The Awareness Centre offers many different types of approaches to counselling and psychotherapy. Our specialists have been trained to provide the very best care and support to clients no matter what issues they are struggling with. Please click on each link for further details about the various types of therapy we offer.
How Specific Types of Therapy Can Support You
No two mental health struggles are the same, and there are a number of different avenues to explore when it comes to seeking professional support. The most important approach to counselling and psychotherapy is the therapeutic relationship you create with your therapist.
Depending on the type of therapy you choose, you could find support in almost any area of your life, including relationships, work-life balance, self-esteem and social anxiety.
Benefits of therapy
Develop coping strategies to manage anxieties, stress and change
Feel heard, valued and supported in all aspects of your life
Conquer difficult symptoms that are taking over your day-to-day life
Work towards a healthier mind, body and overall existence
Resolve conflicts and increase your support network
Feel more empowered and in control of your life
Types of Therapy:
Cognitive & Behavioural Therapies
Cognitive & Behavioural Therapies are based on the ways in which we think (cognitive) and/or behave. These therapies recognise that it is possible to change or recondition our thoughts and behaviours in order to overcome some issues and impact our emotions. At TAC, we have a number of therapists specialising in this type of therapy.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a form of behavioural therapy that uses various mindfulness strategies to help us accept the difficulties that we face in life. ACT does not aim to directly change or stop unwanted or negative experiences. Instead, this type of therapy aims to help individuals to accept these experiences as a normal part of life. Over time, this helps people to then choose a direction in which to take action and make positive changes.
This type of therapy is primarily focused on human behaviour, and looks to eradicate maladaptive or unwanted behaviours. These behaviours could be addictions, anxiety, phobias, or obsessive-compulsive disorders. Behaviour therapists are of the belief that behaviours are learned, and can therefore be unlearned. They will look into the thoughts and feelings that lead to the behaviour, or occur as a result of the behaviour, which will eventually give them a better understanding of what you are dealing with.
Cognitive analytic therapy (CAT) is a time-limited therapy that marries together the ideas from analytic psychology and cognitive therapy. A CAT therapist will analyse past events and experiences to understand why their client feels, thinks, and behaves the way they do. From there, the therapists can help the client to problem solve and develop new ways of coping. Together, the therapist and the client can recognise ineffective patterns.
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a type of mind therapy that aims to help you manage your problems by changing how you think and behave. CBT encourages you to talk about how you think about yourself, the world, and other people as well as how what you do affects your thoughts and feelings. CBT is among the most common types of therapy, and at TAC, we are proud to offer our clients multiple specialists within this area of therapy.
Cognitive Therapy is based on the principle that thoughts and perceptions can impact our feelings and behaviours. It looks at ways to reassess negative thoughts so individuals can learn more flexible, positive ways of thinking that will subsequently influence behaviours and emotions.
Based on cognitive behavioural therapy, dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT) looks to help those who experience emotions very intensely. The approach was originally created in the late 1980s to help people with borderline personality disorder, however, it is now used to help with modern-day mental health challenges.
When something traumatic happens, for some people, the memory of the experience can start to come back to their minds quite vividly. This forces them to relive the event with the same intensity, in the form of flashbacks or nightmares. EMDR works by altering the way these traumatic memories are stored in the brain, therefore making them easier to manage.
Book a therapy session
If you think one of these types of therapy may be useful to you, book a session and speak to a Cognitive & Behavioural Therapy specialist
Types of Therapy:
Psychodynamic & Psychoanalytic Therapies
Psychodynamic and psychoanalytic therapies look at how your unconscious thoughts and perceptions developed throughout your childhood, and how these may impact your current thoughts and behaviours.
These therapies aim at creating deep-seated change in your emotional development, helping you to understand and resolve your problems by increasing your awareness of yourself and your relationships.
Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (DIT) is a type of interpersonal therapy, meaning that it looks at the way that we relate to others and how this impacts the way we see ourselves. This approach aims to help you understand the links between what you’re struggling with and what is happening in your relationships. One of the core beliefs of DIT is that when we can deal with relationship problems more effectively, our psychological symptoms tend to improve.
Also known as Jungian analysis, Jungian therapy is a psychoanalytic approach that was developed by Carl Jung who is considered, alongside Freud, to be one of the pioneers of modern depth psychology, particularly of the unconscious mind.
Psychoanalysis is a therapeutic process that focuses on an individual’s unconscious and deep-rooted thoughts. Developed by Sigmund Freud, it takes the view that our current behaviour, thoughts, and feelings are directly influenced by our childhood and past experiences. Over time these can become repressed and may manifest themselves as depression or other negative symptoms.
Psychoanalytic therapy is a form of talking therapy based on the theories of Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis. Psychoanalytic therapy explores how the unconscious mind influences thoughts and behaviours, intending to offer insight and resolution to the person seeking therapy.
Psychodynamic therapy is a therapeutic approach that embraces the work of all analytic therapies. While the roots of psychodynamic therapy lie predominantly in Freud’s approach of psychoanalysis, Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Otto Rank, and Melanie Klein are all widely recognised for their involvement in further developing the concept and application of psychodynamics.
Book a therapy session
If you think one of these types of therapy may be useful to you, book a session and speak to a Psychodynamic & Psychoanalytic Therapy specialist
Types of Therapy:
Humanistic Therapies
Humanistic therapies focus on self-development, growth and responsibilities. They seek to help you find your strengths, creativity and choice in any situation. It is generally based on the belief that we all naturally gravitate towards what is good for us; only being temporarily blocked by difficult life experiences. Specialists offering this type of therapy believe that with the right support, we can, and will, all self-actualise (meaning we will reach our best potential).
Existential therapy is a type of therapy that looks to explore difficulties from a philosophical point of view, focusing on the human condition holistically, highlighting our capacities and encouraging us to take responsibility for our successes.
Gestalt therapy is guided by the relational theory principle, that every individual is whole (mind, body and soul), and that they are best understood in relation to their current situation. It combines this theory with the present state, focusing strongly on self-awareness.
Human Givens therapy is based on the premise that humans have a set of innate needs (or ‘givens’), which determine our sense of wellbeing. It is believed that these needs have been refined over thousands of years and that we have in-built resources to help fill these needs.
Also known as client-centred therapy, the Person-Centred approach is a humanistic type of therapy that deals with ways in which individuals perceive themselves consciously, rather than how a counsellor can interpret their unconscious thoughts or ideas.
Psychosynthesis is a therapeutic approach similar to psychoanalysis. It is based on the idea that every person only uses a small part of their potential, and that we are all capable of leading fulfilling lives. It explores thoughts, feelings and sensations with the hope of uncovering an inner wisdom.
Reality therapy is a person-centred approach that focuses on the ‘here and now’ rather than issues from the past. It promotes problem-solving and making better choices to achieve specific goals.
Also known as solution-focused brief therapy or brief therapy, solution-focused therapy is an approach to therapy based on solution-building rather than problem-solving. Although it does acknowledge present problems and past causes, it mostly focuses on exploring your current resources and future hopes.
TA is a widely recognised form of modern psychology, designed to promote personal growth and change. TA is based on the theory that each person has three ego-states: parent, child and adult. These are used, along with other key TA concepts, tools and models to analyse how individuals communicate and to identify what is needed for a better outcome.
The core aim of transpersonal psychology is to explore human growth and help people to discover a deep and more enduring essential self that exists beyond the conditioned ego. The methodology behind this therapeutic process is a combination of spiritual traditions from around the world, which are integrated with elements of contemporary psychology.
Book a therapy session
If you think one of these types of therapy may be useful to you, book a session and speak to a Humanistic Therapy specialist
Types of Therapy:
Arts Therapies
Creative expression plays an important role in our development, and in many cases it has been found to assist in relieving mental distress. Arts therapies use creative arts in a therapeutic setting with a trained therapist in order to encourage individuals to draw on their inner creative resources and express their feelings without necessarily having to use words.
Art therapy is a type of psychotherapy that uses art and other artistic mediums to help you explore and express thoughts and emotions without necessarily using words. Art therapy can be useful If you find it difficult to say what you are feeling, particularly if you are experiencing confusing or distressing emotions. Doing something with your hands, such as holding a pen or paintbrush, can also help you to feel more grounded and connected to the world around you.
Also known as dance movement therapy, dance therapy is a type of therapy based on the theory that a person’s movements reflect their thinking patterns and feelings. The aim of dance therapy, therefore, is to use dance and movement to facilitate emotional, mental, spiritual, and social growth. Dance therapy has been proven to help with many conditions, including anxiety, body dysmorphic disorder, depression, eating problems and trauma.
Dramatherapy is a type of therapy that allows you to explore emotional difficulties through the medium of drama. This could involve a variety of activities including writing and learning scripts, improvisation exercises or activities using puppets and masks.
Music therapy is a type of creative therapy that involves listening to and/or playing music. The therapy utilises the social and communicative nature of music to foster self-awareness, communication skills and self-esteem, facilitating positive changes in behaviour.
Other Types of Therapy:
Although there are four main categories that psychological therapies usually fall into, there are some therapies that aren’t quite fitting for these categories. These types of therapies are equally helpful for some conditions, and like all other types of therapy offered at The Awareness Centre, we have a range of dedicated specialists for each approach.
Although all talking therapies involve compassion, CFT specifically aims to help those struggling with shame and self-criticism. Often these can be the driving forces behind other conditions such as anxiety and depression.
CFT is considered to be an integrative therapy as it uses tools from other psychotherapies, as well as research and tools from Buddhism, neuroscience and evolutionary therapy.
Family therapy gives families the chance to express and explore their feelings in a safe, non-judgemental environment. Often the aim is to improve communication, discuss and resolve any differences and difficulties, and find a way to move forward together.
Family therapy looks to recognise each individual’s strengths and to build on these within the sessions
Animals have been used in therapy for thousands of years and, while a number of animals are known for being therapeutic, horses are becoming particularly well-known for their ability to foster change. This type of therapy puts people and horses together, along with a therapist and sometimes a horse expert, in an environment designed to promote emotional growth and learning.
While the term ‘group therapy’ can refer to any of the types of psychotherapy that are delivered in a group, it is most commonly associated with a specific type of therapy that makes use of the group dynamic. Having therapy in a group can offer many benefits, including the creation of a support network and the opportunity to meet others experiencing similar concerns.
Mindfulness aims to alleviate stress, help us feel more attuned with our emotions and generally be more aware of ourselves both mentally and physically. Mindfulness is a specific way of paying attention to what is happening in our lives in the present moment, without judgement. It doesn’t eliminate the stressors of life but, with practice, it can help us take notice of negative habitual reactions to them.
Integrative counselling is one of the combined types of psychotherapy that brings together elements from different therapy approaches. Integrative therapists believe that there is no single approach that can treat each client in all situations, and that each person needs to be considered as unique. Therefore, counselling techniques need to be tailored to the individual.
Sometimes, children start to display patterns of behaviour that disrupt their lives, and the lives of those around them. These behaviours include excessive anger, fear, or worry that could impact their development. Play therapy helps to minimise any negative impacts of these unique behaviours.
Interpersonal therapy (IPT) primarily focuses on the way our relationships affect us and how other mental health difficulties affect our relationships. Together with the therapist, a client will then identify any interpersonal issues they are concerned about, and these problems will be analysed and worked through across a number of sessions.
Psychosexual therapy aims to help you to improve the physical intimacy between you and your partner and to overcome or manage any sexual difficulties that you might be having.
Psychodrama is a form of group therapy developed in the 1920s, providing the opportunity to explore life situations from the perspectives of the present, past, and future.
Schema Therapy is a type of therapy that combines elements of cognitive, behavioural, attachment, psychodynamic, and gestalt models, making it truly integrative. Similarly to CBT, Schema Therapy is structured and specific in how it works between the therapist and the client, however, the time that it takes and the focus of the sessions will vary according to the individual.
Narrative therapy aims to help people to become, and embrace being, an expert in their own lives. There is an emphasis on the stories that we develop and carry around with us. As we experience various events and interactions throughout our lives, we attribute meaning and significance to them which influences how we see the world and ourselves. These stories and narratives can impact our sense of self.
Very few relationships are conflict-free. Whether it is the odd disagreement or frequent arguments, it is natural to start questioning your relationship’s longevity. Maintaining good health and happiness for both parties is key, and our relationship counselors can help to ensure disagreements are dealt with in the right way.
Book a therapy session
If you think one of these types of therapy may be useful to you, book a session and speak to one of our therapy specialists