The 10 most effective types of psychological therapy

There are a large number of psychological therapies that can help people overcome their psychological problems. While some therapists use only one approach, others may use a mix of different psychological treatments to meet the needs of their patients.

However, despite the diversity of therapeutic offers, not all forms of psychotherapy have been shown to be equally effective; some have much more empirical evidence in their favor, drawn from years of research on the effects they have on patients.

Therefore, here we will see a review of the different types of most effective psychological therapy, taking into account the number of problems for which they have been useful and the degree of evidence that exists about their Benefits.

Not all psychotherapies are the same

The vast majority of the population associates the figure of the psychologist with a person who writes down in a notebook everything that a patient tells him while sitting on a couch. However, psychotherapy is not just listening to a person and giving them advice

. A psychotherapist is a mental health professional with a solid theoretical and practice, and is specialized in the cognitive (thinking), affective (emotions) and behavioral areas (conduct).

This means that psychotherapy is not simply "an art" based on the sensitivity and empathy of the psychologist and the therapeutic bond that he creates with the other person. The effectiveness of the treatment depends, to a large extent, on the knowledge and technical skills of that professional, as well as the type of therapy applied.

• Related article: "Types of psychological therapies"

The most effective types of psychotherapy

In the world of psychology, many theories and perspectives of therapeutic application coexist. In this article you can see the most effective types of psychotherapy, taking into account that efficacy has to do with the usefulness of each one of them when treating specific disorders: there are no therapies that work for everything.

1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is one of the most widely used psychological therapies today. This therapeutic model belongs to what is known as the second generation of behavioral therapies, and is characterized because it considers that abnormal behavior patterns have their origin in the existence of a series from distorted and dysfunctional thinking patterns and processes, which together with the learned behavior patterns cause great suffering to the patient.

Specifically, from this proposal it is understood that to generate therapeutic changes it is necessary to intervene both in observable habits and routines and in the thought schemes that shape our way of interpreting things and setting goals.

Thus, the goal of this type of therapy is to modify beliefs, dysfunctional thoughts and habits with a series of cognitive and behavioral techniques. For example, training in social skills, expository techniques, modeling or cognitive restructuring, among others.

• Related article: "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: what is it and on what principles is it based?”

2. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy

If I have previously said that cognitive behavioral therapy belonged to the group of therapies called second generation, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is considered a third generation therapy. These therapies focus on the dialogue and the functional context of the person, and seek acceptance and nonjudgmental attitude as a way to improve people's emotional health.

The MBCT was developed by Zindel Segal, Mark Williams, and John Teasdale, as an eight-week relapse prevention program for patients with depression, emotional stress, and anxiety. It combines meditation and mindfulness exercises with learning cognitive therapy skills, such as the detection and interruption of maladaptive patterns of thinking that lead to depression or anxiety.

• Related article: "Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy: what is it?”

3. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy

This psychotherapeutic approach belongs to the category of Cognitive Behavioral Therapies and was specifically designed to intervene in cases of Borderline Personality Disorder, in whose treatment it has been very effective. It combines elements of Mindfulness with the tools of cognitive-behavioral psychology (on which most of this proposal is based) and anxiety management strategies.

• You may be interested: "Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD): causes, symptoms and treatment"

4. Acceptance and commitment therapy

Acceptance and commitment therapy also belongs to third generation therapy, and aims to create a full and meaningful life for the patient, accepting pain as normal. It has its origin in the Relational Frame Theory (RFT) and pay close attention to language and cognition.

Therefore, he understands language as something that has positive potential for human beings, but can also create a lot of suffering. It focuses on self-discovery and clarification of values ​​as essential elements when doing therapy. Likewise, what is socially or culturally accepted is questioned, because it causes the patient to attempt to control her private events and causes great suffering.

• Related article: "Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): principles and characteristics”

5. Systemic Therapy

Systemic therapy is used mainly for family and relationship problems (although also in individuals), as it is a more holistic and integrative approach, which takes into account the relationships between members of a group. That is why a systemic therapist can work with multiple family members at the same time or with a partner, although it can also intervene only in one person, although the therapy will continue to focus on the field of personal interactions.

Therapy focuses on relationships within the family and the couple, and looks at how they interact and what they are. their relational styles and their communication patterns taking into account the different systems that make up their context. In addition, it is based on the constructivist current, which means that it places a lot of emphasis on the way in which meaning is constructed from personal experiences.

• To deepen: "Systemic therapy: what is it and on what principles is it based?”

6. Brief Therapy

Brief therapy emerged thanks to systemic therapy in the 1970s. It was at that time when the latter began to be applied to treat a single individual, without the whole family being present. This form of therapy is a short, simple, but effective model that allows people to empower themselves in the face of change thanks to a series of procedures and techniques. The idea is not to spend time and effort on something that could have a faster solution.

7. Interpersonal psychotherapy

Interpersonal psychotherapy is a therapeutic model devised by Klerman, Weissman et al., And is based on the critical analysis of the social elements that influence the development of psychopathologies. Works on the connections between symptoms and current interpersonal problems, such as relationship problems.

The focus of attention in this form of therapy is current social relationships and how expectations within these relationships may be causing pathological symptoms in a patient. Treatment involves solving relationship problems or finding new relationships or activities as compensation.

It has been shown to be especially effective when it comes to intervening in cases of bulimia and Binge eating disorderas well as in major depression. A variant of this, called Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy, is used to treat patients with Bipolar Disorder.

8. Biofeedback

Technically, biofeedback is not so much a form of psychotherapy as a tool used in psychotherapy, and it also has a wider use. In any case, it is one of the most valuable resources that psychologists can use when intervening in certain problems.

Its application is relatively simple: it consists in making the person aware, in real time, of the psychological or physiological processes that are taking place in her body. Namely, a perception - reaction - perception loop is created that makes it easier for the person to adjust her behavior (in part, involuntarily) to what is desirable, to regain balance.

Biofeedback has been shown to be especially effective in treating chronic pain.

• You may be interested: "Biofeedback: what is it and what is it for?"

9. Relaxation techniques training

In many cases, a good part of the usefulness of psychotherapy depends on the way in which the person learns to manage their emotions and to regulate their physiological state. In this sense, training through relaxation techniques is very versatile, since it can be applied in cases of chronic pain, phobias and many kinds of Anxiety Disorders.

On the other hand, it must be taken into account that anxiety problems are very frequent and that they are easily capable of contribute to the appearance of other mental health disorders. Thus, this therapeutic tool can be used to prevent various situations that would deplete well-being.

To learn more about this therapeutic option, you can read the following article: "6 easy relaxation techniques to combat stress”.

10. Reminiscence therapy

This type of psychotherapy is widely used to treat cases of dementias and neurodegenerative diseases that affect memory and are in the early stages. For example, it is very effective in patients with Alzheimer's disease, as it helps to slow down the symptoms (in the sense that it slows down their progress).

Its role is to consolidate self-concept and reinforce the mental processes linked to the sense of self-identity, stimulate language and improve self-esteem.

Bibliographic references:

• Change, D.J. (2010). Empirical evidence on the use and effectiveness of telepsychiatry via videoconferencing: implications for forensic and correctional psychiatry. Soc Sci Med 71: pp. 1308 – 1315.
• Huhn, M.; Tardy, M.; Spineli, L.M. (2014). Efficacy of Pharmacotherapy and Psychotherapy for Adult Psychiatric Disorders A Systematic Overview of Meta-analyzes. JAMA Psychiatry, 71 (6): pp. 706 - 715.
• Wampold, B.E.; Flückiger, C.; Del Re, A.C.; Yulish, N.E.; Frost, N.D.; Pace, B.T. et al. (2017). In pursuit of truth: A critical examination of meta-analyzes of cognitive behavior therapy. Psychotherapy Research. 27 (1): pp. 14 - 32.