What Type of Therapy Do I Need? Here’s How to Choose.
Have you ever started looking for a therapist and been confused about the types of therapy they offer? Have you seen the acronyms of CBT, DBT, ACT, IFS, etc and had no idea what they meant?
If so, you’re not alone. While the different types of therapy (also known as theoretical orientation or therapeutic modalities) is common in provider circles, it is less understood by clients seeking counseling services. This difference is often a mis-translation from providers using clinical jargon to clients who prefer comfortable, everyday language.
The types of therapy a therapist does are, simply put, a therapist’s preferred counseling style and approach. They are how a provider thinks about the issues clients bring to the therapy room, and can give direction on how to assist clients using specific interventions.
In this article, I will outline 5 common treatment approaches that clients may come across in their therapeutic journey. Hopefully, the information given can help you make an informed decision about which counseling approach and therapist are the best fit for you.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behavior Therapy, or CBT, is one of the most common and popular treatment approaches in the psychology field. This is for good reason; CBT has about 50 years of research that provide evidence to its effectiveness, making it the frontline evidence-based therapy.
The foundation of CBT is that your thoughts influence your emotions, which in turn influence your behavior. The power in this model comes from the stance that although emotions may be distressing, impairing, and difficult to control, your thoughts and behavior are within your control. Thus, CBT focuses on teaching clients awareness of their thoughts, emotions, and behavior, as well as strategies to change maladaptive thoughts and behaviors.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy can be used by itself, or in conjunction with other types of therapy. Depending on the provider, it can be direct and heavily homework based — but it can also be engaging and curious, without the client being weighed down by homework. When considering a CBT provider, you may want to ask about their specific preferences when working with clients.
CBT can be used for numerous issues, but it is most frequently used in the treatment of depression, anxiety, PTSD, sleep disturbances, eating disorders, and substance abuse.
The good thing about CBT is that anyone can benefit from it — you do not need to have a diagnosed mental health condition to examine your thoughts, and discover new ways of thinking that inspire positive emotions instead of negative ones.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
DBT is another mental health treatment that can be beneficial for most people. It was created to support people with borderline personality disorder, but its principles are applicable to everyone who wants to learn more about emotional regulation and tolerating distress.
Put simply, dialectical behavior therapy is an approach that emphasizes balance while acknowledging that life is often messy and complex. DBT targets a client’s leaning towards extremes and attempts to bring them back into balance and thus stability. This is done through a multitude of specific skills such as those for distress tolerance, emotional regulation, relaxation, mindfulness, and communication. If you do DBT, prepare for your coping toolbox to grow!
Although DBT was originally developed for people with borderline personality disorder, it is now used for the treatment of many mental health concerns such as trauma, mood swings, and suicidal ideation. Its principles can be beneficial for any client, which makes it another therapy that providers often use with other treatments.
One positive about DBT is that it offers specific methods to cope with emotions and distress. Have you ever tried something to feel better, and it didn’t work? Well, DBT has a list of over 200 activities for this very purpose. If one doesn’t work, then try the next one!
DBT can be a life-saver (literally), but it can also be a supportive back-up. If you’re interested in specific tools to learn and practice, this therapy is a good option.
Multicultural Therapy
Unlike other therapies, multicultural therapy is not designed to be used by itself. Instead, any therapist using any type of therapy can also use multicultural therapy on top of their existing treatment interventions. It’s the ultimate cherry on top!
Multicultural therapy is sometimes called cultural competence, although I prefer the term cultural humility because we cannot presume to fully understand another individual’s experience. Practicing cultural humility is practicing curiosity and respect. But what does this look like?
It looks like the therapist acknowledging that each client’s experience is unique and complex, and that they cannot be separated from their culture and various identities. This approach pays attention to how client’s identities and experiences impact their mental health, respects client culture and values, and isn’t afraid to ask and explore them during therapy.
Multicultural therapy does wonders in helping clients feel understood, accepted, and supported by their clinician. It builds rapport and increases positive treatment outcomes, as the client is treated as a whole unique person instead of simply their symptoms. Multicultural therapy should be used when counseling all clients, but it is perhaps most impactful when treating clients who are LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, or otherwise marginalized.
If you are interested in being treated as a unique individual, finding a therapist who has a multicultural approach is almost a requirement.
Family Systems Therapy
For therapists who see families, family systems therapy is imperative to use during treatment. Even therapists who primarily see individual clients can benefit from using family systems therapy. After all, we all have family experiences that stick with us.
Family systems therapy does not focus on specific family arguments or issues as much as it focuses on how the family discusses these issues, copes with them, or deals with emotions. It focuses on the how instead of the what. Thus, family systems therapy can produce lasting positive change by teaching families how to approach conflict, communication, and emotion no matter what specific issues come up for them in the future.
With individual clients, this approach can be useful in helping people explore their family relationships, communication, and boundaries. It can help identify family issues that cause stress for the individual, and assist the individual in either changing or coping with these stressful patterns.
In the event that a client is no longer interacting with their family, for whatever reason, this approach can also be useful in processing past family issues that still affect clients. This is especially beneficial to clients who have experienced trauma or loss.
We cannot control other people’s actions, but we can control how we respond to them. Family Systems Therapy helps clients accept their lack of control over others while also empowering them to do what they can to improve their experience of relationships.
Person-Centered Therapy
Person-centered therapy — also known as client-centered, humanistic, or Rogerian therapy — is an approach that emphasizes client control and wisdom. In other words, the client knows their own experiences best and it is the therapist’s role to help clients know themselves better and find their own solutions. It can be extremely empowering.
In person-centered therapy, therapists emphasize client control and comfort in the therapeutic process and avoid overly directive and interpretative interventions. This is not your traditional “tell me your problem and I will tell you how to fix it” treatment. Instead, it’s treating the client as the expert and the clinician as the support.
Most interventions in person-centered therapy focus on rephrasing the client’s words and asking probing questions to encourage client introspection. The major tenant of this therapy is the clinician’s lack of judgment and warm attitude towards the client. Ever heard of “unconditional positive regard”, or simply like the sound of it? That’s this therapy!
Person-centered therapy greatly helps clients feel safe, heard, and understood, all of which are important components to have in any treatment setting to achieve the best results. Thus, person-centered therapy can be a helpful basis in treating most clients, but it is perhaps most effective in the treatment of issues like trauma, depression, and grief.
If you’ve never felt truly heard or understood, then person-centered therapy might be a wonderful fit.
These are just 5 of countless therapeutic modalities that providers use in mental health treatment. Other common ones include ACT, ERP, EMDR, IFS, and other combinations of alphabet soup. Although the options may seem overwhelming, the positive side is if one type of therapy doesn’t work, then there’s usually another one available to try next.
See my about page to learn what therapy approaches I typically use.
Which therapy approaches stand out to you? If you’ve been to therapy before, which of these have been helpful or unhelpful for you? Talking about your preferences and past experiences are a great way to find out which therapy option is the best fit.
Luckily, there are websites like Psychology Today that can match you with local providers based on therapeutic approach and other filters such as fees, insurance, gender, and experience. Psychology Today is also an amazing resource for learning about all things mental health treatment, through its types of therapy directory and diagnosis dictionary.
Let me know what types of therapy seem like the best fit for you!
