Which therapy is considered the best?

There is no one therapy that is considered the best.  Determining which type of therapy will be the best fit for you is a very subjective thing.  We all need different things at different times, and it is important to consider this when seeking out a therapist.

If you were having tooth pain, you wouldn’t go to see a podiatrist.  Likewise, if you are having anxiety related to grief, you might not want to seek out someone who specializes in new parenthood.  It would be important to find someone who has the experience and advanced training in what it is that you are struggling with.

There are some trends happening in the therapy world over the years, as we find out more and more about how the brain works and what we need as human beings to thrive.  We know more now about trauma than we ever did fifty years ago, and we also know more about children and attachment.  Some of the trends in therapy are evolving away from the therapist as a “blank slate” who never discloses anything about themselves, to more of a relational style.  The theory behind this is that often what brings people into therapy is a feeling of disconnection.  Whether that be a disconnection from themselves or others.  Relational therapy can offer a client the opportunity to experience a true connection with the therapist and then take that experience out into the world.  We often don’t know what we didn’t get until we have something different, and by forming a healthy relationship with a person trained in healthy connection with others, we can often support ourselves in being re-parented. 

Many trauma-informed styles of therapy are relational in nature.  Research shows that one of the most important predictors of success in therapy is actually the connection that the client has with the therapist, and not necessarily the particular type of therapy that the therapist is trained in.  You might allow yourself to try out a few different types of therapy, or at least talk to friends, listen to podcasts, or do some research on what modality might be a good fit for you.