How do Different Types of Therapy Affect You?
Whether you are trying therapy for the first time or have already seen several therapists in your life, you may be surprised to know that there are several different types of therapy that any given therapist might have at their disposal. While some therapists specialize in just one approach, many have multiple types of therapy they can use, depending on the case they are working with. Some therapists might even use several therapy modalities at once, depending on the needs of the person they are meeting with. In this post, we will introduce you to three of the most common types of therapy, with the hope that this information will help you make a more informed decision on what you should look for in a therapist.
Cognitive-behavioral Therapy (CBT)
As its name implies, cognitive-behavioral therapy is an approach that combines cognitive and behavioral ways of thinking about therapy. The cognitive side focuses on thoughts, emotions, memories, beliefs, and other internal aspects of functioning. In therapy, this often focuses on how you view yourself, the world, and the future. The behavioral side looks at what you do, the environment you are in, and the consequences you experience from your behaviors.
CBT then combines these two ideas, looking at how your cognition and your behaviors interact with one another to create your habits, ideals, and perception of reality. Do your actions match with your ideas? How does what you do influence how you think, and vice versa? In cognitive-behavioral therapy, your therapist’s role is not to identify harmful patterns of thoughts and behaviors for you; rather, their goal is to encourage you to critically evaluate your thinking, testing your assumptions for accuracy and fairness.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Dialectical behavior therapy is an offshoot of CBT, building on its basic principles, but placing more of an emphasis on emotions and emotional regulation. DBT started as a treatment format for borderline personality disorder, which is often marked by difficulty with emotional regulation, but has grown out of specialization to be used in a variety of other cases.
But what does the term “dialectical” mean, anyway? Generally speaking, the word “dialectical” refers to when two seemingly opposite things can be true at once. In the context of DBT, this refers to how the therapist will guide the client to simultaneously accept their emotions and experiences as valid, while also addressing that they need to make positive changes to how they deal with their emotions in order to improve. While working through DBT, you will learn about radical acceptance, which involves validating your experiences and giving space for the reality of the situation, while also recognizing the consequences of certain experiences as harmful or unwanted.
Other tools you might learn about during DBT is distress tolerance, helping you to learn ways to deal with negative emotions; “wave surfing”, which helps you “ride out” emotions you can’t get rid of with a coping mechanism; and mindfulness, helping you to live in the moment and appreciate your feelings and sensations in the present. The goal of this process is to bring you to a place where you can implement urgent and meaningful change in a way that is respectful to your experiences and identity.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
At first glance, acceptance and commitment therapy seems very similar to DBT. It asks you to simultaneously use acceptance as a response to emotional difficulty, while also committing to change when necessary. However, ACT is fundamentally different from CBT and DBT in what it focuses on, and how your therapist will help you conceptualize your case.
ACT focuses on values, which, in the context of ACT, are essentially the beliefs you hold about what is important to you. Often, identifying and exploring what these values are is a major part of ACT. Once you have discovered these values, your therapist will usually then help you identify how well your actions line up with your values - that is to say, how your life might align or misalign with the values you hold internally. We can examine how ACT does this based on the two main parts of its name: acceptance and commitment.
Acceptance is taught as a way to respond to unpleasant experiences, especially when your first instinct would normally be to ignore or avoid the unpleasantness. It is through the lens of acceptance that your therapist can help you to live with the things you do not have the power to change. Commitment, on the other hand, is the element of ACT that guides you toward finding out what you do have the power to change. If you discover that your behavior does not align with your values, your therapist can help you formulate a plan of commitment to make the changes necessary to bring your actions in line with your values.
Rather than focusing primarily on actions and their immediate consequences, ACT asks you to evaluate your values and beliefs, taking a broader perspective on acceptance and change. How well do your values serve you, where do they come from, and why do you hold onto them? Why are they important, and just how important are they to you when you stop to think about it? These are questions that a therapist using ACT will likely ask you throughout the therapeutic process.
What This Means for You
In therapy, there is no one right answer for what type of therapy approach will be best for everyone. Different approaches work well for different people, and even the most experienced therapist might not have an approach that you feel is a good fit for your needs. As you consider starting or continuing therapy, we encourage you to keep these therapy styles in mind, talk with your therapist about what style they prefer, and why they think that style fits well for you. Perhaps, after reading this, you feel like you’d like to take a different approach.
