware individuals, our priority should be to stay healthy, both mentally and physically. Start talking about therapy and its types with the ones who matter to you and encourage them to communicate and not shy away from being vocal about their troubles. All of us deserve to be happy and at peace with ourselves and everything else around us.
Also, read: Impact of Instagram On Women’s Mental Health
