Read on for a list of common therapeutic approaches, how they work, and how to choose the modality that will best ensure you’ll feel meaningfully seen and heard. “It strives to help clients increase self-reflection and self-examination and thus improve their ability to relate to others, make choices and create a life they would like to live,” Garcia defines. This approach helps those seeking treatment for addictions, personality disorders, self-esteem, anxiety, depression, relationship issues, worthlessness, and schizophrenia. You can set your own goals and decide whether short-term or long-term therapy is right for you. By repeated exposure, it helps reduce phobias and your circumscribed behaviors. It can be paced through hierarchical exposure from least difficult to the most difficult fears or systematic desensitization, which combines relaxation techniques to the situation to associate calmness to the trigger. As your therapist hears both of your perspectives out, they will point out any limiting beliefs and encourage active listening to push your relationship toward its fullest potential. Outside of ongoing therapy, your therapist may assign you homework in between sessions. “There are many therapeutic modalities. There are many benefits to each, and it is about finding the right fit. Overall, the biggest predictor of success in therapy is the client-therapist relationship,” Sanchez affirms. It is best to find someone who you feel comfortable with and who you feel connected to." What’s more, depending on your unique identity and the nuances of your background, it can be imperative to talk to prospective therapists about how they handle cultural sensitivities like sexuality, race, gender, religion, privilege, and how that may intersect with your personal belief and value systems. Garcia points out: “For communities that have been marginalized, it is important to look for therapists that are for liberation and that are not upholding supremacy standards.” If one therapeutic approach doesn’t work for you, take it as an invitation to try another type to see if that resonates. It’s crucial you feel OK expressing yourself freely and honestly. Once you find the right therapist to manage your anxieties and challenge your emotional issues with, commit to then seeing the process through.
