5 Types of Therapy and What Happens in a Psychology Session
Finding a great therapist is like finding the right pair of jeans for your body.
It’s someone you are comfortable with, who leaves you feeling lifted in all the right places. While most therapists may be qualified to help you, finding the right fit for your needs is essential.
Therapy only works when you’re willing to do the work on yourself.
The truth is, if you’re looking to pay someone to fix your problems, it probably won’t work. A good therapist won’t make decisions for you, instead, they will help you identify parts of yourself that could be worked on.
If you are looking to try therapy for the first time, think about what you want help with and do your research first.
Therapists are regular people who think, feel and behave in ways that we all do. They make mistakes, get depressed, have anxiety and face the same life challenges as everyone else. If you have a therapist, it is highly they have a therapist too. That therapist also probably has a therapist.
Below is a look at the 5 main types of therapy and what to expect in a session.
Before you dive in, know that if you’re unhappy with your therapist, you are not locked into continuing sessions with them. So it’s OK to try a few before you dive into the heavy stuff.
Note: Professional help is necessary to treat ongoing mental illness. The advice in this blog is not a substitute for expert mental health or medical advice.
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
Psychodynamic psychotherapy is a type of talk therapy.
A psychotherapist will listen to you talk about what is happening in your life. Sessions are held either in the therapist’s office or over the phone or video chat.
If you’re not comfortable doing most of the talking, it’s worth making that clear early on. In these sessions, it’s common to talk about the past, present and future. From your childhood, your relationships and your career to your fears and fantasies.
The goal of you doing most of the talking is so the therapist can help you to identify patterns of thinking, feelings or behaviour that might be impacting your wellbeing.
A great psychotherapist is non-judgemental, great at listening and able to help you to clearly see how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviour plays a part in your life outcomes.
The downside of psychodynamic therapy is that it takes a long time and it can be expensive. An average hourly session in Australia costs $180. Depending on how often you want to go, the weekly, fortnight or monthly all add up.
In Australia, Medicare will cover some of the cost of psychology and psychiatry sessions if you obtain a referral from your GP. Unfortunately, counselling and coaching sessions are not covered by Medicare, so it’s worth asking how much your session will cost before you book.
Considering this, a frustrating thing about psychodynamic therapy is that it can take a few sessions to decide if your therapist is a good fit. Each new therapist will want a bit of a recap of your history, so it can feel a bit repetitive.
It might feel awkward talking to a stranger, but sharing as much as you can in therapy will help your therapist to help you. In saying this, it’s normal to feel mentally drained after a session. To combat this, prepare for your sessions by also scheduling some time out to rest after.
While psychotherapy sessions can leave you feeling frustrated and like you have wasted time and money, overall it can be an excellent investment in your mental health. Ultimately, it can help you to achieve the mental clarity and self-awareness to make positive life changes. Overall the positives of this type of therapy outweigh the negatives.
Behavioural Therapy
Behavioural therapy focuses on helping you to change your behaviours that could be resulting in negative life experiences.
It can help you to overcome phobias or stop a habit and is helpful in treating anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), addiction issues and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Desensitisation can be used to treat phobias. It involves being gradually exposed to something you fear, for example, dogs, heights or public speaking. This type of behaviour therapy aims to tackle phobia so that it no longer causes you distress. Flooding therapy is similar to desensitisation, but the difference is that you would face your fears head-on instead of gradually.
Aversion therapy can be used when you want to change or stop behaviour such as an addiction. For example, you might receive an electric shock each time you smoked a cigarette to learn to quit smoking. This type of therapy does raise ethical concerns as it involves the use of punishment. Because of this, it’s crucial to do your research and fully understand what is involved before trying this therapy.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is an affordable, short-term alternative to psychotherapy. It works similar to behavioural therapy, but instead of helping you to change a behaviour, it enables you to change your thinking.
In a CBT session, you spend less time talking about the past than psychotherapy, so it may not be for you if you’re looking for a place to vent. Instead, CBT emphasises your current issues, your thinking and how you react to your thoughts. The goal is to identify your thought and behaviour patterns and replace those negatively affecting your mental wellbeing.
CBT is a short-term therapy option, so if you are looking to take advantage of government subsidised mental health sessions, such as those offered in Australia, this could be an excellent option for you.
If you do try CBT, be prepared to do some homework as you will be required to practice what you are being taught in sessions to see the benefits of this technique.
Cognitive behavioural therapy can help treat depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and some types of schizophrenia.
A modified type of CBT is dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT). It focuses on building your acceptance and resilience responses to life’s challenges, as well as working to improve your emotional regulation skills to improve your life’s stability. DBT can be used to treat borderline personality disorder (BPD), suicidal thoughts and behaviour and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Another modified type of CBT is rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT). This can help you to deal with irrational thinking by teaching you how to use logical thought patterns. It can be used to treat anxiety, depression, grief and anger issues.
Humanistic Therapy
A humanistic therapist will be your ultimate cheerleader. It aims to help you live your best life by unlocking your true self and potential.
A rule of humanistic therapy is to treat you with unconditional positive regard. This means the therapist will show acceptance to you even if they disagree with your thoughts or behaviour.
The humanistic approach is the most uplifting type of psychotherapy. You are more likely to leave this type of session with some pep in your step compared to the other types.
A form of the humanistic approach is existential therapy. This can help you discover what is most important to you and find greater meaning in life.
Another type is person-focused therapy. This focuses on building your self-acceptance, empathy and resilience to criticism. It can help you learn to block out the opinions of others and gaining the confidence to make decisions and positive changes that are right for you.
Gestalt therapy can help you identify unresolved issues with others such as parents, siblings, friends and partners, and the impact these conflicts have on wellbeing and life satisfaction.
A downside to this approach is that it can be challenging to figure out what parts of yourself need work when your therapist treats everything positively. If you’re looking for brutal honesty to kickstart your personal growth, you will not find it here.
Overall, humanistic therapy is excellent for navigating life’s changes and curveballs. It can be useful as you transition careers, move into parenthood or work through grief, trauma, illness or relationship breakdowns. It can help you build gratitude, compassion, empathy and the strength to confront life’s challenges.
Eye Movement Desensitisation And Reprocessing (EMDR)
EMDR therapy works to change how your memory is stored in your brain. It can be used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and to relieve psychological distress.
EMDR therapy is very different to the above techniques. It is also the newest type of therapy. A session involves you recalling traumatic memories while the therapist directs your eye movements.
The aim is to distract your attention while talking about triggering memories with hopes that you will eventually recall them without experiencing psychological distress.
Overall, EMDR is a shorter therapy alternative. Treatment can typically be achieved within 12 sessions. This type of therapy has also been used to treat anxiety, panic attacks, depression, eating disorders and addictions.
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It’s important to note that many more types of therapy out there haven’t made this list. So, if you feel that none of the above treatments suits your needs, do some research, speak to medical or mental health expert and choose an option that is better aligned with what you are looking for.
