In the most basic sense, therapy is a form of treatment for disorders.  However, not every person that seeks therapy meets the full criteria for a clinical diagnosis, thus therapists are often engaging a client regarding presenting problems.  These issues may or may not lead to diagnosis, but more often than not, are affecting the individual’s overall functionality.  So, while you as a client may feel that you need therapy, understand that you may not be receiving treatment for a disorder. In many cases, at the request of the client, therapists seek to assist the client with restoring or increasing the client’s level of functionality (often recognized by the client as balance, happiness, meaning or fulfillment).  This process typically includes a clinical assessment of the client’s level of functionality, and a determination on whether or not the client’s thoughts or actions meet the criteria for diagnosis.

In order to provide therapeutic assistance, therapists use their experience and expertise, which may be derived from a variety of tools, techniques, theories and models.  Because of the vastness of the research, experiments and studies that have occurred over time, there are an abundance of valid (proven) approaches to therapy that may be chosen by a given practitioner.  While there is no identified “best” approach to therapy, the client’s situation and the therapist’s competence play a large role in determining which model the therapeutic engagement will follow.  If you are interested in seeking therapy, it may prove helpful to understand what specialties potential therapists claim, as well as what approach(es) to therapy they practice.  Below is a comparative look at a few popular therapeutic models.

Reality Group Therapy versus Structural Family Therapy

While applying the Reality Group Therapy method, the therapist focuses on the individual’s control of their behaviors.  The clinician aides the client in performing a self-evaluation in which they identify the quality of their behaviors, then determines what the contributors of their failures are.  The therapist’s role is to guide the client through the process of developing a plan of action to eliminate these behaviors, and then hold them accountable throughout the execution of the devised plan by confronting them and identifying any possible deterrents or reasons for any incapability of completing the plan.  The therapist and client work closely together to formulate the plan of action for the client to modify the behaviors causing their negative emotions in order to reach the desired outcome.  Whereas, in Structural Family Therapy, the therapist emphasizes the dysfunctions of the family as opposed to strictly the individual’s control of the issues.  Abiding by the Structural approach limits the therapist’s overall involvement as he is not used to establish intensive reparative for the family members, but to simply outline the framework, develop the foundation for reframing, and then encourage the family to continue a positive progression of growth.  The Structural therapist’s role is to be an active agent in the process of restructuring the family, emphasize clear boundaries, facilitate the unearthing of hidden family conflicts and then outline the manner in which the family can modify them.

Person-Centered Therapy versus Strategic Family Therapy

The Person-Centered therapist is one who is congruent, removing all sense of authority and de-masking of professionalism.  To be an effective Person-Centered therapist, it entails revealing personal information if it is an accelerant to the progression of therapy.  Typically therapists have the general understanding of the limitations when involving self-disclosure; however, in Person-Centered therapy the clinician is transparent.  Person-Centered therapy is client-guided as they explore their life experiences, and with the aid of the therapist, analyze their history and the result is the client resolving their own issues.  In this approach, it is vital for the therapist to exude unconditional positive regard, providing no criticism, guidance for behavior, or discouraging them from any behaviors.  In opposition, Strategic Family Theory requires the therapist to employ guidelines and directives, no matter how ambiguous.  The Strategic therapist pays extreme attention to detail and accepts only the positive, whereas the Person-Centered therapist must accept all aspects of the client—positive as well as negative.  Therapists abiding by the Strategic approach also develop a distinct outline for treatment involving defining the problem, investigating all solutions, defining clear change to achieve, and formulating strategy for change.

Rational Emotive Group Therapy versus Psychodynamic/Bowenian Family Therapy

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy contends that individual’s belief systems are responsible for emotional consequences.  In theory, a client’s irrational beliefs could be effectively refuted by challenging them rationally and inevitably reducing the conflict.  In a group setting, the therapist takes a lead role in attempting to change the minds of the clients.  The therapist can accomplish this without fostering a “warm” relationship with the clients.  In a group setting, there is potential for judgments to be made of group members by other members of the group, which may prove of benefit or detriment to the therapeutic experience.  Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy holds that humans have the equal potential to be rational or irrational, and both preserving and destructive.  Therapists must promote clients to confront their behaviors as well as accept their faults.   Additionally, Rational Emotive Behavior therapists claim that it is possible to assist clients with changing their behaviors as a means to restructure their way of thinking.  In this light, the therapist must continue to encourage self-discipline as well as self-direction.  The primary similarity between Rational Emotive Behavior therapists and Psychodynamic therapists is that the principle focus of both is essentially for the client to reach full self-reliance, and operate at a high level of differentiation by exploring and developing their own autonomy.  The Psychodynamic therapist accomplishes this not through confrontation, but through examining the client’s family of origin, constructing and dissecting a multigenerational diagram, and guiding the client to remove emotionality from their family system and begin approaching it from an objective approach in order to identify its highest level of functionality.

Because these comparisons are very general it may prove helpful to conduct further research regarding any approaches that are of interest.  Additionally, understand that there are a multitude of other approaches to therapy as well and the best interpretation for you to have regarding any approach is the interpretation used by your therapist.  Understand that even though some therapist’s practices are based on the same principals, each therapist will inevitably approach therapy in their own manner.  This is to say that just because a certain therapy model was unsuccessful in the past with a specific therapist, you should not necessarily avoid seeking help from others utilizing a similar approach.

Jordache Williams is currently based in Rock Hill, SC and is a Licensed Professional Counselor with Atlas Concepts, LLC.