GET YOUR HEAD AROUND IT
With therapy now normalised, there are hundreds of methods to get your head around. Here’s our guide to the big players
There’s more to therapy than reliving your childhood. Consider these modern methods
Choosing a behavioural treatment is like mixing a cocktail: it should be tailored to the tastes of the individual. Avoid “monotherapy”, an approach that employs only one method. “I’d encourage people to seek out practitioners of cognitive behavioural therapies (CBT),” says psychologist Clifford Lazarus. These aim to provide strategies you can deploy every day.
Here are some common CBT-based approaches.
01/ ASSERTIVENESS TRAINING
Helps you: Learn to say no without feeling guilty. It also teaches you to express feelings in a responsible manner.
Best for: Those who want to get their thoughts across in healthy ways, rather than bottling them up or having outbursts.
Real talk: You’ll have constructive conversations, not blazing rows.
02/ COGNITIVE RESTRUCTURING
Helps you: Shift your thinking from negative and self-defeating patterns to more realistic ones. Best for:
Managing stressful thoughts (such as “I can’t”) that creep into your internal monologue.
Real talk: Stop worrying about your boss hating your work. Instead, believe they’re going to love it.
03/ SOMATIC THERAPY
Helps you: Focus on your body and movement instead of getting stuck in your mind. Best for: People who enjoy exercise and want to improve their mind and body simultaneously. Real talk: Physical exercise can serve as a powerful antidepressant.
04/ BEHAVIOURAL ACTION
Helps you: Correct harmful behaviours that are driving depression, such as a tendency to withdraw from enjoyable activities.
Best for: Those whose mood prevents them from (or at least puts them off) saying yes to parties or work dos. Real talk: Become a master networker.
05/ EXPOSURE THERAPY
Helps you: Overcome fear or anxiety by doing what makes you uncomfortable. Best for: Those suffering intense phobias or other acute anxiety disorders. Real talk: Scared of spiders? Hold one. Vertigo? Go rock climbing. Tackle it head on.
06/ MINDFULNESS
Helps you: Foster an awareness of other people, your thoughts and your present reality.
Best for: Those who want to truly engage with what’s going on around them.
Real talk: It will help you break the cycle of focusing on problems in the past or fears of the future.
NOT-SO-GOLDEN OLDIE PSYCHOANALYTIC THERAPY
The “talking cure” dates back to the end of the 19th century and involves tackling unresolved conflicts in your past in the hope of gaining insight. If a therapist uses the word “analysis” in their profile, this is likely what you’re getting.
Best for: The overly introspective and self-proclaimed intellectuals.
Real talk: Think couches and discussions of your childhood. Really, it’s still a thing.