15 Types Of Therapy To Know + How To Find The Best One For You

Read on for a list of common therapeutic approaches, how they work, and how to choose the modality that will best ensure you'll feel meaningfully seen and heard. 

"Psychodynamic therapy is rooted in traditional psychoanalysis, and it tends to focus on the roots of emotional suffering that is usually found in the formation years and our early experiences with our caregivers," licensed psychologist Lydiana Garcia, Ph.D., tells mbg. 

"It strives to help clients increase self-reflection and self-examination and thus improve their ability to relate to others, make choices and create a life they would like to live," Garcia defines. 

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Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a type of talk therapy that aims to challenge cognitive distortions present in your thinking and find better ways to cope and manage your stress through problem-solving. It's predicated on the idea that your thoughts create your reality, so you can shift them to feel better. 

"[CBT] tends to focus on changing behaviors, usually maladaptive behaviors. Some of their techniques include identifying the factors that contribute to the maladaptive behaviors to remove them, and 'learning' new ones," Garcia says. It aims to modify maladaptive behaviors such as passive-aggressiveness, withdrawal, avoidance, daydreaming, etc., by replacing them with healthier and constructive ways of coping.

CBT is a time-based intervention and can last between 12 and 20 sessions for those with depression, anxiety, somatic issues, eating disorders, substance abuse problems, relationship issues, and severe mental illnesses. A CBT therapist will teach you constructive strategies to break you out of your negative thought patterns and thus deal with your problems productively. The behavioral therapy emphasizes the use of a host of techniques to be assertive, positively manage stress, and build confidence and resilience.

"Humanistic therapy is a psychological perspective that focuses on the whole individual, including their sense of purpose/potential and well-being. It takes into consideration what happened in someone's life but also focuses on the potential of changing it," Garcia says. 

Humanistic therapy parallels the gestalt, present-oriented approach. The talk therapy doesn't focus as much on past events as it does on your active participation with the current moment. Your therapist helps you empathetically validate your perspective while also offering you a safe space to reconnect to your true identity. 

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"Dialectic [behavioral] therapy (DBT) is rooted in cognitive-behavioral therapy and integrates mindfulness, communication, and interpersonal skills; distress tolerance; and regulating emotions," Garcia defines. The core concept of dialectical thinking is being comfortable with the notion that two simultaneous opposing ideas can co-exist and be truthful at the same time, thus validating the contrasting emotional thoughts. 

DBT is a form of psychosocial therapy that isn't so much about talking as it is about "doing." Your therapist helps you learn how to feel OK around uncomfortable thoughts so you don't have to resort to destructive behavior, increasing your overall emotional competency and flexibility. On top of attending sessions, you'll be implementing your lessons in real life through role-play and homework assignments to cultivate skills such as mindfulness and self-soothing. 

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"Exposure therapy is a type of treatment that is rooted in behavioral therapy to help people confront their fears and decrease post-traumatic symptoms," Garcia says. This type of therapy is about facing your fears and has roots in cognitive-behavioral therapy. 

By repeated exposure, it helps reduce phobias and your circumscribed behaviors. It can be paced through hierarchical exposure from least difficult to the most difficult fears or systematic desensitization, which combines relaxation techniques to the situation to associate calmness to the trigger. 

Exposure therapy works to relieve conditions including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, panic, social anxiety, and phobic disorders. Undergoing a full course of exposure therapy can be fairly quick. Depending on the depth of your fears and how you respond to the program, it can take anywhere between a few weeks and more than 20 sessions. 

"[Interpersonal therapy] is a type of therapy that has been shown to be effective for treating mood disorders. It focuses on becoming aware and changing interpersonal dynamics/skills that are contributing to the mood disorder," Garcia says. 

Interpersonal therapy is an attachment-focused and person-based form of psychotherapy. Your therapist works as a nonjudgmental guide to help you improve your relational problems so you can better manage your social functioning and interpersonal relationships. It can take place one-to-one or in a group setting. 

Interpersonal therapy is time-limited (up to 12 to 16 sessions) and is empirically validated to treat a variety of psychiatric disorders and other areas such as life changes, substance abuse, anxiety, postpartum depression, eating disorders, depression, grief, and difficulty starting and sustaining relationships. 

Mentalizing literally means to be aware of your own mind and other people's minds. In a study published in Psychoanalytic Inquiry1, researchers note that mentalization-based therapy (MBT) is the process in which "we make sense of each other and ourselves, implicitly and explicitly, in terms of subjective states and mental processes." As you move in the world, it's natural to focus on yourself, but it can negatively affect one's life if you're unable to identify your internal dialogue or how other people are thinking and feeling in relation to you. 

Your therapist will work with you to acknowledge your emotions to decrease impulsivity and instability in yourself and, subsequently, your relationships. Learning self-regulation and healthy emotional expression are key tenets in the framework. Your therapist functions as a secure therapeutic attachment as you gain more insight into your mental processes and explore your interpretations of behaviors around you. 

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Mindfulness-based therapy (MBCT) intertwines cognitive-behavioral techniques together with mindfulness and breathwork to bring awareness to your present moment. The intervention focuses on observing distressing emotions nonjudgmentally and separating your sense of self from negative messages to stave off depression. 

Research published in 3Mindfulness3 notes MBCT is generally in a group setting, but it's also possible to do it individually with a therapist. Your therapist will help you sit through the overwhelming, charged emotions you may feel as you develop positive thought patterns. Along with weekly sessions, there will be homework and meditation exercises to incorporate your new coping skills into your daily life. 

The study above shows MBCT may be highly effective for treating chronic unhappiness, depression, stress, anxiety, physical pain, and mood disorders. Instead of eliminating sources of pain, this approach teaches you to find relief by recognizing you can feel difficult emotions but it doesn't have to define you. The program is typically known to last for eight weeks. 

"Somatic psychotherapy is a type of body-centered therapy that works great for treating trauma and similar issues. There are many different models and styles, but in general, they focus on helping people become aware of the interconnection of their body-mind-brain behavior," Garcia says. 

This type of alternative therapy works off the notion that talk therapy can only address a part of previous traumas. Somatic psychotherapy seeks to also look at your physical body and how it can hold on to stress. Therefore, the emphasis is on moving through pent-up feelings and blending together different holistic approaches to fit your specific needs. Your therapist will bring up past traumatic experiences and help you notice and feel the physical responses as you go through the uneasiness. Somatic psychotherapy teaches you concepts such as self-regulation, grounding, boundary development, and movement. 

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"Typically, couples' therapy involves talking through relationship challenges as a couple with a neutral party (your therapist) who is trained to help you get to the bottom of the issue," marriage therapist Linda Carroll, LMFT, previously told mbg. 

As your therapist hears both of your perspectives out, they will point out any limiting beliefs and encourage active listening to push your relationship toward its fullest potential. Outside of ongoing therapy, your therapist may assign you homework in between sessions. 

It's helpful for all couples during any stage. There's value in seeing couples' therapy as relationship maintenance to learn how to improve communication, navigate life changes, and see each other more clearly. Carroll notes most people go to couples' therapy when the relationship is on life support and they're looking for repair, but "a healthy relationship is a skill set. Most of us don't learn these skills growing up, so we just expect love to carry us through. But it isn't enough. That said, love combined with skills usually is enough." The length of couples' therapy ranges but can typically take a few months or years to work through issues. 

"Group therapy is therapy delivered in a small-group setting. Group therapy is incredibly helpful to connect you with others who are experiencing similar challenges. It can be done on its own or also in combination with individual therapy," says licensed psychologist Lisette Sanchez, Ph.D.

"There are different types of therapy groups. Most groups require a prior meeting with the therapist(s) facilitating the group. Groups may have a set duration, four to 12 weeks, or may have ongoing availability," Sanchez further explains. A therapist will lead discussions as the group chimes in with perspective and experiences. Engaging in group therapy can be incredibly cathartic as you share your personal stories and develop new skills to relate to others.

Group therapy treats many mental illnesses and has a lot of efficacy around family problems, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, anxiety, panic disorders, eating disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD), and substance abuse. It can be affirming to be around people who are going through similar afflictions, so you don't feel alone. If you're looking for interpersonal support, a sense of belonging, and a sounding board to better understand yourself, group therapy may be for you. 

Research suggests that eye movement desensitization and reprocessing psychotherapy4 (EMDR) is an empirically validated treatment for trauma in processing negative life experiences. It facilitates the processing of unprocessed and otherwise inaccessible memories. (You can read more about EMDR here.)

Then they will teach you stress reduction techniques so you can feel equipped down the road to sit with disturbing images related to your memories and undergo bilateral stimulation, which can be eye movements or taps. It works by feeling those tough emotions and installing positive beliefs over negative beliefs. 

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A 2011 case study5 defines internal family system (IFS) as a form of therapy that works to regulate shame and facilitate a whole relationship with yourself through internal compassion. Research published in the 6Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy6 posits that the natural state of the mind contains multiple, subpersonalities that "contain valuable qualities and abilities but are forced from their naturally vulnerable states by traumas or attachment injuries. Some are forced into protective roles, and others are locked away inside the mind such that people no longer have access to them." The goal is to become comfortable with those inner parts and integrate them. 

Your therapist will help you understand your subpersonalities and assist you in creating a cohesive relationship with those autonomous parts to move toward a cohesive, unchanging core self. One study from the Journal of Clinical Psychology7 notes that while psychotherapy is usually about changing unwanted behaviors, emotions, or thoughts, IFS instead fosters radical acceptance of all parts, no matter how destructive or shameful. 

It can treat a variety of conditions including depression, anxiety, phobias, panic, post-trauma stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse, eating disorders, and physical health conditions. The length varies depending on your specific concerns and your acclimation to the model. 

The Mayo Clinic defines family therapy as a type of psychotherapy that addresses underlying issues that affect the psychological health of the family. It helps improve communication by understanding dynamic relationships within the family system and tackle conflicts in a manageable way. 

Your therapist will teach you tools to resolve problems effectively while identifying issues with family roles and behavior patterns that may contribute to those issues. It can corral the entire family together to support each other beneficially. 

It's useful in bringing several members of the family together to explore thoughts, emotions, and conflict in a safe setting. Family therapy is often short-term and can generally take 12 sessions. It depends on your therapist's recommendations and your family situation. Some common problem areas are communication, economic hardship, anger, addiction, depression, medical issues, and tragedy. 

Art therapy8 uses the creative process of art-making as an avenue for self-expression to examine your emotions and inner experiences. Through the process, it aims to enhance mental well-being and gain greater insight into who you are as an individual.

By using creative expression, your therapist will help encourage exploration into your creative sides and often interpret the creative results. There are many artistic mediums you can use in art therapy such as coloring, drawing, painting, photography, doodling, collaging, sculpting, music, dance, pottery, and more. 

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What's more, depending on your unique identity and the nuances of your background, it can be imperative to talk to prospective therapists about how they handle cultural sensitivities like sexuality, race, gender, religion, privilege, and how that may intersect with your personal belief and value systems. Garcia points out: "For communities that have been marginalized, it is important to look for therapists that are for liberation and that are not upholding supremacy standards."  

If one therapeutic approach doesn't work for you, take it as an invitation to try another type to see if that resonates. It's crucial you feel OK expressing yourself freely and honestly. Once you find the right therapist to manage your anxieties and challenge your emotional issues with, commit to then seeing the process through.