Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of treatment that focuses on present symptoms, examining the relationships between thoughts, feelings and behaviors. By exploring patterns of thinking that lead to self-destructive actions and the beliefs that direct these thoughts, people are able to modify their patterns of thinking to improve coping. CBT is a type of psychotherapy that is different from traditional psychodynamic psychotherapy in that the therapist and the client will actively work together, in order to help the client work through their personal challenges. People who seek CBT can expect their therapist to be goal-directed in addressing the challenging symptoms, reported by the client. Given that CBT is an active intervention, one can also expect to do homework or practice outside of sessions.

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Solution-Focused Therapy

Solution-Focused therapy is goal oriented, targeting the desired outcome of therapy as a solution rather than focusing on the symptoms or issues that brought someone to therapy. This technique emphasizes present and future circumstances and desires over past experiences. The therapist encourages the client to imagine the future that he or she wants and then the therapist and client collaborate on a series of steps to achieve that goal. This form of therapy involves developing a vision of one’s future, and then determining what skills, resources, and abilities a person already possesses that can be enhanced in order to attain the desired outcome.

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Psychodynamic Therapy

The goal of psychodynamic therapy is to recognize negative patterns of behavior and feelings that are rooted in past experiences and resolve them. This type of therapy often uses open-ended questions and free association so that people have the opportunity to discuss whatever is on their mind. The therapist then works with the person to sift through these thoughts and identify unconscious patterns of negative behavior or feelings and how they have been caused or influenced by past experiences and unresolved feelings. By bringing these associations to the person’s attention they can learn to overcome the unhelpful behaviors and improve change the patterns in their interpersonal relations.

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Play Therapy

Play therapy refers to a method of psychotherapy with children in which a therapist uses a child's fantasies and the symbolic meanings of their play as a medium for understanding and communicating with the child.  The aim of play therapy is to decrease those behavioral and emotional difficulties that interfere significantly with a child's daily functioning. Some goals include improved verbal expression, ability for self-observation, improved impulse control, more adaptive ways of coping with anxiety/frustration, and improved emotion regulation.