When it comes to improving mind health and emotional well-being, talk therapy offers a wide array of therapeutic approaches tailored to diverse needs and challenges.
This guide explores the main types of talk therapy, breaking down what each one offers and how they work to support mind health.
Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT)
DBT is a behavioural approach to therapy that helps people who experience emotions very intensely and to improve emotional regulation. Patients will learn new ways of coping to replace any current unhelpful behaviours.
Therapists include techniques from mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, as well as practical exercises and acceptance techniques.
Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR)
A relatively new therapy, EMDR helps you talk very gradually about an experience of trauma in a safe, controlled environment, and then uses eye movements to help ‘desensitise’ the memory of the experience.
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
CBT can help people develop awareness of how they feel and create a stronger sense of control over their thoughts and actions.
This can make it easier to question, slow down or divert unhelpful behaviours, and develop skills in self-awareness, self-control and self-acceptance over time.
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCBT)
A new variant of CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), MBCT uses mindfulness to help people recognise their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours in order to give them more control over how to think and act.
Person-centred therapy
Person-centred therapy focuses on the ‘actualisation’ of the client – that is, for the client to become as much themselves as possible.
This approach is much more client-led than some other approaches, with a focus on increasing self-awareness and independence.
Integrative therapy
In integrative therapy, the therapist uses several approaches together to find the right approach for the client.
For example, they may start from a person-centred position, listening to why the client is in therapy and what they hope to achieve. They may then draw on CBT tools, such as challenging automatic negative thoughts, to help them tackle these obstacles in a different way.
Solution-focused therapy
Solution-focused therapy describes any work that starts when the client and practitioner agree at the beginning of therapy to work towards a specific goal.
Solution-focused therapy can be ‘brief’ or limited to a certain number of sessions, which is sometimes called ‘solution-focused brief therapy’ (SFBT).
Art therapy
Sometimes it can be easier to express feelings by showing them through creative work, rather than talking about them.
Art therapists train specifically to help people use art techniques (painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, or collage, for example) to explore responses to the challenge that brings them to therapy.
Psychodynamic
Psychodynamic psychotherapy focuses on creating insight into the unconscious, subconscious or ‘hidden’ feelings, thoughts, memories and experiences that might affect how a person thinks, feels, and acts.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a relational form of therapy that helps people gain insight into their feelings, memories, and experiences, in order to help them reach their own conclusions about how to cope with changes in life, including mind health problems.
How ProblemShared can help
ProblemShared’s network of qualified talk therapists brings together expertise from across all of the types of therapy mentioned in this article.
Whatever approach resonates with you, our professionals are equipped to provide personalised support tailored to your needs, helping you find the path that feels right for you.
Please visit our talk therapy page for more information on our service.
*This article was reviewed by Kerry Gardner, Head of Assessment Services at ProblemShared.
