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Psychotherapy is a primarily dialogue-based treatment that provides a supportive and understanding environment to identify the causes of the psychological problem and change the thought patterns and behaviours that underlie it. It uses scientifically backed techniques and methods based on the main psychological schools, which serve as a roadmap for psychologists throughout the therapy.
In this post, we’ll look more in detail at the different types of therapies in psychology that exist today and what they consist of. And if you are interested in finding out more, or working in the field of psychology, then you should consider the Degree in Psychology in Madrid or the Degree in Psychology in Valencia.
Just as there are many branches of psychology, there are currently dozens of types of psychotherapy, from hypnotherapy and narrative therapy to experiential therapy or play therapy. However, the American Psychological Association (APA) recognises five broad approaches that encompass the different types of psychotherapies.
This type of psychological therapy, which emerged with Sigmund Freud, has been enriched by the works of psychoanalysts such as Alfred Adler, Carl Jung or Erik Erickson. Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic therapies are characterised by the close collaboration between therapist and patient in the search for unconscious meanings and motivations.
The psychoanalyst facilitates the process of introspection so that the person gains self-awareness. They encourage the patient to explore the unconscious and subconscious mind in order to find and understand the root of his psychological conflicts. They also help you to detect repressed feelings, emotions and impulses so that you can accept them, express them assertively and improve your quality of life.
This type of psychological therapy focuses on the role of learning in the development of normal or pathological behaviour. Ivan Pavlov's classical conditioning and later Burrhus Frederic Skinner's operant conditioning laid the theoretical foundation for this type of psychotherapy.
Behavioural therapy usually provides rapid results because it focuses primarily on changing maladaptive behaviours. As such, it is often very effective in helping people to eliminate harmful habits and get rid of addictions by developing more positive and healthy behaviour patterns instead.
Cognitive therapy, unlike behavioural therapy, emphasises what people think, not what they do. Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck promoted the idea that dysfunctional thoughts, irrational beliefs and cognitive frameworks are what lead to the development of maladaptive emotions or behaviours.
Therefore, in this type of psychotherapy, work is done to change the thoughts that are at the root of the problem. The psychologist guides people to identify their dysfunctional ideas and develop more realistic, positive and healthy alternative thoughts and adaptive coping mechanisms for the future.
This type of psychological therapy focuses on people's ability to make rational decisions and to develop their full potential. Abraham Maslow stressed the importance of self-actualisation and emphasised human potential. He had full confidence in our ability to grow, heal and self-actualise through self-exploration.
On the other hand, Carl Rogers promoted a client-centred, non-directive therapy in which therapists abandon their role of authority to simply focus on helping people to accept themselves, discover what they want in life and find the means to achieve it. All this is done through active, empathic and non-judgmental listening.
The Gestalt therapy developed by the psychotherapist Fritz Perls is based on the principle that people are complete entities composed of body, mind and soul, and are best understood when they see themselves through their own eyes, not by looking at the past as proposed by psychoanalysis, but by focusing on the "here and now".
This type of psychotherapy enhances mindfulness, self-responsibility and the search for meaning. The psychologist helps people to explore their feelings and experiences through creative and experiential techniques such as guided recreations, role-playing, body work or art.
It should be clarified that, although there are different types of psychological therapies, nowadays many psychotherapists do not stick to a specific approach, but combine elements, techniques and methods from different schools according to the needs of the person and their stage of development. In such cases, this is referred to as integrative or holistic therapy.