Individual psychotherapy
Individual psychotherapy is recommended to everyone who may need help for personal development or to improve their quality of life. Its most effective role, however, is treating your diagnosable discomfort or dysfunctionalities.
You’re not crazy or weak for seeking out individual psychotherapy, quite the opposite!
Only people who are “healthy” enough to notice problems in their daily life or mental state, people who are brave enough to admit to themselves that they may need professional help, seek psychotherapy.
Individual psychotherapy is recommended as treatment, and can be used in concordance with drug-based treatment for:
- Anxiety disorders: generalized, panic disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder, acute stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder
- personality disorders or overly rigid and dysfunctional patterns of behavior, thinking and relating to others
- relationship difficulties
- adjustment disorders or difficulties in managing life crises (bereavement, separation, divorce, conflict, illness, other trauma)
- converse disorder (hysteria in the old nomenclature), somatoform disorders (physical symptoms that have a psychological cause)
- existential crises
- increased self-confidence overcoming shyness, learning and practicing assertiveness (the ability to say “no” or stand up for yourself without aggression or guilt)
- learning patterns of thinking or new, constructive behavior
- depressive episodes mild, moderate (psychotherapy only), severe (with medication, after a period of stabilization of the patient’s condition)
- bipolar affective disorder, schizophrenia, schizo-affective disorder (only with medication), with role in psycho-education, increasing quality of life
The individual psychotherapy process:
- Sessions last around 50 minutes and take place either once or twice a week;
- Don’t be late; the session will not make up for lost time, so you would waste precious therapy minutes. It is also obvious that you will pay for all weekly appointments, with exceptions being the therapist’s breaks, and your own breaks as long as you let us know ahead of time.
- Your relationship with your therapist is the most important factor in your change for the better. Try to feel comfortable in the therapist’s office for the most efficient process. Share all aspects that might make you feel uncomfortable. Of course, in the case of people who never seem to find anyone to their liking, we can analyze what may be happening consciously or unconsciously.
- Be patient with yourself. Psychotherapy isn’t a magic pill. Its efficiency is tied to a rhythm that adjusts to your own, not to your wish to instantly get rid of your symptoms.
- Therapists aren’t all-knowing. They generally won’t offer advice and won’t tell you what to do, excluding mental homework.
- Exercise your breakthroughs between sessions. An hour a week won’t result in efficient change otherwise.
Safety in individual psychotherapy:
- Confidentiality rules are quite strict for therapists. They cannot reveal their clients’ identities, what they share in session, etc. It is recommended that you don’t share the contents of your therapy sessions either, although not mandatory.
- the ethical rules of psychotherapists do not allow them to have any other kind relationship with the client than the therapeutic one. Thus, a therapist cannot work with colleagues, friends, relatives, business partners, etc; obviously a romantic relationship with the client is excluded from the start. Generally, this rule is maintained after the end of therapy. It is also recommended that the therapist does not work with clients who are close friends or relatives (spouses, best friend, etc.)
- therapists working with adults are not allowed to disclose aspects of a client’s psychotherapy to their relatives or friends at their request. It is therefore recommended that the client pays for the therapy out of their own money to avoid triangular agreements. (If someone else is paying they may feel entitled to ask for details to find out “what they are paying for”);
Types of therapy recommended for treating depression:
a. Cognitive psychotherapy.
For those suffering of major depressive symptoms, cognitive therapy can help more than meds, in some cases. Cognitive therapy is based on finding the roots of depression within a pessimistic mindset. The goal of this kind of therapy is to change a negative outlook on life with a more positive one.
b. Cognitive behavioural psychotherapy.
In addition to cognitive therapy, CBT could help someone change not only their mindset, but also their behavior. According to CBT practice and theory, behavior has as big of a role to play as a patient’s outlook on life in developing or maintaining depressive symptoms.
c. Interpersonal psychotherapy.
This kind of therapy has its own ideology;
- Depression originates from difficulty relating to friends or loved ones
- This difficulty springs from dysfunctional or toxic relationships in the patient’s childhood
The role of interpersonal psychotherapy is to improve relationships with loved ones, and generally acquiring better communication and social interaction skills.
d. Psychoanalytic psychotherapy
The psychoanalytic approach bases its claims on psychoanalytic theories on depression. In that sense, this kind of psychotherapy tries to improve interpersonal confidence, tolerance towards frustration or uncertainty, the ability to accept losses, satisfaction with intimacy, and generally the capability to withstand a wide range of emotions. This kind of therapy lasts at least 6 months, lasting a total of 1 or 2 years in most cases.
e. Humanistic psychotherapy.
Centered on the person themselves, transactional, gestalt, experience-based and Adlerian analysis,
Aims to deeply change the patient’s personality through resolving traumas and changing their mindset and behavior. The change happens within the patient’s relationship with their therapist, who aims to create a warm, encouraging, trusting environment, where the client can develop a better relationship with their own resources.
To elicit change, this type of therapy lasts at the very least between 9 months to a year.
There are many forms of psychotherapy, and their efficiency not only depends on the techniques used by the therapist, but also on how comfortable you feel within the environment your therapist built. Sessions can be individual, or in groups (the therapist or therapists work with a group of 6 to 8 people that suffer from depression).
Often times, group therapy can be more efficient than the individual variety, as the support received from a number of people who understand your pain can be extremely beneficial.