Getting professional help is an important first step in the path to recovery from mental health and psychological issues. Those people who are suffering from such problems tend to think that they are the only ones suffering like this. They often find it difficult to reach out for help because of stigma attached to mental health issues.
Looking at the data however sheds light on the statistics regarding mental health. According to the ‘Adult Psychiatric Morbidity’ household survey of 2007, 23% of the adult population in England had a diagnosable mental health condition (Weich et al., 2009). This survey also suggested that a mix of anxiety and depression is most common in this regard (Deverill & King, 2009).
A more recent study in 2016 reported that 1 in 6 adults experience some form of anxiety or depression every week. Furthermore, nearly half of the adults that took part in the 2014 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey felt that they had a “diagnosable mental health problem” during their lifetime.
This shows that for whoever is thinking that their problem is unique might not be the actual case. If someone has a concern about their physical health, going to the doctor is seen as the natural subsequent action. With mental health however, that is not usually the case. One of the main reasons for this is the lack of know how regarding treatment options. In this series of articles, I will discuss the major forms of psychotherapies that are available. This will include their theoretic concepts, summary of the main techniques used and the evidence of their efficacy.
Before getting into the forms of Psychotherapy, it is essential to first look at what psychotherapy is.
PSYCHOTHERAPY:
Psychotherapy is the formation of a professional and confidential relationship, where two parties mutually engage in a process that is collaborative and primarily communicative. It is aimed at the resolution of psychological problems, e.g. depression, anxiety or phobias. The psychotherapist applies professional expertise to help in finding a solution to such problems and to improve life (Feltham, 2007; Corey, 2009; Sharf, 2011).
One could technically get such help and change as a result from a variety of sources. What differentiates psychotherapy from such a change is that “Psychotherapy refers to a particular process” (Messer & Gurman, 2011: p. 7).
The goal of this process, as explained by Lebow (2008), is to reduce or eliminate the presenting complaints and help in personal growth. This is achieved through an exclusive relationship which is just focused on resolving the presenting issue and is provided by a trained professional e.g. a psychotherapist, psychologist or a counsellor.
Each psychotherapist deals with the presenting problem differently. This is based on and is guided by their theoretical orientation regarding normal and abnormal human behaviour.
Starting from part 2 of this series of articles, I will start by discussing Cognitive Behavioural Therapy; commonly referred to as CBT.
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References:
- Deverill, C. & King, M. (2009) Common mental disorders. In: McManus, S., Meltzer, H., Brugha, T., Bebbington, P. & Jenkins, R. (eds.) Adult psychiatric morbidity in England, 2007: results of a household survey. [e-book]. London, The NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care, pp.25-36. Available
from: http://www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/psychiatricmorbidity07
- Weich, S., Hussey, D., Pickup, D., Purdon, S. & McManus S. (2009)
Psychiatric comorbidity. In: McManus, S., Meltzer, H., Brugha, T.,
Bebbington, P. & Jenkins, R. (eds.) Adult psychiatric morbidity in England, Results of a household survey. [e-book]. London, The NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care, pp. 215-232.
- Corey, G. (2009) Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy. 8th edition. California, Thomson – Brooks/Cole.
- Feltham, C. (2007) Individual therapy in context. In: Dryden, W. (ed.) Dryden’s handbook of individual therapy. 5th edition. London, SAGE Publications Ltd., pp. 1-26.
- Sharf, R. S. (2011) Theories of psychotherapy & counseling: concepts and cases. 5th edition. California, Brooks Cole.
- Lebow, J. L. (2008) Introduction. In: Lebow, J. L. (ed.) Twenty-first century psychotherapies: contemporary approaches to theory and practice. New Jersey, John Wiley & Sons, pp. 1-7.
- Messer, S. B. & Gurman, A. S. (2011) Contemporary issues in psychotherapy theory, practice, and research: a framework for comparative study. In: Messer, S. B. & Gurman, A. S. (eds.) Essential psychotherapies. 3rd edition. New York,
The Guilford Press, pp. 3-29.
