Everyone experiences periods of emotional distress. Sometimes, negative thoughts and feelings go away on their own, and no treatment is needed. Other times, participating in therapy can significantly and positively impact one’s overall mood and outlook on life.
Whether you’re experiencing mental health symptoms or need some extra support, Talk Therapy can help by helping you to learn how to cope with negative thoughts and feelings, improve your mood, and help you live a more meaningful life.
Depending on your preferences and specific symptoms, your therapist may recommend different types of therapy, such as:
Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) uses a combination of cognitive therapy and behavioural therapy to explore the relationships between your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. During CBT, you’ll work with your therapist to identify unhealthy thought patterns and how they may be causing problematic behaviours and beliefs.
By recognising negative thought patterns, you’ll develop healthy ways of thinking that lead to more positive behaviour patterns and beliefs. For example, if you’re struggling with low self-esteem, Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy can help you replace negative thoughts (“I’m not good at anything”) with different ways of thinking (“I’m good at this, based on my past experiences”).
Psychodynamic therapy is a type of talk therapy that focuses on recognising and resolving negative emotions and behaviour patterns rooted in past experiences. During this type of therapy, your therapist may ask you open-ended questions or use free association to encourage you to discuss whatever is on your mind.
Your mental health professional will then work with you to sift through past experiences and identify unconscious patterns of behaviour and feeling. By learning how childhood experiences have influenced your behaviors and emotions, you can learn new skills to overcome unhealthy behaviours.
Psychodynamic therapy is typically used to treat mood disorders and anxiety disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), phobias, and panic disorder.
Humanistic therapy adopts a whole-person approach to resolve negative thinking and behavioural patterns, using various theories and techniques to promote self-development.
Humanistic therapy helps you explore your relationship with different parts of yourself, including your emotions, body, mind, and behaviour, as well as your interpersonal relationships with other people, such as your friends and family members. Above all else, this type of therapy aims to help you grow, find support, and live a meaningful life.