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There are so many types of therapy that it is difficult to know where to start. Are you looking for counselling and don't know what is the best approach for you? This list will help you understand four of the most used types of therapy.
Compassion-focused therapy is an approach based on evolutionary theories that claim that our brains are designed to think negatively. For that reason, all of us have a self-critical voice in our minds. This voice is trying to protect us from dangers, even if it doesn't look like it.
CFT teaches us to respond with kindness and compassion to that self-critical self. It is not about eliminating the thought, but adding an element of kindness to it. Treating ourselves as we would treat a loved one.
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is based on the idea that psychological suffering is normal and that we are all going to suffer in life. It claims that we can create a meaningful and rich life, even when feeling anxious, sad, angry, etc. It teaches you how to have a better life, even when you still have these thoughts or emotions present in your mind and body.
A final option for you is a therapy based on mindfulness. Mindfulness is helpful in many different ways. It helps you to calm down your mind, especially when it is busy ruminating and trying to solve problems that are in the future and therefore, doesn't exist. It helps us to stop labelling our thoughts or emotions as good or bad. in MBCT we see those as neutral, we don't judge them.
CBT is a practical and goal-oriented type of therapy. CBT teaches you to challenge unhelpful thoughts and substitute them for other more helpful and realistic ones.
Be aware that in the modern days, you can receive CBT online or face-to-face. It doesn't really matter, the framework and tools are delivered in the same way.
