Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a type of psychotherapy that helps you accept the difficulties that come with life. ACT is a form of mindfulness-based therapy, theorising that greater well-being can be attained by overcoming negative thoughts and feelings. Essentially, ACT looks at your character traits and behaviours to assist you in reducing avoidant coping styles. ACT also addresses your commitment to making changes, and what to do about it when you can’t stick to your goals.
Cognitive-behavioural therapy stresses the role of thinking in how we feel and what we do. It is based on the belief that thoughts, rather than people or events, cause our negative feelings. The therapist assists the client in identifying, testing the reality of, and correcting dysfunctional beliefs underlying his or her thinking. The therapist then helps the client modify those thoughts and the behaviours that flow from them. CBT is a structured collaboration between therapist and client and often calls for homework assignments. CBT has been clinically proven to help clients in a relatively short amount of time with a wide range of disorders, including depression and anxiety.
The humanistic method takes a positive view of human nature and emphasises the uniqueness of the individual. Therapists in this tradition, who are interested in exploring the nature of creativity, love, and self-actualisation, help clients realise their potential through change and self-directed growth. Humanistic therapy is also an umbrella term for gestalt, client-centred therapy, and existential therapy.
Narrative Therapy uses the client’s storytelling to indicate the way they construct meaning in their lives, rather than focusing on how they communicate their problem behaviours. Narrative Therapy embraces the idea that stories shape our behaviours and our lives and that we become the stories we tell about ourselves. There are helpful narratives we can choose to embrace as well as unhelpful ones. Although it may sound obvious, the power of storytelling is to elevate the client–who is the authority of their narrative–rather than the therapist, as an expert.
Person-centred therapy uses a non-authoritative approach that allows clients to take more of a lead in discussions so that, in the process, they will discover their own solutions. The therapist acts as a compassionate facilitator, listening without judgment and acknowledging the client’s experience without moving the conversation in another direction. The therapist is there to encourage and support the client and to guide the therapeutic process without interrupting or interfering with the client’s process of self-discovery.
Strength-based therapy is a type of positive psychotherapy and counselling that focuses more on your internal strengths and resourcefulness, and less on weaknesses, failures, and shortcomings. This focus sets up a positive mindset that helps you build on your best qualities, find your strengths, improve resilience, and change your worldview to one that is more positive. A positive attitude, in turn, can help your expectations of yourself and others become more reasonable.
Trauma focused cognitive behavioural therapy (TF-CBT) helps people who may be experiencing post-traumatic stress after a traumatic event to return to a healthy state.
For clients with chronic pain, hypertension, heart disease, cancer, and other health issues such as anxiety and depression, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, or MBCT, is a two-part therapy that aims to reduce stress, manage pain, and embrace the freedom to respond to situations by choice. MCBT blends two disciplines–cognitive therapy and mindfulness. Mindfulness helps by reflecting on moments and thoughts without passing judgment. MBCT clients pay close attention to their feelings to reach an objective mindset, thus viewing and combating life’s unpleasant occurrences.
Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a method of therapy that works to engage the motivation of clients to change their behaviour. Clients are encouraged to explore and confront their ambivalence. Therapists attempt to influence their clients to consider making changes, rather than non-directive exploration of themselves. Motivational Interviewing is frequently used in cases of problem drinking or mild addictions.
Multicultural awareness is an understanding of the values, experiences, cultural influences, and lifestyles of minority groups. Differences in race, culture, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status, are all tackled by Multicultural counselling. In the counselling setting, the counsellor recognizes that the client is different from the counsellor and treats the client without forcing the client to be like him or her.
