Therapy is a verbal treatment to help combat mental health issues. Most of the time, therapy is verbal interactions with your therapist and yourself in a safe environment, although in some cases you can go through therapy sessions in the comfort of your own home. There are different types of therapy for different mental health issues that you may face. Therapy can help with many parts of life, including past traumas, recent issues you are facing and family problems including marriage. All therapists are trained to help you overcome your negative thoughts and behaviours.
What are the different types of therapy
Many mental health issues will require therapy with them all being different to suit your needs. There are some therapies that can even help with physical issues you may face. Depression, anxiety and behavioural issues can be treated with therapy. Emotional therapy is available for people that need to talk out their issues and find a solution they may not be able to see at the moment. There is also therapy that can change your thought process and your outlook on certain things in life. This type of therapy is used for people that have suffered traumatic experiences or even as a way to stop phobias.
Certain types of therapy are also available over the phone or internet. This is available for people that struggle to talk to others face to face or even fear leaving their homes. Lastly, some types of therapy are available where you don’t have to talk to a human therapist, but instead a therapy pet.
Emotionally focused couples therapy
This kind of therapy is known as marriage counselling. Marriage counselling is available for couples who are struggling in their relationship, this could be due to feeling withdrawn from one and other, or as though you and your partner have nothing in common. Marriage counselling can also used for infidelity, abuse or even addiction. This is for you and your partner to work through together. This type of therapy can help save your marriage and prevent divorce. You should go to marriage counselling if you feel you want to save your relationship.
When you attend emotionally focused couples therapy you and your partner will sit with your therapist and talk through the issues you have, this gives your therapist an idea of what areas of your relationship you need to work on. Your therapist will then give you advice and talk through your issues with you both, in some cases your therapist will give you ‘homework’ to try before your next session. This type of therapy can take weeks, sometimes months to resolve the issues in your relationship.
Cognitive behavioural therapy
This therapy is available to those who have unhealthy thought patterns. It changes the way you think to have a more positive outlook. Cognitive behavioural therapy is a talking therapy. You will sit with your therapist and talk through your negative thoughts and views. In some cases, cognitive behavioural therapy can be done over the phone, but this is not always recommend as it is believed your relationship with your therapist will be affected. You need to have a strong relationship with your therapist as you will be sharing your worries with them. Your worries are broken down into smaller groups. This makes it easier to overcome. This improves your chances of success.
Cognitive behavioural therapy sessions can last between 30 minutes to 1 hour long. Anxitey and depression can be treated with these sessions. CBT is also good for complex mental health illnesses like PTSD, different phobias and eating disorders. This type of therapy can also help with symptoms of physical illnesses like IBS and fibromyalgia.
Telehealth therapy
This specific therapy is used with phone calls or the internet. This is a great idea to help those that struggle to talk face to face or find it difficult to leave their home. Some people do not feel they benefit from talking face to face. They feel as though they can communicate better over the phone or talking through messages and emails. Telehealth therapy is great for people that suffer with anxiety, depression and agoraphobia. You feel safer in your own comfort, and this prompt you to open up to your therapist more. All types of therapy you will need to feel as comfortable as possible with your surroundings. One downside to telehealth therapy is therapists believe your relationship with them could be affected. This is due to not being in front of each other during sessions.
Exposure therapy
Many phobias, PTSD and OCD are treated with exposure therapy. In your therapy sessions you will be exposed to the things that trigger you. This is most likely your biggest fears or worries. You will be in a controlled environment when you are participating in exposure therapy, so you feel safe. Your therapist will stop the session at any point if you feel unsafe or too overwhelmed. Exposure therapy is used to make you feel comfortable to confront your issues and fears head on. You may feel it is too much for you to handle at first. However, exposure therapy is proven to cure your mental health issues. It teaches you techniques to decrease your fears. By doing exposure therapy repeatedly, you will begin to create a realistic view of your fears and your reaction to them will calm over time.
Therapy pets
This type of therapy is used to help combat depression and anxiety, it can also lower stress levels. Therapy pets are trained to provide comfort to their handlers. Pets are not able to judge you, so you feel you are able to be more comfortable around your pet. Your therapy pet loves you for who you are, and that is what you need. A therapy pet can be used both indoors and outdoors. They can give you the motivation you need to get up and active when you suffer from anxiety and depression. Therapy pets can also relieve physical pain and fatigue. Having a therapy pet touches you physically, emotionally, mentally and physically. This means your therapy pet will heal every part of you.
