Types of psychotherapy. Methods of psychotherapy New methods of psychotherapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy is a type of treatment that helps patients become aware of the feelings and thoughts that influence their behavior. It is commonly used to treat a wide range of conditions, including addiction, phobias, anxiety and depression. Behavioral therapy, which is becoming very popular today, generally lasts a short time and is primarily aimed at helping people with a specific problem. In treatment, clients learn to change and identify anxious or destructive thought patterns that negatively influence their behavior.

Origins

How did cognitive or What made adherents of popular psychoanalysis turn to the study of various models of human cognition and behavior?

Who founded the first official laboratory dedicated to psychological research at the University of Leipzig in 1879, is considered the founder of experimental psychology. But it is worth noting that what was considered then experimental psychology is very far from today’s experimental psychology. In addition, it is known that current psychotherapy owes its appearance to the works of Sigmund Freud, known throughout the world.

At the same time, few people know that applied and experimental psychology have found fertile ground for their development in the United States. In fact, after Sigmund Freud arrived here in 1911, psychoanalysis managed to surprise even prominent psychiatrists. So much so that within a few years about 95% of the country's psychiatrists were trained in how to work in psychoanalysis.

This monopoly in the United States on psychotherapy lasted until the 1970s, while it lingered in specialized circles of the Old World for another 10 years. It is worth noting that the crisis of psychoanalysis - in terms of its ability to respond to various changes in the demands of society after the Second World War, as well as its ability to “cure” it - began in the 1950s. At this time, alternative ones were born. The main role played among them, of course, was cognitive behavioral therapy. At that time, few people dared to do exercises on their own.

Emerging immediately in different parts of the world, thanks to the contributions of psychoanalysts who were dissatisfied with their tools of intervention and analysis, rational-emotive-behavioral therapy soon spread throughout Europe. In a short time, it has established itself as a treatment method that can provide an effective solution to various client problems.

Fifty years have passed since J.B. Watson’s work on the topic of behaviorism, as well as the use of behavioral therapy, was published; only after this time did it take its place among the working areas of psychotherapy. But its further evolution took place at an accelerated pace. There was a simple reason for this: like other techniques that were based on scientific thought, cognitive behavioral therapy, the exercises of which are given in the article below, remained open to change, integrated and assimilated with other techniques.

It absorbed the results of research conducted in psychology, as well as in other scientific fields. This has led to new forms of intervention and analysis.

This 1st generation therapy, which was characterized by a radical shift from the psychodynamic therapy known, was quickly followed by a set of “innovations.” They already took into account previously forgotten cognitive aspects. This fusion of cognitive and behavioral therapy is next generation behavioral therapy, also known as cognitive behavioral therapy. It is still being taught today.

Its development is still ongoing, new treatment methods are emerging, which already belong to the 3rd generation of therapy.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Basics

The basic concept suggests that our feelings and thoughts play a major role in shaping human behavior. Thus, a person who thinks too much about runway accidents, plane crashes and other air disasters may avoid traveling by various air transport. It is worth noting that the goal of this therapy is to teach patients that they cannot control every aspect of the world around them, but they can take full control of their own interpretation of this world, as well as interaction with it.

Recently, cognitive behavioral therapy has been used more and more on its own. This type of treatment generally does not take much time, due to which it is considered more accessible than other types of therapy. Its effectiveness has been empirically proven: experts have found that it enables patients to cope with inappropriate behavior in its various manifestations.

Types of therapy

The British Association of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapists say it is a range of treatments based on principles and concepts derived from patterns of human behavior and emotion. They include a huge range of approaches to getting rid of emotional disorders, as well as self-help options.

Specialists regularly use the following types:

cognitive therapy;
emotional-rational-behavioral therapy;
multimodal therapy.

Behavioral therapy methods

They are used in cognitive learning. The main method is behavioral rational-emotive therapy. Initially, a person’s irrational thoughts are established, then the reasons for the irrational belief system are clarified, after which the goal is approached.

Generally, general training methods are problem solving methods. The main method is biofeedback training, which is used mainly to get rid of the effects of stress. In this case, a hardware study of the general state of muscle relaxation occurs, as well as optical or acoustic feedback. Muscle relaxation with feedback is positively reinforced and then leads to self-soothing.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy: methods of learning and assimilation

In behavioral therapy, the postulate of education is systematically used, according to which correct behavior can be taught and learned. Learning by example is one of the most important processes. Methods of assimilation are focused mainly on after which people build their desired behavior. A very important method is imitation learning.

A model is systematically imitated in vicarious learning—a person or a symbol. In other words, inheritance can be induced by participation, symbolically or covertly.

Behavioral therapy is actively used when working with children. Exercises in this case contain reinforcing direct stimuli, for example, candy. In adults, this goal is served by a system of privileges and rewards. Prompting (support of the therapist setting an example) with success gradually decreases.

Unlearning methods

Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey, on the advice of Circe (the sorceress), orders himself to be tied to the mast of the ship in order not to be subjected to the singing of the seductive sirens. He covered the ears of his companions with wax. With overt avoidance, behavioral therapy reduces the impact, while some changes are made to increase the likelihood of success. For example, to negative behavior, alcohol abuse, an aversive stimulus is added, for example, a smell that causes vomiting.

Cognitive behavioral therapy exercises come in a wide variety. Thus, with the help of a device designed for the treatment of enuresis, it is possible to get rid of bedwetting - the mechanism for awakening the patient is immediately triggered when the first drops of urine appear.

Elimination methods

Elimination methods should combat inappropriate behavior. It is worth noting that one of the main methods is systematic desensitization to decompose the fear reaction using 3 steps: training deep muscle relaxation, compiling a complete list of fears, and alternating irritation and relaxation of fears from the list in increasing order.

Methods of confrontation

These methods use accelerated contacts with initial fear stimuli regarding peripheral or central phobias in various mental disorders. The main method is flooding (assault with various stimuli using firm techniques). The client is exposed to direct or intense mental influence of various fear stimuli.

Components of therapy

Often people experience feelings or thoughts that only strengthen them in an incorrect opinion. These beliefs and opinions lead to problematic behaviors that can impact all areas of life, including romantic relationships, family, school, and work. For example, a person who suffers from low self-esteem may have negative thoughts about himself, his abilities or appearance. Because of this, the person will begin to avoid social situations or give up career opportunities.

Behavioral therapy is used to correct this. To combat such destructive thoughts and negative behaviors, the therapist begins by helping the client establish problematic beliefs. This stage, also known as functional analysis, is important for understanding how situations, feelings and thoughts can contribute to the emergence of inappropriate behavior. This process can be challenging, particularly for clients struggling with over-introspection, although it can result in the insights and self-knowledge that are considered an essential part of the healing process.

Cognitive behavioral therapy includes the second part. It focuses on the actual behavior that is contributing to the problem. The person begins to practice and learn new skills, which can then be applied in real-life situations. Thus, a person who suffers from drug addiction is able to learn skills to overcome this craving and can avoid social situations that could potentially cause relapse, as well as cope with all of them.

CBT in most cases is a smooth process that helps a person take new steps towards changing their behavior. Thus, a social phobia may begin by simply imagining himself in a certain social situation that causes him anxiety. Then he can try to talk with friends, acquaintances and family members. The process of regularly moving towards a goal does not seem so difficult, while the goals themselves are absolutely achievable.

Using CBT

This therapy is used to treat people who suffer from a wide range of diseases - phobias, anxiety, addiction and depression. CBT is considered one of the most studied types of therapy, in part because the treatment focuses on specific problems and its results are relatively easy to measure.

This therapy is best suited for clients who are particularly introspective. For CBT to be truly effective, a person must be ready for it, he must be willing to spend time and effort analyzing his own feelings and thoughts. This kind of self-analysis can be difficult, but it is an excellent way to learn much more about the influence of internal states on behavior.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is also great for people who need quick treatment that doesn't involve the use of certain medications. Thus, one of the benefits of cognitive behavioral therapy is that it helps clients develop skills that can be useful today and later.

Developing self-confidence

It’s worth mentioning right away that self-confidence comes from various qualities: the ability to express needs, feelings and thoughts, in addition, to perceive the needs and feelings of other people, the ability to say “no”; in addition, the ability to start, end and continue conversations, while speaking freely in front of the public, etc.

This training is aimed at overcoming possible social fears, as well as difficulties during contacts. Similar influences are also used for hyperactivity and aggressiveness, for activating clients who have been receiving treatment from psychiatrists for a long time, and for mental retardation.

This training primarily pursues two goals: the formation of social skills and the elimination of social phobias. In this case, many techniques are used, for example, behavioral exercises and role-playing games, training in daily situations, operant techniques, model training, group therapy, video techniques, methods of self-control, etc. This means that with this training, in most cases we are talking about a program with using all possible methods in some sequence.

Behavioral therapy is also used for children. Special forms of this training were created for children with communication difficulties and social phobias. Peterman and Peterman proposed a compact therapeutic program that, along with group and individual training, also includes counseling for the parents of these children.

Criticism of CBT

Some patients at the beginning of treatment report that, regardless of the fairly simple awareness of the irrationality of some thoughts, just this awareness does not make the process of getting rid of it easy. It should be noted that behavioral therapy involves identifying these thought patterns, and it also aims to help get rid of these thoughts using a variety of strategies. These may include role-playing, journaling, distraction and relaxation techniques.

Now let's look at some exercises that you can do yourself at home.

Muscle progressive relaxation according to Jacobson

The lesson is conducted while sitting. You need to lean your head against the wall and put your hands on the armrests. First, you should create tension in all your muscles sequentially, and this should happen while inhaling. We instill in ourselves a feeling of warmth. In this case, relaxation is accompanied by a very fast and fairly sharp exhalation. The time for muscle tension is about 5 seconds, relaxation is about 30 seconds. In this case, each exercise must be done 2 times. This method is great for children too.

Arm muscles. Stretch your arms forward, spread your fingers in different directions. You need to try to reach the wall with your fingers.
Brushes. Clench your fists as tightly as possible. Imagine that you are squeezing water out of a squeezable icicle.
Shoulders. Try to reach your earlobes with your shoulders.
Feet. Use your toes to reach the middle of your shin.
Stomach. Make your stomach look like stone, as if you are repelling a blow.
Hips, legs. The toes are fixed and the heels are raised.
Middle 1/3 of the face. Wrinkle your nose, squint your eyes.
Upper 1/3 of the face. Wrinkle forehead, surprised face.
Lower 1/3 of the face. Fold your lips into a “proboscis” shape.
Lower 1/3 of the face. Move the corners of your mouth to your ears.

Self-instructions

We all tell ourselves something. We give ourselves instructions, orders, information for a specific solution to problems or instructions. In this case, the person may begin with verbalizations, which over time will become part of the entire behavioral repertoire. People are taught such direct instructions. Moreover, in a number of cases they become “counter-instructions” for aggression, fear, and others. In this case, self-instructions with approximate formulas are used according to the steps given below.

1. Preparing for a stressor.

“It's easy to do. Remember the humor."
“I can create a plan to deal with this.”

2. Responding to provocations.

“As long as I remain calm, I am in complete control of the whole situation.”
“Worrying won’t help me in this situation. I am absolutely confident in myself."

3. Reflection of experience.

If the conflict is unresolvable: “Forget about the difficulties. To think about them is only to destroy yourself.”
If the conflict is resolved or the situation was managed: “It wasn’t as scary as I expected.”

Psychotherapy is a system of therapeutic effects on the mental sphere and the entire body of the patient, his behavioral reactions. In a narrow medical sense, psychotherapy is one of the treatment methods along with physiotherapy, reflexology, and physical therapy. In a broader sense, this concept includes the correction of the patient’s behavioral reactions, the organization of his work and life, with the goal of preventing the impact of psychotraumatic factors on a person. In this case, psychotherapy is inextricably linked with the concepts of mental hygiene and psychoprophylaxis.

The specificity of such therapy is that the result is achieved with the help of informational and emotional factors influencing a person’s personality.

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Types of psychotherapeutic techniques

Like any therapeutic technique, psychotherapy has varieties and modifications, each of which is used in strictly defined cases and pursues a specific goal.

Psychotherapeutic intervention

A synonym for the name of this method is psychotherapeutic intervention.

In various contexts, the term “psychotherapeutic intervention”, which has the nature of a technique, denotes either a general strategy of behavior and tactics of a psychotherapist or a separate psychotherapeutic technique used when working with a patient, for example:

confrontation;
clarification;
clarification;
stimulation;
interpretation;
learning;
training;
adviсe.

The group of techniques called psychotherapeutic intervention is heterogeneous and consists of three main directions: psychoanalytic, behavioral and experimental (humanistic). Each has its own concept of illness and health, specific therapeutic goals, as well as the scope and scope of intervention and corresponding means and techniques.

Clinical and psychological intervention

This method concerns the areas of prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and development.

Clinical and psychological intervention consists of a set of means, among which the psychotherapist selects the most effective ones. They can be verbal and non-verbal. To a greater extent, these means are oriented towards cognitive aspects or towards the emotional sphere.

The most typical psychological means within this method are: training (exercises), conversation or interpersonal relationships that influence the patient. Objectives of clinical and psychological intervention: prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and development, for example:

eradicating the fear of public speaking;
memory and attention training;
training of certain communication skills; etc.

Psychological counseling

Traditionally, several approaches to psychological counseling are used:

A problem-oriented direction, the task of which is to focus on the analysis of the external causes of the problem and ways to resolve them.
Personality-oriented counseling - analysis of individual personal causes of conflicts and other problematic situations, as well as finding ways to prevent their occurrence in the future.
Consulting aimed at determining the availability of resources to solve a problem.

Conditions for the effective use of psychotherapeutic techniques

The positive impact of psychotherapy is due not only to the specialist’s academic knowledge. Achieving a positive effect is possible under certain conditions.

The table shows the prerequisites for the successful use of psychotherapeutic techniques:

Prerequisites for the effectiveness of psychotherapy techniques	Note
Positive expectation of both parties - psychotherapist and patient	It has been established that the effectiveness of treatment depends on the patient’s expectation of a positive result
Establishing a strong and reliable therapeutic alliance	Productive work with a psychotherapist is based on mutual trust, respect, as well as the specialist’s sincere interest in the person seeking help and understanding of the patient’s problem
Hawthorne effect	A pattern has been identified: the psychotherapist’s particularly active attention to the patient and his problems entails an improvement in the condition of the person seeking help.
The ability to liberate emotions and reduce emotional stress during a psychotherapy session	The patient gains the opportunity to discuss his problem in detail with the person from whom he expects help.
Cognitive learning	The therapist's interpretations and explanations provide the patient with a basis for understanding the causes of his problems. This condition also helps to find ways to solve the problem.
Suggestion (hidden and explicit)	Suggestion is a factor present in any type of psychotherapy
Identification	The basis of identification is the unconscious desire to perceive the psychotherapist as an object to follow. Therefore, the patient gradually adopts some of the specialist’s values and behavioral reactions.
Operant conditioning	This is a type of development of conditioned reflex connections by means of the psychotherapist demonstrating his approval or disapproval, encouraging or condemning various forms of behavior and emotional reactions of the patient. Demonstration can be both obvious and hidden
Corrective emotional experience	The specialist looks at the patient’s problems more realistically and objectively, and often more empathetically, than the patient’s environment
Acquiring new behavioral reactions (more adaptive) and consolidating them for use in real life	To practice response methods, unique training, rehearsals and homework are used.
Desensitization (reduced sensitivity) in relation to traumatic circumstances	The desensitizing effect is achieved through repeated reference to experienced events that traumatized the patient. As a result, the severity of negative emotions associated with negative experiences gradually fades away

Indications for psychotherapy

The use of psychotherapeutic settings helps in the complex treatment of the following pathological conditions:

tendency to panic attacks;
alcoholism;
obesity;
some types of depression.

The need and adequacy of psychotherapeutic influence is determined by the degree of connection between the disorder and the situation with the patient’s personality.

Methods and approaches

Modern psychotherapeutic practice uses a number of methods and approaches of psychocorrection, starting with the classical ones:

rational therapy;
behavioral therapy;
classical transactional analysis.

Examples of the most modern, innovative techniques are:

family psychotherapy;
integrative transactional analysis.

Classification of psychotherapeutic techniques:

integrative transactional analysis;
techniques of classical hypnosis;
client-centered therapy according to K. Rogers;
rational psychotherapy;
psychotherapy with a cognitive-behavioral direction;
use of Socratic dialogue technique;
Gestalt therapy;
meditative breathing techniques.

The whole variety of psychotherapeutic techniques is successfully used within various approaches to psychotherapy. Thus, the personal approach implies the perception of the person seeking help as a single, holistic personality, taking into account all its characteristics and has three main directions:

studying the client’s personality, its specifics, development and occurrence of disorders in order to optimize psychotherapeutic influences;
taking into account personality characteristics when using any psychotherapeutic techniques;
orientation of psychotherapeutic influence on personality change.

An individual approach is similar to a personal one, but may have a more limited scope, for example, when it is necessary to take into account only certain personal or somatic characteristics of the patient.

The behavioral (behavioral) approach consists of correcting unwanted behavioral stereotypes. The specialist analyzes the patient’s behavioral reactions in detail, then analyzes the factors that trigger the undesirable symptom. After this, together with the patient, a step-by-step action plan is drawn up to change or eliminate these factors and consolidate the changed behavior. The approach is clearly prescriptive.

Cognitive - based on the idea that the mechanisms of the occurrence of problems and the formation of symptoms are determined by the patient’s mental activity and the internal organization of mental processes. The task of a psychotherapist is to change the response to external circumstances by reprogramming thinking.

Classification of psychotherapy

Depending on the classification principle, the following types of psychotherapy are distinguished:

Freudian psychotherapy

Sigmund Freud is the developer of the principles of psychotherapeutic intervention. He is also responsible for the development of the method of free associations and the identification of the basic mechanisms of many emotional disorders, including psychoneuroses. In line with Freud's psychoanalysis, there are 4 fundamental principles of the approach:

1. Dynamic - explaining all mental processes from the point of view of interaction and collision of psychological forces. These processes can enhance and suppress, counteract each other or create a compromise formation. At the same time, they have a certain focus. Instinctive drives most powerfully influence mental dynamics.
2. Economic principle. It was based on the quantitative aspect of Newtonian mechanics. Freud often emphasized the importance of the conservation of energy in psychological processes and attributed charges of a certain amount of energy to the expressions of instinctual drives.
3. Topographical (structural) principle. In Freud's work, the ego and superego acquire the Newtonian parameters of real objects: extension, weight, movement and location. They can influence each other, interact or resist.
4. Genetic. The psychogenetic approach in psychoanalysis is based on the experience and behavioral reactions of the individual from the point of view of his individual development and experience.

Z. Freud has another definition in psychotherapy: “the child’s situation.” The patient is equated to a child, from whose “antics” those around him suffer. This position lacks everything that seems normal to an adult:

awareness of pathology;
voluntary decision to therapy;
the will to recover.

Adler's psychotherapy

Alfred Adler's system is called individual psychology.

Like Freud's psychoanalysis, this method of psychocorrection is limited to the biographical level.

The difference is this: if Freud was interested in the history of the origin of neuroses and the cause-and-effect relationships that caused the disease, then Adler was more interested in the result to which the pathological process would lead, and the goals that motivate the patient. In his opinion, the main principle of the formation of neurosis is the desire to “become a perfect person.”

Individual psychology pays great attention to morphological and (or) functional disorders of various organs. They are the obstacles in the quest for superiority. And they also become incentives to overcome difficulties. With a favorable outcome, the defect is overcome and function is restored; in less successful cases - the formation of neurosis.

Jungianism

Jung's analytical psychology claims that the unconscious spheres of a person are always in balance and maintain themselves in this state. Psychological disturbances and disorders, according to the theory, are a consequence of imbalance. By recognizing his complexes (with the help of a therapist) and establishing control over them, the patient will be able to get rid of his problems as a result of therapy.

Pezeshkian positive psychotherapy

One of the most important features of the human personality, according to the definition of the positive theory of Pezeshkian, are abilities, both innate (basic) and formed in the process of development.

A psychotherapist is required to stimulate the patient’s mental reserves and abilities, and not to eliminate disorders and deviations. Positive psychotherapy is based on a meaningful assessment of the conflict and step-by-step treatment, which is based on the patient’s self-help.

Sometimes it is necessary to provide assistance not only to a person’s body, but also to his soul. Anxiety disorders, phobias, neuroses, depression - this is not a complete list of the problems that a psychotherapist works with. Read about what types of psychotherapy exist and what they are in our article.

Psychotherapy methods

In psychotherapy, there are a huge number of different practices that allow you to deal with a large list of mental disorders, for example, depression. Even ordinary autogenic training can help the patient if their complex is compiled correctly. You can find an effective self-medication method that will allow you to learn to control your feelings. The next time you feel panicky, you'll know how to shift to a positive state of mind and relax your muscles. And special trainings in a playful form will help solve many problems between individuals. These include:

play therapy, during which two people play certain roles;
exposure to music, when the sound is associated with various events in the life of a young couple;
fairytale therapy - psychological treatment using scenes from famous fairy tales.

Various types of psychotherapy, which will be described below, will help you cope with a serious illness. However, it will be quite difficult to cope with prolonged depression without medication. If you feel panicked, it is best to immediately seek help from a qualified specialist. There are some techniques that allow you to escape from depression at home:

art therapy is an activity that involves painting pictures, making handicrafts or taking photographs;
distraction from the situation with the help of various books that a psychologist helped you choose;
zootherapy - elimination of unpleasant ailments with the help of pets;
neurolinguistic programming - drawing up a set of priorities and influencing them;
Gestalt therapy - studying oneself through memories;
Holotropic breathing is a special technique that helps to introduce oneself into a state of altered consciousness.

Not all of these methods may work equally well for all patients. Therefore, before trying one or another method of getting rid of depression in practice, it is first recommended to consult with a specialist. Below we will describe the types of psychotherapy that can help you get rid of depression and other mental disorders. Having become familiar with what such processes are, you may have a desire to seek help from a psychiatrist.

Individual psychotherapy

The basis of the psychotherapeutic process is the interaction between the patient and the doctor. In this case, it is very important that the patient is completely open to the specialist and trusts him completely. Only on the basis of mutual trust will the doctor be able to get to the root of the problem and provide appropriate assistance.

The main tasks of individual psychotherapy:

deep study of the patient’s personality during a conversation;
identification of etiopathogenetic mechanisms that contribute to the emergence and maintenance of painful symptoms, with a view to their further study;
achieving a state of awareness by the patient of the cause-and-effect relationships between his disease and behavioral characteristics;
providing reasonable assistance that does not go beyond the patient's consent;
correction of the patient’s behavior patterns and teaching him self-control techniques that will allow him to avoid negative feelings in the future.

This all sounds more complicated than it actually is. In general, the patient expects a number of ordinary procedures that do not represent anything supernatural. To begin with, the doctor will talk with you on a distant topic and observe your behavior during communication. After this, he will begin to ask you individual questions that may cause an emotional reaction in you. Don’t hold back and tell the specialist everything that’s on your mind. After this, as a rule, a course of psychotherapy is prescribed, which consists of several sessions of similar conversations. The doctor will try to find out the root of your problem, and you will help him in every possible way. Some psychotherapy techniques are based on proper breathing, others on self-control through visualization of different images. A specialist will definitely teach you similar techniques or prescribe medication.

Family sessions

Family psychotherapy is practically no different from the method described above, except that several people take part in the session. As a rule, spouses in whose relationship there is discord, but they want to correct the current situation, resort to the help of a specialist. This technique involves observing several patients individually at once, as well as their relationships. Treatment can be carried out inpatient, outpatient and anonymously.

Also, recently in family psychotherapy, work between groups of different married couples has become common. Patients can speak out fully during the session, as well as look at the problem in another family from the outside. In most cases, this allows you to strengthen your relationship with your spouse as a result of the realization that in your couple, it turns out, everything is not as bad as others. The funny thing is that another pair of spouses will think the same thing about you.

Behavioral therapy

The more common name is behavioral psychotherapy. It is based on the principle of reciprocal inhibition. The treatment method includes two elements: the formation of a reaction that causes a feeling of fear, and the conditioned inhibition of such feelings. What does it mean?

First, the patient must be put into a state of relaxation, that is, the patient will be asked to lie on the couch in a comfortable position, close his eyes and think about something good. Once the patient is completely calm, he will be shown various hierarchies of circumstances that cause fear. After this, it is necessary to relieve the feeling of fear, returning the patient to the real world. This practice has become widespread in the West due to its effectiveness. Behavioral psychotherapy is also beginning to gain popularity in our country. However, we are still far from reaching Western levels.

The exercises of this technique allow you to learn a positive worldview and improve your well-being through optimistic thinking. Each doctor will prepare several individual tasks for the patient that will allow them to achieve small successes. For example, you will be asked to play a board game or solve a simple logic puzzle. As a result of these techniques, you will feel that you can handle not only small tasks, but also large problems. This will allow the patient to rethink his importance in this world, avoiding false conclusions.

As a result of increasing self-esteem with the help of such personal psychotherapy, one can eliminate the feeling of depression of moderate and mild severity, get rid of anxiety-depressive illness and other disorders associated with an inferiority complex. The patient will also learn to perceive the world in bright colors, and positive thinking, as is known, contributes to success in many endeavors. The main goal of psychotherapy is to eliminate negative thoughts that interfere with the development of the patient's creative personality.

Psychotherapy through art

Today, art therapy is one of the most attractive and mysterious activities in practical psychology and psychotherapy. There are quite a few different approaches to this technique, but they are all inextricably linked with the use of art.

In the creative process, a person feels more free and authentic than in ordinary life. With the help of various tools, he can express his negative emotions on a piece of paper. In most cases, there is a place in painting to reflect internal conflicts, unconscious emotions and even negative experiences of past years. All the patient needs to do is draw as accurately as possible what he feels. After this, the specialist may ask you a few questions related to your drawing and prescribe a comprehensive treatment.

Who needs psychotherapy with art?

This type of therapy has great potential and is suitable for a wide range of people. In most cases, it is used as clinical psychotherapy in various medical settings. Useful for people with creative inclinations, the elderly and children with severe somatic diseases, such as:

delayed speech and mental development;
hyperactivity;
autism.

This technique can also be used as a separate branch of child psychotherapy. The fact is that young patients who need the help of a psychologist are not always open to a specialist due to various phobias. In this case, the drawing will allow you to understand what lies in the little patient’s soul, what fears overcome him and how to deal with them correctly.

Art therapy will also help in creative development and absolutely healthy people. This technique allows you to cope with stress, correct phobias and neuroses. If you want to strengthen your relationship with your children, then there is nothing better than drawing art together and discussing all the problems during this process.

Group classes will be more effective if you want to solve problems as a team. The psychotherapist will challenge patients to be as sincere as possible and not to be shy about talking about their feelings and problems. This technique will require a lot of courage from a group of people, but it can be very effective, since during group interaction the doctor will be able to conveniently observe the relationships between patients. Also, the team will inevitably exchange knowledge and life experience.

When you have a trusted friend next to you, it will be much easier for you to start talking about problems. You will be able to listen to opinions on this matter from other colleagues and together you will find the right solution. Also, during such a session, patients will strengthen trust among themselves, which will unite the work team.

Music therapy

Quite an interesting type of psychotherapy, which is based on the use of music for therapeutic purposes. During the session, the doctor will ask the patient to take a comfortable position and relax properly. After this, the specialist will begin to turn on classical music by famous composers and ask the patient what fragments from life he associates with this or that melody. This technique is based on the feelings that will be caused by a person’s memories of a past life. It can be used in both group and individual psychotherapy. It goes well with other psychotherapeutic techniques. It is actively used in the treatment of many somatic diseases.

Bibliotherapy

Treatment of the patient in this case is carried out by reading various literature, which will be prescribed to you by a specialist. Reading certain books has a stimulating or sedative effect on the body, calming the patient. During such therapy, the patient must necessarily keep a special reading diary, in which it is worth recording not only the names of the works read, but also the emotions that they aroused. This practice is usually applied in an individual form, since it is not suitable for everyone. In the modern world there are not many people left who understand the true value of books, and not everyone can analyze a work. Most often, such sessions are prescribed to creative individuals and young children suffering from mental illness.

Psychological help for depression

A person is designed in such a way that he is not always able to cope with negative events and unpleasant circumstances that come into his life. The emergence of conflicts with management, the loss of a loved one, dismissal from work - all this can easily provoke the development of depression. If the state of anxiety is not dealt with in time, it can only intensify. It will be quite difficult to get out of prolonged depression on your own. However, a psychotherapist will help you solve a problem of almost any complexity related to your state of mind. Through a conversation, the doctor will determine what is changing your emotional background and how to properly deal with the disease in your particular case. Psychotherapy for depression can help relieve the following symptoms:

chronic fatigue;
insomnia;
sad mood;
lack of will;
anxiety;
apathy.

A depressive state can be familiar to a person of absolutely any age. This disease can occur in both an adult and a 10-year-old child. A personal approach to each patient will allow us to identify the cause of the disease and adjust individual treatment, the main goal of which is to increase the patient’s self-esteem and improve the patient’s quality of life. To do this, the doctor can use a variety of methods: from a group session with your participation to hypnosis. All treatment methods are quite effective and have no side effects. In the most advanced cases, drug treatment may be prescribed.

Treatment of depression with hypnosis

The use of hypnosis in psychotherapy for depression allows one to discover a lot of data about various mental traumas. You may not even remember them, since the unpleasant situation occurred in distant childhood, but the negative aftertaste on your soul still remains. Often it is events like these that cause depression in adults.

During this procedure, the specialist puts the patient into a trance state, which allows him to find in his subconscious a way to get out of a depressive state. This method of psychological influence is authoritarian. There is also a method of hypnotic treatment, when a specialist is a conductor between the patient and his subconscious, and the patient takes an active part in discussing a particular issue - Ericksonian hypnosis.

First, the patient immerses himself in the past and focuses on himself. Fragments from memories allow you to step back from the perception of the situation and plunge into a deep trance. After this, the patient will begin to see not only the past, but also a projection of a successful future. Along the way, the doctor will ask him questions, as a result of the answers to which it will be possible to adjust the treatment.

Psychotherapeutic approaches and methods:

Classic psychoanalysis

Founder Sigmund Freud believed that psychoanalysis is a method aimed at treating neurotic disorders by studying the features of the structure of the unconscious. In other words, psychoanalysis is a “word treatment” that helps to understand mental disorders by becoming aware of one’s own unconscious impulses.

For whom:

How does this happen:

During a psychoanalytic session, the patient, as a rule, lies on the couch, the psychoanalyst is positioned so that the patient does not see him. This arrangement is needed to create the best atmosphere for the therapeutic process. The main method of psychoanalysis is free associations that come to the patient’s mind at the moment.

Jungian analysis

Based on the theory of K. Jung, who revised the ideas of S. Freud. The idea of Jungian analysis is that in the human psyche, not only the individual, but also the collective unconscious, the content of which is represented by archetypes inherited from ancestors, plays a significant role.

For whom:

Jungian therapy is effective in solving many problems: family, interpersonal. She helps those who are going through a crisis or grief. The imagery and metaphorical nature of this method make it possible to work even with very young children: with the help of images and symbols, they easily express the most powerful and painful experiences. Jungian therapists also work with those who suffer from depression, anxiety, neuroses, and psychoses.

How does this happen:

Jungian psychotherapy most often takes place in the form of a conversation, face to face, each meeting lasting 45-50 minutes. The therapist invites the client to say whatever comes to his mind - there are no taboo topics in therapy, and the client can talk about episodes of life, feelings, fantasies that he has never admitted to anyone. The therapist encourages the client to engage in any creative activity: drawing, journaling, writing poetry. Everything that helps a person express himself and understand what is happening to him is used. Meetings take place one to three times a week. Therapy can be short-term - focused on a specific problem (10-20 meetings), and long-term - up to several years.

Family psychotherapy

The founders of family psychotherapy are Murray Bowen, Jay Haley, Virginia Satir, Carl Whitaker, Salvador Minuchin and others. In this approach, the person is not the object of influence and the client. The client is the whole family, the entire family system, and it is she who is the object of psychotherapeutic influence. A family system is a group of people connected by a common place of residence, a joint household, and most importantly, relationships. What happens in a family often does not depend on the intentions and desires of the people included in this family system, because life in the family is regulated by the properties of the system as such. Family psychotherapy in no way sets out to change the people who make up the family. All people, no matter what they are, can live more happily in their family. The obstacle to this is not that the people around are bad, but that the family system itself is not functioning correctly. It is this functioning that can be changed with the help of systemic family psychotherapy.

For whom:

Family therapy for those who are dissatisfied with relationships within the family. Family therapy works with your family, so clients include both adults and children.

How does this happen:

The whole family comes to see a psychologist. During the conversation, the family psychologist identifies problems with the family system. With the help of special techniques during the reception, as well as homework, the correction of the family system begins.

Narrative approach

The narrative approach to psychotherapy appeared in the 80s of the 20th century; the founders are considered to be Australian Michael White and New Zealander David Epston.
(“Narrative” from the English “narrative” - story, narrative) therapy is a direction of counseling based on the idea that people's lives and relationships are formed in the process of social interaction.
This approach is based on the idea that we make sense of and build our lives through the stories we tell each other and ourselves. Personal narratives fit within the context of the larger stories of our culture. People who come to therapy are often at the mercy of social stereotypes that create problems and close off opportunities to solve them.

For whom:

For people who want to understand and change their existing behavior patterns.

How does this happen:

You tell the psychologist about the problem that you wanted to deal with. During the conversation, you are given the opportunity to look at the problem from all sides and rethink your views.

Gestalt therapy

From him. Gestalt - image, form, structure - a form of psychotherapy developed by F. Perls (1893 - 1970). By “gestalt” he understood “the process of unfolding human needs.” Gestalt therapy is a direction of psychotherapy that aims to expand a person’s awareness and through this a person’s better understanding and acceptance of himself, achieving greater intrapersonal integrity, greater fulfillment and meaningfulness of life, improving contact with the outside world, including with people around him. With the help of Gestalt therapy, you can learn to consciously choose your behavior, using various aspects of your personality, make your life more fulfilling, and get rid of neurotic and other painful symptoms. A person becomes resistant to the manipulation of other people and is able to do without the manipulation of others.

For whom:

Gestalt therapy is especially effective when difficulties are caused by interactions with other people. Emotional problems (fears, anxieties, apathy, low mood, aggressiveness, anxiety in significant situations) are also the subject of work by Gestalt therapists. The method is suitable for those who like to exchange sincere emotional reactions with the therapist and receive feedback from him. It is difficult for a therapist to be useful in a case where the inner world is of no value to the person himself; he is not inclined to reflection and self-knowledge. This method is effective in working with children and adolescents, adults, and married couples.

How does this happen:

Work can be individual or group. At the first meeting, the therapist and the client (or group members) discuss the goals of the work, possible and desired results and ways to achieve them, and determine the duration of the meetings and their number.

Psychodrama

One of the areas of humanistic psychology, developed by J. Moreno (1890-1974) and based on catharsis, which is achieved through dramatic performances aimed at treating painful mental manifestations by restructuring the relationships and system of experiences of a sick person. This technique allows you to “play out” various situations and thus simulate and understand them. Psychodrama is the world's first method of group psychotherapy (in fact, the term “group psychotherapy” itself was introduced into psychology by Moreno). Moreno proceeded from the fact that since any person is a social being, a group can solve his problems more effectively than one person.

For whom:

For people who are interested in some kind of reconstruction of their dramatic situation in order to solve it, who are not embarrassed by self-disclosure in the presence of a group.

How does this happen:

During a group discussion, participants propose topics that they would like to understand. The group selects 1-2 from those declared. Then, with the help of group members, the action declared by the participant is staged, during which he again plunges into the dramatic situation of his past, during which he receives support from the group and the psychologist.

Client-centered approach

Client-centered therapy, originally developed in the 1940s by Carl Rogers (1902-1987), is an ever-evolving approach to human growth and change. Its central hypothesis is that any individual's potential for growth tends to be fulfilled in relationships in which the helper experiences and expresses authenticity, reality, caring, and deep and accurate non-judgmental understanding. The client-centered approach is applicable in any area of human endeavor where the goal is the psychological growth of the individual.

For whom:

A client-centered approach helps those who are tired of loneliness and do not find understanding from other people, who lack empathy, participation and warmth. Therefore, it can be applied in almost all areas where we need mutual understanding. Unconditional acceptance of another, empathy for him, openness to one’s feelings contribute to the successful course of negotiations, the treatment of neuroses, and the resolution of social conflicts.

How does this happen:

The client-centered approach is called “non-directive”: it does not direct anyone, does not direct anything, does not force anyone to do anything. The concepts of norm and pathology, disease and cure, diagnosis and symptom are not used here. The therapist will accept whatever the client says without judgment. Therapy occurs in the form of dialogue. The client himself determines what issues are relevant to him now, and the therapist helps him in exploring and expressing his feelings, images, and fantasies. Listening and responding, he is completely focused on the client: the very presence of an attentive, understanding interlocutor helps a person cope with fear and despair and instills confidence in his abilities. As a result of therapy, the participant comes to a feeling of freedom and fullness of life with all its joys and difficulties.

Cognitive-behavioral approach

suggests that human problems stem from distortions of reality based on misconceptions, which, in turn, arose as a result of incorrect learning in the process of personality development. Therapy is about looking for distortions in thinking and learning an alternative, more realistic way of perceiving your life. The cognitive-behavioral approach works when you need to find new forms of behavior, plan the future, and consolidate the result. The cognitive-behavioral approach to emotional disorders changes the way a person views himself and his problems. By giving up the idea of oneself as a helpless victim of circumstances, a person gets the opportunity to see in himself a being both inclined to give birth to erroneous ideas and capable of unlearning them or correcting them by identifying the errors of his own thinking.

For whom:

Cognitive therapy is effective when working with many personal problems: anxiety, lack of self-confidence, difficulties in establishing relationships, eating disorders... Helps those who have experienced violence and stress. The cognitive therapy method can be used both in individual work and in work with families.

How does this happen:

The client, together with the psychotherapist, explores under what circumstances the problem manifests itself: how “automatic thoughts” arise and how they influence his ideas, experiences and behavior. He learns to soften rigid beliefs and see different facets of a problem situation. Homework - exercises suggested by the psychotherapist allow the client to consolidate new skills. So gradually he learns, without the support of a therapist, to live in accordance with new, more flexible views.

Existential psychotherapy

one of the areas of humanistic psychology, as a direction arose on the basis of existential philosophy and psychology. The main emphasis is not on studying the manifestations of the human psyche, but on his life itself in inextricable connection with the world and other people. The founder of existentialism was Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), who formulated and substantiated the concept of existence (a unique and inimitable human life). He also drew attention to the turning points in human life, which open up the opportunity to live further in a completely different way than has been lived until now.

Symboldrama

Symboldrama was created by the outstanding German psychotherapist Hanscarl Leuner (1919-1996). (Catathymic-imaginative psychotherapy, Catathymic experience of images or the method of “waking dreams”) is one of the areas of psychotherapy based on the principles of depth psychology, which uses a special method of working with imagination in order to make visible a person’s unconscious desires, his fantasies, conflicts and defense mechanisms, as well as transference relationships and resistance. Symboldrama promotes their processing both at the symbolic level and during a psychotherapeutic conversation. As a metaphor, symbol drama can be described as “psychoanalysis using images.”

For whom:

Symboldrama is effective in the treatment of neuroses and psychosomatic diseases, as well as in the psychotherapy of disorders associated with neurotic personality development.

How does this happen:

The patient sits relaxed in a chair with his eyes closed and relaxes using special techniques. The psychotherapist asks topics that the patient sees in his imagination. We are working with them.

Body-oriented psychotherapy (BOP)

One of the areas of psychotherapy, which has its own history of development, its own schools. TOP combines a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches to influencing the psyche through changes made to the body. The main idea of TOP is the inseparability of the body from consciousness, the belief that the body is a manifestation of personality and there is a functional unity between them.

Body psychotherapy addresses the deep relationships that constitute psycho-bodily processes, paying equal attention to both the physical and mental components. TOP has a large range of techniques (from “cathartic” to “bodily homeopathy”): methods of working with breathing, touch, muscle tone, posture, movement, sensory awareness, images, language, etc., with the help of which one realizes, studies and repressed aspects of the individual’s experience are accepted for the purpose of its subsequent integration.

Art therapy

The term “art therapy” was first used by the English physician and artist Adrian Hill. Classical art therapy involves self-expression through visual arts: painting, graphics, photography, drawing, sculpting. But today this method also includes other types of arts used for psychotherapeutic purposes, such as puppet therapy, mascotherapy, and music therapy. A complex method has also appeared: art synthesis therapy works with the help of painting, poetry, drama and theater, rhetoric and plastic arts. One of the areas of humanistic psychology, a method of psychotherapy based on art, primarily visual and creative activity.

The creative process is the main therapeutic mechanism that allows us to reconstruct a conflict-traumatic situation in a special symbolic form and find a new form of its resolution. Through drawing, play, and fairy tales, art therapy provides an outlet for internal conflicts and strong emotions, and helps to understand one’s own feelings and experiences.

NLP (neurolinguistic programming)

Founders: Richard Bandler, USA (1940), John Grinder, USA (1949 “neuro” - this method uses brain structures, “linguistic” - one of the important elements of this technique is speech, “programming” - the ability to control, predict the result of an action specific technology.
This is a communication technique aimed at changing habitual interaction patterns, gaining confidence in life, and optimizing creative potential.

For whom:

This is especially useful for those people who, by the nature of their work, communicate a lot, have contact, and interact with other people. The scope of NLP is quite wide: business, education, social work, everyday situations and many others. etc. NLP techniques are also used in psychotherapy.

How does this happen:

The impact occurs using special NLP techniques.

Fairy tale therapy

This is a form of knowledge and healing of the soul. Fairytale therapy is based on the fact that the unconscious develops and manifests itself according to certain patterns, which are very convenient to study in the form of fairy tales. In this sense, fairy tale therapy is a form of deep psychotherapy, although in its accessibility and versatility it is quite applicable for more “everyday” tasks.

For whom:

Fairytale therapy is used for both children and adults.

How does this happen:

The patient comes up with the plot of a fairy tale or recalls fairy tales that once made a strong impression on him. Then, in a conversation with a psychologist, there is a discussion and interpretation of the fairy tale plot.

Transactional (transactional) analysis

direction in psychology and psychotherapy created by E. Bern.
By analogy with classical psychoanalysis, transactional analysis is focused on identifying “scenarios” of an individual’s life plans, which are often imposed by parents. This analysis was expanded through “structural analysis”, with the help of which three states are distinguished in the Self of an individual in various communicative situations: Parent, acting according to the type of parent-child relationship, Adult, objectively assessing reality, and Child, acting according to the type the child's relationship with his parents.

How does this happen:

Transactional analysis is group and individual work related to words, emotions and feelings. Typically, therapists recommend a combination of both methods. From the very first sessions, the client enters into an oral “contract for change” with the therapist, which defines the goals of the work and how to achieve them. During therapy, the contract may be changed. With the help of a therapist, the client learns the structure of his personality, learns to recognize by external signs in which states of “I” he most often occurs and how this affects his behavior and communication. Therapy helps the client change - to rediscover the Natural Child within himself, strengthen the position of a tired Parent, learn to resolve his problems from the perspective of an Adult and restore self-confidence and self-confidence. The work usually does not last long: the task of the transactional analyst is to free the client from problems as quickly as possible.

Ericksonian hypnosis

a complex and highly effective trance induction technique developed by Milton Erickson (1901 - 1980), an American psychiatrist and psychotherapist, a man who radically changed ideas about hypnosis and methods of working with hypnosis. The method of hypnosis he created is fundamentally different from the classical one in that it is non-directive: the therapist does not give the client instructions and directions, but helps him enter a special state - trance: the client is awake and can actively communicate with the therapist. As Milton Erickson showed, this detachment differs from the hypersuggestibility state associated with traditional hypnosis. Suggestibility may increase in a hypnotic trance, but it is not a specific and permanent element of this phenomenon.
New hypnosis can be used both to create a psychotherapeutic atmosphere and to manifest the potential that exists in the client's subconscious. It can be used in a variety of ways to provide important learning experiences and to enhance a person's ability to benefit from those experiences.

For whom:

Ericksonian hypnosis helps with a variety of problems - psychological and psychosomatic. The method is effective when working with phobias, addictions, family and sexual problems, post-traumatic syndromes, and eating disorders. With the help of Ericksonian hypnosis, you can work with both adults and children.

How does this happen:

During the session, the psychotherapist also resorts to special metaphorical language. He tells stories, anecdotes, fairy tales, parables, but he does it in a special way - using metaphors in which messages for the unconscious are “hidden”. Listening to a fairy tale, the client imagines images of the characters, sees scenes of plot development, remaining inside his own inner world, living according to its own laws.

Process-oriented psychotherapy

Founder A. Mindell, E. Mindell

Methods of psychotherapy that prioritize the study of the spirit include psychosynthesis, transpersonal psychotherapy, and Christian psychotherapy. In contrast, psychoanalysis emphasizes the biological nature of man. Thus, psychotherapy has absorbed the culture of the spirit, psychological request and biological determinism and, despite the contradictory foundations of the methods, built bridges within the relationship between “logos-bios-socio-individuality”.

According to the criteria of the tasks assigned to the specialist, all methods of psychotherapy can also be divided into the following types:

a) relaxation, bringing the human psyche into a relatively balanced state;
b) target-oriented, aimed at relieving a specific symptom;
c) personality-oriented, aimed at deep transformation of personality. Psychotherapeutic Encyclopedia / Edited by Karvasarsky B.D. - 2nd edition, revised and expanded. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2011. - 198 p.

Regardless of the orientation of the approach, each method of psychotherapy corresponds to principles or ideas drawn from philosophy. Philosophical ideas, being the prerequisites for the emergence of schools of psychology and psychotherapeutic methods, determine the humanitarian orientation of psychotherapy. Therefore, in theory, a psychotherapist should come from a humanities rather than a natural science education. In spirit he is a humanitarian, with the only difference that not a single idea here remains a speculative abstraction, as in philosophy, but goes into the practice of its own implementation, acquires substance, shapes and educates the will. So, if Charles Pierce, when creating his philosophy, was based on the idea of pragmatism, then behavioral psychotherapy develops in a person the ability to live pragmatically and in accordance with the requirements of the environment.

Statement of a static state at the moment does not replace an understanding of the dynamics of mental life. This is exactly what a testing psychologist and psychiatrist do. Strictly speaking, in the person of the psychiatrist we have a recorder of history, in the person of a psychologist - a recorder of testing “points”. Meanwhile, a person with a problem needs a researcher of the individual experience of being-in-the-world; it is necessary for him to feel and know his own identity and the realities of life from the inside. In the terms of M. Heidegger, we are talking about the opposition of “calculating” and “understanding” intelligence.

Analysis of the individual experience of being-in-the-world is addressed to such events in a person’s biography that cannot be recorded as anamnestic data. These are milestones in the development of a personality, a hidden internal slice of her biography, which tends to be developed and recognized. Here everything is done by the patient together with the psychotherapist, who helps change the perspective of a person’s perception and leads to breakthroughs to new levels of awareness of oneself and the world. The goal of psychotherapeutic work is not to register something (symptom, knowledge, diagnosis, event, treatment, etc.), but to ensure that the individual himself can acquire abilities that would lead him to knowledge of himself and his life path. Therefore, anamnesis in the usual sense of the word must be supplemented by an internal anamnesis - a recording of events related to the history of the formation of an individual's self-awareness.

Anamnesis as knowledge of the “external” biography and anamnesis as the knowledge of the “internal” biography have a number of significant differences:

· achieving the first is simple, it comes without much effort, does not require personal improvement;
· achieving the second is much more difficult, requiring more time and a new level of consciousness of the researcher;
· the first is closer to the criteria of science, the second - to truth and life;
· the first lends itself to systematization, the second cannot;
· the first is aimed at determining the symptom and diagnosis, the second - at transforming the personality;
· the first tends to establish universal laws of the psyche as a combination of personal and situational factors, the second is aimed at identifying individual conditions for the formation of the problem and signs of spiritual and emotional movements;
· the first is based on rational categories, the second, in addition to rational categories, includes intuitive insights;
· the first is based on natural scientific calculations of understanding the psyche and leads to the boundaries of knowledge, the second reveals the deep roots of mental life. Kondrashenko V.T. General psychology. - M.: Higher School, 2009. - 176 p.

The possibility of such contrasts arises from the presence of differences in all the central categories of research. External anamnesis records the state of a person or its component as a separate “spatial” event, the center of studying internal anamnesis - the whole person in the dynamics of his formation in the flow of time. For example, reading books or watching a movie that shocked a person's psyche at age 15 may be considered an insignificant detail from a biographical point of view, but in terms of internal anamnesis this fact can be significant.

The point here is not about eliminating the problem, but about developing and acquiring the ability that can lead out of a crisis state, and about directing the energy of the crisis to development, utilizing it, and not suppressing it.

Despite their differences, these two types of history can complement each other. The surgeon examining the leg determines the injury based on the patient’s complaints. But it also complements the diagnosis with x-rays. A psychiatrist or testing psychologist does without a “snapshot” of the process of personal formation, and often of the symptom. They capture the picture of symptoms as a picture of the whole person.

The psychotherapist has to take into account all the data from the “external” and “internal” anamnesis, all the features of the structure of the physical, mental and spiritual organisms of a person. The data of the “external” anamnesis should serve to establish internal connections between the events of fate in order to lead a person to a sense of how his fate operates. From experiencing his destiny and taking it seriously, he can gain strengthening and healing effects on mental health. Therefore, illness, personality and fate, considered in the “flat projection” of modern medical and psychological education, must be supplemented by the perception of a deep life plan.

In general, psychotherapy arose with the direct “participation” of philosophy, psychiatry and psychology, each of which has its own contribution to the process of its formation as a field of practical human knowledge. Burlachuk L.F. Basics of psychotherapy. - M., 2009. - 125 p.

The following forms of psychotherapy exist:

1. Individual psychotherapy

The psychotherapeutic process takes place in a dyad: therapist - client. Individual psychotherapy is a complex process in which various sociocultural factors, professional qualities and personal characteristics of both the client and the therapist interact. In addition to psychological techniques and the conditions for its implementation.

Based on the duration of implementation, individual therapy can be divided into short-term and long-term. The limit is usually determined by the number of psychotherapeutic sessions: short-term therapy is considered to be up to 20 sessions. Currently, almost all psychological trends strive for short-termism by increasing intensity, reducing material costs without reducing efficiency. Sometimes short-termism serves as one of the principles that insures clients against the development of a “psychotherapeutic defect,” “escape to psychotherapy,” and shifting responsibility for their lives to the psychotherapist.

Long-term forms of individual psychotherapy are most typical for psychoanalytic therapy, which can last up to 7-10 years or more with an average frequency of sessions 2-3 times a week.

2. Group psychotherapy

The specificity of group psychotherapy as a therapeutic method lies in the targeted use of group dynamics for therapeutic purposes. The use of any psychotherapeutic method in a group of patients is not group therapy. Group therapy becomes when the therapist utilizes the therapeutic potential of the group. In any group of people who communicate for quite a long time, certain group phenomena arise, such as distribution of roles, identification of a leader, etc. In the therapeutic group, phenomena are also observed that are called healing factors Rogers K. A look at psychotherapy. The Becoming of Man. - M.: Publishing Group "Progress", 2009. - 103 p.:

· Cohesion among group members is a condition conducive to achieving therapeutic success. Characterizes the strength and unity of interpersonal interactions in a group.
· Instilling hope by the group - faith in the success of the therapeutic process appears when working together. It arises from the fact that different members of the group advance at different paces (those lagging behind are pulled forward).
· Generalization - before joining a group, people consider their own problems to be unique, but during group work they realize that this is not the case.
· Altruism - the awareness that each group member can be useful and necessary to others.
· Providing information - instructional techniques are used both from the therapist to the client and from clients to each other.
· Multiple transference - the emotional attachment of participants to the therapist and to each other, the group as a whole.
· Interpersonal communication - the group is a kind of testing ground for studying the positive and negative emotional reactions of participants and testing new ways of behavior. Group members learn that they can openly ask others for help and support.
· Development of interpersonal skills - participants improve their ability to communicate in a group.
· Imitating behavior - imitation of the leader and group members to each other. First - to gain approval, then comes active experimentation. As a result, the behavioral repertoire of each participant expands.
· Catharsis - emotional shock, cleansing.
3. Family psychotherapy

Aimed at correcting interpersonal relationships in the family. Its goal is to eliminate emotional disorders in the family, most pronounced in the sick family member. In other words, this is therapy of the client in the family and with the help of the family.