Starting therapy is an important process – either when there is a psychological diagnosis or when you just want to find better ways to deal with the common problems of life.
But it is not always easy to find the right or most appropriate therapy line. So it is interesting to know a little about how to do this path!
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What is the best line of therapy?
There is no better line than the others, because the results depend a lot on the adaptation of each patient to the therapy.
Some people may feel uncomfortable during the psychoanalysis analysis process, for example, and therefore fail to achieve results. Others may feel worse in highly directive therapy, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).
Currently, the scientific community points out that cognitive-behavioral therapy is the one that brings the most results in a short time. Precisely because it is a very directive approach, the application of techniques from the first sessions makes the results to be seen quickly.
Still, not all people are comfortable with such an approach, which follows very well structured sessions and seeks to solve specific problems.
In the end, the best line of therapy will depend on the adaptation of the patient and the goals he wants to achieve.
What is the best type of anxiety therapy?
The anxiety is characterized by seizures that are triggered by emotional triggers. A therapy that helps to recognize such triggers and teach techniques to prevent these crises would be adequate to deal with anxiety.
In this sense, the cognitive-behavioral therapy and behavior analysis approaches are very useful, as they are based on techniques that help to prevent the onset of crises.
Behavior analysis uses conditioning to help the patient stay balanced in the face of triggers. A person with elevator phobia, for example, may have a panic attack when needing to use an elevator.
In the analysis of behavior, therapists help the patient to make a gradual approach to the elevator, while working with relaxation exercises. This way, little by little, the elevator is associated with the feeling of relaxation, instead of the feeling of panic. This process is called respondent conditioning.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy, on the other hand, can help deal with the mental triggers of anxiety attacks.
When the anxiety crisis is triggered by negative thoughts about yourself, such as “I will fail” or “I will be ashamed”, for example, CBT can help to combat these thoughts.
This is because CBT is based on cognitive structuring, which seeks to understand the thought patterns that a person exhibits and to identify the flaws in those patterns. Such failures are known as dysfunctional thoughts.
Through techniques, patients are able to make a cognitive restructuring, that is, understand their dysfunctional thoughts and replace them with more realistic thoughts. In this way, the chances of anxiety triggered by dysfunctional thoughts and beliefs decrease.
Which line of therapy should I look for?
The line of therapy to be sought will depend on the individual’s goal.
People do not seek therapy just because they have been diagnosed with a mental disorder. There are several other reasons, among them the need for self-knowledge, the identification of harmful behavior, changes in lifestyle (separations, unemployment, etc.), bereavement , among others.
Therefore, before choosing a line, it is important to keep in mind what goals you want to achieve.
If the goal is to have more self-knowledge, a therapy like cognitive-behavioral can help, but psychodynamics like psychoanalysis and analytical psychology tend to go deeper.
These therapies help the patient to discover details of his life history that he had forgotten or blocked from memory to protect himself emotionally, but which still affect his behavior and thinking at the present time. For these approaches, “facing” the origin of these feelings makes the individual able to move on.
When the objective is to solve a problem behavior, behavior analysis or CBT can be good allies, as it focuses on solving these problem behaviors.
When going through identity crises, for example, more humanist approaches can help, as is the case with gestalt therapy and the person-centered approach, who believe in the human being as a free individual, able to make choices and endowed with values that can guide your actions.
How to look for a therapist?
Looking for a therapist is not always an easy task, but there are a few steps you can take to help with this search.
First, it is possible to contact a trusted doctor or doctor and ask for a recommendation.
It is also possible to ask for referrals to people you trust, however, the same psychologist cannot care for very close people, such as friends and relatives who live very intimately. In these cases, it is likely that the psychologist himself will refer another professional to the service.
Another alternative is the university clinic-school. Colleges and universities that offer the psychology course have a clinic-school in which students can intern.
Although it is a therapy done with professionals with little experience, they have direct supervision from more experienced professionals and the assistance is usually free or at an affordable price.
In addition, there are Psychosocial Care Centers (CAPS), which are part of the Unified Health System (SUS) and offer free care.
If you have a specific line in mind, it is possible to look for bodies representing these approaches in your city, such as the Brazilian Society of Psychoanalysis of São Paulo, the Paranaense Society of Psychodrama (in Curitiba), among others.
These institutions often offer expertise in approaches, as well as a school clinic that provides care. In addition, in these institutions it is possible to ask for recommendations from therapists.
How do I know if this approach to psychology is right for me?
The only way to know if a psychology approach works for you is to try therapy on the approach. However, knowing a little about each type and its goals with therapy, it becomes easier to choose one.
If you are looking for self-knowledge, approaches such as psychoanalysis, analytical psychology and gestalt therapy can be very useful. In them, the therapist does not guide the session, so that whoever commands what is going to be said is the one who seeks therapy.
For some people, this is a good thing. For others, especially those with more difficulty opening up, it may not be as beneficial.
In such cases, it is interesting to seek an approach with well-structured sessions, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy or behavior analysis, which use well-designed techniques to solve problem behaviors.
Although the approach changes the way care is delivered, several psychologists or psychologists believe that the relationship between patient and therapist is even more important than the line taken.
So, sometimes doing therapy in an approach with one therapist can be beneficial, but with another therapist in the same approach it may not work.
So, more important than worrying so much about the approach, is to find a good therapist who makes you feel heard and welcomed.
There are different lines of therapy, and the best way to know which one is best for you is to know them. Knowing your goals and what makes you more comfortable is ideal to help you choose.
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