WHAT IS PSYCHOTHERAPY?
Psychotherapy is a diverse category of techniques used to treat psychological ailments. The different psychotherapies vary in treatment length, primary goals, and methodology. Some therapies have pre-determined timelines, while others can be more open-ended. Some are guided by written therapy manuals, while others—though relying on specific techniques—are left more to the discretion of the therapist. All therapies involve an interaction between therapist and patients in a 1-on-1 or larger group setting. Psychotherapy, as opposed to counseling, does not necessarily involve bestowing specific advice upon a patient. Rather, it more frequently involves facilitating the patient’s own problem-solving capabilities.
Psychodynamic or psychoanalytic therapies were founded on the assumption that a large part of the mental functioning of individuals remains unconscious and unavailable to personal scrutiny. When conflicts arise amongst our unconscious thoughts, we experience them as psychiatric symptoms. Psychodynamic therapies attempt to make patients aware of these conflicts by bringing them into consciousness where they can be adequately analyzed. Other types of therapy include cognitive-behavioral therapy, rational-emotive therapy, existential therapy, group therapy, biofeedback, desensitization therapy, hypnotherapy, and brief therapy.
WHO CAN BE A PSYCHOTHERAPIST?
Therapists vary significantly by degree and therapeutic orientation. Licensure requirements vary by state, but usually involve a masters or doctoral level degree. Psychotherapy may be provided by a psychiatrist, clinical psychologist, registered psychiatric nurse, clinical social worker, licensed counselor, marriage therapist, or family therapist.
Psychiatrists are the only practitioners who have a medical degree and are able to prescribe medication without restriction to their patients. Psychiatrists must attend college, medical school, and post-graduate training in the medical specialty of psychiatry.
WHY DOES PSYCHOTHERAPY WORK?
Psychotherapy is a way of using the brain’s own biological processes to help it regulate itself. All of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are manifestations of neuronal signaling in the brain. The human brain is highly adaptable to new information and its neurons are constantly reorganizing their connections with one another in response to new stimuli. Thoughts themselves provide feedback to the neurons creating them; that is, every time a memory is recalled or new idea is contemplated, it slightly changes the signaling pathway of neurons that generated it. Therapy provides a new and usually more realistic perspective on thoughts and experiences we may have previously taken for granted. Changing our point-of-view in this way eventually creates lasting positive change in the neurocircuitry responsible for our symptoms or maladaptive behaviors.