5 Therapeutic Techniques that Can Help You on Your Emotional Journey
Some people fear therapy. They don’t like the idea that they will have to talk to someone about their problems. They may not want to open up because they don’t want to examine their thoughts and feelings very deeply.
However, therapy can help you get through mental and psychological turmoil. You might find that if you can approach therapy the right way, it can benefit you and get you to a more peaceful place in your life.
In this article, we’ll talk about five therapeutic techniques that you might encounter if you choose to speak with a mental health professional. Understanding therapy jargon and different approaches might make the whole process seem less scary for you.
AAT
AAT stands for animal-assisted therapies. Several of them exist, but essentially, you’re involving an animal in your therapy sessions.
If you talk to a mental health professional, they might come to believe that an animal can help support you as you try to get over deep-seated traumas. You might talk to or hold a therapy animal as you talk about what’s troubling you. You may also get a therapy animal that can walk around with you when you leave the house.
Often, you’ll see therapy dogs or cats on planes now. You might see them in banks or in other settings. You might even see a therapy pig or some more unusual animal. Therapy birds exist, or you may encounter a therapy monkey.
Some people with autism can get along better in life with a therapy animal. You might also get a therapy animal if you’re dealing with PTSD or depression. Many individuals who have a therapy animal find they can take courage from it as they try to get through whatever’s troubling them.
Art Therapy
Some people find that traditional talk therapy does not allow them to express themselves as well as they would like. They might have trouble speaking about incidents from their past that shaped them into the people they are today.
You might try art therapy as a way to open up and get in touch with your feelings. You may use watercolors or pen and ink and create art that you feel reveals something about yourself. Maybe you try to draw an emotion you’re experiencing, or you attempt to recreate a traumatic moment in visual form.
Then, you and your therapist can talk about that. They might ask you to describe the art, or they can tell you what they get from it. You can often move on from painful events if you use art to get past them.
Adlerian Therapy
Adlerian therapy is popular in some circles. If you hope to achieve a specific goal, you might talk to your therapist about whether it can work for you.
You will work with your therapist to try and identify any roadblocks that exist. Often, these mental barriers won’t let you achieve something you want very much to attain.
Adlerian therapy works well sometimes because you’re working toward a concrete goal instead of something more abstract. Some people wonder about when they “finish” with therapy. They might not know when they can officially end their therapy sessions and go back to their normal life.
Adlerian therapy has an aim and a focus. Your therapist will hold you accountable as you get closer to your self-described goal that you wish to achieve. Usually, you will figure out an end date and work toward it.
For instance, you could fear flying, and you might enter therapy hoping to go on a trip where you fly to an international destination. You may enter this therapy if you’re going to confront a loved one and you want to do it on a particular date that means something to you.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
ACT involves mindfulness that you use to overcome negative attitudes, feelings, or thoughts. Maybe you’re a person who tends to believe you can’t do something because you always start thinking negatively about your potential. For instance, perhaps you don’t feel like you can ask for a raise at work because a part of you feels like you’re not worthy of one.
ACT lets you make choices that will lead to you self-actualizing. In other words, you and your therapist will work to come up with ways you can teach yourself a positive mindset regarding certain thoughts or behaviors.
When you would normally tell yourself you can’t do something, now, you’ll realize you can and tell yourself that. If you deal with depression, stress, social anxiety, and other conditions, you might do well with ACT. It can allow you to break the cycle.
Accelerated Resolution Therapy
ART utilizes image replacement and memory. If you have gone through some traumatic experiences in your life, you might get past them using this technique.
ART can help people with a wide variety of diagnoses. Many people who have dealt with abuse in their lives can get past it using this strategy. If you have grappled with depression following emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, etc., you may use ART to get the help you need.
Many people who have phobias also use ART. You might use it if you have obsessive-compulsive disorder or anxiety. Many times, this technique allows someone to break away from a self-harm cycle that traps them or severely limits them.
If you’re at a point in your life where you can’t feel happy or content very often, or ever, therapy like we described might help you. When you talk to a therapist, they can figure out whether they should use one of the techniques we mentioned or something else.
Remember that these are far from the only strategies that exist. Dozens more are out there, and your therapist can probably figure one out that can help you based on your individual diagnosis. Often, talking to them and figuring out your mental baseline can get you headed in the right direction.
Image by Enrique Meseguer from Pixabay