There are dozens of different types of therapy. It’s very common to feel overwhelmed by all the different types of therapies there are. Plus, let's not even mention the different types of therapists you can choose from.

Let me help you narrow down the list. Here are 5 of the most talked-about types of therapy.

1. PSYCHOTHERAPY

Another name for psychotherapy is talk therapy. When you go to a psychotherapy session, you simply sit down and talk it out (hopefully) with a therapist.  Psychotherapy treats your problems with communication between you and the therapist.

So… if it's about talking and communication, why can't you just go to your friends and family?

While friends and family can provide a listening ear for you to vent to, psychotherapy is different. For one, you have a strictly professional relationship with your therapist. They are an impartial observer to your life that can give insight and different viewpoints about what’s going on.

Therapists are required to keep strict confidentiality, except in cases such as premeditating harm to yourself or others. When you speak to a therapist, you don't have to worry about them telling any of your sensitive information to others. You don't have to worry like you would if you talked to your mom and she told your brother who told his best friend who told his sister who just happens to be your boss who doesn't like you and fires you over it. It's a safe place where you can say whatever you want on your mind, without fears of back love. It’s unconditional listening.

Psychotherapy can help you:

• Learn your behaviors, emotions, ideas, and mindset and understand how to modify them.
• Understand what’s happened to you in life and how that affects you.
• Learn coping mechanisms and new ways of thinking.
• Feel better about your life.

2. COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY (CBT)

CBT is another type of psychotherapy. This type of therapy allows you to work with a therapist and change your thinking. CBT is a mindset therapy that helps you to rewire your brain by helping you observe your thoughts, pinpoint negative or inaccurate thoughts, and change them with the help of introducing new habits and thought patterns into your life.

CBT can be used to help many mental illnesses including Depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and Anxiety. It's cousin, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), was developed to treat BPD and C-PTSD.

CBT can help you:

• Identify emotions.
• Overcome emotional trauma.
• Manage and treat your mental illness symptoms.
• Prevent relapse.
• Learn to cope with your emotions.
• Learn to cope with loss, grief, medical problems, and physical symptoms.

3. INTERNAL FAMILY SYSTEMS

Another type of the types of psychotherapy, Internal Family Systems therapy isn’t what you think. It’s not about healing your relationships with your family through therapy. Internal Family systems therapy focuses on the multiple sub-personalities (also called sub-families) within each person’s mental system.

These sub-families try to protect you from the wounded parts of yourself that contain painful emotions, like shame, guilt, or anger. They are at war with your inner “self,” the part of you that is kind, confident, compassionate, and whole. This therapy focuses on restoring your mental health and healing your wounds. You can use it to treat anxiety, depression, phobias, and even some autoimmune disorders.

Internal Family Systems Therapy can help you:

• Identify sub-families in your mental illness.
• Acknowledge your suppressed emotions and release them.
• Learn healthy conflict management instead of internalizing it.
• Cope using visualization, relaxation, and keeping a journal.

4. NEURO-LINGUISTIC PROGRAMMING (NLP) THERAPY

Though there are many types of therapy, Neuro-Linguistic Programming Therapy is different because of its approach. Also known as NLP therapy, it uses behavior-modifying techniques, language interventions, and sensory-based interventions to help heal mental health. It teaches that the way you view the world affects how you operate in the world. For example, if you’re a pessimist, you think everything happens to you to bother you. If you’re an optimist, you see a silver lining in those things that happen that bother you.

Neuro-Linguistic Programming Therapy can help with PTSD, anxiety, phobias, and stress. NLP helps improve your quality of life by changing and upgrading your thinking and behavior patterns.  It uses visualization and visual-kinesthetic dissociation, in which a therapist guides you through the scene of your trauma with the use of a type of out-of-body experience.

NLP therapy can help you:

• See patterns of success.
• Understand your own mind and behavior.
• Manage your moods.
• Reprogram how you process information.
• Upgrade your behaviors and lead a happier, well-rounded life.

5. EYE MOVEMENT DESENSITIZATION AND REPROCESSING (EMDR)

EMDR is a powerful therapy that is used where other types of therapy might fail and is used to help the brain heal from psychological trauma. It’s used for C-PTSD, PTSD, anxiety disorders, and depression.

Each person is different, and what’s severe psychological trauma for you may not be the same for your neighbour or your coworker. EMDR uses specific eye movements and focuses on one negative memory or thought at a time. There may also be certain tapping or other movements used in the therapy.

EMDR can help you:

• Work through severe trauma.
• Lessen mental illness symptoms.
• Improve mental wellness.
• Improve self-confidence.
• Lead a happier life.

THOSE ARE THE 5 TYPES OF THERAPY

These 5 types of therapy can help you live a happier life. If you’re thinking about therapy, I recommend visiting Psychology Today to find one in your area. A better life happens in baby steps. We’ll be here for you as you gain agency and find what works to keep you mentally well.