What is Psychotherapy
There are several different types of psychotherapy. Although there are many different types, they all have one thing in common, they are all treatments based on talking to another person and sometimes doing things together.
People who see a psychotherapist are generally suffering from some kind of emotional or psychological issue that they are unable to resolve themselves (See list- some problems that can be helped with psychotherapy).
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
This focuses on the feelings we have about other people, for example, our family, friends and people who are close to us. It involves discussing past experiences and how these have led to our present predicament. By releasing these thoughts, feelings and emotions, and the understanding gained from this dialogue, there is a sense of freedom for the person to make choices about what happens in the future.
Behavioural Psychotherapy
As the title indicates, the emphasis is on looking at a person’s behaviour and changing it. Behavioural Psychotherapy relies on the premise that a client can be helped to overcome fears by spending more and more time in the situation they fear or by learning ways of reducing their anxiety. Various methods are used such as keeping a log or diary to practice new skills and exercises between sessions.
Cognitive behaviour psychotherapy
Again the main emphasis is on changing a persons thinking patterns, similar in some way to psychodynamic psychotherapy it encourages discussion of how we think, this helps the client to rid destructive ways of thinking. It does not focus predominantly on the past, more on the present and future.
Marital Therapy (Couple Counselling)
People’s problems will often not be theirs alone, but are often the result of relationship problems, maybe problems in marriage, partnership or even family. In order to resolve these relationship issues, clear focus is needed on the relationships involved and involving the people concerned in order to help those relationships to work better.
What actually happens?
Psychotherapy usually involves regular meetings at the same time and place; it can be weekly or fortnightly. Usually the length of each treatment can be agreed between client and therapist within several weeks of starting.
In individual psychotherapy a client and a therapist talk together in a quiet room, usually for fifty minutes or so. In couple counselling, a therapist will meet with the couple so that they can work on their problem jointly.
Some problems that can be helped with Psychotherapy:
Those seeking psychotherapy for different and specific reasons can be grouped into four categories.
- Distressing symptoms - anxiety, depression, or unrealistic fears (phobias)
- Inability to think rationally (thought disorder)
- Problems in social and interpersonal functioning that may interfere with work, social, intimate relationships or school achievement
- Feelings of dissatisfaction regarding one’s life and accomplishment
From these four categories many other problems can be helped with Psychotherapy, below is not an exhaustive list as this would be very long, we have highlighted the most common complaints.
- Feelings of anxiety and an inability to cope with life
- Feelings of emptiness, sadness or depression
- Difficulty in making or sustaining relationships
- Difficulty with losses such as bereavement, divorce or loss of job
- Obsessional behaviour
- Bullying
- After sexual, emotional or physical abuse