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Depression Depression Treatment

Choosing a Psychotherapist


Author:

Naomi Himmelfarb, PhD

Veterans Administration Los Angeles Ambulatory Care Center

Medically Reviewed On: March 31, 2006

Introduction

A psychotherapist is a professional who is trained in the area of mental health and whose job it is to treat mental and emotional disorders. Usually this is done through a combination of talk therapy and other techniques including relaxation exercises, biofeedback, and hypnosis.

Psychotherapy is a form of treatment for mental and emotional problems. It can be used to help people with many kinds of difficulties, from fairly common ones (such as having trouble coping with stress) to less common, more severe ones (like being unable to leave the house because of crippling anxiety).

A psychotherapist helps people understand their problems from a new perspective by offering an objective point of view and new ways of thinking about and responding to problems. Going through the therapy process tends to change people's feelings about themselves and their situations, and they become happier, more self-confident, and more effective in dealing with life's stresses.

Types of Available Psychotherapy

The most common type is one-on-one psychotherapy, which involves an individual client meeting with a therapist to talk about his or her problems. This type of therapy tends to be intrapsychic and focuses on the person's mind and emotions.

Marital or couples therapy is designed to help people resolve relationship problems. Both partners attend therapy and the focus is on the relationship, rather than on the individuals. It has been my experience that marital therapy is most effective when the partners are still on relatively good terms. Often times, people go to couples therapy as a last resort when it may be too late for them to resolve their differences. Couples who receive marital counseling early on improve their chances of success.

Family therapy is designed to help families resolve problems that affect everyone in the family unit. Family members attend the sessions as a group and work on understanding their differences from each other's perspectives. The goal is usually improved communication, less conflict, and greater empathy and cooperation.

Group therapy consists of several (usually five to ten) unrelated people who discuss their problems together. Group members speak individually about their problems and offer support and guidance to each other. One benefit of group therapy is that it helps people increase their understanding of how they come across to others and gives them ideas for improving their communication. Many kinds of group therapy exist. Frequently, they are organized around particular problem areas such as grief, recovering from divorce, or men's issues. An advantage of group therapy is that it is usually more affordable than other kinds of therapy.

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