If you’ve ever typed “treatment types” into a search tool and felt more confused after reading the results, you’re not alone. Terms like cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, and EMDR can sound clinical and intimidating, but this guide helps you understand these approaches with definitions written for real people just like you.
Whether you’re considering therapy for the first time, exploring options for a loved one, or simply trying to ask better questions when working with a therapist, we can help you with it all.
Why it’s important to know your treatment options
The beauty of therapy is that there is no one approach: it looks different for everyone, depending on their needs. The right therapy for someone navigating grief can look very different than what works for someone managing borderline personality disorder or processing childhood trauma. You may have heard of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which is very effective for many people, but it is only one of many treatment approaches that trained professionals can use.
Knowing what is available and which methods meet different needs enables you to have informed, meaningful conversations with potential or current therapists. It also helps you trust the process once you begin your healing journey.
The most common types of treatment, explained
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Changing the way you think and act
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is one of the most widely researched and practiced forms of psychotherapy in the world. At its core, CBT is simple: learning how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors interact helps you see challenging situations more clearly and respond to them more effectively.
In practice, CBT is structured and goal-oriented. Cognitive behavioral therapy usually takes place in a limited number of sessions, usually 5-20. During these sessions, a therapist helps you identify negative thought patterns, such as catastrophizing or all-or-nothing thinking, and replace them with more realistic ones.
Best for: Anxiety disorders, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), eating disorders, substance use, and even chronic pain.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): For strong emotions and difficult patterns
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) takes a different approach, using the core principles of CBT with an emphasis on acceptance. Originally developed by psychologist Marsha Linehan in the late 1970s and 1980s, it was originally designed to treat chronic suicidality in people with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Since then, its appeal has expanded significantly.
“Dialectical” means trying to understand how two seemingly opposite things could both be true. For example, accepting yourself and changing your behavior can be contradictory, but DBT emphasizes that you can achieve both.
DBT focuses on four key skill areas:
Treatment includes individual therapy sessions, group skills sessions, or telephone coaching with therapists between sessions. Its purpose is to help people develop skills they can use in their daily lives to effectively manage emotions, maintain or improve interpersonal relationships, tolerate distress, and avoid behaviors that are harmful to their quality of life.
Best for: Borderline personality disorder, self-harm, suicidal ideation, eating disorders, depression, PTSD and substance use disorders. In fact, the most effective treatment for borderline personality disorder is DBT.
EMDR: Trauma Therapy Without Reliving Every Detail
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) may be one of the most misunderstood treatments, but it is one of the most effective and well-researched trauma treatments out there. Some studies have found that 84-90% of trauma victims can no longer experience PTSD after three 90-minute sessions.
The hypothesis is based on how the brain stores traumatic memories. EMDR trauma therapy helps clients reprocess painful memories that remain “stuck” in the nervous system, often leading to symptoms such as hypervigilance, intrusive thoughts, emotional dysregulation, and avoidance. During a session, a therapist guides you to recall a painful memory while engaging in bilateral stimulation, such as guided eye movements, tapping, or alternating tones. During the session, the memory usually loses its emotional charge and is integrated as a resolved past rather than an ongoing emotional threat.
Reliving the trauma is very painful, but the advantage of EMDR is that it does not require detailed talking through the trauma, making it especially valuable for those who find verbal processing too much.
Best for: PTSD, complex trauma, anxiety, depression, grief, phobias and abuse recovery.
Psychodynamic therapy: Exploring the roots of the present
How has your past shaped who you are today? This is the question that psychodynamic therapy addresses as a fundamental question.
In contrast to CBT’s focus on thoughts and behaviors, psychodynamic therapy focuses on the recognition of feelings rather than thoughts and beliefs. It also focuses on understanding avoidance, pattern recognition, interpersonal relationships, and encourages free association. This means talking freely about fears, feelings, dreams, desires and thoughts in a non-judgmental environment to discover unconscious or repressed feelings.
Sessions tend to be less structured than CBT, with more room for open conversation and self-exploration. This approach is especially valuable for people who feel that their current struggles are connected to unresolved experiences or relational patterns from earlier in their lives.
Best for: Depression, anxiety, relationship difficulties, grief, identity challenges, complex trauma, anxiety, panic, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Humanistic Therapy: Focusing on the Whole Person
Humanistic therapy combines various approaches to treat the whole person. It combines person-centered therapy (developed by Carl Rogers), Gestalt therapy, and existential approaches to focus on this key perspective: people are inherently capable of growth, and the right therapeutic environment can unlock that potential.
Humanistic therapy focuses on a person’s positive characteristics, including their personal characteristics, strengths, and overall tendency toward self-actualization. The method focuses on the here and now and encourages the client to take an active role in the healing process. Indeed, the therapeutic relationship itself becomes the vehicle for change, which simply reiterates the fact that finding the right therapist is crucial to a positive therapy experience.
Best for: Low self-esteem, existential concerns, personal growth, relationship issues, grief and those who feel invisible or misunderstood in their everyday lives. Humanistic approaches are also often woven into other styles of therapy as a foundational framework.
How do you know which type of treatment is right for you?
The truth is: You don’t always know ahead of time, and that’s okay. Most qualified therapists are trained in multiple modalities and will tailor their approach to your specific needs, history and goals. Most skilled therapists have a variety of methodological tools to draw from, tailoring their approach to fit each individual’s unique needs, interests, and developmental stage.
That said, going in with some knowledge gives you the ability to ask meaningful questions. When searching for the right therapist or during your next session, try asking your therapist these questions:
1. What approaches do you use? [anxiety/trauma/depression]? |
2. Are you trained in CBT, DBT or EMDR? |
3. How structured will our sessions be? |
5. How will we know if it works? |
Asking these questions will help you find the right fit for your healing journey, and a good therapist will welcome them.
A quick reference: Types of treatment and what they are for
There are so many treatment approaches out there, and we’ve only covered a few. However, here is a breakdown of the theories we discussed and what they can help support:
Taking the next step
Understanding these approaches is the first step to building a better you. Finding the right therapist is an important part of improving your mental health, but you don’t have to do it alone. GoodTherapy’s directory of therapists allows you to filter by treatment type, specialty, location, and more so you can find someone who truly fits your needs.
If you’re still exploring whether therapy is right for you, our blog on what to expect at your first therapy session can help you get started.
Remember, reaching out is not a sign that something is wrong with you. It’s a sign that you know it’s worth investing in your well-being.
The previous article was written exclusively by the author listed above. Any views and opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by GoodTherapy.org. Questions or concerns about the previous article can be directed to the author or posted as a comment below.
