The Core Conditions of Person Centred Therapy are: Empathy; Non-judgemental Positive Regard and Congruence. The therapist will work with the client using Empathic Response. Empathy is a form of compassion, and it has been proven that empathic response has a significant success rate when applied in therapy. Person-centred therapy is sometimes referred to as ‘client-led’ therapy. The client introduces what they wish to speak about, and the therapist is non-directive. Via this method the client is able to navigate their own pathway about their difficulties and take responsibility for their conclusions and feelings. 

 

Attachment therapy addresses the unresolved childhood attachment issues which may cause vulnerability where current relationships may be concerned. If a child has an ‘insecure’ parental attachment, they may present with avoidant behaviours – such as: anger, hostility, acute sensitivity, suspicion of others’, low self esteem and passive withdrawal. Alternatively ‘anxious ambivalent’ behaviours may be displayed, for instance: idealised relationships, dependency, difficulties understanding others, sensitivity to rejection; jealousy and possessiveness, mood swings and suicidal feelings. The aim of attachment therapy is to recognise early losses and explore unresolved feelings in connection with parental attachment figures, and to reorganise belief systems connected with these relationships.

 

Pioneered and developed primarily by Freud, a therapist will work with the transference between client and therapist. For instance, a client may have unresolved issues with his/ her mother/ father which may be projected on to the therapist. This is known as transference. The therapist may respond by having nurturing or angry maternal/ paternal feelings towards the client's transference and this is called counter-transference. The therapist will use this process of transference and counter-transference to further enable the client’s exploration of his/ her difficulties.The idea is that the client's feelings are related to the significant relationships he/ she had in early childhood. Psychodynamic therapy includes an analytic process. 

Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) is a form of talking therapy. Based on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), it has been adapted to help people who experience emotions very intensely. While CBT focuses on helping you change unhelpful ways of thinking and behaving, DBT also focuses on accepting who you are at the same time. It places particular importance on the relationship between you and your therapist, and this relationship is used to actively motivate you to change.

The aim of DBT is to help you learn to manage your difficult emotions by letting yourself experience, recognise and accept them. Through this you also become more able to change harmful behaviour.

‘Dialectics’ means trying to balance opposite positions and look at how they go together. In DBT, you will work with your therapist to find a good balance between accepting yourself as you are and making positive changes in your life. Eventually, you might come realise these goals are not as conflicting as they first seem. For example, understanding and accepting yourself, your experiences and your emotions, can help you learn to deal with your feelings in a different way.

 

Transactional Analysis (or TA as it is often called) was developed during the 1960s by Dr. Eric Berne. The idea is that have three parts or 'ego-states' to our 'personality, and that these converse with one another in 'transactions' (hence the name).  We each have internal models of parents, adult and child (which can be allied with Freud’s Super Ego, Ego and Id) and these roles are played out within ourselves and in our relationships. A book, originally published in 1967 – ‘I’m OK - You’re OK’ was based on Transactional Analysis.

 

The aim of CBT therapy is to help you to understand your current thought patterns. In particular, to identify any harmful, unhelpful and false ideas or thoughts which may trigger your difficulties or make them worse. The aim is then to change your ways of thinking to avoid these ideas and to help your thought patterns to be more realistic and helpful. The premise is that how we behave often reflects how we think about certain issues. Techniques for relaxation and breathing exercises may be supplied along with exercises where, for instance, the client may be encouraged to keep a journal of their thoughts and feelings over a period of time, which they can bring to the therapy sessions to be explored. There may be more emphasis on behavioural therapy when treating obsessive-compulsive disorder - where repetitive compulsive actions are a main problem. In contrast, the emphasis may be on cognitive therapy when treating depression.