Along with medications, mental health therapy, also known as “psychotherapy” or “talk therapy” can help patients explore and understand their feelings in a safe environment and ultimately improve symptoms of mental illness.
Mental health therapy can be conducted in an individual, group, couples, or family setting. There are many different types of mental health therapy. Patients often respond better to one type than another, depending on their personality, the nature of their illness or problem, and their symptoms. After an assessment, your registered psychotherapist will likely recommend the most suitable type of mental health therapy for you.
The most popular types of mental health therapy are described below:
Type #1: Interpersonal Therapy
This type of therapy focuses on a patient’s relationships with others. The therapist works with the patient to improve their interpersonal skills, recognize negative patterns, and learn strategies to interact more positively with others.
It’s often used to treat depression or in couples or family therapy.
Type #2: Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
This type of mental health therapy is often used to treat anxiety disorders, depression, and borderline personality disorder. Psychodynamic psychotherapy focuses on identifying unconscious patterns of negative feelings or behaviours that are caused or influenced by past experience. By bringing these associations to light, the therapist can help the patient overcome and resolve their negative feelings.
Type #3: Telehealth
Telehealth refers to the use of technology in medicine. Patients can connect with a therapist from the comfort and privacy of their homes using their device of choice, whether that’s a smartphone, tablet, or computer.
This is a good option for those suffering from agoraphobia, anxiety, depression, or any other mental health issue that makes it difficult to leave the home. It’s also an excellent choice for patients living in rural areas.
Type #4: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) specifically helps patients manage mental health symptoms by exploring the relationships among their feelings, thoughts, and behaviours and uncovering negative and unhealthy thought patterns.
Essentially, patients undergoing CBT treatment will work on replacing negative thoughts with more realistic and positive thoughts.
By identifying and working through these patterns, patients can develop more constructive ways of thinking, which can lead to more constructive beliefs and behaviours as well.
This therapy is often most beneficial for patients with eating disorders, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia.
Type #5: Dialectic Behaviour Therapy
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) can be used for patients with a wide variety of mental health problems; however, it’s most often used for patients with borderline personality disorder.
This therapy is based on cognitive behavioural therapy but it differs in one major way: it emphasizes the acceptance and validation of uncomfortable emotions, thoughts, and behaviours. This can help patients come to terms with their troubling thoughts to make way for recovery.
Type #6: Exposure Therapy
This type of therapy is most commonly used to treat phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). During this type of psychotherapy, a patient is exposed to their anxiety triggers regularly, in a controlled environment, in an effort to work through them. The patient confronts the problem head on and learns techniques to get past the uncomfortable feelings that the triggers create.
Type #7: Humanistic Therapy
This approach helps patients identify how their worldview affects the choices they make and the distress they feel. This type of therapy is built on the belief that you understand yourself best and should lead your own sessions.
The therapist helps you work through and better understand what you’re experiencing without interpreting your feelings for you. It includes unconditional positive regard and is especially helpful for patients dealing with self-esteem issues, depression, trauma, chronic health concerns, substance use disorder, and relationship issues.
Type #8: Therapy Pets
Studies show that spending time with animals can help people manage feelings of depression, anxiety, and stress. It can also help those suffering from pain and fatigue. Therapy pets are trained to provide comfort to their handlers, which can help the patients cope with their illnesses at home and in public.
Type #9: Existential Therapy
What is the meaning and purpose of life? This type of psychotherapy addresses a patient’s inner conflict and general life concerns. It explores themes of meaninglessness, death, freedom, and responsibility. It helps patients confront existential anxieties and find meaning in life.
Type #10: Family Therapy
This type of therapy looks at the family unit as a whole rather than as individuals. It explores the relationships between family members and helps the members better understand each other and their experiences.
Family therapy can be especially helpful when there is familial conflict, when a relative suffers from an addiction, when a family member has a serious mental illness, or when one member is experiencing significant anger, grief, or stress.
Type #11: Art Therapy
This type of mental health therapy helps patients work through, explore, and communicate their emotions using art. It can be a great option for those with neurological conditions, life-limiting conditions, and emotional or behavioural mental illnesses.
Type #12: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
EMDR is used to help patients work through past traumas and is most commonly used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.
During EMDR, patients are forced to remember traumatic events and process the negative feelings associated with them in order to make these events less upsetting in the future.
