Psychobabble: Types of Psychotherapy

A theory, in psychotherapy, is a little like looking through a camera with several different lenses. Depending on what lens you use, an image might be seen up close or from a wide angle. The image might be crisper or more diffuse. Most therapists choose one theory as the primary lens or point of view through which they view therapy and their patients.

The most common, and most popular theories a consumer will run into when trying to find a therapist are discussed below:

Psychodynamic
This is the daddy of them all. Remember those Psych 101 lectures from college about Freud? This is his baby. According to this therapy, our parents and our relationships with them are responsible for most of our troubles, albeit on an unconscious level. In psychodynamic therapy, the patient usually does a great deal of talking, known as psychoanalysis, while the therapist tries to help the patient become aware of connections between their relationship with their parents and their actions or motivations. Because this therapy assumes that people's motivations are basically unknown to them, or locked away in their unconscious, the therapist serves as a sort of psychological interpretor for the patient.

Cognitive-Behavioral
One of the most popular and common therapies, Cognitive-behavioral has been tested and proven effectual for conditions such as depression. This therapy is a little more broad-based than psychodynamic. While it still believes most of our problems stem for childhood, it focuses on childhood socialization whether it be with parents or other significant people in our early lives. By socialization, the theory basically means that we mimic and adopt behaviors and ways of thinking from prominent people in our lives. Unfortunately, we pick up good and bad, or irrational, behaviors. This therapy concerns itself with those irrational behaviors or negative spirals of thought learned from others. Here, the therapist helps the patient recognize irrational thoughts or actions, understand why they are irrational or negative and offers positive, alternative patterns of thought or behavior for the patient to practice.

Humanistic
This theory's a little like Jimmy Buffet's chorus in Margaritaville. You can say that there's someone else to blame for all your life problems, but really, you know it's your own damn fault. In humanistic theory, the patient is an individual, responsible for their own choices in life, regardless of their upbringing, their parenting, or their socialization. This theory promotes individualism, the person as a whole, and deals with some of the greater mysteries of life, such as, "Why are we here?" Humanistic therapy is more philosophical in nature than other theories, and the therapist acts as a guide through the patient's discovery of self and their role in the world around them.

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