Psychotherapy Articles

Medically Reviewed By: Aaron Horn, LMFT, MA

Below are some of the subjects that you can learn in regards to psychotherapy, and some important aspects of it. 

Becoming a Psychotherapist 

If you want to become a psychotherapist, or any therapist for that matter, it’s a long, rewarding career. You can help many people and you’re always learning.

However, the path to therapy is a hard one. It involves many years of education, getting your Master’s degree, many years of training, and eventually you earn your license. 

Few make it, but those who do are rewarded. It’s not a decision you can make on a whim, but if you’ve been considering it for a while, it’s something that you may want to look into.

Interpersonal Psychotherapy

Many people struggle with mood disorders. Some people always seem moody and struggle to connect with others. They may struggle with relationships and end up losing friends as a result. 

Interpersonal psychotherapy deals with that and much more. The therapist forms a relationship with the client and explores them as a person. It can be a teachable moment for all parties involved. 

Mood disorders include depression and bipolar disorder. With both of these, you are not in control of your mood, and it can deeply impact your life. Depression can prevent you from functioning, and bipolar disorder may make it hard for you to keep a consistent mood, going from manic to depressive rather quickly.

Group Psychotherapy: Pros and Cons

While most therapy is done on a one-on-one basis, group psychotherapy involves many patients working together. 

Group psychotherapy has advantages. Being together with people who have similar problems as you do can make you realize that you aren't alone. As cliché as that statement is, it’s very helpful for some. Group psychotherapy can help everyone work together and come up with some solutions they may have never thought before. It’s well worth trying if you're interested. 

With that said, group psychotherapy isn’t perfect. There are some who may feel like their issue didn't get any focus, especially if they don’t talk much in a big group. Those who want more privacy may not like group psychotherapy either. 

Transference-Focused Psychotherapy 

If you have borderline personality disorder, transference-focused psychotherapy may be the best bet for you. It’s a complex form of psychotherapy that meets twice a week. 

Borderline personality disorder, or BPD, involves difficulty regulating one’s emotions. Someone may feel emotional for a long time and they may not be able to return a neutral state. 

Luckily, TFP may be a solution that’s worth trying out. 

Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

This unconscious mind is fascinating. We carry many thoughts and feelings in our mind, and psychodynamic psychotherapy may be able to delve into the unconscious mind and find them. 

It’s believed that our unconscious mind motivates us and may hold trauma that is unresolved. If you believe this and are interested in learning more about it, psychodynamic psychotherapy may be able to help. 

Cognitive Psychotherapy

If you need a form of therapy that can help you, cognitive psychotherapy may be the solution that you need. It’s a form of psychotherapy that involves connecting one’s thoughts, feelings, and actions. How you feel can reflect what you do, and cognitive psychotherapy can reveal that. 

Cognitive psychotherapy can be used for quite a few problems you may face in your life. For example, it may help you manage your addiction, your bipolar disorder, help improve your low self-esteem, and get over your phobias. 

If you’re curious as to how it works, try it out. You may be able to learn more about yourself than you thought. 

The Different Psychotherapy Techniques 

There are many psychotherapy techniques one can look at if they want to get psychotherapy. Here are a few of them. 

• Integrative therapy. This is a therapy that uses many forms of therapy to reach a goal. It doesn’t necessarily use them evenly, or use all of them, but it applies to any therapy that utilizes multiple tools. 
• Humanistic therapy. This therapy focuses on how someone relates to another person. People always make their choices in life, and humanistic therapy teaches how they do that. 
• Client-centered therapy. This form of therapy is focused on the client. The client is the star of the show, always talking about their feelings, with little intervention through the therapist. Of course, the therapist does offer help, but doesn’t talk as much or ask as many questions. 
• Cognitive therapy. This form of therapy connect your feelings and thoughts together to help explain your actions. 
• Behavior therapy. This form of therapy involves looking at many types of behavior and seeing how you created it. Understanding “why” you act a certain way is a method of changing your actions.
• Psychoanalysis therapy. This form of therapy is common and uses Freudian techniques to figure out your life. This usually involves interpersonal historical research on the part of the therapist and client.

Psychotherapy for Anxiety 

An anxiety disorder can prevent you from living your best life possible. Even having mild anxiety from time to time can be a hassle. However, psychotherapy for anxiety may be a solution. 

Teaching yourself psychological techniques to calm down and prevent you from having another anxiety attack can be a good thing. Sometimes, this can also involve taking medication for anxiety while you look for the root cause. Either way, it can help you improve your anxiety.

Psychotherapy Near Me 

If you need psychotherapy and want to see a traditional therapist, you may wonder what your options are. Few people want to travel far to find a good therapist. Depending on where you live, finding a good psychotherapist near you can be a challenge. If you live in a populated area, it can be a challenge to get in. If you live in a small town, finding one can be hard. 

It’s important that you do your research if you want to find a therapist who’s near you who can meet your needs. Read some reviews online. Talk to them on the phone and have a conversation with the therapist. This can help you make a better decision. If you cannot find a good therapist near you, you may want to seek online help. BetterHelp has a vast array of talented and licensed therapists who are available to help you.

Some commonly asked questions around this topic can be found below:

What exactly does a psychotherapist do?
What are the four major types of psychotherapy?
What is psychotherapy vs therapy?
What are the 5 types of psychotherapy?
What is difference between psychologist and psychotherapist?
Can psychotherapy be harmful?
What is the most commonly used psychotherapy?
What is an example of psychotherapy?
Which psychotherapy is most effective?
When do you consider psychotherapy?