Types of therapies offered to patients
10/11
THE debate about which types of mental health therapies should be offered focuses on three types of treatment.
Psychodynamic psychotherapy:
According to national mental health charity Mind, the main goal of this therapy is "for people to gain a better understanding of themselves, often by linking their present experience with early childhood experiences."
The charity gives the example of a person realising that they feel insecure in relationships as an adult because their mother neglected them as a child.
Dialectical behavioural therapy:
This could be given over the phone in a crisis, or in regular group or individual sessions. The aim is to change behaviour which is harmful to the patient.
According to Mind, this is different from psychodynamic psychotherapy because "it does not focus on insight" into the past. Instead, the aim is to change people's behaviour in the present.
Cognitive behavioural therapy:
Mind describes this as a "highly practical approach to problem solving".
Sessions have a structure, rather than the person talking freely about whatever comes to mind.
At the beginning of the therapy, the patient describes problems to the therapist and together they set goals to work towards. These problems and goals then become the basis for planning the content of sessions and discussing how to deal with them.
Source: Derbyshire Evening Telegraph, Thursday, October 20, 2011