What kind of therapy is right for me?
Ever wonder what kind of therapy would be the best suited to you?
The following is a table of client personality traits that guide a therapist in choosing the kind of therapy that would work for the client
| TYPE OF THERAPY | SELECTIVE PATIENT VARIABLES |
|---|---|
| Adapted from: Novalis PN, Rojcewicz SJ, Peele R. Clinical Manual of Supportive Psychotherapy. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc., 1993. | |
| PSYCHODYNAMIC | Chronic sense of emptiness and underestimation of self worth |
| Loss or long separation in childhood | |
| Conflicts in past relationships | |
| Capacity for insight | |
| Ability to modulate regression | |
| Access to dreams and fantasy | |
| Little need for direction and guidance | |
| Stable environment | |
| COGNITIVE | Obvious distorted thoughts about self, world, and future |
| Pragmatic (logical) thinking | |
| Real inadequacies (including poor responses to other psychotherapies) | |
| Moderate to high need for direction and guidance | |
| Responsiveness to behavioral training and self help (high degree of self control) | |
| INTERPERSONAL | Recent, focused dispute with spouse or significant other |
| Social or communication problems | |
| Recent role transition or life change | |
| Abnormal grief reaction | |
| Modest to moderate need for direction and guidance | |
| Responsiveness to environmental manipulation | |
| SUPPORTIVE | Failure to progress in other types of therapy |
| Suicidal | |
| Cognitively impaired and illogical | |
| Acute or chronic medical illness | |
| Presence of somatization or denial of illness | |
| Requiring high levels of guidance or responsive to behavioral methods | |