APPROACHES TO THERAPY
Therapists use different modalities to customize their approach to best suit each client's preferences and needs. Different modalities offer different tools and perspectives, which allows therapist to choose the most effective techniques for helping clients achieve their goals. This flexibility also makes it easier to adapt to individual personalities and cultural backgrounds, as well as addressing a wider range of mental health concerns.
When it comes to clients seeking therapy, there is a range in experience levels and insight into different mental health modalities. Some folks come in with a deep understanding of different approaches and may have already explored some on their own, whereas other clients may be completely new to the world of therapy and have limited knowledge about this range in techniques. Either way, therapists are trained to meet you exactly where you’re at, and the process usually begins by exploring what your goals are and the strategies that feel like the best fit to help you reach them.
If you’re curious about the modalities that I most often use, take a look below to learn more!
CBT: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
CBT is a type of therapy that focuses on the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It is based on the premise that our patterns of thinking can influence our emotional reactions and behaviors. Therapy often includes identifying and challenging distorted thought patterns and helps the individual develop more adaptive ways of thinking and coping with challenges.
DBT: Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
DBT takes a traditional CBT approach of the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, with an added emphasis on skill development. The skills generally focus on mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness, and they aim to help individuals build a life worth living by balancing change and acceptance strategies.
EMDR: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
EMDR is a type of therapy that was developed to help individuals process traumatic memories and experiences. It involves the client recalling distressing information while the therapist guides them in making side-to-side eye movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation. The process aims to help the individual reprocess the traumatic memory in a way that reduces it’s emotional intensity and install more adaptive beliefs about oneself and their environment.
Motivational Interviewing
Motivational interviewing is a directive therapeutic approach designed to elicit and strengthen motivation for change. The technique involves helping clients explore and resolve ambivalence toward behaviors that are incongruent with their personal values or goals via the use of reflective listening, open-ended questions, and supporting self-efficacy.
Person-Centered
Person-centered therapy is a humanistic approach that focuses on the client’s capacity for self-actualization. The therapist provides a supportive and nonjudgmental environment where clients can explore their feelings, values, and goals. Core conditions of empathy, unconditional positive regard are essential in establishing a therapeutic relationship where clients can experience personal growth and self-discovery. Person-centered approaches also encompass compassion-focused, culturally-sensitive, and strength-based care.
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy
Solution-focused therapy is a goal-oriented approach that emphasizes clients’ strengths and resources to achieve their desired outcomes. It is a future-focused therapy that concentrates on solutions rather than problems and is centered around the belief that small, incremental changes can lead to significant improvements. By identifying exceptions to the problem and exploring past successes and/or what is already working, clients can gain insight into their abilities and develop effective strategies to meet their goals.