The Ways That Therapists Help Patients

How Therapists Can Help

Therapists use a variety of approaches to help people who are struggling with hard times, or with chronic mental illness, to overcome difficulty and to create a sustainable, lasting plan for positive change. In the case of mental illness, they usually work in concert with a pharmaceutical treatment (medication designed for the particular disorder) or a natural therapy like biofeedback.

Here is a quick rundown of the most common approaches therapists take when attempting to help patients, and a little information about each of them:

1.       Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. This therapy has proven to be very effective for people who are suffering from depression. It consists of two major components: cognitive restructuring and behavioral activation. Cognitive restructuring helps a patient to change negative patterns of thinking that their disorder sometimes "traps" them into, helping them to force a more positive perspective and prevent themselves from spiraling into depression. Behavioral activation is centered on using activities that an individual enjoys in order to help them learn how to overcome emotional and mental difficulties in their life.

2.       Functional Analytic Psychotherapy. This is often used on its own or in conjunction with cognitive behavioral therapy. It has shown to be particularly effective for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Therapists start with what they perceive as clinically relevant behavior, such as the problem the patient presents while in session with them, and through a variety of methods, works to form a strong therapeutic alliance with the patient. The patient usually learns verbal processes to help them develop a new or more stable concept of themselves, and through behavioral analysis, learn why they feel compelled to behave in certain negative or destructive manners, and how they can curb or curtail those behaviors in the future.

3.       Jungian Psychotherapy. Also known as analytical psychology, this is a school that one of Freud's students, Carl Jung, developed in the 20^th century. It focuses on helping a patient live a meaningful life through personality development, self-awareness, transformation, and self-actualization. By helping patients change their views, understand their environments and their relationships to it, as well as their perspective or attitude, the patients gain the ability to take satisfaction from contributing to society. Jungian psychotherapy is heavily associated with mythology and symbolism, and the popular Myers-Briggs personality type test is based on Jungian principles.

4.       Process Psychology. This is described as a transpersonal psychology that often emphasizes mystical and spiritual concerns in patients who are seeking help. Process psychology is heavily influenced by Jungian psychology and the principles of systems thinking, a theory that states thought is a product of a system, so all parts of the system must be in good working order to produce positive mental health. 

NEUROFEEDBACK THERAPY FOR NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS