Different types of psychotherapy

Different types of Psychotherapy

  • Crisis Intervention
    • Sometimes, there is a major disruption in your life and over a period of weeks or months you develop feelings of being overwhelmed, confused, anxious or depressed. Although you may be perfectly happy in other areas of life, you feel a need for sympathetic support and guidance from an experienced professional to help you get through the crisis effectively and efficiently. Typical crises include the impending –or actual– breakup of a relationship, the threat of –or actual loss of a job, a health or legal problem, an accident, other trauma, death, or family situation.  There are times when you may want to be seen as soon as possible; in such a case my schedule allows for crisis appointments within 24 hours of your call, and sometimes the same day.

  • Trauma Counselling/ Debriefing
  • Short term solution focused therapy
    • Brief or Brief Solution Focused Psychotherapy – A general term used to cover any psychotherapy which is  specifically designed to be relatively short in duration
    • Solution Focused Therapy (SFT) is sometimes linked to general Brief Therapy, Problem-Focused Therapy, and Possibility Therapy…. All share some common points of focus:
    • Traditional therapy goes wrong by focusing on the cause of problems, the details of how they play out, the ways these events deviate from “normal” or the way couples are “supposed” to work, and having couples passively accept the expert therapists’ explanations of “what is wrong” with them. Doing this gets clients stuck in a passive and helpless role, locked into a problem narrative they rehearse over and over again
    • A better approach moves client focus off of what’s wrong and onto what’s right, stresses the resources and skills clients have, and helps them take the role of expert (which they hold anyway) and take responsibility from there for setting their own goals and reaching them. It’s not about what’s missing and causes woe, but what’s present and can lead to happiness
    • Solution building is the goal, and as you change the language that shapes how you think about the problem, you change the language that shapes how you think about the solution
    • There is no theory behind this, and you need not fully understand the problem to fix it. The solution may not even look like it will fit or resolve the problem, and that’s fine – a small enough change will nudge the system in a different direction and that may be all that’s needed
    • Therapists maintain a future focus, with language like “when this is fixed…” “notice when this problem doesn’t happen this week…” “write down what your partner does to fix the problem this week…”
    • Rather than summing up what the therapist thinks the clients is saying, the therapist asks questions to focus and direct the client’s thinking and view
    • ·         Most psychotherapy begins in a way that seems to make intuitive sense. Patients describe their problems and therapists question them for a better understanding; patient and therapist then discuss the predicament, and the therapist tries to help the patient develop alternatives. Yet many psychotherapists find that concentrating on failures and inadequacies in this way can make patients feel worse rather than better, at least in the short run. If the focus on shortcomings and mistakes continues, the patient’s self-esteem may decline and the situation may deteriorate.
    • Clinicians in growing numbers are now trying to avoid this problem by using a different approach, solution–focused therapy, which does not fit perfectly into any of the classical psychotherapeutic categories. It is neither exclusively supportive nor exclusively exploratory and insight-oriented. Originally developed by the Family Therapy Center in Milwaukee, it uses methods largely adapted from the work of Milton Erickson.
    • Solution–focused treatment begins from the observation that most psychological problems are present only intermittently. People with panic disorder obviously do not spend every minute of every day in a panic; even depression fluctuates in severity. Solution–focused therapy tries to help the patient notice when symptoms are diminished or absent and use this knowledge as a foundation for recovery. If a patient insists that the symptoms are constant and unrelieved, the therapist works with him or her to find exceptions and make the exceptions more frequent, predictable, and controllable. In other words, therapy builds on working solutions already available to the patient. As a corollary, the therapeutic dialogue is often deliberately diverted from a discussion of the problems themselves.
    • Solution–focused therapists make a special point of asking patients to describe as fully as possible what they believe their lives would be like without the problem for which they have sought therapy. It turns out that many patients are so preoccupied with their troubles that they have not given much thought to this question. When their attention is drawn to it, they often come up with useful ideas. One way to phrase it is known as the miracle question: “If a miracle occurs tonight while you are asleep and the problem is eliminated, how will you know the next morning How will others know? What will you be doing differently or saying differently?” This question incorporates solution–focused therapy’s emphasis on healthy functioning and its interest in helping patients generate their own solutions. A related question, designed to encourage patients by helping them evaluate their progress, is, “What is the smallest sign that would prove to you conclusively that you were getting better?”
    • One reason for the increasing popularity of this approach is its simplicity. No complex theory is involved, and the method is easy to understand and learn. Manuals and case studies are readily available. Some critics regard the approach as simplistic, but proponents believe it shows the value of making few theoretical assumptions in psychotherapy. Furthermore, the short-term emphasis characteristic of solution–focused therapy is becoming more acceptable in psychotherapy than it used to be. Another reason for the popularity of this technique is the growing conviction that psychological problems can often be solved without investigating their origins.
    • According to its proponents, solution–focused therapy is useful for anxiety disorders, depression, bulimia, alcohol and drug dependence, and various kinds of marital and family conflict. All of these problems are said to respond fairly quickly, with results that persist in long-term follow-ups. However, no controlled studies are yet available
    • At other times, you may be struggling with a normal ongoing but prolonged problem and wish to explore new coping strategies to solve your problem once and for all. Or you may have come to a turning point in your life and need to make a major personal or professional decision. Well-meaning friends and family are not objective enough, nor are they trained to ferret out all the intellectual, emotional, social  and other factors that must be weighed into the formulation of a new approach, or the making of that consequential decision. There is need for the help of a trained and experienced professional who has helped many others work through similar problems. I will objectively, compassionately, and patiently help you examine the various options that you may have already considered as well as offer new strategies, examine them with you, help you figure out the difference between short and long term objectives, guide you in deciding what is best for you, and how you can best accomplish your goal. The next part of the counseling process involves helping you summon the initiative and perseverance to carry out your chosen plan.
    • Examples of a chronic problem or major decision that does not constitute a crisis but needs to be addressed include: How can I better cope with my partner/fiance or should I break up this relationship? Are there better ways of handling my child, parent, or other personal relationship? Can I learn to handle my boss or coworkers better or just leave this job? Should I make a major change in career?  Go back to school?  Quit everything and go to Tahiti?
    • Overview of Solution Focused Therapy: “Solution focused brief therapy (SFBT) is a type of talking therapy that focuses on what clients want to achieve through therapy rather than on the problems that made them seek help. The approach does not focus on the past, but instead, focuses on the present and future. The therapist uses respectful curiosity to invite the client to envision their preferred future and then therapist and client start attending to any moves towards it whether these are small increments or large changes. To support this, questions are asked about the client’s story, strengths and resources, and about exceptions to the problem.” ~ Excerpt from Wikipedia
  • Couples/ Relationship Counselling

  • Premarital Counselling
  • In view of my additional training, supervision, licensure and practice as a Marriage Counselor I have worked with many couples who love each other and are struggling to make their relationship work, as well as situations where one person questions his own –or his partner’s love or commitment to the relationship. Couples who seek premarital counseling find themselves chronically fighting, arguing futilely, or withdrawing from each other. Sometimes the problems lie within the different philosophies, expectations, or needs of each member of the couple. At other times, the underlying problem relates to personal shortcomings including immaturity or lack of developed social skills of one or both partners. These include lack of consideration or sensitivity, lack of respect, need to control, poor communication skills, untrustworthy behavior, short-temperedness, or other problems. In certain cases there is a desire discrepancy in important areas such as need for conversation, affection, sex, time together, recreation, spending habits, style of life, among others.
  • My dual practice as a Psychologist and Marriage Counselor makes me very experienced with the above mentioned problems with unmarried as well as married couples. I am also sensitive to issues relating to interpersonal and in-law problems stemming from differences in ethnicity, culture, family values, and/or beliefs regarding gender-based roles and responsibilities.
  • Premarital counseling is seen as an educational experience which emphasizes (1) self knowledge and understanding your own needs, (2) knowing  your partner and his/her needs, (3) the acquisition of constructive interactive and communication skills (4) the promotion of mutual understanding and respect, (5) acceptance of each other as an independent and valued individual, (6) a healthy appreciation of enlightened self-interest, and (7) an equal commitment to one’s own happiness and the happiness of your partner.
  • I also conduct workshops for small groups of couples (1) to teach communication and problem-solving skills, (2) to foster self-understanding, self-revelation, mutual recognition and appreciation, and (3) to develop of a sense of harmony, compatibility and companionship in your relationship.
  • Explorative psychotherapy