What are Talking Therapies… and what are the alternatives?
In this section you’ll find some external links that will give you an overview of the different types of talking therapy that are typically available… as well as mentioning a few alternatives. You might like to start by watching this short YouTube video: “Therapy Talks: an introduction to therapy”. It’s made for a UK audience but I think it makes sense and helps set the scene wherever you are.
What is Talking Therapy?
Talking therapy is when we talk to a trained therapist in a safe and confidential environment, to explore and understand our thoughts, feelings and behaviour, develop our own solutions and gain coping skills.
There are lots of different talking therapies, provided by a variety of professionals in a range of settings… and some therapists are trained in more than one approach. All talking therapists should be professionally trained and accredited. They have to adhere to professional standards and they’re usually required to undertake ongoing professional development.
Where do therapists usually work?
Where therapists work and how clients access their services can vary a lot depending on where they are in the world, the clients they’re working with, the type of therapy they’re doing and who’s funding it.
When you start searching online for information about talking therapies, a lot of sites talk about therapy (or psychotherapy) within a medical context, as a ‘mental health treatment’. Some of the sites listed below, (NAMI, Mental Health America, and NHS UK) fall into that category. However, lots of therapists work in private practice, in education or in the work place and their clients haven’t been diagnosed with any mental health condition. Therapy can be suitable for anyone who’s going through a difficult time and needs some support to deal with it.
How do they work?
Again, how therapists work and the terminology they use can vary a lot. For example, some work within a pre-defined structure and offer a fixed number of sessions while others have a more open-ended arrangement with their clients. And while many therapists see clients once a week for up to an hour, the length and frequency of sessions can vary according to your needs, the type of therapy you choose and who is funding it; (see: To pay or not to pay? Some factors to bear in mind)
Some therapies focus on changing current thoughts and behaviour and looking for practical strategies clients can use to start feeling better, while others probe more deeply into the past to identify and resolve underlying causes, some of which may well be outside clients’ conscious awareness… so quite a lot of digging may be required.
And although some psychoanalysts might invite their clients to lie down on the couch and pour out their innermost thoughts with minimal interruption, in most cases you’ll be sitting in a comfortable chair facing your therapist and having a two-way conversation… facilitated by the therapist.
The style of therapy that’s right for you will depend on the issues you want to deal with and on your own personal style… for example, some people are practical and prefer therapy that focuses on the here and now while others are reflective and like to probe, make connections and understand why. You CAN find published evidence of the average success rate of some therapies for certain issues. But it’s not an exact science because so much depends on the individual client and the individual therapist. So some people try more than one type of therapy – and more than one therapist – before finding the one that really makes a difference for them.
RESEARCH EVIDENCE CONSISTENTLY SHOWS THAT THE QUALITY OF THE RELATIONSHIP YOU HAVE WITH YOUR THERAPIST MAKES A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE TO THE RESULTS, REGARDLESS OF THE TYPE OF THERAPY YOU CHOOSE. (See: Do I like you? Can I trust you? Are we equal partners?)
About the links and information below:
There are so many sites I could have included on this page, but I think the links below are a good introduction. I hope they’ll give you a brief insight into what the most frequently available therapies aim to do, so you can decide which ones might be worth exploring in more detail.
The Mind website, (mind.org.uk), is my favourite because it provides a wealth of information about different types of talking therapy, how they work in practice and how you can get the most out of them, explaining things in everyday, jargon-free language. They also list other terms that are used for talking therapy, (e.g. therapy, psychotherapy, counselling, psychological therapy etc) and explain that they’re broadly the same, though they may be delivered by different professionals.
The Mind, NHS UK, NIMH and NAMI websites summarise the talking therapies that are most widely available. And the BACP website has a comprehensive A-Z listing of therapeutic approaches, with a short description of each and some illustrative case studies. I’d definitely recommend it.
Clicking on any link will take you to an external site where you can read more:
Mind, is a very user-friendly UK mental health charity and I think these two links are the best place to start:
BACP is the leading professional organisation for counsellors and psychotherapists in the UK. It sets standards for therapists and provides information and resources to therapists, their clients and the general public. The first link is a short introduction, while the second is that very useful A-Z guide:
NHS UK (The public health service in the UK) has an overview of different types of talking therapy and the situations in which they may be appropriate:
National Institute of Mental Health part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, conducts and supports research that seeks to understand, treat, and prevent mental illness. Its current strategic priorities include “accelerating the pace of scientific progress and transforming mental health care”. This page on their website has a very clear overview that explains what psychotherapy is and how to go about finding a therapist:
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/psychotherapies#:~:text=Psychotherapy%20
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is a grassroots organisation across the USA dedicated to improving the lives of people who are affected by mental illness. The first link summarises what therapists and other professional working in the area of mental health typically do and the qualifications they require, while the second link has some really helpful descriptions of popular types of psychotherapy – not only the ever-present CBT and DBT but also Mentalization-Based Therapy and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy:
https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Treatments/Types-of-Mental-Health-Professionals
https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Treatments/Psychotherapy
Mental Health America describes itself as “the leading national non-profit dedicated to the promotion of mental health, well-being and illness prevention” in the USA. Their site also provides a list of professionals who work in the mental health field and describes the services they provide:
Health Direct – a government funded service that provides health information and advice has this page, outlining psychotherapy provision in Australia, with links to further information:
Very Well Mind – The first link has an interesting overview of marriage and couples therapy and the second focuses on a type of talking therapy called EFT (Emotionally Focused Therapy), which has shown excellent results for some couples:
https://www.verywellmind.com/does-marriage-counseling-work-2300428
https://www.verywellmind.com/emotionally-focused-therapy-for-distressed-couples-2303813
Some alternatives to talking therapy:
You might find this link helpful if you’d like to read about alternatives to therapy (including medication, support groups, self-help and complementary therapies):
And in the interests of balance, here’s a thought-provoking book about medication and mental health written by academic and psychotherapist James Davies: