Psychotherapy is a set of techniques believed to cure or to help solve behavioral and other psychological problems in humans. The common part of these techniques is direct personal contact between therapist and patient, mainly in the form of talking. Owing to the nature of these communications, there are significant issues of patient privacy and/or client confidentiality.

Contents

1 Schools and approaches 2 List of psychotherapeutic modalities 3 List of techniques used in psychotherapy 4 Related topics 5 References 5.1 An introduction to Psychodynamic schools 5.2 An introduction to Humanistic schools 6 External links

Schools and approaches

Psychoanalysis was the earliest form of psychotherapy, but many other theories and techniques are now used by psychotherapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, personal growth facilitators and social workers. Techniques for group therapy have been developed.

While behaviour is often a target of the work, many approaches value the notion of "psyche" in the root of the word. This is especially true of the psychodynamic schools of psychotherapy, which today include Jungian therapy and Psychodrama. Other approaches focus on the link between the mind and body and try to access deeper levels of the psyche through manipulation of the physical body. Examples are Rolfing, Pulsing and Postural Integration .

A distinction can also be made between those psychotherapies that employ a medical model and those that employ a humanistic model. In the medical model the client is seen as unwell and the therapist employs their skill to help them back to health. An example would be Freudian psychotherapy. In the humanistic model the therapist facilitates learning in the individual and the clients own natural process draws them to a fuller understanding of themselves. An example would be Gestalt therapy.

Cognitive behavioural therapy aims to treat specific symptoms or problems in a limited number of therapeutic sessions and for this reason is particularly common where the mode of psychotherapy is dictated by the demands of insurance companies who wish to see a financially limited commitment. These constraints are very common in community mental health centers and agencies in America, making this modality of treatment the default.

A computer program called ELIZA has been built to perform an automated and extremely simplified version of Rogerian psychotherapy, with results often more humorous (or bizarre) than realistic.

List of psychotherapeutic modalities

In the 20th century a bewildering range of psychotherapies sprang up in western societies.

The following is only a partial list:

Analytical psychology Autogenic training Behavior therapy Biodynamic psychotherapy Bioenergetic analysis Bioenergetics Biofeedback Biosynthesis Brief therapy Choice theory Classical Adlerian Psychotherapy Co-Counselling Cognitive analytic psychotherapy Cognitive behavioural psychotherapy Concentrative movement therapy Core process psychotherapy Daseins analytic psychotherapy Depth Psychology Dialectical behavior therapy Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Encounter groups Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) Existential analysis Family systems therapy Focusing Freudian psychotherapy Gestalt therapy Gestalt Theoretical Psychotherapy Group therapy Hakomi Holotropic Breathwork Humanistic psychology Hypnotherapy

Human givens psychotherapy Integrative Psychotherapy Jungian psychotherapy Logotherapy Narrative Therapy Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) Person centred psychotherapy Personal construct psychology (PCP) Positive psychotherapy Postural integration Primal integration Process Oriented Psychology Primal therapy Provocative therapy Psychedelic psychotherapy Psychoanalysis Psychodrama Psychodynamic psychotherapy Psycho-Organic analysis Psychosynthesis Pulsing (bodywork) Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Reality Therapy Reichian psychotherapy Rogersian (or Rogerian) psychotherapy Rolfing Solution focused brief therapy Sophia analysis Self relationship (or Sponsorship) Systemic therapy T Groups Transactional analysis (TA) Transpersonal psychotherapy

List of techniques used in psychotherapy

The following techniques may be employed in psychotherapy although which are used will depend on the nature of the therapy

Art work Bodywork Dance movement therapy Catharsis Coaching Congruence Confrontation Dramatic re-enactment of past trauma Dream analysis and interpretation Empathy Hot seat Humor Hypnosis Journal work

Minimal Encouragers Paradoxical intention Reflective Listening Regression Role play Sand play Unconditional positive regard Validation Working through Projections Working through Transference

Related topics

• ADHD
• Attachment
• Bipolar Disorder
• Defence mechanism
• DSM
• Neurosis
• Personality disorder
• Psychiatry
• Psychology
• Psychosis
• School Counselor
• Therapy

Important publications in psychoanalysis & psychotherapy

References

An introduction to Psychodynamic schools

• Anthony Bateman, Dennis Brown, Jonathan Pedder Introduction to Psychotherapy: An Outline of Psychodynamic Principles and Practice; Routledge; ISBN 0415205697; June 2000

• Bateman, A. & Holmes J. Introduction to Psychoanalysis: Contemporary Theory and Practice; Routledge; ISBN 0415107393; 1995

An introduction to Humanistic schools

• John Rowan; Ordinary Ecstacy: Brunner-Routledge; ISBN 0415236320; March 2001

External links

• Psychotherapy description at Helpguide
• UK Council for Psychotherapy
• European Association for Psychotherapy