What Type of Therapy is Right For Me?
Taking the first step to find a therapist that’s right for you can be confusing. Where do you start? Which type of therapy should you consider for your current goals or circumstances? Even being able to understand the purpose of therapy can come with a mixed bag of emotions and a spectrum of answers.
First and foremost, therapy is a professional relationship in which a therapist uses their psychological training to help their clients resolve challenges in their lives, improve their mental health, enhance their interpersonal relationships, and learn new skills for their overall well-being. Therapy can be an extended or short-term relationship, depending on your concerns and goals for treatment.
Which Type of Therapy is Right For Me?
The most pressing pain point will often help you determine the best type of therapy for you. Emotions can be complex, so partnering with a therapist you trust to help you navigate this process can alleviate the variety of questions you may have along the way. For example, exposure to response prevention is often effective in treating anxiety disorders, but that doesn’t mean that other modalities can’t work either. At its core, therapy creates a space to be heard, for concerns to be contextualized in light of your background, upbringing, and sociocultural context, and to learn new skills to manage your symptoms and day-to-day better. Decades of psychotherapy research show that clients’ belief in their therapists’ ability to help them is the most critical factor in outcomes. What that means for you is that no matter who you choose- make sure you feel comfortable, establish trust early, and have confidence in your therapist that they will be able to help you in the areas you’re looking for.
Types of Therapy The Goode Practice Offers
We offer individual, couples, and group psychotherapy. Therapy looks different depending on the parties involved, but our therapists come from various theoretical backgrounds, including behavioral, relational-cultural, ACT, DBT, CPT, CBT, and relational psychodynamic frameworks. Research shows that the relationship quality between therapist and client is much more predictive of positive outcomes than the therapist’s theoretical orientation. That means how you are to your therapist and how much you believe in their ability to help them is a much better predictor of change than the theory with which the therapist practices.
Our Process for Matching Clients with a Therapist
Most often, clients are matched with a particular therapist they expressed an interest in seeing. When that’s not the case, our intake coordinator works to find a match based on your goals and concerns, scheduling preferences, and comfort. We tend to view the first three sessions as the “getting-to-know-each-other” phase, during which clients can continually assess their feelings about their therapists. On the rare occasion that it’s not a match, we do our best to connect clients with the most appropriate therapist for their needs—inside or outside our practice.
What to Expect as You Begin Therapy
Your therapist will administer what’s called a progress assessment on a monthly basis to monitor your symptoms. Depending on where you are when you first start therapy, some symptoms may decrease. Still, others may increase as you engage in the difficult work of uncovering old hurts and examining long-held beliefs about yourself and others. Progress, therefore, is not just defined by the absence of symptoms but also the increase in overall well-being, positive changes in the quality of interpersonal relationships, or even increased feelings of self-efficacy.
The most important thing in the beginning phase and ongoing nature of therapy is that you believe that your therapist can help you and that you feel comfortable with them.
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The Goode Practice exists to embolden our clients to live authentically through the support of our specialized psychological services. To schedule your initial consultation, contact us at 877-893-5480 today.