The 7 best psychotherapy techniques

Psychotherapy can take many forms, always adapting to the characteristics and needs of each patient.

However, there are a series of techniques widely used in various types of psychological therapy due to their versatility and effectiveness when working on recurring aspects treated in consultation. In this article we will see several of them.

• Related article: "The 8 benefits of going to psychological therapy"

Psychotherapy Techniques to Help Patients: Which Are the Best?

This is a brief summary of the most adaptable and useful techniques and strategies in therapy in a wide variety of cases.

1. Cognitive restructuring

This is one of the most widely used sets of techniques in psychology consultations around the world, and is associated with cognitive and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Inspired by the Socratic dialogue, in which a series of questions leads us to review and test what we think we know, this practice is very useful to detect dysfunctional or highly irrational beliefs and, after becoming aware of their aspects problematic, replace them with other belief systems and cognitive schemas from which to interpret the world (and us themselves).

2. Assertive Training

Assertiveness is one of the most important skills to know how to manage personal relationships and to maintain an adequate level of self-esteem. It consists of having the ability to find the middle ground between empathy and respect for the point view of others, on the one hand, and respect for our own interests and opinions, for the other. Thus, assertive people do not leave anything in the pipeline if they consider that it is important and should be said, even if they assume that this will cause discomfort or a certain discomfort in the beginning, because in the medium and long term it is the best.

That is why in psychotherapy various exercises are used to "train" people in assertiveness, so that they do not let their problems accumulate for not having expressed an uncomfortable truth in time, and at the same time avoiding that they are hurtful and abrupt in their comments. Ultimately, in this way both their social skills and, more indirectly, their self-esteem are enhanced.

• You may be interested in: "Assertiveness: 5 basic habits to improve communication"

3. Controlled exposure

Controlled exposure is a resource very effective in helping patients suffering from anxiety problems. Basically, it allows them to face their fears in a safe place where they have the help and supervision of the psychologist, and facing situations that they really have the possibility of overcoming at that moment and with their degree of skill in handling the emotions.

4. Empty chair

The Empty Chair is one of the best known techniques of humanistic therapies and specifically Gestalt therapy; It can be summarized in the iconic image of the patient sitting in front of an empty chair and expressing himself more and more fluently and honestly on a topic related to the problem to be addressed.

This technique is used above all to reach a resolution of emotional blocks based on the fear of facing one or various ideas, especially if they are linked to traumatic events or that have left a strong mark on the emotional memory of the person. For example, it is used in grieving processes after the loss of loved ones, in sessions in which self-acceptance is worked, etc.

5. Symptom externalization

Outsourcing the symptom helps to see the problem to deal with perspective and to approach it from a constructive mindset Do not give in to the fear of leaving your comfort zone or to the paralysis of not knowing what to do at first. It is a very good way to start an emotion management process starting from the fact of recognizing that there is a problem, and understanding the implications of that problem.

6. Self-characterization

Many of the solutions reached through psychotherapy go through discover new aspects about yourself. Skills that had gone unnoticed, sources of potential that had not been given a chance, and Also, of course, defects that we had not noticed before but that are limiting our quality of lifetime. Psychotherapists know this, and that is why they help and accompany their patients in this mission of building an adequate self-concept and adjusted to what is realistic and what is important.

7. Associative letters

This group of techniques helps to make the narratives with which the patient explains reality appear in the context of psychotherapy showing the “mental routes” that you usually use to think about your day to day. In essence, there is a kind of game in which each patient expresses the concepts that she most often uses to structure her representation of the world, relating ideas to each other.

Do you want to train in the theory and practice of psychotherapy techniques?

If you are interested in learning about this field of work in psychology, the Course of Intervention Techniques and Tools in Psychotherapy organized by Instituto Mensalus it may be what you are looking for. This 100% online training program, which starts on April 12, 2021, offers 3 months of theoretical-practical classes designed for psychology professionals who want to specialize in practice clinic.

Classes are designed and taught by psychotherapists who spend most of their time working with patients, and It includes both videos and guides and tutorials as well as experiential exercises and a communication channel with teachers to solve Doubts. All this, in a course based on an integrative theoretical position, in which they combine many patient intervention strategies and approaches and many of the techniques we have seen here.

If you want to know more about the course, go to the Mensalus Training page.

Bibliographic references:

• Almendro, M.T. (2012). Psychotherapies. CEDE PIR Preparation Manual, 06. CEDE: Madrid.
• Michel Hersen & Cynthia G Last (1993). Behavior therapy case manual. Bilbao: Desclée de Brouwer.
• Nichol, M.P. & Schwartz, R.C. (2008). Family Therapy: Concepts and Methods. New York: Pearson Education.
• Schacter, D.L.; Gilbert, D.T.; Wegner, D.M. (2011). Psychology. New York, NY: Worth Publishers.
• Olivares, J. & Méndez, F.X. (2008). Behavior Modification Techniques. Madrid: New Library.