About Psychotherapy
What to expect if you are considering psychotherapy
Misconceptions regarding psychotherapy are numerous and widespread. I already know what I need to do; I just have to do it. Why dwell on the past when my problems are all about my present situation? Some accuse therapists of indulging their patients' self-pity and dependence, of fostering an attitude of victimhood. On and on the myths go. The facts are quite different. And while there are a number of different types of psychotherapy, all of them share an important feature: the well trained therapist will almost certainly provide you with constructive ideas that you will not find on your own.
While all of the best psychotherapists utilize techniques from the various schools of thought, therapies tend to fall somewhere within the two main branches: cognitive behavioral therapy and psychodynamic psychotherapy.
Cognitive behavioral therapy does spend less time exploring one's chidhood and adolescent experience, and focuses by design on the current set of symptoms plaguing the patient. But, by exposing one's faulty strategies for handling stress, conflict, and bad feelings, and replacing these with more constructive strategies, the cognitive-behavioral therapist can often help alleviate acute symptoms of anxiety and mood disorders.
In psychodynamic psychotherapy some more time is spent on life history, but this is intended as a means to understand the origins of one's self-defeating feelings and ideas. The pain caused by difficult relationships; conflicts that despite the best of intentions cannot seem to be avoided; getting in the way of one's own success; these are all patterns of behavior that psychodynamic therapy can help you work through.