Interpersonal therapy examines the patient’s family and friends as a means to raise self-esteem and facilitate communication. The focus is usually major life events that cause depression, social isolation or relationship issues.

Finally, cognitive-behavioral therapy aims to assess the patient’s views and change assumptions they may hold.

In all cases, all scheduled sessions must be attended, and patients should be ready to discuss uncomfortable issues that may hold them back from fulfillment. Typically, this will be accomplished by talking about the goals of therapy with the patient during the first session, setting expectations and providing a road map to the anticipated healing.

Not all therapy is grounded in the above treatments. There are as many different types of therapy as there are potential issues, and there undoubtedly will be more as our world continues to change through technology and sociological pressures. What bothers someone today may not even be around in the future, and the field is ever-evolving into new developments.

Here are a few lesser-known therapies out there that may be helpful for some patients:

1)    Poetry Therapy – This involves using poetry and spoken or written media to attempt to achieve psychological well-being. The therapist reads the poetry and the patient responds to the reading with verbal, physical and emotional responses as the reading commences. The idea is to allow the patient to explore reactions and feelings that are subconscious but brought to the fore by the poetry. The therapist chooses the selections based on patient history.