Methods of Care
Therapists describe how they work using a lot of names and initials. Here's what 60 of them actually mean, grouped by the kind of work they are. Where an approach has an organisation behind it, we name it so you can check us.
You don't need to know any of this to find someone. Nobody is going to quiz you, and most therapists blend several of these anyway. It's here because it's your care, and you're allowed to know what the words mean.
Would you rather not read all this?
A few questions and we'll suggest which of these tend to fit.
Cognitive & Behavioral
Approaches focused on the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behavior, building new patterns through structured, often skills-based work.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Helps you spot the connection between your thoughts, feelings, and actions, and build new, more helpful patterns. Defined by Beck Institute
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Combines CBT with mindfulness and skills for managing intense emotions, distress, and relationships. Defined by Behavioral Tech Institute
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Helps you make peace with difficult thoughts and feelings instead of fighting them, while still moving toward what matters to you. Defined by Association for Contextual Behavioral Science
- Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
- Gradually faces feared thoughts or situations, especially used for OCD. Defined by International OCD Foundation
- Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)
- An early form of CBT focused on identifying and challenging irrational beliefs. Defined by Albert Ellis Institute
- Behavioral Activation
- A structured approach to depression that helps you gradually re-engage with meaningful activities.
- CBT for Insomnia (CBT-I)
- A structured, short-term approach specifically for chronic sleep problems.
- CBT for Chronic Pain (CBT-CP)
- Adapts CBT specifically to help manage the impact of ongoing physical pain.
Trauma-Focused
Approaches specifically designed for processing traumatic experiences.
- EMDR
- Uses guided eye movements or other bilateral stimulation to help your brain reprocess a traumatic memory so it feels less overwhelming. Defined by EMDR International Association
- Trauma-Focused CBT (TF-CBT)
- CBT specifically designed for processing trauma, often used with kids and teens alongside caregivers. Defined by TF-CBT National Therapist Certification Program
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- A structured approach for trauma that helps you examine and shift beliefs that changed after a traumatic event. Defined by CPT for PTSD
- Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE)
- Gradually and safely helps you face trauma-related memories and situations instead of avoiding them.
- Written Exposure Therapy
- A brief, structured trauma approach centered on writing about the traumatic event.
- Somatic Therapy / Somatic Experiencing
- Focuses on how stress and trauma get held in the body, using body awareness as part of healing. Defined by Somatic Experiencing International
- Brainspotting
- Uses fixed eye positions to access and release where a traumatic memory is held in the body and brain. Defined by Brainspotting
Psychodynamic & Depth-Oriented
Approaches exploring how past experiences and unconscious patterns shape how you feel and act today.
- Psychodynamic
- Explores how past experiences and unconscious patterns quietly influence how you feel and act today.
- Psychoanalytic
- A more intensive, often longer-term relative of psychodynamic therapy, digging deep into unconscious patterns.
- Attachment-Focused
- Looks at how your early relationships shaped the way you connect (or struggle to connect) with people now.
- Jungian
- Explores symbolism, dreams, and deeper unconscious patterns from a Jungian lens.
- Schema Therapy
- Combines several approaches to address long-standing patterns that often trace back to childhood. Defined by International Society of Schema Therapy
Humanistic & Relational
Approaches centered on your own experience and the therapeutic relationship itself as the tool for change.
- Person-Centered
- You lead the conversation. The therapist follows your pace instead of pushing an agenda, trusting that you know yourself best.
- Relational
- Uses the relationship between you and your therapist as a live, safe place to notice and shift patterns that show up in other relationships too.
- Existential
- Explores questions of meaning, purpose, choice, and mortality.
- Gestalt
- Focuses on present-moment awareness and how you experience yourself right now. Defined by Association for the Advancement of Gestalt Therapy
- Compassion-Focused
- Helps you build self-compassion, especially if you're prone to shame or harsh self-criticism.
- Reality Therapy
- Focuses on what you can control right now and taking responsibility for meeting your needs.
- Mentalization-Based Therapy
- Helps you build the ability to understand your own and others' mental states, especially useful for relationship struggles.
Family & Couples
Approaches that treat relationships and family systems, not just the individual, as the unit of change.
- Gottman Method
- A structured, research-based approach specifically for couples, focused on communication and conflict patterns. Defined by The Gottman Institute
- Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Focuses on emotional bonds and attachment patterns, often used with couples. Defined by International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy
- Imago Relationship Therapy
- A structured couples approach focused on understanding how childhood shapes adult relationship patterns. Defined by Imago Relationships International
- Family Systems Therapy
- Treats the family as a whole system rather than focusing on one person alone.
- Structural Family Therapy
- Looks at the roles and structure within a family to shift unhelpful patterns.
Parts & Internal Systems Work
Sees you as made up of different internal "parts," helping them work together instead of against each other.
- Internal Family Systems (IFS)
- Sees you as made up of different internal "parts" (a protective part, a wounded part) and helps them work together instead of against each other. Defined by IFS Institute
Expressive & Play-Based
Uses creative expression or play instead of, or alongside, talk therapy.
- Expressive Arts
- Uses art, music, movement, or writing to process feelings that are hard to put into words.
- Art Therapy
- Uses drawing, painting, or visual art-making specifically to process feelings. Defined by American Art Therapy Association
- Music Therapy
- Uses music, listening, playing, or creating, as a therapeutic tool. Defined by American Music Therapy Association
- Dance/Movement Therapy
- Uses body movement to help process and express emotions. Defined by American Dance Therapy Association
- Sandtray Therapy
- Uses a sand tray and small figures to process feelings nonverbally, especially useful for kids or trauma work.
- Sandplay Therapy
- A specific form of sandtray work: you build scenes in the tray over time, and the therapist holds the space rather than steering it or explaining it back to you. Defined by Sandplay Therapists of America
- Drama Therapy
- Uses role-play, storytelling, and enactment to explore and process experiences. Defined by North American Drama Therapy Association
- Play Therapy
- A broader umbrella for using play as the primary way (usually younger) clients process and express what’s going on. Defined by Association for Play Therapy
- Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT)
- Kids process emotions through play instead of talk; the therapist follows their lead, just like person-centered therapy does for adults. Defined by UNT Center for Play Therapy
Mindfulness & Acceptance-Based
Builds present-moment awareness and a different relationship to difficult thoughts and feelings.
- Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)
- Combines mindfulness practice with CBT tools, often used to help prevent depression from returning.
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
- A structured 8-week program using meditation and body awareness to lower stress and reactivity. Defined by UMass Center for Mindfulness
- Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC)
- Builds a kinder, steadier relationship with yourself, especially around shame and harsh self-criticism. Defined by Center for Mindful Self-Compassion
Narrative, Strengths-Based & Motivational
Focuses on the stories you tell about your life, on building from what's already working, and on your own motivation for change.
- Narrative Theory
- Helps you notice the "story" you tell about your life and reshape the parts that no longer serve you. Defined by Dulwich Centre
- Solution-Focused Brief Therapy
- A short-term approach focused on identifying solutions and strengths rather than dwelling on problems. Defined by Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Association
- Motivational Interviewing (MI)
- A collaborative approach for working through mixed feelings about making a change. Defined by Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers
Identity & Culturally-Responsive
Centers your cultural background, identity, gender, or faith as part of the therapeutic process.
- Multicultural / Culturally Responsive Therapy
- Centers your cultural background and identity as part of the therapeutic process.
- LGBTQ+ Affirmative Therapy
- Centers and affirms your sexual orientation and gender identity as healthy, not something to fix.
- Feminist Therapy
- Examines how gender, power, and social context shape your experience.
- Spiritually-Integrated Therapy
- Welcomes your spirituality or faith, of any tradition, as part of the work.
- Christian Counseling
- Integrates Christian faith and values into the therapeutic process.
Interpersonal
Focused on how relationships and life changes affect your mood and day-to-day functioning.
- Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT)
- A structured, short-term approach focused on how relationships and life changes affect your mood.
Body-Based & Alternative
Non-talk, body-, sensation-, or nature-based approaches.
- Hypnotherapy
- Uses guided relaxation and focused attention to help access and shift certain patterns or habits. Defined by American Society of Clinical Hypnosis
- Biofeedback / Neurofeedback
- Uses real-time feedback from your body (like heart rate or brainwaves) to help you learn to regulate stress responses.
- Equine-Assisted Therapy
- Incorporates interaction with horses to build trust, communication, and emotional awareness.
- Animal-Assisted Therapy
- Incorporates a trained animal into sessions to help build trust, comfort, and connection.
- Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy
- Therapy conducted alongside certain psychedelic substances, in a legal, supervised clinical setting.
Integrative
Draws from multiple approaches rather than one single fixed method, tailored to fit the client.
- Integrative / Eclectic Therapy
- Draws from multiple approaches rather than one single method, tailored to what fits you.