How to choose a therapist

 Did you know that not all therapists use the same theories to do counseling? In fact there are several theories that therapists base their practices on. These theories are the basis for techniques that will be used during your counseling session. There really isn’t one best theory, just a variety. In fact, a good therapist should know all of them and use the one that is most appropriate to fit your needs. The reality is however, that most therapists do tend to use the one that best fits their beliefs. So, the answer to the question of how to select a therapist depends largely on what it is you are looking for. The most common forms of therapy include Psychoanalysis, Behavioral & Cognitive-Behavioral,  Person centered, Rational-Emotive, Reality, and Existential, Gestalt, Transactional analysis and Adlerian. This 9 part article will outline each, with a note of who the major players were in developing the theory, and give a general idea what you can expect from a therapist who comes from each perspective.

Psychoanalysis: Key players are Sigmund Freud, Anna Freud and Heinz Kohut. Goals of Psychoanalysis include making the unconscious become conscious, working through unresolved developmental stages, helping the client cope or adjust and the reconstruction of the personality. There is an emphasis on early childhood and stages of sexual development, as well as ego defense mechanisms. The counselor is viewed as the expert and encourages exploration of the unconscious. Techniques include free association, dream analysis, interpreting resistance, and analyzing transference. Transference refers to the thoughts or feelings that are from past experiences that are transferred to the therapist during therapy. Strengths of this theory include a focus on childhood experiences and a battery of instruments that can be used to interpret unconscious thoughts. Limitations of this theory include the fact that it is focused on pathology, is limited mainly to psychiatry, is long term, and therefore is usually expensive.

Next post: Behavioral and Cognitive-Behavioral therapies