The goal of psychotherapy and counseling is to relieve emotional suffering.Different types of psychotherapy an counseling will approach the healing of human suffering from different perspectives. This is part 2 of a series of articles briefly describing each of the different types of psychotherapy / counseling.

1. Gestalt psychotherapy counseling

2. Gottman Relationship psychotherapy counseling

3. Hakomi psychotherapy counseling

4. Humanistic psychotherapy counseling

5. Imago Relationship psychotherapy counseling

6. Interpersonal psychotherapy counseling

7. Jungian psychotherapy counseling

1. Gestalt Therapy psychotherapy counseling

Developed by Fritz Perls' and others in the 1940's, the basic premise of Gestalt is that "life happens in the present - not in the past or the future - and that when we are dwelling on the past or fantasizing about the future we are not living fully". Perls, originally a Freudian analyst, was influenced by the principles of Gestalt psychology and existential philosophy. The Gestalt process models the way in which what is directly experienced and felt is more reliable than explanations or interpretations based on pre-existing experiences or attitudes. It is a therapy that takes into account the whole individual and is concerned with both mind and body.

2. Gottman Relationship psychotherapy counseling

Gottman Method Couples Therapy is a structured, goal-oriented, scientifically-based therapy. Intervention strategies are based upon empirical data from Dr. John Gottman's three decades of research with 3,000 couples. From this research Gottman Relationship Therapy can indentify the factors that diffentiates happy, stable couples from unstable couples. The model provides methods to assist couples in cultivating the quality of relationship that they have had difficulty attaining through their own efforts.

3. The Hakomi Method psychotherapy counseling

Hakomi is a body-centered, somatic approach that combines the Eastern traditions of mindfulness and non-violence within a unique Western methodology. In a therapeutic context, the body's structures and habitual patterns serve as the doorway to unconscious 'core material', including the hidden beliefs, relationships, and self-images that shape how we see ourselves.

4. Humanistic psychotherapy counseling

Humanistic psychology is a school of psychology that emerged in the 1950s in reaction to both behaviorism and psychoanalysis. The Humanistic Psychologists were interested in developing a more holistic vision of psychology. James Bugental (1964), summarized the humanistic approach in five points: 1. Human beings cannot be reduced to components; 2. Human beings have in them a uniquely human context; 3. Human consciousness includes an awareness of oneself in the context of other people; 4. Human beings have choices and non desired responsibilities; 5. Human beings are intentional, they seek meaning, value and creativity.

5. Imago Relationship psychotherapy counseling

Derived from the Latin word for image, Imago addresses romantic love and provides a framework for couples in therapy. Developed by Harville Hendrix, Ph.D., author of Getting The Love You Want: A Guide For Couples, The Imago Therapy Process teaches couples the stages of romantic love and the ensuing stages of power struggle within relationships to assist clients in developing conscious, intimate, and committed relationships.

6. Interpersonal psychotherapy counseling

Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) is a time-limited psychotherapy that was developed in the 1970s and 80s as an outpatient treatment for adults who were diagnosed with moderate or severe clinical depression. The IPT framework considers clinical depression as having three components: the development of symptoms, which arise from biological, genetic and/or psychodynamic processes; social interactions with other people, which are learned over the course of one's life; and personality, made up of the more enduring traits and behaviors that may predispose a person to depressive symptoms.

7. Jungian psychotherapy counseling

Jungian analysis is a method of psychotherapy developed by C.G. Jung, the eminent Swiss psychiatrist (1875-1961). The purpose of Jungian analysis is to transform the psyche, by establishing effective relations between the ego and the unconscious.The process can treat a broad range of emotional disorders such as depression and anxiety, and it can also assist anyone who wishes to pursue psychological growth.

Mark Weiss

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