The research has clearly demonstrated that psychotherapy is an effective treatment for a variety of mental illnesses. Psychotherapy is primarily talk-based therapy with a mental health clinician (psychologist, social worker, or psychotherapist) where the focus of sessions revolves around helping a person change their behavior and to overcome problems in a healthy way. There are many different models of psychotherapy that professionals work from. Evidence based therapies are backed by meticulous research and have demonstrated they are able to help clients make significant improvements in their mental health. We discussed CBT (cognitive behavior therapy) in an earlier post, and this week we are going to take a closer look at another therapy that has been becoming much more prominent, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy

(DBT).

CBT (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) is the most commonly known therapy, and for good reason, it has been backed by years of research and has shown to be effective for a variety of mental health concerns. That being said there are many other forms of therapy that are just as, if not more, effective. Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) was developed by Gerald Klerman and Myrna Weissman in the 1970’s along the same time as CBT. Both treatments were shown to be effective in the treatment of depression and have also shown efficacy in other treatment areas.

Therapy is a broad term that encompasses many different type of approaches and it can be hard to keep up with all the different models. We though it would be helpful to provide a brief breakdown of the different therapies we work from so that you are better informed when making the decisions to start therapy.  We have previously talk about CBT, DBT, ACT, and today we will be going in to Solution Focused Therapy (SFT).

There are so many different models of therapy and sometimes it can be overwhelming to try and figure out which would be the best fit for you. This is something that you will explore with your therapist in the early stages of your therapy sessions. It can be helpful to familiarize yourself with the different therapy approaches that your therapist is trained to help you determine what would work best for you. We have had done blog posts on DBT and CBT, which are more commonly known therapy approaches. Today we will focus on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy or ACT.

You know you have been having a difficult time coping lately, and you after some thoughtful reflection you make the decision to get professional help, and begin your search for a therapist. As you start to do your research you notice there are several different acronyms that keep cropping up. CBT, DBT, EMDR, IPT, ACT. What in the world do these mean? This is not what you had anticipated at all. Isn’t therapy just therapy?