Adolescents and Invidual Therapist 

Adolescence is a time when children learn to embrace independence and make decisions for themselves. However, with this new responsibility and freedom, many adolescents struggle psychologically. Peer pressure and sexuality can be very confusing and upsetting. Techniques used for adolescents are similar to those used for adults. Teenagers are more likely to be defiant towards the therapy. Therefore, more time and patience need to be adopted by both the psychotherapist and parents for for the psychologist to “get through” to the adolescent and for the therapy to be effective.

 

Therapeutic techniques

There are some common techniques used in individual psychotherapy:

 

Play Therapy

Play therapy allows children to express their reality through imaginative play, and gives them the ability to approach and retreat from the intensity of their situation as they please. It also allows them to re-enter childhood during a period when they are faced with very adult demands  Play can indicate how children are coping with their condition and how much they understand about what is happening. For some children, the expression during play can be an indicator of how they are coping with their situation. Very constricted play often represents an overwhelmed child. More imaginative and lively play can be an indicator of emotional restoration.

 

Exercise Therapy

Regular exercise is a cost-effective treatment for moderate depression. Studies have shown that people who exercise regularly report:

• Less self reported pain

• Less stress and anxiety

• Improved body image

 

Relaxation/Meditation Therapy

Relaxation or meditation therapists guide you through a series of visualisation exercises that help you better understand the goals and possibilities of the treatment. There may also be some muscle relaxation through massage or yoga-type activities. Some psychological conditions that can benefit from relaxation therapy include:

• Clinical health (including any physiological condition that a client may be suffering from, whether it be a migraine or cancer)

• Anxiety

• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

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Milieu Therapy

Milieu therapy is a highly structured type of therapy based on support by the psychiatrist. The psychologist will try and interpret symptoms as a meaningful aspect of your personality or experience. The psychologist will give you constant feedback about your progress throughout the sessions. Milieu therapy is used to treat: 

• PTSD

 

Laughter Therapy

Humour in psychotherapy has positive consequences on mental health. Laughter provides relief and can decrease stress. Laughter also has positive physiological effects on the body. Laughing with people increases interpersonal skills. Your psychologist will encourage you to laugh as much as you like throughout the sessions.

A technique commonly used in group therapy is the formation of a circle, with each person lying face up on another person’s stomach. Once one person laughs, the trembling of the stomach causes the next person to laugh, then the next, until the whole group is cracking up together about nothing in particular!

Laughter therapy is used to treat:

• Depression

• Clinical health

 

Behavioural Therapy

Behavioural therapists treat problem behaviours directly. Behaviour is changed through several classical conditioning, aversive and exposure exercises. Behaviour therapy can be used to treat:

• Eating disorders

• Phobias

 

Cognitive Therapy

Cognitive therapists believe that one’s thoughts guide their emotions and psychology. By making changes to irrational thoughts and vicious self-blame cycles, many psychological disorders can be treated, including:

• Eating disorders

• Depression

• PTSD

 

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

Cognitive behavioural therapy is, as the name suggests, a mixture of cognitive and behavioural therapy. It is a very efficacious and wide spread treatment, mainly used for: 

• Eating disorders

 

Manual Based Therapy

Manual based treatments have evolved through years of studies and research and have been refined to treatments that can be very successful. This is why manual based treatments tend to be more empirically supported. Manual based treatments are highly specific for the disorder they are treating, and are usually more successful in patients who do not display comorbid conditions. Manual based treatments are used for:

• Eating disorders 

 

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

An individualised psychotherapy program has been developed by the psychologist specifically for you. This will usually involve a blend of many psychotherapies in order to address the many psychological aspects that tend to accompany a psychological disorder.

 

Biopsychosocial Therapy

Biopsychosocial therapy is the therapy most commonly used to treat people who are suffering from clinical health problems and the psychological distress that comes with it. Biopsychosocial therapy focuses not only on the physical aspects of your condition, but also psychological factors (e.g. depression and anxiety) and your social situation (e.g. family and work). The biopsychosocial model is used as an alternative to biomedical models (based on the idea that biology is directed linked to symptoms). Many clinical conditions can be treated this way, such as:

• Migraine

• Arthritis

• Substance abuse

• Cancer

• AIDS

 

Follow-up Techniques

An important aspect of any psychotherapy is the follow up. It is easy to feel abandoned after therapy sessions have finished; you will be used to having an hour or so a week in which you can talk to a very supportive and empathetic objective person, and you may feel its abrupt end. It is therefore a good idea to “wean” yourself off psychotherapy. Perhaps have an extra session two weeks after the program has been completed, and another after a month. This will let you to discuss any concerns you have with your psychologist and it will also allow them to monitor your progress after the program.

Psychological changes do not happen over night. Very often, the psychological treatment is only the first step. The hard part starts once you have left therapy; you have to implement the changes yourself and work hard at all the skills and advice that you were given in therapy. It is quite natural to be intimidated by this, so follow up sessions can be a very comforting solution. Follow up sessions remind you that you are not completely alone. You can go back to your psychologist and receive more help. They will make sure you do not slip back into your old negative thinking or acting patterns.

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Effectiveness

Psychotherapy is a highly effective treatment for a wide range of psychological conditions.

The effectiveness of the therapy depends on what you are willing to put into it in terms of time, effort and faith. Trying your best to take on board everything you have learnt from your psychologist will enable you to make changes to your life. There is only a certain amount the therapist can help you with. After that, your wellbeing comes down to your own determination and willingness.