You may have had lots of counselling or therapy before or this might be your first time looking into it. Whatever has brought you here, you might still be struggling to figure out what approach is best for you at this time in your life.
It can be quite overwhelming to try to figure out what approach to choose, especially if you're still unclear on what each approach stands for. Here's my simple guide to the main options out there in the world.
Roughly speaking there are three most popular categories of therapy or counselling. Of course, there are more than three categories out there in the world to choose from and even within each of main three below, there are many approaches and individual differences between therapists.
Psychodynamic Therapy
However, to keep it simple, psychodynamic therapies focus on the unconscious and the past is very important as a focus for therapy sessions, as well as the transference relationship, which means where dynamics and feelings from the client's own life are played out in the relationship with the therapist. Other types of therapy also focus on the unconscious and transference, but psychodynamic therapies place an important emphasis on this.
Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy
Cognitive behavioural therapies focus on how thoughts can be challenged and changed, and in turn so can behaviour patterns. Feelings can change as a result of first tackling negative thought patterns and unhelpful behaviours, as there is a strong cyclical relationship between thoughts, behaviours and feelings, leading to 'vicious cycles'. CBT sessions will involve exploratory questions and often homework tasks will be given to help you implement new ways of thinking and strategies.
Humanistic/Person-Centred Therapy
Humanistic therapies focus on the here-and-now experience of the client, although they do also explore the past where this is relevant to current experience. The most well known humanistic approach is the Person-Centred approach. The type of relationship the therapist provides is key to change and breakthrough occurring in the client. The conditions of a good therapeutic relationship include empathy, genuineness and 'unconditional positive regard', or unconditional acceptance of the client.
I hope this little breakdown of the main types of therapy available helps you in your search for the right type of therapy for you at this time in your life.
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