Psychotherapy, or talk therapy, is a way to help people with a wide variety of mental illnesses and emotional difficulties. It can help eliminate or control troubling symptoms, allowing a person to function better and increase well-being and healing. Biolife Health Center uses therapy, whereby psychological problems are treated through communication and relationship factors between an individual and a trained mental health professional.

Biolife Health Center uses several types of psychotherapy, and some may work better for certain problems or issues. Psychotherapy is combined with medication or other therapies offered at Biolife Health Center. You can work through challenging or influential memories, set personal goals, and work toward desired change. The advantages of individual counseling help you gain a better understanding of yourself and your emotions. It helps you discover your personal strengths and weaknesses.

The goal of psychotherapy is not to change you; change is your choice. Instead, it is to build awareness, compassion, understanding, respect, empathy, and acceptance toward yourself and others.

Problems helped by counseling and psychotherapy include:

• Academic Performance

• Anger

• Anxiety

• Body Image

• Career Direction

• Coming Out

• Communication Difficulties

• Conflicts

• Depression

• Family and relationships

• Loneliness

• Substance abuse

• Trauma

Therapy Sessions

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Therapy may be conducted in an individual, family, couple, or group setting, and it can help both children and adults. Sessions are typically held once a week. Both the patient and the therapist need to be actively involved in psychotherapy. Trust and a relationship between a person and their therapist are essential to working together effectively and benefiting from psychotherapy.

Psychotherapy can be short-term (a few sessions), dealing with immediate or long-term (months or years), and addressing longstanding and complex issues. The goals of treatment and arrangements for how often and how long to meet are planned jointly by the patient and the therapist.

Confidentiality is a basic requirement of psychotherapy. Also, although patients share personal feelings and thoughts, intimate physical contact with a therapist is never appropriate, acceptable, or useful.

Types of Psychotherapy

Psychiatrists and other mental health professionals use several types of therapy. The choice of therapy depends on the patient’s illness, circumstances, and preferences. Therapists may combine elements from different approaches to best meet the needs of the person receiving treatment.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

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CBT helps people identify and change harmful or ineffective thinking and behavior patterns, replacing them with more accurate thoughts and functional behaviors. It can help a person focus on current problems and find solutions. It often involves practicing new skills in the “real world.” CBT can help treat various disorders, including depression, anxiety, trauma-related disorders, and eating disorders. For example, CBT can help a person with depression recognize and change negative thought patterns or behaviors that contribute to their depression.

Interpersonal Therapy (IPT)

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IPT is a short-term form of treatment. It helps patients understand troublesome underlying interpersonal issues, such as unresolved grief, changes in social or work roles, conflicts with significant others, and problems relating to others. It can help people learn healthy ways to express emotions and improve communication and relationships. It is most often used to treat depression.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

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DBT is a specific type of CBT that helps regulate emotions. It is often used to treat people with chronic suicidal thoughts, as well as those with borderline personality disorder, eating disorders, and PTSD. It teaches new skills to help individuals take personal responsibility for changing unhealthy or disruptive behavior. It involves both individual and group therapy.

Psychodynamic Therapy (PT)

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PT is based on the idea that behavior and mental well-being are influenced by childhood experiences and inappropriate, repetitive thoughts or feelings that are unconscious (outside of the person’s awareness). A person works with the therapist to improve self-awareness and change old patterns, so he or she can more fully take charge of his or her life.

Psychoanalysis

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Psychoanalysis is a more intensive form of psychodynamic therapy. Sessions are typically conducted three or more times a week.

Supportive Therapy (ST)

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ST uses guidance and encouragement to help patients develop their resources. It helps build self-esteem, reduce anxiety, strengthen coping mechanisms, and improve social and community functioning. Supportive psychotherapy helps patients deal with issues related to their mental health conditions, which in turn affect the rest of their lives.

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Psychotherapy Scientific Evidence

Research shows that most people who receive psychotherapy experience symptom relief and are better able to function in their lives. About 75 percent of people who enter psychotherapy show some benefit from it. Psychotherapy has been shown to improve emotions and behaviors and is linked to positive changes in the brain and body. The benefits also include fewer sick days, less disability, fewer medical problems, and increased work satisfaction.

Using brain imaging techniques, researchers have seen changes in the brain after a person has undergone psychotherapy. Numerous studies have identified brain changes in people with mental illness (including depression, panic disorder, PTSD, and other conditions) as a result of undergoing psychotherapy. In most cases, the brain changes resulting from psychotherapy are similar to changes resulting from medication.