Have you contemplated psychotherapy and counselling feeling unsure which approach to choose?

Well help is at hand now with this whistle stop tour of different types of therapies, providing an
insight into each approach.

So let’s start with a well known name most people have heard of Mr. Sigmund Freud. Freud was
the grandfather of the psychodynamic movement. Freud observed women suffering from hysteria
and diagnosed them, interpreting their symptoms. Psychodynamic therapy otherwise referred to
as psychoanalysis, traditionally takes place on a couch but can be done on chairs facing each other.
Psychoanalysis also can take place over many years and you could have sessions many times a week.
The main theory behind psychoanalysis is that we have an unconscious part to our mind which we
cannot connect to, in this area we express aspects to our lives which we cannot express elsewhere
e.g. our dreams. Psychoanalysis interprets your ‘symptoms’ and originates from the medical model.
Psychoanalysis has particular interest in early childhood experience, so if you would like to enter
a type of therapy that you can engage in more than once a week and for quite a few years then
psychoanalysis could be for you!

Existential therapy is the philosophical alternative to psychoanalysis. Existential practitioners do
not believe that we have an unconscious area of our mind that we cannot connect to, even though
existential therapists realise that there are some things that can be out of our awareness we always
have the possibility of connecting to that part of ourselves. Existential therapists are interested in
the way you live your life and your attitude to ourselves, other people and the world. It is a therapy
that will challenge your assumptions and find out what it is like to be you? Existential therapy is
concerned with how you exist in the world and your world view. This therapy takes place once a
week as it is believed that you can work on yourself out of the therapy work as well as in it. It can be
open ended which is generally not more than a year, or time limited e.g. 6/8 sessions. Your whole
existence is explored in this type of therapy, your physical, personal, social and spiritual dimensions.
The main thing about this approach is that it is based on philosophy, and choices, responsibility,
freedom, and your values and beliefs are explored in existential therapy. So, if you would like to
engage in a journey that is a sure way of gaining self awareness existential therapy could be for you!

Person centred therapy otherwise known as humanistic therapy highlights the importance
of people’s subjective self-concept, which is made up from the way they perceive and define
themselves. Person centred therapists provide their clients with congruence, unconditional positive
regard and empathy in the hope that they themselves will be able to impacted by these conditions
and possess them for themselves. A person centred therapist would believe that each person is
inherently good, and they can aspire to goodness and growth. So if you would like to engage in
a therapy where you sit with a person who believes in the good nature of human beings person
centred therapy could be for you!

CBT stands for cognitive behavioural therapy. This approach has become quite famous in the
therapy world as the National Health Service (NHS) like its solution focused, short term way of
working. CBT looks at what they call irrational belief, and they attempt to get to the root of how to
get better. CBT works on a very specific problem e.g. fear of flying or social confidence. CBT works
out your problem with you through the use of plans and diagrams and it is common that CBT will
give you homework to do on your own in between sessions. CBT is time limited e.g. a set amount of
sessions. So, if you have a particular problem that you want to tackle with a therapist who is solution
focused CBT could be the right type of therapy for you!

Further reading

Psychoanalysis book; - Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Bateman and Holmes. Routledge.

Existential book: - Existential Psychotherapy by Irivn D. Yalom. Basic Books.

Humanistic book: - Person – Centred Therapy Today: New Frontiers in Theory and Practice. London:
Sage

CBT book:-Mind over mood by Christine Padesky.

Author’s details

Aviva Barnett is an existential psychotherapist and counsellor. She works with individuals, couples
and facilitates support groups. She works face to face, by phone and Skype. Aviva is accredited with
the UKCP, United Kingdom of Counselling and Psychotherapy. She holds a Post graduate Diploma in
Psychotherapy and Counselling, and a Masters of Arts in Existential Psychotherapy and Counselling.
She can be contacted by email at [email protected]