Search Here

Some people need the help of a therapist to help them get through some of the most difficult phases in their life. While others can simply share their thoughts and emotions with their closest family and friends, some people need to see a therapist because they are more comfortable in sharing their deepest and most personal thoughts and feelings with a professional. Fortunately, there are already online therapy platforms that prove to be more convenient to access compared to conventional therapy sessions. This article provides an overview of some of the most common types of online therapy to help you choose which one suits you best.

(Photo : Pixabay)

Psychodynamic

One of the most common types of online therapy that you will be able to find over the internet nowadays is those that implement a psychodynamic approach, which has been a long-term method to address mental health issues. With this form of online therapy, you will be encouraged to talk about anything on your mind because this will help your therapist uncover patterns or certain behaviors that may contribute to your distress. Much like traditional psychotherapy, the psychodynamic approach will entail the need for you to work with your therapist to explore the connection of your unconscious mind with your actions. This will most likely involve looking deep into your emotions, relationships, as well as thought patterns.

In case you need to address depression and anxiety, or eating disorders, then you may look into an online therapy that implements a psychodynamic approach. This method is also proven to be effective for people dealing with somatic symptoms and substance use disorder, as well as a variety of other conditions. The overall goal of this approach is to help a person combat his or her negative patterns of behavior that he or she has derived from his or her past experiences.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Another common type of therapy that you will be able to find online is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT. With this approach, your therapist will tend to explore the relationship between your behavior and thoughts or feelings. Like with the psychodynamic approach, the goal of your therapist would then be to help you uncover unhealthy thought patterns. From there, you can expect the therapist to discuss with you how these patterns may cause you harm.

CBT has been proven to be effective in treating depression and anxiety disorders, as well as bipolar and eating disorders. It is also deemed to be successful in treating schizophrenia and other trauma-related disorders. One form of CBT is exposure therapy that is specifically designed to help people manage their fear and anxiety disorders. Exposure therapy is also useful in treating obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other phobias. In this case, the therapist will most likely expose you to your triggers.

Client-Centered Therapy (CCT)

Client-Centered Therapy or CCT is part of the humanistic category of therapy that is centered on the person seeking counseling. With this approach, the therapist will most likely provide minimal authority or direction. Compared to analytical therapists, CCT therapists are known to show more care and concern to their clients because they exert the effort to empathize with their clients.

When it comes to humanistic therapy for which CCT is part, the overall approach may be integrated with existential therapy or person-centered therapy, as well as gestalt therapy. Existential therapy will help you consider concepts such as responsibility for your choices while person-centered therapy works from the belief that emotional distress can result when others criticize you. On the other hand, gestalt therapy will make you look into your unresolved issues, such as relationship and family conflicts for you to be able to learn how these affect your emotional well-being.

Interpersonal Therapy

In case you want to concentrate on working on your relationship with others, you may delve into online interpersonal therapy. According to several studies, this approach is proven to be effective in helping people manage and treat depression. Perhaps this can be attributed to the fact that during the online sessions, the therapist will try to evaluate a person's social interactions. Like with the other methods previously mentioned, the overall goal is to recognize negative patterns in a person's behavior and eventually help them learn ways to interact positively with others.

Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT)

Emotion-Focused Therapy or EFT is also an approach implemented in online therapy platforms. With this type of approach, people are made aware of their emotions. From there, the therapists will help them regulate and resolve their emotions. Some of the conditions wherein EFT proves to be effective include depression, trauma, and social anxiety, as well as interpersonal problems, eating disorders, and relationship issues.

Another similar technique is mentalization-based therapy (MBT) which is effective in treating borderline personality disorder (BPD). With this approach, therapists help people suffering from BPD by helping them notice and understand their thoughts and emotions, as well as the feelings of others. In this way, a person with BPD will have a sense of self that will aid them in connecting with other people.

Group Therapy

Finally, there are also online therapy platforms that implement group therapy sessions. In this case, people who are experiencing the same issues are encouraged to join together as a group to help each other resolve their challenges. In this case, a therapist will lead the discussion and within that thread, other people can comment or share their personal experiences. With group therapy, a person will feel that he or she is not alone because others are willing to support him or her.

(Photo : Pixabay)

The types of online therapies listed above are only some of the most common ones which are also made available online. There are various types of online therapies that you can look into to consider whether this is the most suitable one for you. Just keep in mind that the key is recognizing your needs and preferences for you to be able to choose the right type of online therapy and platform that will be able to help you foster an overall sense of well-being.