There are numerous mental health challenges that many people might face in their lives. In fact, studies show that more than a quarter of the world’s adult population experiences mental health challenges like depression and anxiety. Mental health practitioners use various tools to help patients cope and treat mental health disorders. One of the most common psychological treatment techniques for these conditions is psychotherapy.

 

Understanding Psychotherapy And How It Works 

 

What Is Psychotherapy?

Psychotherapy is a collaborative treatment where you work hand in hand with a psychologist to identify and change your behavior and thought patterns to improve your mental health. It aims at providing a supportive environment for you to openly discuss your experiences and make healthy changes in your life. It is usually done in a controlled setting, like a therapist’s office, where the patient and psychologist are free to discuss personal issues.

 

How Does It Work?

There are different approaches to this treatment technique. Therefore, to understand how it works, you must understand the various methods. These include:

 

• Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

 

This approach helps individuals identify and change their negative and ineffective thinking and behavioral patterns. It also enables you to replace these patterns with thoughtful and functional ones. It aims to help you focus on current problems and establish their solutions. In CBT, you usually partner with your psychologist to develop better thinking and behavioral patterns and practice them in the real world. It is an excellent approach for treating various mental health disorders like depression, trauma-related disorders, eating disorders, and anxiety, to name a few.

 

• Psychodynamic Therapy

 

This approach is grounded on the idea that mental wellness and behavior depend on childhood experiences and inappropriate and unhealthy repetitive thoughts and feelings. Most of these feelings are usually unconscious. In psychodynamic therapy, the psychologist helps improve self-awareness about unconscious patterns and change them. It aims to help you take charge of your life and avoid unconscious influences.

 

• Interpersonal Therapy

 

This is a short-term approach that helps you understand your underlying interpersonal issues. These issues include unresolved grief, change, conflict in relationships, and poor decision-making. Interpersonal therapy aims to help you develop healthy ways of expressing emotions, communicating, and relating with others. It is a popular treatment for depression and anxiety.

 

• Dialectical Behavior Therapy

 

Also, shortly known as DBT, this method aims at helping you regulate your emotions. DBT employs individual and group therapy. It is a popular treatment approach for individuals with chronic suicidal thoughts; or personality, eating, and trauma-related disorders. In DBT, psychologists teach clients new skills for personal responsibility to change unhealthy behaviors.

 

• Supportive Therapy

 

This approach focuses on guidance and encouragement to help you develop unique resources. Supportive therapy enables you to build self-esteem minimize anxiety, depression, and other mental challenges. It helps strengthen your coping mechanisms and improve your overall functioning.

 

Take Note

Psychologists can employ various other therapeutic approaches depending on your specific condition and needs. Psychologists usually determine the ideal direction after assessing your situation and developing objectives.

 

Who Needs This Form Of Psychological Therapy?

This psychological therapy can benefit individuals suffering from grief, anxiety, depression, emotional struggles, and eating or trauma-related disorders. In addition, individuals suffering from chronic illnesses that interfere with their physical and emotional well-being will benefit from this therapeutic approach. People with short-term emotional challenges or a divorce, overwhelming changes at work, or grieving may also find relief through psychotherapy. The process is often combined with medication to treat chronic mental challenges like depression and PTSD.

 

Key Takeaway

Psychotherapy is typically highly effective. However, there are instances when it does not produce positive outcomes. This mostly happens if you keep drinking too much alcohol, taking drugs, or don’t make active efforts to benefit from the therapy. This psychological therapy is usually done in 45 to 60-minute sessions, depending on the mental health practitioner and form of treatment. The number of sessions usually depends on the approach used and the problems at hand.

 

Understanding Psychotherapy And How It Works  is a feature post