Psychotherapy

Why is this procedure done?

Psychotherapy is a form of treatment in which you talk with a therapist. It is used to treat emotional and mental problems. You can talk to your therapist about how you feel about yourself and others. With your therapist you may learn skills to help you cope and handle troubling times in your daily life. You may also work on changing your behavior or learning to deal with painful feelings or a difficult relationship. You may build a stronger sense of good health. ‚
Psychotherapy is helpful when you have: ‚

Emotional problems like stress, worry, low mood
Mental problems like mood disorder, psychosis, or schizophrenia
Personality problems like lack of concern for others
Problems dealing with a traumatic event like war or abuse
Drug abuse or abuse of beer, wine, and mixed drinks (alcohol)
Relationship problems like affairs or betrayal, separation or divorce, and grief or dealing with death
Eating disorders like overeating or not eating well
Harmful reactions like physical or verbal abuse
Medical problems and serious illnesses like high blood sugar and cancer
Trouble sleeping

Healing may take time. You may need to use other methods and problem solving skills. Different types of therapy are: ‚

Psychodynamic therapy or PDT ¢ ˆ ’ Helps you see hidden meanings or patterns of what you do or say. This can help you know how your deeper thoughts can change actions. You may also learn more about how you view life events, and your actions towards others.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy or CBT ¢ ˆ ’ Helps you find out and change harmful thinking and behavior patterns. You learn to replace them with healthy ones.
Interpersonal psychotherapy or IPT ¢ ˆ ’ Looks at how you relate to and interact with family, friends, or other people. This is often used to treat low mood or depression.
Psychoanalysis ¢ ˆ ’ Connects and understands how your current feelings and behaviors are linked to past events in your life.
Cognitive analytical therapy or CAT ¢ ˆ ’ A combination of psychodynamic therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. A therapist may have you use diaries and charts to help in your therapy.
Humanistic therapy ¢ ˆ ’ Helps you to recognize your strengths, grow, and take on responsibilities.
Family and marital therapy ¢ ˆ ’ Therapy with one or more family members to focus on solving problems together.

What will the results be?

Psychotherapy helps you: ‚

Manage your thoughts, emotions, feelings, and actions in a certain situation
Learn how and why problems trouble you
Learn healthy ways of thinking. This helps your sense of well-being.
Focus on positive thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and actions

Psychotherapy may also: ‚

Help calm emotional problems
Help lessen worry and low mood
Treat mental illness
Help you cope with personality disorders
Help you recover from substance abuse
Resolve relationship problems
Help your sense of body image and how you view food
Help you cope with serious physical illnesses

What happens before the procedure?

Find a therapist. A close working relationship is very important between you and your therapist. You need to build trust and respect with your therapist. If you do not like your therapist at first, look for another one.
You will be given choices for therapy. Some people choose to do one-on-one therapy. Others would rather work in a group. Your therapist will help you plan the sessions.
Your therapist will take your history. You will be asked to fill out a form about your past health care and emotional history.
Tell your therapist about yourself. Include your past health care and emotional history. Be sure to tell your doctor if you are taking drugs or other treatments. It is important to be honest in order to get the right help you need. Talk to your therapist about any concern you have.

What happens during the procedure?

Most therapy sessions last 50 to 60 minutes. Sessions may be longer or shorter based on the type of therapy used. There are many types of therapy. ‚

Individual or one-on-one session ¢ ˆ ’ Therapy involves you and the therapist talking alone in a room.
Group ¢ ˆ ’ Two or more people may join in the therapy at the same time.
Marital or couples ¢ ˆ ’ You and your partner or spouse talk with the therapist. Together you help solve problems and work out things in a healthier way.
Family ¢ ˆ ’ Teaches how to express feelings and resolve conflicts with family members. It can help work out problems together as a family.
Art therapy ¢ ˆ ’ May help you share your feelings and get well with the use of music, dance, writing, or other arts.
Animal therapy ¢ ˆ ’ May help you cope with pain, or cope with the loss of a loved one while you work with animals.
Play therapy ¢ ˆ ’ May help children to express their feelings while using toys or games.

During your session, your therapist may: ‚

Talk with you about how things are going since your last session and get your feedback on how you are handling your problems.
Ask you to keep a diary. This can help your therapist check your thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Give you homework, reading, and things to practice. This can help you make changes in your daily actions. They can help you be more aware of your thoughts and actions.
Talk to you about how much therapy you need. This is based on what problems you are working on and what type of therapy is used. You and your therapist can decide what works best for you.

What happens after the procedure?

You may continue to build up your skills even after you have ended your therapy. ‚

What care is needed at home?

Be sure to follow your treatment plan. It is important to go to all of your sessions.
Do your homework honestly. Be open and willing to share your feelings and experiences. If it is hard for you to talk and do certain things, tell your therapist about it.
Be patient. Do not expect instant results. It may take hard work and time to help you recover. You may start to see results after you have a few sessions with your therapist.

What follow-up care is needed?

Your doctor may ask you to make visits to the office to check on your progress. Be sure to keep these visits.
Therapy may be done 1 to 2 times per week. It will depend on your problems and schedule. You may need to call or visit with your therapist if you have any concerns or something is troubling you in between your sessions.
Your therapist may suggest that you take a repeat course or other treatments for follow-up. This can help you avoid problems from coming back.

What problems could happen?

If you have problems or you are not comfortable with your therapist, look for another therapist.
If you think that the therapy is not working well for you, talk to your therapist right away. Both of you may choose to try some other type of therapy.
Sometimes, if you have a hard time sharing bad experiences, tell your therapist. Your therapist can help you cope with these feelings.
If you are not able to work out your problems, tell your therapist right away. Your therapist can help you cope with these feelings.

Helpful tips

Be active and join in with your therapist. Try to have a good relationship with your therapist.
Be honest about your feelings. Do not be embarrassed about your feelings. The more honest you are, the easier it will be for your therapist to help you. Remember that everything you say is confidential. This means your therapist cannot tell anyone else about what you discuss.
Talk therapy may be used in place of drugs or for follow-up care. Talk therapy can work well with drugs and may not cause any serious side effects. It often works best if used together with drugs. Talk with your doctor and therapist about what will work best for you.

Where can I learn more?

National institute of Mental Health ‚
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/psychotherapies/index.shtml ‚
NHS Choices ‚
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Psychotherapy/Pages/Introduction.aspx ‚

Consumer Information Use and Disclaimer

This information is not specific medical advice and does not replace information you receive from your health care provider. This is only a brief summary of general information. It does NOT include all information about conditions, illnesses, injuries, tests, procedures, treatments, therapies, discharge instructions or life-style choices that may apply to you. You must talk with your health care provider for complete information about your health and treatment options. This information should not be used to decide whether or not to accept your health care providers advice, instructions or recommendations. Only your health care provider has the knowledge and training to provide advice that is right for you. ‚

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