What is therapy — and which kind might fit you?

CBT helps you identify and shift unhelpful thought-and-behavior patterns -- reducing symptoms through practical tools and steady practice. It is typically structured, present-focused, and time-limited (often 12 to 20 sessions), making it a strong starting point for many common concerns.

DBT teaches practical skills for navigating big emotions, handling distress without making things worse, and strengthening relationships -- often in a structured, coaching-style format. Originally developed for borderline personality disorder, it is now used widely for anyone who experiences high emotional intensity.

ACT helps you make room for difficult thoughts and feelings while building a life guided by your values -- so you can move forward even when things feel hard. Rather than fighting internal experiences, ACT builds psychological flexibility.

ERP is the gold-standard treatment for OCD. It helps you reduce compulsions by gradually facing triggers while resisting the urge to respond with rituals, reassurance-seeking, or avoidance -- at a pace you can handle, with consistent support. ERP works because it teaches your nervous system that the anxiety passes on its own, without the compulsion.

Mindfulness-based approaches strengthen attention and present-moment awareness, helping you relate to thoughts and emotions with more steadiness and choice. MBCT (Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy) is structured for relapse prevention in depression; MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) targets stress and chronic conditions.

MI helps you work through ambivalence about change by strengthening your own reasons, confidence, and next steps -- without shame or pressure. It is often used as a layer within another approach, or as a bridge to treatment engagement.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) helps distressing memories feel less intense and less stuck, so the past can be integrated and the present can feel safer. It works through a structured protocol that uses bilateral stimulation (eye movements, taps, or tones) to help the brain process and reorganize traumatic memory.

Somatic approaches support regulation by working with the nervous system and body cues -- particularly helpful when stress, trauma, or anxiety show up physically rather than verbally. The underlying premise is that the body holds experience and that healing often requires working with sensation, movement, and physiological state -- not just cognitive understanding.

SE (Somatic Experiencing) is a body-based trauma method developed by Peter Levine that helps restore regulation by working with sensation, attention, and gradually building capacity for activation and release -- always within the window of tolerance.

NARM focuses on developmental trauma and attachment wounds -- how survival strategies formed in early life shape identity, emotion, and connection, and how to move toward more freedom and choice. It integrates somatic awareness with depth relational work.

These structured trauma treatments reduce PTSD symptoms and shift trauma-linked beliefs -- helping you rebuild safety, trust, and self-understanding. TF-CBT is primarily for children and adolescents (with caregiver involvement); CPT is commonly used with adults.

Psychodynamic therapy helps you understand deeper patterns -- how past experiences, relationships, and unconscious processes shape present emotions, behaviors, and self-beliefs -- so you can live with more clarity and choice. It tends to be longer-term and less structured than skills-based approaches.

IFS helps you relate to different 'parts' of yourself -- like an inner critic, a protector, or a shut-down part -- with curiosity and compassion rather than shame or conflict. The goal is to build Self-leadership: a grounded, compassionate internal stance from which you can work with even the most painful parts of your experience.

Narrative therapy helps you separate from the problem ('the problem is the problem -- not you') and reclaim authorship of your own story. It is particularly useful for identity questions, shame, and situations where dominant cultural or relational narratives have been harmful.

Family systems therapy looks at patterns between people -- not just within one person -- so you can shift cycles, strengthen boundaries, and build healthier connection. It can be done with multiple family members or as individual therapy with a systems lens.

FBT is a structured approach where caregivers play a central, active role in supporting eating disorder recovery -- primarily for adolescents -- with an emphasis on medical safety, nutritional restoration, and gradual return of autonomy.

A research-informed couples approach that strengthens friendship, builds conflict management tools, and supports shared meaning -- so both partners feel more understood and connected. Based on over 40 years of relationship research.

IPT improves mood and symptoms by strengthening relationships and building skills for navigating key interpersonal stressors. It is typically time-limited (12 to 16 sessions) and focuses on one of four areas: grief, role transitions, role disputes, or interpersonal deficits.

Group therapy uses shared experience, guided support, and real-time relationship practice to reduce isolation and build skills -- at a pace you control. It works best as a complement to individual therapy, not a replacement. The group itself becomes a laboratory for practicing connection and communication.

Art therapy is a distinct mental health profession that uses creative process and image-making as a primary therapeutic modality -- not a supplement to talking, but a different pathway to the same psychological territory. There is strong neurological rationale for this: trauma, overwhelming emotion, and early developmental wounds often live below the level of verbal language, stored in the right hemisphere and limbic system. Art-making engages these systems directly, offering access to experience that talk alone may not reach. Research shows expressive therapies reduce symptoms of PTSD, depression, and anxiety, and support regulation and integration in ways that language-based approaches do not always achieve.

Music therapy uses music experiences -- listening, rhythm, improvisation, songwriting, and movement -- in a structured therapeutic way to support regulation, emotional expression, and connection. Like art therapy, it engages neural pathways that verbal processing does not access alone. Rhythm and music activate the motor system, limbic system, and prefrontal cortex simultaneously, which is why music can shift physiological state rapidly and support trauma recovery, grief processing, and neurological rehabilitation.

Dance/movement therapy (DMT) uses movement and body awareness to support regulation, integration, and connection -- helpful when emotion lives in the body and verbal approaches feel insufficient. The body's movement patterns, posture, and gesture carry psychological meaning that can be explored and shifted therapeutically.

Medication management addresses the biological dimension of mental health symptoms -- supporting sleep, anxiety, mood, attention, and energy. It typically works best alongside therapy, lifestyle support, and regular follow-up, rather than as a standalone intervention.

Play therapy helps children express feelings, build coping skills, and work through stress using developmentally appropriate play -- the natural language of childhood. It is a distinct clinical specialty, not just play with a therapist present.

Structured programs with multiple sessions per week -- combining group therapy, individual therapy, and often psychiatric support -- designed to offer more stability and momentum when symptoms feel too heavy for weekly therapy alone. PHP (Partial Hospitalization) typically runs 4 to 6 hours daily, 5 days a week. IOP (Intensive Outpatient) is typically 9 to 15 hours per week over 3 to 5 days.

TMS is a noninvasive brain stimulation treatment often used for depression when medications and therapy have not been sufficient -- typically delivered as part of a broader care plan including therapy and medication management.

ECT is a medical treatment used for severe depression and certain acute psychiatric situations. It can be life-saving when rapid relief is needed and other treatments have not helped, and modern ECT is performed under general anesthesia with carefully titrated stimulation.