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Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy consists of a systematic contact with a mental health professional such as psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker or counselor, who are appropriately trained.

The mental health professional-psychotherapist helps people to comprehend their emotions, to solve problems and learn how to handle emotional states such as sorrow, fear, stress, loss, grief. Psychotherapy can be done in person, or to couples, families even to whole groups. Psychotherapy can be relieving and helpful to important problems of every day life such as somatic and mental pathological states.

The National Institute of Mental Health in the USA recommends psychotherapy to people when:

  • They feel intense and prolonged feelings of sadness, helplessness and hopelessness
  • Their emotional difficulties make them dysfunctional in their important domains of everyday life
  • They become dangerous to either themselves or to third people through their acts
  • They face intense problems in their everyday relationships.

Nearly 25% of the total population is going to suffer from a depressive or anxiety disorder in their life time.Psychotherapy can effectively reduce depression and anxiety as well as symptoms like fatigue, pain, palpitations

More than 80% of people suffering from depressive and anxiety disorders improve when they receive appropriate therapy, a form of psychotherapy or combination with pharmacotherapy.

Forms of Psychotherapies

The psychotherapy in general, is not necessarily limited to a particular type or a particular technique. In fact many psychotherapists are trained to a number of therapies or techniques. Consequently they can combine these techniques and adapt them to their personal style on the one hand and the attitude and the needs of the client on the other.

ATTENTION Psychotherapies can be combined with pharmacotherapy-prescribed medication- in several cases. The one form of therapy does not exclude the other. Realistically speaking, given the fact that most of the sufferers do not refer to mental health professionals unless their psychological distress escalates to moderate and severe intensity, usually their situation necessitates the application of both medication and psychotherapy.

Behavioral Therapy

Behavioral therapy uses reward and punishment in order to change the norms of thought and modes of behaviors. Behavioral therapy uses relaxation techniques, stress control, desensitization from phobias. Behavioral therapists help patients learn how to get more satisfaction and reward from their actions and how to refrain from behaviors that contribute to or result from their problems.

Behavior therapy/applied behavior analysis

Focuses on changing maladaptive patterns of behavior to improve emotional responses, cognitions, and interactions with others.

Cognitive behavioral

Generally seeks to identify maladaptive cognition, appraisal, beliefs and reactions with the aim of influencing destructive negative emotions and problematic dysfunctional behaviors.

Psychoanalytic

This was the first practice to be called a psychotherapy. It encourages the verbalization of all the patient’s thoughts, including free associations, fantasies, and dreams, from which the analyst formulates the nature of the unconscious conflicts which are causing the patient’s symptoms and character problems.

Schema therapy

It is an integrative psychotherapy combining theory and techniques from previously existing therapies, including cognitive behavioral therapy, psychoanalytic object relations theory, attachment theory, and Gestalt therapy. Four main theoretical concepts in Schema Therapy are early maladaptive schemas (or simply schemas), coping styles, modes, and basic emotional needs.

Family therapy and couples therapy

Family therapy includes discussions and sessions with each and all members of the family oriented to finding solutions to problems (problem-solving sessions). Some sessions are held with the whole team, the couple, or with each one separately. The family or couple therapy can be helpful when a physical or mental health problem of a member affects the rest of family dynamics. Throughout family treatment process, the interpersonal relationships and communication among members is strengthened. If a family member suffers from depression, the roles played by each of the rest family members is examined.

Group Therapy

In group therapy, a small group of people meets regularly to discuss personal issues and help each other with their problems with the guidance of a trained therapist.

“For the sick psyche, speech is the best treatment”

|Menandros 3rd Century BC|

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