If you’re mentally drained, therapy can help. Whether your problem is big or small, a therapist helps you regardless of the situation.

With that said, there are many approaches to therapy, and one technique does not fit all. Let’s look at several psychotherapy techniques, discuss them, and then explain which one may be for you.

Psychotherapy Has Many Branches

Just like a tree, psychotherapy is grounded, but there are many branches one can pick depending on their situation. Let’s look at some of them.

Psychoanalysis

This is one of the earliest types of therapy, formed by Freud himself.

This type of therapy believes that your actions are largely influenced by unconscious desires and thoughts. Psychoanalysis has evolved over the many years and you can find therapists who offer psychoanalysis that comply with modern therapy standards and practices.

Behavior Therapy Techniques

We are driven by behaviors, and not all of them are good. Some of them can cause you much grief, especially if they’re due to bad habits. These habits can be changed through different techniques. Here are some of them.

Classical Conditioning

This form of therapy, founded by Ivan Pavlov, discovered that we associate certain stimuli with behaviors. You may have heard of Pavlov’s dogs. These pups were fed at the same time a bell was rung. The hungry canines would salivate as they were offered food. Over time, they would hear the bell and would salivate because of the bell, even if there was no food around.

Desensitizing

If you have a phobia, learning to become desensitized to it can help you to conquer it. For example, if you have a fear of heights, you may face increasingly high places to help you conquer. This is known as exposure therapy.

The idea of exposure therapy becomes simple when you think about it. You’re building up a tolerance to your fears by tackling smaller, more digestible fears. Once you realize this, you may find that conquering your fears is quite easy.

Operant Conditioning

This form of therapy teaches people that certain rewards and punishments can shape behavior. For example, positive reinforcement uses rewards when someone does a behavior that is desired. Negative reinforcement is the opposite.

You may find that being held accountable through rewards or punishments may help you to influence your behavior. That’s why many therapists offer operant conditioning. Try it today and see how well it works for you.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT is a technique used by many modern therapists to treat a laundry list of issues. CBT teaches us that our thoughts and our behaviors are closely linked. If you have irrational thoughts, they may lead to behaviors that are not rational.

By learning to rid yourself of the undesired thoughts, it can help you to change your undesired behaviors. It’s as simple as that.

Humanistic Therapy

There are many different types of humanistic therapy techniques. But first, we should discuss what humanistic therapy is. It’s a form of therapy that centers around people making the most rational choices despite being creatures who can be irrational sometimes.

Humanistic therapy is divided into different categories. These include:

Client-Centered

If you don’t like a therapist because they are too authoritarian for you, you may want to look into client-centered therapy.

This form of therapy focuses on the client and the client alone. You’re the one who makes the decisions about your life. The therapist takes a backseat and acts as your guide.

Gestalt

Here is another form of therapy that uses yourself to solve your own problems. Gestalt therapy uses organic holism, which allows you to be aware of what’s going on right now. This seems like a no-brainer, but when large element of Gestalt therapy is accepting responsibility for yourself. Many people have trouble accomplishing this.

Existential

Life is mysterious. What is the meaning of it? What is the meaning for you personally? How does one come to terms with a life that sometimes lacks meaning? What about your mortality?

These are hard questions with no straight answers. However, existential therapy may help you to make sense of a life that doesn’t seem to have any sense.

Integrative

This form of therapy is also known as holistic therapy.

Integrative therapy combines different elements from different approaches to therapy. For some, one form of therapy works well, and another works well too. What happens when they combine? Integrative therapy hopes to answer that, helping you get the most out of your experience.

Many therapists have at least two forms of therapy they may use, so integrative therapy is quite easy to find.

Other Alternatives

Some therapists may offer therapy that is a little off the mainstream path. While these forms of therapy may have little scientific backing to them, you may find them beneficial. For example, some forms of therapy use dance or art to help you express yourself and change your life.

Do not be afraid to try a different form of therapy if you feel as though the other types haven’t worked for you. Sometimes, trying something different may be just what you needed.

Seek Help!

When life has you down, or you want to make some improvements to your life, therapy can help.

However, it can feel quite daunting sometimes. What form of therapy should you choose? What is available? It can be hard to figure out what is right for you.

One way you can make therapy a little less intimidating is through Better Help. Better Help delivers online therapy at your convenience. You can connect with a therapist and choose what type of therapy is right for you.

If you find that the type of therapy you chose isn’t working for you, then you can choose another type easily. It’s much more convenient than traditional therapy. Oh, and you are able to pick at your own schedule, too.

For more information on the psychotherapy techniques Better Help provides, please visit them. You’ll be glad you did this! 

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