TREATMENT APPROACH

Biofeedback is the use of signals from your own body to improve your health. If you've stepped on a scale or taken your temperature, for example, you've received "feedback" information that you then perhaps acted on. A therapist may use more advanced biofeedback techniques to help clients suffering from anxiety, stress, or tension headaches. One such technique uses a machine that picks up electrical signals in the muscles. As the client tries to relax their muscles, they can get an immediate progress report by watching the speed of the signals and thus learn how to better control their mind and body.

Life coaching is an increasingly popular profession that has no specific licensing or academic requirements. Though psychologists also often consider themselves life coaches, these therapists don't focus on treating mental illness. Instead, they help individuals realize their goals in work and in life. An executive coach, for example, may be enlisted to help a chief executive become a better manager, while a "love" coach may map out a plan to help a client find romantic fulfillment.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy stresses the role of thinking in how we feel and what we do. It is based on the belief that thoughts, rather than people or events, cause our negative feelings. The therapist assists the client in identifying, testing the reality of, and correcting dysfunctional beliefs underlying his or her thinking. The therapist then helps the client modify those thoughts and the behaviors that flow from them. CBT is a structured collaboration between therapist and client and often calls for homework assignments. CBT has been clinically proven to help clients in a relatively short amount of time with a wide range of disorders, including depression and anxiety.

Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) may assist individuals who struggle with mood disorders, anxiety, or feelings of shame and self-criticism, often stemming from early experiences of abuse or neglect. Through exercises like role-playing, visualization, meditation, and activities that promote gratitude for everyday life, CFT teaches clients about the mind-body connection and guides them in practicing awareness of their thoughts and bodily sensations. This helps clients cultivate self-compassion and compassion for others, which can help regulate their emotions and foster a sense of safety, self-acceptance, and comfort.

Culturally sensitive therapists provide therapy that is culturally sensitive. They understand that people from different backgrounds have different values, practices, and beliefs, and are sensitive to those differences when working with individuals and families in therapy.

Many practitioners take an eclectic approach to therapy, drawing upon various aspects of cognitive-behavioral and psychodynamic methods to create their own custom-made approach. Such therapists often work with their clients to create a treatment plan that encompasses different techniques to best address the client's particular problems and to appeal to their sensibility.

Integrative therapy refers to therapy in which elements from different types of therapy may be used. Therapists 'integrate' two or more therapeutic styles (e.g., Cognitive and Family Systems) to bring about a personalized and practical approach to healing.

Integrative therapy (with a small 'i') may also refer to the process of 'integrating' the personality by taking disowned or unresolved aspects of the self and making them part of a cohesive personality whole. It reduces the use of defense mechanisms that inhibit spontaneity and allows flexibility in solving emotional problems.

IPT is a short-term psychotherapy in which therapist and client identify the issues and problems of interpersonal relationships. They also explore the client's life history to help recognize problem areas and then work toward ways to rectify them.

There are specific Interpersonal therapies, such as Imago therapy, which focus on intimate relationships.

Interpersonal therapy is not to be confused with transpersonal psychology, which is the study of states in which people experience a deeper sense of who they are, or a sense of greater connectedness with others, nature or spirituality.

Psychopharmacology is the scientific discipline that investigates how drugs influence the brain and behavior. It delves into the intricate interactions between chemicals and the central nervous system to comprehend how these substances can alleviate symptoms of mental disorders, modify cognitive processes, and impact emotional states. By examining the mechanisms of action and the effects of various medications, psychopharmacology aims to develop safer and more effective treatments for conditions like depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. This field plays a pivotal role in advancing our understanding of neural pathways, neurotransmitters, and receptor systems, offering valuable insights into the complexities of human consciousness and paving the way for improved therapies to enhance mental well-being.

For clients with chronic pain, hypertension, heart disease, cancer, and other health issues such as anxiety and depression, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, or MBCT, is a two-part therapy that aims to reduce stress, manage pain, and embrace the freedom to respond to situations by choice. MCBT blends two disciplines--cognitive therapy and mindfulness. Mindfulness helps by reflecting on moments and thoughts without passing judgment. MBCT clients pay close attention to their feelings to reach an objective mindset, thus viewing and combating life's unpleasant occurrences.

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a method of therapy that works to engage the motivation of clients to change their behavior. Clients are encouraged to explore and confront their ambivalence. Therapists attempt to influence their clients to consider making changes rather than non-directively exploring themselves. Motivational Interviewing is frequently used in cases of problem drinking or mild addictions.

Person-centered therapy uses a non-authoritative approach that allows clients to take more of a lead in discussions so that, in the process, they will discover their own solutions. The therapist acts as a compassionate facilitator, listening without judgment and acknowledging the client's experience without moving the conversation in another direction. The therapist is there to encourage and support the client and to guide the therapeutic process without interrupting or interfering with the client's process of self-discovery.

Unlike traditional psychology, which focuses more on the causes and symptoms of mental illnesses and emotional disturbances, positive psychology emphasizes traits, thinking patterns, behaviors, and experiences that are forward-thinking and can help improve the quality of a person's day-to-day life. These may include optimism, spirituality, hopefulness, happiness, creativity, perseverance, justice, and the practice of free will. It is an exploration of one's strengths rather than one's weaknesses. The goal of positive psychology is not to replace those traditional forms of therapy that center on negative experiences but instead to expand and give more balance to the therapeutic process.

Psychodynamic therapy, also known as insight-oriented therapy, evolved from Freudian psychoanalysis. Like adherents of psychoanalysis, psychodynamic therapists believe that bringing the unconscious into conscious awareness promotes insight and resolves conflict. However, psychodynamic therapy is briefer and less intensive than psychoanalysis and also focuses on the relationship between the therapist and the client as a way to learn about how the client relates to everyone in their life.

Solution-focused therapy, sometimes called "brief therapy," focuses on what clients would like to achieve through therapy rather than on their troubles or mental health issues. The therapist will help the client envision a desirable future, and then map out the small and large changes necessary for the client to undergo to realize their vision. The therapist will seize on any successes the client experiences, to encourage them to build on their strengths rather than dwell on their problems or limitations.

Somatic (from the Greek word 'somat', meaning body) psychotherapy bridges the mind-body dichotomy, recognizing that emotion, behavior, sensation, impulse, energy, action, gesture, meaning, and language all originate in physical experiences. Thinking is not an abstract function but motivates, or is motivated by, physical expression and action. A somatic approach to trauma treatment can be effective by examining how past traumatic experiences cause physical symptoms (e.g., bodily anesthesia or motor inhibitions), which in turn affect emotion regulation, cognition and daily functioning.

Dance therapy reflects a somatic approach.

Strength-based therapy is a type of positive psychotherapy and counseling that focuses more on your internal strengths and resourcefulness and less on weaknesses, failures, and shortcomings. This focus sets up a positive mindset that helps you build on your best qualities, find your strengths, improve resilience, and change your worldview to one that is more positive. A positive attitude, in turn, can help your expectations of yourself and others become more reasonable.