What are the different types of therapy?

There are many!

The Australian Psychological Society completed a literature review of the types of therapy and for which mental health problems they are most effective.  

Common therapeutic modalities include: 

  • CBT: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) focuses on changing thinking and behaviour patterns. This modality works best with self-esteem, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety and depression, and other conditions that create or are based on patterns of negative thoughts. 
  • EMDR: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. EMDR is a therapy modality mostly used for post-traumatic stress disorder. During a session, the patient recalls a traumatic event, while moving their eyes in a specific pattern, this has demonstrated that clients experience less distress during the re-telling.  
  • DBT: Dialectical Behaviour Therapy. is designed for people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) or who have difficulties controlling their emotions. It uses the concepts of acceptance, opposite action, mindfulness, communication training, and thought challenging to increase a person’s interpersonal effectiveness and distress tolerance.