What is Individual Therapy?

In previous writings I described what is group based intervention and the benefits and limitations of engaging in group based therapy. This blog will focus more on individual therapy and speak about some of the benefits and limitations of this approach.

Individual therapy is sometimes called psychotherapy or counselling where clients work one-on-one with a trained therapist (Social Worker or a Psychologist) in a safe, caring, and confidential environment—to explore their feelings, beliefs, or behaviours, work through challenging or influential memories, identify aspects of their lives that they would like to change, better understanding of themselves and others, set personal goals, and work towards a desired change (GoodTherapy.org, 2017).

With engaging in individual therapy the most popular form of individual therapy encompasses many different styles and approaches which can include psychoanalysis and cognitive behavioural therapy (Fritscher, 2017).  When seeking out support from a trained professional it can be helpful if the client has some understanding of the different styles of therapy and to consider the best therapeutic approach that would suit them to bring about meaningful change.

In relation to the Psychoanalysis approach to therapy this consists of an in-depth talk therapy that aims to bring unconscious or deeply buried thoughts and feelings to the conscious mind so that the repressed experiences and emotions, often from childhood, can be brought to the surface and examined. Working together, the therapist and client can look at how these repressed early memories have affected the client’s thinking, behaviour, and relationships in adulthood (Milton, Polmear and Fabricius, 2011).

The Cognitive Behavioural Therapy approach is based on the idea that how we think (cognition), how we feel (emotion) and how we act (behaviour) all interact together. Therefore, our thoughts determine our feelings and our behaviour. Consequently, negative and unrealistic thoughts can cause us distress and result in problems. When a person suffers with psychological distress, the way in which they interpret situations becomes skewed, which in turn has a negative impact on the actions they take (McLeod, 2008). Cognitive therapy helps people to develop alternative ways of thinking and behaving which aims to reduce their psychological distress (Beck, 2011).

According to Psych Central and Author Ben Butina (2017) by engaging in individual therapy there are some notable strengths and limitations:

Strengths

• Due to there are only being two people involved, individual therapy offers the most privacy and the greatest assurance of confidentiality.
• The therapist will be focused entirely on the client and their needs for the entire session.
• The client can work out a time that works best for their schedule without having to coordinate with other people.

Limitations

• Individual therapy is more expensive than group therapy.
• The therapist only has one source of information about your life.
• There is only one source of feedback and support.

Tanya Jordan is an experienced Forensic Social Worker and an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker with T n J’s Assessment and Counselling Services

Reference List

Beck, J, S (2011) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: Basics and Beyond (2^nd Ed), New York, NY: The Guilford Press

Fritscher, L. (2017) What is Individual Therapy? Psychoanalysis and Cogntive Behavioural Therapy found online 2/11/2017 at https://www.verywell.com/individual-therapy-2671605

GoodTherapy.org (2017) Individual Therapy (Psychotherapy) found online 2/11/2017 at https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/modes/individual-therapy

McLeod, S. (2015) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy found online on 2/11/2017 at https://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-therapy.html

Milton, J., Polmear, C. and Fabricius, J. (2011) A Short Introduction to Psychoanalysis SAGE Publications Ltd

Psych Central (2017) Kinds of Therapy completed by Mr Ben Butina found online 2/11/2017 https://psychcentral.com/find-therapist/chapter-1-kinds-of-therapy/