What are some different types of therapy?

There are several different kinds of therapy, but we wanted to highlight a couple of the more common ones.

‍

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

You may have heard of CBT, which stands for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.  This type of therapy helps you learn how to identify and change thought patterns that negatively affect your emotions.  CBT is based on the idea that the way we think and feel affects the way we behave.  The goal of CBT is to help you gain control over your thoughts and replace negative thoughts with more realistic, objective ones.

‍

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) 

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) focuses on building skills to manage painful emotions and decrease conflict in relationships.  DBT focuses on four key areas: mindfulness, distress tolerance to accept yourself and your current situation, emotion regulation to manage intense emotions, and interpersonal effectiveness to help develop communication skills to strengthen relationships.  The goal of DBT is to find a balance between accepting yourself, while pushing you to make positive changes that will help you manage intense emotions.

‍

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)  focuses on acceptance as the main tool to  cope with negative thoughts, feelings, and circumstances.  A key component of ACT is psychological flexibility, which can help you to accept your thoughts and feelings when they are useful, and to set them aside when they are not. The goal of ACT is to help you stop struggling with getting rid of negative thoughts and increase your involvement in activities that give your life meaning.  

‍

Reviewed by Sara Levine, MD, MPH, FAAP, Medical Director of Adolescent Medicine and Marissa Branson, LCSW, Mental Health Therapist

‍