Which kind of therapy is right for me?
Gestalt Therapy
Gestalt therapy is an existential and experiential psychotherapy that focuses on the individual's experience in the present moment. What is important in Gestalt therapy is the therapist-client relationship, the environmental and social contexts in which relationship takes place, and the self-regulating adjustments people make as a result of their situation. Gestalt emphasises personal responsibility and self support.
Process (what is happening) is more important than content (what is being discussed) in Gestalt therapy. The emphasis is on what is being done, thought and felt in the moment rather than on what was, might be, could be, or should be.
Gestalt therapy is a method of gaining awareness. Perceiving, feeling, and acting are understood to be separate from interpreting, explaining and judging using old attitudes. This distinction between direct experience and indirect or secondary interpretation is developed in the process of therapy. The client learns to become aware of what they are doing psychologically and how they can change it. By becoming aware of and transforming their process they develop self acceptance and the ability to live more in the "now" without so much interference from baggage of the past.
The objective of Gestalt therapy, in addition to helping the client overcome symptoms, is to enable him or her to become more fully and creatively alive and to be free from the blocks and unfinished issues that may diminish optimum satisfaction, fulfillment, and growth. It falls in the category of humanistic psychotherapies. Gestalt therapy was co-founded by Fritz Perls, Laura Perls and Paul Goodman in the 1940s–1950s.
Person Centered Therapy
Person Centred Therapy Person-Centered Therapy, also known as Client-centered Therapy or Rogerian Psychotherapy, was developed by the humanist psychologist Carl Rogers in the 1940s and 1950s. It is one of the most widely used models in mental health and psychotherapy. The basic elements of Rogerian therapy involve showing congruence (genuineness), empathy, and unconditional positive regard toward a client. Based on these 3 elements the therapist creates a supportive, non-judgmental environment in which the client is encouraged to reach their full potential. Person Centred philosophy has at it’s core that the client knows their own answers and does not need to be told or suggested to by the therapist. If the therapist is successful in creating a trusting and safe space for the client to be in, they will resolve their own difficulties.
Transactional Analysis
Transactional analysis, commonly known as TA to its adherents, is an integrative approach to the theory of psychology and psychotherapy. It is integrative because it has elements of Psychoanalytic, Humanist and Cognitive approaches. It was developed by Canadian-born US psychiatrist Eric Berne during the late 1950s.
The basic philosophy of TA is that people are OK, thus each person has validity, importance, equality of respect. Everyone (with only few exceptions) has full adult capability to think.
People decide their story and destiny, and these are decisions that can be changed. Freedom from historical maladaptations embedded in the childhood script is required in order to become free of inappropriate, inauthentic and displaced emotion which are not a fair and honest reflection of here-and-now life (such as echoes of childhood suffering, pity-me and other mind games, compulsive behaviour, and repetitive dysfunctional life patterns). The aims of change under TA are autonomy (freedom from childhood script), spontaneity, intimacy, problem solving as opposed to avoidance or passivity.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a psychotherapeutic approach that aims to influence dysfunctional emotions, behaviors and cognitions through a goal-oriented, systematic procedure.
CBT treatments have received empirical support for efficient treatment of a variety of clinical and non-clinical problems, including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, eating disorders, substance abuse disorders, and psychotic disorders.[2] It is often brief and time-limited. It is used in individual therapy as well as group settings, and the techniques are also commonly adapted for self-help applications. In recent years cognitive behavioral approaches have become prevalent in correctional settings. These programs are designed to teach criminal offenders cognitive skills that will reduce criminal behaviors. In cognitive oriented therapies, the objective is typically to identify and monitor thoughts, assumptions, beliefs and behaviors that are related and accompanied to debilitating negative emotions and to identify those which are dysfunctional, inaccurate, or simply unhelpful. This is done in an effort to replace or transcend them with more realistic and useful ones.
Many CBT treatment programs for specific disorders have been developed and evaluated for efficacy and effectiveness; the health-care trend of evidence-based treatment, where specific treatments for specific symptom-based diagnoses are recommended, has favored CBT over other approaches such as psychodynamic treatments. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends CBT as the treatment of choice for a number of mental health difficulties, including post-traumatic stress disorder, OCD, bulimia nervosa and clinical depression.
Integrative Therapy
Integrative therapy works by combining a number of therapeutic models such as the ones above. The therapist then supports the client by using the models that are most helpful to the client in order to address any specific objectives and fulfill their potential.