What Kind of Therapy Is Right For Me?
 There
are many different kinds of therapy. Some therapists practice only one
kind of therapy, while others choose from among several kinds of therapy
depending upon the specific issues you bring to therapy.
Please select a topic:
Introduction
Self Psychology
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Psychodynamic Therapy
Integrative Therapy
Person Centered Therapy
Introduction
Begin the process of healing by speaking with a licensed therapist to
help determine the best therapeutic approach for your situation.
Imagine creating change in your response to:
- Depression
- Anxiety & Panic
- Relationship Issues
- Trauma
- Loneliness & Isolation
- Divorce
- Trans-gendered Issues
- Eating Disorders & Body Issues
- Abuse
- Chronic Illness
- Life Choices & Transition
- Substance Abuse
- Sexual Orientation Issues
- Stress Management
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Self Psychology
Self-psychology is a complex approach. We focus on creating functional
relationships. We create programs for people. At its core, self-psychology
is psychoanalytic, but there are crucial differences in how the patient-therapist
relationship is viewed. In psychoanalytic theory, the psychoanalyst keeps
an emotional distance from the patient in order to objectively analyze
the information received from the patient. In self-psychology, the therapist
uses empathy to gain the patient's trust. Once the patient trusts the
therapist, he or she will talk more, thus enabling the therapist to gather
more and better information and thus to make more accurate interpretations.
Self-psychological theory proposes that healthy self-development proceeds
from adequate responsiveness of caregivers to the child's vital emotional
needs, including alter ego needs, idealizing needs, and mirroring needs.
Alter Ego Needs
Children need to have involvement with other beings like themselves.
Idealizing Needs
Children need to feel attached to an emotionally stable caregiver who
can soothe and calm them.
Mirroring Needs
Children need to feel understood and appreciated, that their feelings
mean something.
If these needs are not met in childhood, and throughout the life span,
problems will occur. Neglectful parenting - either physical or emotional
neglect or worse - abuse - can result in derailments of self development
and impair the individual's ability to form healthy relationships. Adequate
parental responsiveness to the child's affect states (moods and feelings)
is particularly vital if the child is to achieve affect differentiation
(emotional health and stability) and tolerance.
Self-psychology stresses that individuals need relationships throughout
life (relationships that serve to evoke and maintain the integrity and
cohesiveness of the self will always be required). Insufficient self-object
responsiveness may lead to a personal fragmenting, a distressing affective
(emotional) and cognitive (mental - thoughts) state indicating threatened
self-cohesion. Fragmentation experiences may range from mild dysphoria
(a general feeling of ill being, anxiety, discontent, and physical discomfort)
to a panicked sense of impending annihilation or disintegration.
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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy focuses upon your thoughts and behaviors,
and how sometimes changing one can change the other. It is typically more
directive, and often involves homework assignments, structured exercises,
and specific behaviors to work on each week. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
is most effective with very specific problems and issues.
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Psychodynamic Therapy
Psychodynamic therapy approaches current life problems by first trying
to understand how the problems started, how you learned to cope with them,
and ultimately what you want to accomplish. At times this means looking
at the solutions you've tried, and examining which seem to have made your
life better and which have not. At times this also means understanding
what stops you from doing the things you think you should do or wish you
could do. This kind of therapy works best when issues are either fairly
focused, or somewhat unclear.
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Integrative Therapy
Integrative Therapy is not actually a specific kind of therapy. Therapists
using this approach draw from many different models of therapy, and use
the strategy that seems to best fit the client's specific issues. In this
model, different types of therapy are somewhat like drugs, and your therapist
will 'prescribe' the kind of therapy that he or she believes is best suited
and most successful with your specific issues and needs.
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Person Centered Therapy
This kind of therapy is based upon the idea that you have within you
the ability to figure out your problems on your own. Therapy focuses on
helping you to listen to and understand the 'voice inside you,' and then
on figuring out how to get the things that will make you happy. At times,
this means reexamining what you have worked for, and deciding whether
it is really what you want, or a 'trek down the wrong path.'
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