What is Psychotherapy?

Psychotherapy is a group of therapies designed to help someone change their thinking patterns and improve their coping skills.

Psychotherapy is provided by a psychologist, counsellor, psychiatrist or support person. It is sometimes called psychological therapy or talking therapy.

These therapies are often used to treat mental health conditions, but can also be useful for anyone wanting to change unhelpful thoughts or behaviour.

When would I need psychotherapy?

Psychotherapy can assist in the treatment of:

• depression
• bipolar disorder
• anxiety
• obsessive compulsive disorder
• schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders
• post-traumatic stress disorder
• borderline personality disorder or dependent personality disorder
• phobias
• panic disorder
• addictions (including alcoholism, drug dependence and gambling addiction)
• eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia

Often, people with such conditions are also advised to use psychotherapy in addition to medications.

Not everyone who has psychotherapy will have a mental health condition. These therapies can also be helpful to learn how to deal with stressful and challenging situations using healthy coping skills.

Clients may explore: aspects of identity, spirituality, relationships with self and others, past experiences, parenting, grief and loss, trauma, domestic violence, child abuse, use of alcohol and other substances, depression, anxiety, and other experiences.

What are the benefits of psychotherapy?

Changes facilitated by therapy include: change in perspective, new insight, new ways of thinking about situations, new awareness of feelings, enhanced capacity to tolerate and regulate feelings, new actions or behaviours, and new decisions about life.

Psychotherapy aims to help people with mental health issues discover their own resilience.

Psychotherapy does not stop stressful events, but it gives you the power to cope in a healthy way. It can also help you understand yourself.

What are the types of psychotherapy?

• Cognitive behaviour therapy - looks at the link between a person’s thoughts, feelings and actions, and how each may affect their perception and wellbeing.
• Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy - a type of CBT that integrates mindfulness.
• Dialectical behaviour therapy - teaches positive behavioural skills to manage stress, emotions and develop positive relationships. It is a type of CBT.
• Interpersonal therapy - helps a person deal more effectively with people and situations they find difficult.
• Supportive psychotherapy - a talking-based therapy designed to allow a person with mental health issues to voice their concerns, and receive encouragement and help in finding practical solutions.
• Family therapy - aims to improve relationships within a family, and the family function as a whole. Therapy sessions are conducted with family members.
• Acceptance and commitment therapy - helps a person accept stressful events, such as experiencing psychotic symptoms, and commit to develop positive attitudes towards them and focus on the present moment.
• Psychodynamic psychotherapy - increases awareness of how distressing thoughts and feelings came to be.

Your therapist may combine exercises or practices from different types of psychotherapy to tailor a therapy for you.

How can you get the most out of psychotherapy?

• Be honest with your therapist. You need to share your thoughts, feelings and experiences honestly.
• Be an active participant in the therapy. Therapy works best as a partnership: you need to do the work.
• Put in the time. If you have homework, make this part of your daily routine. It may be difficult in the beginning, but a new habit takes up to three months to feel routine.
• If it’s not working, consider a different approach. Talk to your therapist about whether a different psychotherapy approach may be more beneficial for you.

from https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/psychotherapy

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is a type of psychotherapy (talking therapy) based on the idea that how you think and act affects how you feel. It can help in many different situations - with both mental and physical health problems. CBT is a practical therapy.

How does CBT work?

If you are thinking negatively about yourself or a situation and that is causing you problems, CBT might be able to help.

In CBT, you work with a therapist to recognise the patterns of thinking (cognition) and behaviour that cause you problems. Then CBT teaches you practical ways to learn or re-learn more helpful and healthy habits. Basically, the aim is to challenge and break the habit of negative thinking. Negative and unhelpful thinking can show itself in different ways. Some examples are catastrophising, where you always assume the worst possible outcome, and personalisation, where you take everything personally.

CBT is a practical therapy - it focusses on goals and is specific to an individual. It doesn’t look back over your past, it centres on solving current problems.

CBT has been around for many years. It’s the basis of other therapies such as acceptance and commitment therapy, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, schema therapy and dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT).

from https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/cognitive-behaviour-therapy-cbt

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)

Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) is a type of cognitive behaviour therapy or talking therapy. It is designed for people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) or who have difficulties controlling their emotions.

People with BPD have difficulty regulating their very strong emotions. This may cause troubled relationships and a disturbed sense of self. They may experience self-harm or have suicidal thoughts.

DBT helps people who have trouble managing their emotions to change unhelpful ways of thinking and behaving and to accept who they are. They learn skills to build a ’life worth living'.

When is DBT used?

DBT is used to treat problems related to borderline personality disorder, such as:

• feeling empty inside or hopeless
• low self-esteem or feelings of self-hate
• strong feelings
• intense mood swings
• risk-taking or impulsive behaviour
• unstable relationships
• self-harm
• suicidal thoughts or suicide attempts

Therapists offer DBT for other mental health conditions as well. These include:

• alcohol or drug problems
• anxiety
• depression
• eating disorders, such as binge-eating or bulimia
• emotional dysregulation
• post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

from https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/dialectical-behaviour-therapy-dbt

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is an action-oriented approach to psychotherapy that stems from traditional behavior therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. Clients learn to stop avoiding, denying, and struggling with their inner emotions and, instead, accept that these deeper feelings are appropriate responses to certain situations that should not prevent them from moving forward in their lives.

ACT aims to develop and expand psychological flexibility. Psychological flexibility encompasses emotional openness and the ability to adapt your thoughts and behaviors to better align with your values and goals.

When It’s Used

ACT can help treat many mental and physical conditions. These include:

• Anxiety disorders
• Depression
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Psychosis
• Eating disorders
• Substance use disorders
• Workplace stress
• Chronic pain

How It Works

The theory behind ACT is that it is counterproductive to try to control painful emotions or psychological experiences; suppression of these feelings ultimately leads to more distress. ACT adopts the view that there are valid alternatives to trying to change the way you think, and these include mindful behavior, attention to personal values, and commitment to action. By taking steps to change their behavior while, at the same time, learning to accept their psychological experiences, clients can eventually change their attitudes and emotional states.

from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapy-types/acceptance-and-commitment-therapy