Psychotherapy, also known as talk therapy, psychological counseling or simply therapy, is a method used to treat mental and emotional disorders. A psychotherapist is one who is trained in psychotherapy and is sometimes referred to in layman’s terms as a “shrink”.

With the growing awareness of the importance of emotional wellness, more people turn to psychotherapy to cope with stress or to feel better about themselves. While mentally disturbed individuals are often treated by psychotherapists, you need not be out of your mind to see one.

Objective of psychotherapy

The goal of psychotherapy is to identify unhealthy and negative thoughts, patterns and behaviours that prevent you from functioning normally and to learn how to replace those thoughts with positive and healthy ones or to change how you react to certain situations.

Your will learn some coping skills and how to manage stress during psychotherapy. The length of a psychotherapy treatment may take as little as a few months or longer depending on the severity of the disorder, how much stress you have been experiencing, how long you have had your symptoms, and how well you respond to treatment. Early treatment using psychotherapy may bring immediate results.

When you may need psychotherapy

There are instances, which may not constitute mental illness, when you may need to see a psychotherapist. These conditions may prevent you from performing daily activities, maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships, enjoying life in general or in extreme cases, may lead to destructive behaviours.

Psychotherapy is helpful in the management and treatment of the following conditions:

• grief
• anger
• abuse
• medical illnesses like diabetes
• relationship problems
• sleep disorders
• work problems
• sexual disorders
• depression
• bipolar disorder
• anxiety disorders
• phobias
• eating disorders
• substance abuse disorders
• personality disorders

Types of psychotherapy

Your psychotherapist is trained to evaluate your situation and to determine the appropriate type of psychotherapy for you. Some of the common types of psychotherapy include:

Art therapy

Creative art therapy uses the creative process to help you express thoughts and feelings in the form of music, dance and movement, drama, drawing, painting and poetry.

Cognitive behavioural therapy

This type of therapy is a combination of cognitive and behaviour therapy which helps you to identify unhealthy negative thoughts and behaviours and replace them with healthy positive ones.

Family therapy

Family therapy helps members of a family understand and improve the way they interact with each other and resolve conflicts.

Marriage counseling

This type of therapy is also known as couple’s therapy and teaches partners, not necessarily married, how to communicate better, negotiate differences, discuss and solve problems in a healthy manner.

Other types of therapy include play therapy, psychoanalysis, group therapy, exposure therapy, dialectical therapy, interpersonal therapy and many more.

Psychotherapy is not only for the mentally ill or severely stressed. It is natural to seek help by seeing a psychotherapist, albeit not to cure any illness, but to learn effective ways of coping with unpleasant situations or problems, or simply to feel better about yourself and your life.

Find a psychotherapist in your local area.