Understanding the various Modes of Therapy

Individual Therapy

Individual Therapy is one to one therapy with a counsellor or psychotherapist who is trained in techniques to help explore, understand and resolve problems and difficulties causing emotional distress. It is based on the assumption that the individual has within themselves the capacity to find a way forward in the direction that is right for them. The compassionate, supportive and healing environment of therapy facilitates an individual in discovering and connecting into their own inner resources and strength and promotes a sense of empowerment and control over their own lives.

Couple Therapy

Couple Therapy is for couples who want to explore issues that concern them both. Common issues might be communication, addressing differences, stress, life events or sexual issues. Couple therapy works with the couple together and can provide a place for each party to explore what concerns them in a way that facilitates genuine listening and openness to the others thoughts and feelings.

They may have struggled to articulate or feel heard or understood previously and the therapist can help them understand how they currently relate to each other and facilitate changes they may wish to make in their relationship. Some therapists will combine an approach of one to one as well as with the couple together to enable both parties to give expression to their needs and opportunity to have these explored within their relationship.

Family Therapy

Family works with families to address difficulty and facilitate change within the context of the family relationship or family environment. While family therapy considers the needs of the individual family members its focus is on helping the family to deal with the difficulties being encountered and to find ways to improve the quality of life for the family group.
It is not about attributing blame but looks at the nature of interaction within the family system. Issues that can be dealt with by family therapy include loss, separation, children or adolescent difficulties, school problems or parental issues including addiction or alcoholism. Family therapy can include individual as well as group dialogue.

Group Therapy

Group Therapy is a type of psychotherapy which involves one or more therapists working with a number of people at the same time in a group setting.
It is often used in hospitals, mental health clinics and community settings, sometimes focussed on specific issues such as drug or alcohol addictions but it can also be provided in a private setting with a therapist to facilitate, for example, bereavement. Its main feature is that it can provide emotional support in a shared or community setting.

Other potential advantages of group therapy include:

• Benefitting from the experience of others who may be at different stages of a personal process or journey
• Providing a corrective re-framing of a family group and thus provide very useful insights into interactions and behaviours with other members which can facilitate and motivate change within an individual for their own good
• Providing a safe forum to model other members or the therapist’s way of interaction with other group members or to try out new behaviours in a supportive setting
• Receiving supportive feedback from the therapist or other group members which gives greater self-awareness or self-understanding
• Providing a sense of belonging and acceptance by others