Individual Psychotherapy

Individual psychotherapy is the process of treating mental health problems through the use of psychological techniques.  It is designed to encourage the communications of conflicts and insights which lead to problems. The goal is to bring relief of symptoms and ultimately changes in behavior. Medication is often prescribed by medical doctors in conjunction to psychotherapy as means of treating emotional problems.

Psychotherapy consists of a therapist and patient processing information and situations that lead to and contribute to negative emotional states such as depression, anxiety, anger and addiction.  Specifically, thoughts are processed, assessed and altered in order to facilitate more effective functioning. Ultimately, all psychotherapy should work towards the purpose of changing the brain, not just the thoughts of a person. Mental illness is a result of brain abnormalities due to neurotransmitter abnormalities.  Effective psychotherapy can help to regulate these neurotransmitters and hence contribute to a more stabilized states of being.

Group Psychotherapy

Group therapy consist of several individuals (normally 6-8) meeting together with a therapist for the purpose of working through individual problems.  Each member of the group may have a similar problem, or in some instances, each individual may have a different therapeutic focus.  Group therapy is often referred to as a social microcosm.  This means that the way an individual acts inside of group is often the way he or she acts outside of group.  Understanding this allows the therapist to be able to point out unhealthy patterns of behavior and assist the patient in changing the patterns of behavior.  In addition, group therapy allows each individual patient to often see in others, the very things they do not like about themselves. 

For addictive disorders, group therapy is the most important form of therapy, although it must be used as part of the overall treatment program and in conjunction with individual therapy and sometimes marital and family therapy.  Participating in group therapy will often assist the individual in shame reduction. For example, a person with an addictive disorder often has a lot of shame and feels that he is different than others and some times associates that with being “bad”.  Group therapy helps the individual realize that there are others in his situation and that he is not alone. It is often referred to as the process of “coming out of hiding”.  Shame reduction is crucial if healing is going to take place.

Marital and Family Therapy

Marital and family therapy consists of members of the same family or a married couple meeting with a therapist to address and change unhealthy family dynamics. Included in these processes are patterns of communication, problem solving, coping, etc. Emphasis is spent on assisting the individuals to identify the dysfunction and choose alternative methods of interacting that will lead to more effective functioning.  This is almost always a part of addiction treatment.  Research has shown that if an addict’s family is involved in the treatment process the prognosis is greatly increased for the patient to remain sober.

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