Types of therapy we use to help you
Theoretical orientation is a pathway that a psychologist or therapist uses to help patients through the therapy process of understanding their problems and developing solutions. Typically, approaches to psychotherapy can be understood in five broad categories: Psychoanalysis and psychodynamic therapies, Behavior therapy, Cognitive therapy, Humanistic therapy, and Integrative or holistic therapy
Psychoanalysis and psychodynamic therapies focus on changing problematic behaviors, feelings, and thoughts by uncovering their unconscious meanings and motivations. Often patients use an iceberg analogy to understand this. We see the behaviors, expression of feelings, and hear the thoughts on the tip of the iceberg, but underneath is where the healing has to happen. Patients learn about themselves by exploring their interactions within the therapeutic relationship.
Behavior therapy focuses on learning the antecedents, and consequences of normal and abnormal behaviors in our lives then learn to make changes with new associations.
Ivan Pavlov contributed classical conditioning (automatic response), or associative learning in behavior therapy. Pavlov's dogs, for example, began drooling when they heard their dinner bell, because they associated the sound with food. In therapy, a patient might get help understanding their response to an anxiety trigger then "desensitizing" by repeated exposure to that trigger that causes anxiety.
E.L. Thorndike looked at learned responses in operant conditioning which relies on rewards and punishments to shape behavior. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), comes from understanding the learned pairs of triggers and behaviors and works to create new associations, or “triangles.”
Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck brought forward Cognitive therapy which emphasizes what one might think rather than what they do by focusing on dysfunctional thinking that leads to dysfunctional emotions or behaviors. By changing one's thoughts, one can adjust how they feel and what they do.
Humanistic therapy looks at a person’s capacity to make rational choices and develop to their maximum human potential. We live our lives in reflection of others therefore, concern and respect for others are focal points. Humanistic philosophers like Jean-Paul Sartre, Martin Buber and Søren Kierkegaard brought this to our awareness in psychology. The three types of humanistic therapy which are centrally important are: Client-centered therapy, Gestalt therapy, and Existential therapy.
An Integrative or holistic therapy approach allows a psychologist to draw from and blend elements from the many different approaches and tailor treatment to the specific needs of each patient.
Adapted from the APA.org, Encyclopedia of Psychology, and Psychologytoday.com