Main areas of psychotherapy (classification)

• Types and tasks of psychotherapy
• Why is psychotherapy needed?
• When do you need the help of a psychotherapist?
• How to choose a psychotherapist?
• How do you know if psychotherapy is helping?

It is no secret that against the backdrop of internal conflicts - grievances, uncertainty, fears, inability to communicate, overwork - people quarrel, get divorced, abandon their children, lose their jobs, and abandon profitable projects. Many are able to cope with the problems that arise on their own, but some turn to a psychotherapist for help in the hope of making their lives better and correcting the situation.

What is psychotherapy, what exactly is it for, when should you go to a specialist, and how do you understand that the sessions are having an effect? Let's talk about everything in order.

Types and tasks of psychotherapy

Essentially, psychotherapy is a conversation during which a professional psychologist/psychotherapist helps the client understand and solve their problems. This is an effective method of restoring mental health, which considers the patient as a whole, studies his essence and uses an individual approach in each case.

The goal of a psychotherapist’s work will be to identify, bring to the surface and overcome all sources of problems that prevent a person from living. At the same time, the specialist does not impose his point of view, but only helps the client find ways to a harmonious existence, using different types and methods of psychotherapeutic tactics.

Today there are many types of psychotherapy, and the psychotherapist decides which technique to use. The most common techniques are cognitive-behavioral therapy, psychoanalysis, reconstructive-personal, bodily, rational, group, systemic family psychotherapy, neuropsychology, art therapy, psychodrama, gestalt therapy, hypnosis techniques, existential psychotherapy. When choosing a technique, the psychotherapist relies on an individual approach, taking into account personality characteristics, the clinical picture of the illness and his own capabilities.

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During his sessions, the psychotherapist solves the following problems:

• helping the patient understand his problems;
• creating a comfortable environment during the consultation process;
• application of effective therapeutic techniques to correct psychological beliefs and reactions;
• providing clients with routes to find answers to their questions;
• assistance in adapting to the world around us with new thinking and behavior.

One of the most important advantages of this method is its short duration!

Of course, this method is also applicable to helping people who do not suffer from mental disorders, but who are simply faced with life’s difficulties, conflicts, and health problems. This is due to the fact that the main postulate of CBT is applicable in almost any situation: our emotions, behavior, reactions, bodily sensations depend on how we think, how we evaluate situations, what beliefs we rely on when making decisions.

The goal of CBT is for a person to reassess his own thoughts, attitudes, beliefs about himself, the world, and other people, because often they do not correspond to reality, are noticeably distorted and interfere with a full life. Low-adaptive beliefs change to ones that are more consistent with reality, and due to this, a person’s behavior and sense of self changes. This happens through communication with a psychologist, and through introspection, as well as through so-called behavioral experiments: new thoughts are not simply accepted on faith, but are first applied in a given situation, and the person observes the result of such new behavior.

Why is psychotherapy needed?

First of all, the intervention of a psychotherapist will help to cope with problems and find the right path to solving them. Mental well-being is no less important than normal blood pressure, good blood counts or healthy teeth. As with any physical illness, mental anxieties can harm a person and significantly deteriorate their overall health, because chronic stress provokes diseases of the cardiovascular system and gastrointestinal tract, insomnia, obesity, and contributes to the emergence of more dangerous mental illnesses.

As a result of working with the subconscious, thoughts, beliefs and reactions, the very structure of the “I” changes, a person grows spiritually and mentally, abandons infantile behavior strategies, deviates from parental behavior patterns, in a word, unconscious habits are transformed into conscious ones, which means they can be controlled and change to improve your life.

When do you need the help of a psychotherapist?

It is difficult to imagine a person for whom everything is perfect, without problems or conflicts. But we are also not accustomed to running to a psychotherapist at the slightest ailment. How do you understand: do you need the help of a professional or is it possible to cope with the situation yourself?

You definitely need the help of a specialist if:

• you are grieving the death of a loved one and cannot get out of this state;
• after the birth of a child, you lost the desire to live;
• insomnia has become chronic;
• you often experience a feeling of aggression, have difficulty restraining impulses to hit someone or break something;
• you feel persistently dependent on someone/something;
• you regularly have panic attacks.

You should seriously consider visiting a psychotherapist if:

• you are systematically fired from your job;
• you are increasingly thinking about divorce;
• you were raped or beaten;
• you have suffered a serious illness or injury;
• you were betrayed by a loved one;
• you notice that you have become overly emotional and may burst into tears over a trifle.

Less dangerous situations that a psychotherapist can help you deal with include:

• a vague feeling of causeless anxiety that appears more and more often;
• minor illnesses that often occur;
• rejection of one's own appearance;
• serious illness of someone close to you;
• feeling that you are being watched;
• strong love without reciprocity;
• constant feeling of guilt before someone;
• inability to refuse requests from family, friends, colleagues, and superiors;
• you are over 30, but you live with your parents;
• fear of flying on an airplane, riding the subway or in an elevator;
• your life doesn't suit you.

If you have an idea that a specialist can help you, you can go to one consultation; many specialists conduct the first introductory conversation for free.

For what types of mental disorders is cognitive behavioral therapy indicated?

CBT has proven successful in treating many mental disorders, in particular: • Depression. • Increased anxiety and even its generalized forms. • Panic attacks. • Hypochondria. • Post-traumatic syndrome. • Phobias of various genesis and nature. • Eating disorders and their extreme manifestations in the form of psychogenic anorexia. • Fear of public speaking. • Sociopathic disorders. • Chronic pain. • Psychological problems in the family, athletes, schoolchildren, temporarily isolated persons and other categories of the population, including preschoolers and pensioners. In combination with drug therapy, CBT has proven its effectiveness in treating diseases such as: • Various types of addictions, including alcohol and drug addiction. • Schizophrenia and hallucinations that accompany it. • Severe depressive states. • Bipolar disorder (split personality). • Psychoses. • Somatic disorders – hypertension, colitis, chronic fatigue syndrome, etc.

The scope of CBT is constantly expanding, and the direction itself is gaining more and more popularity. This is explained primarily by its safety for the patient, minimal interference in deep mental processes and its focus on adapting the patient to the changing modern world. The most important thing that CBT allows you to achieve is the ability to maintain your emotional and mental status in any, even the most stressful and seemingly catastrophic situations.

How to choose a psychotherapist?

When choosing, be sure to ask:

• whether the specialist has a medical or psychological education;
• what kind of work experience does he have (3 years of experience is considered optimal);
• whether he took additional courses, participated in educational events or seminars, and whether there are certificates confirming this;
• customer reviews.

It is important that the therapist answers the client’s questions as fully as possible, complies with ethical standards and does not have a scandalous reputation.

How do you know if psychotherapy is helping?

Sometimes visits to a psychotherapist last for years, and patients do not always realize: is there a result or is everything useless? What should you pay attention to? What indicators will indicate that positive dynamics have already appeared?

1. Your wishes come true

   . Of course, we are not talking about the fact that, thanks to psychotherapeutic sessions, you magically found a treasure or became an object of admiration for the opposite sex. But how much better you yourself cope with the realization of your needs, communicate with people, develop - will let you know whether therapeutic techniques are helping you.

2. You love yourself.

   It is a positive perception of one’s personality, behavior, appearance, character, support for one’s plans and desires that is an indicator that new habits and thinking are being formed successfully.

3. Your activity is at its best.

   If you are much more willing and energetic to be involved in intellectual and creative activities, solve life problems, communicate with friends - this is a good sign and a sign of the right path in working on yourself.

4. You experience vivid emotions.

   The manifestation of many emotions in relationships, in business, in self-perception indicates that the human psyche is deeply involved and has stopped being “lazy.” We are not necessarily talking about positive emotions here, because the sincere expression of anger, sadness, and disappointment also makes the brain work.

Of course, psychotherapy is a long and painstaking work on oneself, but when a person manages to get rid of the first problem, fear or uncertainty, he immediately feels noticeably better, and he happily moves on to his new reality - to a fulfilling life.

What are the benefits of CBT?

The most important advantage of using CBT is the sustainable long-term results. After undergoing cognitive behavioral psychotherapy, the patient is able to monitor, diagnose and treat complex conditions himself and becomes his own psychologist, so relapse is practically excluded.

In addition, CBT has a number of other advantages:

• high efficiency, proven by many clinical trials;
• short-term – usually about 10-15 consultations are required;
• provides a high-quality scientific basis, since the approach is based not only on psychology, but also on psychophysiology, neurobiology and other scientific movements;
• an action plan that is clear to the patient and therapist;
• pursues specific goals and solves specific problems that are discussed at the beginning of the sessions;
• recognized at the level of insurance companies, that is, the costs of CBT in some cases are covered through health insurance.