How to Find the Right Type of Counselling: 3 Tips

Are you looking for counseling?

Would understanding more about the different types of counseling help you?

This is a guest post by Tracie Johnson.

Working with a counselor should be a healing process. If you feel as though therapy is stressful, you might not be attending the right types of sessions. Therapy exists in various formats, each of them working a little differently. Sometimes, what works for one person won’t work the same for you. It would help if you narrowed down which ones would be the most effective by using these three tips.

What kinds of symptoms would you like to treat?

First, let’s talk about your symptoms. Suffering from anything can be harmful. But, by identifying your symptoms, we can begin to tailor your treatment.

Anxiety

Have you been feeling a sense of pressure lately? Or, perhaps you’ve felt as though a sense of impending doom has been following you around? Either way, teen anxiety treatment can work wonders for people in your shoes.

Depression

Depression doesn’t always manifest as a sense of sadness. Often, it can seem as if the world has been drained of color, leaving you a lifely husk. When your hobbies no longer seem interesting, you’re likely suffering from depression. Fortunately, with the right therapy, you can recover.

PTSD

Trauma isn’t necessarily something you get on the battlefield. Although soldiers tend to have the highest-profile cases, PTSD can affect anyone, even parents who are concerned about their kids. Therapy can help to minimize the effect of stressors, so you can start to live normally again.

Addiction

Addiction impacts people’s lives in many ways. It can negatively impact one of the multiple aspects of a person’s life. Many different types of symptoms come with addiction. The first step to recovery is realizing that you can get better and that therapy or counseling can help.

What Different Types of Counseling Are Available?

Counseling is a broad term meant to signify anything to treat mental illness. However, with such a wide variety of mental health problems, counseling isn’t one-size-fits-all. Psychoanalysis would be what comes to mind for most people when they think of counseling. Yet, sitting on a couch and speaking to a therapist is only one way of approaching mental health.

Different Therapy Methods

• CBT: Cognitive-behavioral therapy works by looking at the underlying processes of your disorder. Most of the time, something triggers whatever feelings you’re grappling with. CBT helps to disassociate those feelings from the trigger.
• DBT: Dialectical behavioral therapy is a close cousin of CBT. However, it tends to be more effective for people dealing with issues of compulsion. As such, if you’ve been diagnosed with OCD, this could be a more effective treatment method.
• Mindfulness: Mindfulness therapy borrows from several eastern philosophical traditions. Modern science has shown us that meditation produces measurable changes to the brain. Staying present does have a profound effect on your body. This therapy harnesses that power to help heal your mind.
• Psychodynamic: Psychodynamics would be suitable for people encountering problems in their relationships. You and whoever else you’ve brought would speak to a therapist at the same time. This type of therapy helps break down communication barriers.
• Psychoanalysis: Sometimes, getting it all out on the table is the best medicine. Psychoanalysis involves sitting on a couch and speaking about what’s on your mind.

Which Type of Counseling Would Work Best for You?

Don’t let all these options overwhelm you. Fortunately, most therapists have training in multiple disciplines. Thus, if one of the methods doesn’t appear to do the trick, you could always try another one. For that matter, each person who attends therapy will benefit from it uniquely. Not all forms of therapy will help everyone.

Experiment With Different Methods Until Something Works

Let’s say you went to a therapist, but whatever they did doesn’t seem to help. In that case, we’d suggest speaking to them about it openly. Even if they don’t have the skills to treat you with something else, they could refer you to another practice. By experimenting with several options, you ought to find whatever works best for you.

Do Your Research

Finding your perfect type of therapy or counseling can be difficult, but it is possible. You can start by asking your doctor if they have any recommendations. If you are a part of a support group, either in person or online, feel free to reach out to members. They could have great recommendations on how to find a trained counselor in your area.

You can also reach out to your family members. They may have the expertise or know someone who had a positive experience with a counselor. If you cannot find any recommendations for a counselor or the most helpful type of therapy for you, feel free to do some research online. Search for your desired kind of therapy in your location. If you are not able to find one right in your area, keep searching. Do not get discouraged. Help is out there.

Finding the Right Type of Counseling for You

Everyone has their own set of problems in life, and we shouldn’t expect them to be the same. As such, if mental health becomes an issue, solutions are out there. However, we might have to try a few approaches before finding something suitable.

When looking for counseling that will meet your needs, you should decide what symptoms you want to treat, understand what types of counseling are available. Research and experiment to find the best fit for you.

Tracie Johnson is a New Jersey native and an alum of Penn State University. Tracie is passionate about writing, reading, and living a healthy lifestyle. She feels happiest when around a campfire surrounded by friends, family, and her Dachshund named Rufus.