Overview of Psychotherapies: Choosing the Right Type of Therapy for You

Psychotherapy all began with Freud. He created psychoanalysis which began in the late 1800s. His main purpose – the definition of psychotherapy – is helping people improve their quality of life and mental wellbeing through talk sessions. Freud helped people understand memories of traumatic events that they repressed and events of the past in order to understand who they are. Some of tools he used are free association (eg: what is the first word you that comes to your mind when you hear “mom”), resistance (episodes that you don’t like talking about), dreams (door to understand subconscious), transference (how you project yourself onto other people and therapist).

Another type of therapy is humanistic therapy which has a theoretical approach of focusing on positive aspects of life. Its philosophy takes in consideration current struggles and the present moment, unlike psychoanalysis which focuses on the past. Humanistic therapy is strongly based on acceptance and empathy in order to help a person reach their full potential and uncover their uniqueness in this world.

Behavioral therapy, as its name implies, focuses on behavior. One type of BT is aversion therapy, a common therapy which helps with unlearning behaviors. It pairs an unpleasant stimulus with maladaptive behavior. For example, applying a bitter nail polish to stop nail biting. Another type of BT is systematic desensitization which resolves fears and phobias. Gradually, a therapist will guide the patient into relaxation while getting closer to a specific fear. For example, progressively getting closer to a spider if the client has arachnophobia.

In the 1960s, cognitive therapy emerged. It focuses on maladaptive behaviors and feelings to change irrational thoughts and unrealistic beliefs. By changing one’s perceptions and thoughts, CBT believes that the feelings associated with this thought will change and therefore behavior changes. A cognitive therapist will actively find techniques to improve the client’s state by giving them homework and following up weekly.

Dialectical behavioral therapy helps people become mindful and grounded and understand that life is bumpy.  It teaches how to tolerate distress, manage emotions and regulate relationships. It also guides into accepting the types of feelings and naming them without making judgments. It is mostly effective for BPD, PTSD, substance abuse, bipolar disorders and eating disorders.

Choosing a type of therapy is not easy, but it is worth it. In order to find the best type of therapy, one should ask specific questions like: What is the concern I want to address? What is in my way? How much structure do I want? Do I want to gain understanding or change? These can all lead to a more specified type if one does not know which therapy to work with. According to research, after one year of consistent therapy, people reported an 80% improvement in their lives. It is scientifically proven that therapy helps people deal with harder situations better than untreated people and overall helps us perform better in our daily life.

Unfortunately, seeing any type of therapist is still taboo in the Middle East. Financial uncertainty, instability in professional lives, and a lack of awareness about psychological issues have created a dangerous cocktail that threatens the Middle East region with a mental health crisis. Mental health problems are associated with shame, disgrace, and disrespect which often leads to internalization of problems. The majority of Middle Eastern people also associate mental health with religion: Christianity and Islam tend to associate wellbeing to one’s relationship with God. However, mental health and religion are very different.

Therapy is still evolving and there are more than 450 types of therapies today. From animal assisted therapy to art therapy, Freud has built a path that won’t stop evolving. The growth of holistic and eastern techniques is also making its way into scientific research and psychologists have been stepping in techniques like yoga, pranayama (breathwork) and meditation. Afterall, mental wellbeing is not a destination but a journey for everyone to explore.