| Therapy | Presumed Problem | Therapy Aim | Therapy Technique |
|---|
| Psychodynamic | Unconscious conflicts from childhood experiences | Reduce anxiety through self-insight. | Interpret patients’ memories and feelings. |
| Person-centered | Barriers to self-understanding and self-acceptance | Enable growth via unconditional positive regard, genuineness, acceptance, and empathy. | Listen actively and reflect clients’ feelings. |
| Behavior | Dysfunctional behaviors | Learn adaptive behaviors; extinguish problem behaviors | Use classical conditioning (via exposure or aversion therapy) or operant conditioning (as in token economies). |
| Cognitive | Negative, self-defeating thinking | Promote healthier thinking and self-talk. | Train people to dispute negative thoughts and attributions. |
| Cognitive-behavioral | Self-harmful thoughts and behaviors | Promote healthier thinking and adaptive behaviors. | Train people to counter self-harmful thoughts and to act out their new ways of thinking. |
| Group and family | Stressful relationships | Heal relationships. | Develop an understanding of family and other social systems, explore roles, and improve communication. |
| Therapeutic lifestyle change | Stress and unhealthy lifestyle | Restore healthy biological state. | Alter lifestyle through adequate exercise, sleep, and other changes. |
| Drug therapies | Neurotransmitter malfunction | Control symptoms of psychological disorders. | Alter brain chemistry through drugs. |
| Brain stimulation | Severe, treatment-resistant depression | Alleviate depression that is unresponsive to drug therapy. | Stimulate brain through electroconvulsive shock, magnetic impulses, or deep brain stimulation. |
| Psychosurgery | Brain malfunction | Relieve severe disorders. | Remove or destroy brain tissue. |