Types of Therapy
Explanations of 3 main psychotherapeutic modalities
Image by Freeimages.com
Person-Centred Therapy
Person-centred therapy is a humanistic approach that was founded by Carl Rogers. He taught that every person has an innate drive to reach their full potential and become their true self. He termed this ‘self-actualisation’ and believed that given the right conditions, anyone can self-actualise.
The right conditions include a therapist who offers:
​
unconditional positive regard (UPR) – accepting and valuing you. They will not judge you, no matter what you bring to the session. This helps build a trustworthy relationship in which you can feel free and supported to disclose whatever is troubling you.
congruence - being honest and transparent in how they experience you and your world
empathic understanding – seeing your viewpoint as if they were you
When you’re attending counselling sessions, the counselling is led by you and not directed by the therapist. A person-centred therapist will help you to explore your own issues, feelings, beliefs, behaviour, and worldview, so you can become more self-aware, discover your own abilities, and achieve greater independence.
​
Your therapist will help you to realise what resources and support are available to you that you can use to work through your own issues, build your self-confidence, and appreciate that you always have options. They will treat you as the expert on yourself, as no-one else knows exactly what it’s like to be you. Eventually it will lead you to discover your own abilities and autonomy, so that you can cope with current and future problems.
Click here to see this description on the BACP website.
Psychodynamic Therapy
Psychodynamic therapy is derived from psychoanalysis and the theories of Freud and helps you understand how your current feelings and behaviour are shaped by your past experiences and your unconscious mind and impulses.
The relationship with your therapist is key to this therapeutic approach as having an accepting and trusting relationship encourages you to talk freely and openly about topics like your childhood and your relationship with your parents. This can help you understand what you’re feeling now, why you behave in a certain way, and how this affects your relationships. The therapeutic relationship also facilitates the expression of, and then the exploration of the meaning, of transference and countertransference. Transference is when you, the client, consciously or, most likely/usually, unconsciously transfer all the feelings, associations, thoughts, and behaviours from past significant relationships onto the therapist as if the therapist is that person or people from the past. Countertransference is the feelings, associations, thoughts, and behaviours you bring up in the therapist.
Through the transference and countertransference, a psychodynamic therapist will help you explore your unconscious for patterns that were laid down in your earlier years or lessons learned (internalised experiences) in your past that are causing present suffering and understand them so that you can move forward in more beneficial ways than you have been. This might be done through 'free association' where you are encouraged to talk freely about whatever comes to mind and/or through directive questioning. This accesses your unconscious and helps you to become aware of previously unacknowledged material that might be enacting in ways that are causing suffering. What we become aware of, we can address.
Click here for a description of the BACP website.
​
​
<a href="https://www.vecteezy.com/free-videos/4g">4g Stock Videos by Vecteezy</a>
Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a type of evidence-based therapy that looks at how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours can keep you caught in vicious cycles of suffering such as anxiety and/or depression. A CBT therapist helps find ways to cope with thoughts and feelings and change behaviours to alleviate suffering.
A key part of this is identifying the negative thinking patterns that you may feel trapped in, helping you to break free from these and to feel better. CBT focuses on equipping you with the tools to address current problems in your life and relieve the symptoms you’re facing, as well as making links to your past and how your beliefs started.
It starts with becoming aware of and exploring negative automatic thoughts that might be making you uncomfortable. The CBT therapist will then collaborate with you to find behavioural experiments that will help to test out the evidence for and against those negative thoughts and feelings. The aim of CBT is that through the sessions, homework such as thought records, and practice you will find out what skills and techniques help you to have a better quality of life.
There are a variety of techniques used in CBT – including keeping thought records, relaxation and breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, identifying and challenging your style of thinking and behavioural experiments.
One technique is behavioural activation which looks at how you engage in certain activities, such as hobbies and socialising, and how you can increase your chances of enjoying them and getting a sense of achievement from life.
Another is exposure therapy which helps you learn to face your fears in a methodical and structured way.
Click here for the description on the BACP website.
​
ACT is a third wave CBT and is a type of mindful psychotherapy that helps you stay focused on the present moment and accept thoughts and feelings without judgment.
It aims to help you find coping mechanisms to move forward through difficult emotions so you can put your energy into healing instead of dwelling on the negative.
ACT therapy works by focusing on accepting life experiences as they come, without evaluating, judging, or trying to change them. It's a skill developed through mindfulness exercises that encourage you to build a new and more compassionate relationship with difficult experiences. Doing this can free you from obsessive negative thinking so you can have peace of mind and healing.
Start by accepting emotions and feelings that may feel like they're out of your control and mindfully accept the experience.
Commit to a positive approach that will help push you forward while resisting the temptation to rehash the past.
Take charge and make a conscious decision to stick with the positive direction you chose.
An ACT therapist will help you clarify your values so that you can take steps towards a more valued or values-based life through committed action.
Click here to read this description on the WebMD website.