What Should I Know About Psychotherapy?

You may not have heard the term “psychotherapy” all that frequently, but you probably still know a bit about it. That’s because psychotherapy is just the formal name for what most of us consider therapy. In actuality, it’s considered talk therapy, which means it’s a method of helping someone by talking about their situation and the problems that they’re facing.  Here’s what you should know about the different types of psychotherapy and what you can expect in a session.

What Is A Psychotherapy Session?

A session is the time the person spends meeting with and talking to their therapist. They generally run between a half hour or an hour, during which time the patient and therapist discuss what the patient is going through. These sessions, depending on the specific issue, could last for a few weeks, or they could last for years. Sessions may be one-on-one with the therapist or held as group sessions where several people with the same type of problem will attend therapy together or as family sessions, couples sessions, or any other format.

Types Of Psychotherapy

There are multiple types of psychotherapy, including:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

This type of therapy looks at people's behavior patterns and works on changing those considered unhealthy or harmful. To do this, you have to be open and honest with your therapist about specific thoughts and behaviors and be willing to make changes that will affect how you act and react to different situations in the world. It requires changing different skills and can be helpful in various conditions. For example, cognitive behavioral therapy can be effective for depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and trauma.

Interpersonal Therapy

With interpersonal therapy, you’re getting something short-term designed for treating problems like grief or changes in your life. It’s not intended to treat problems or mental health conditions that are more rooted in the past or your psyche. Instead, it helps with ways to express yourself and relate to others. It can effectively treat depression because it focuses on emotional responses and expression.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Dialectical behavior therapy can be effective in both individual and group settings (and is generally used in both simultaneously) and is highly effective with suicidal thoughts, PTSD, eating disorders, and borderline personality disorder.

Psychodynamic Therapy

Here you learn how to improve your self-awareness and how to change old styles of thinking or acting to improve. This type of therapy believes that your current behavior and the well-being of your mental state are significantly influenced by events and things that occurred in your childhood. It also considers that negative thoughts that can disrupt your well-being are unconscious but must be made conscious to change how you think and feel about them. You can learn how to control your life better by changing these patterns.

Psychoanalysis Therapy

Here you’ll learn more about the theories and paths we discussed with psychodynamic therapy. It’s usually done more frequently, which means you’ll have more sessions to delve more fully into your personal life and history and fully understand the habits and thoughts influencing your current behavior. With this type of therapy, you analyze what’s happening in your mind and how it will affect how you do things throughout the present and even into your future.

Supportive Therapy

This type of therapy helps encourage you and build up your self-esteem while increasing your coping mechanisms. It allows you to cut down on your anxiety and improve the way that you interact with your social group and your community. In this way, you’re learning how to improve yourself and help yourself in a way you can use throughout your future. You’ll be able to feel better about yourself and come to understand what it is that’s holding you back. In this type of therapy, the therapist is responsible for helping to improve your abilities.

Other Therapy

Several types of alternative therapy are available as well. These include working with animals to cope with trauma, helping improve your communication skills, or even working with play for children. Creative forms of therapy, such as art, music, dance, or interpretive activities, can also help you to overcome traumas or work through different types of disorders. Moreover, contemplative psychotherapy practices are also an excellent way to regain your sanity and raise self-awareness. They can help you express yourself in different ways or come to terms with various symptoms or processes you might have in a way that makes them easier to work through.

Getting Help

No matter what type of therapy you’re looking for, you need to find someone you can comfortably talk to about what you’re experiencing. With MyTherapist, you can get online and find various mental health professionals that can help you better understand yourself and what you’re going through. Not only that, but they’re entirely online, so you’re not limited by proximity or ability to get to the office. Research shows that online therapy is just as effective as in-person treatment, too. Ready to get started? Sign up now to be matched with an available therapist.

Takeaway

There are multiple types of psychotherapy, and what your sessions look like will depend on your needs, your therapist, and whether you prefer group or one-on-one treatment. Sign up for online therapy to learn more.