A–Z of Psychotherapy: Techniques, Applications, and Who They Help

 Psychotherapy is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Over the years, diverse approaches have evolved to meet the unique needs of individuals, families, and communities. From structured cognitive methods like CBT and REBT, to creative outlets such as Art Therapy and Drama Therapy, and body-centered practices like Bioenergetic Analysis, each technique offers a distinct pathway toward healing and growth.

This guide presents an A–Z overview of more than 100 psychotherapy approaches, explaining their core principles, practical applications, and the kinds of challenges they are best suited to address. Whether you are a student of psychology, a practicing counselor, or someone curious about mental health support, this resource will help you understand:

• What each therapy involves

• How it works in practice

• Who can benefit most from it.

The Full 202 Therapy Types: Quick Overviews

1. Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP): Speeds up emotional healing by fostering safe attachments to process joy and grief, transforming trauma into resilience.
2. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): Embraces tough thoughts while aligning actions with core values, building flexible living over avoidance.
3. Adlerian Psychotherapy: Shifts focus from past wounds to future goals, encouraging social interest and overcoming inferiority through community connection.
4. Anger Management: Equips tools to identify triggers and channel rage constructively, turning explosive reactions into calm assertiveness.
5. Anthroposophic Psychotherapy: Blends spiritual insights with holistic healing, using art and rhythm to harmonize body, soul, and spirit.
6. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA): Breaks behaviors into steps with rewards, reshaping habits for autism or addiction through positive reinforcement.
7. Art Therapy: Unleashes emotions via colors and clay, bypassing words to heal inner conflicts and boost self-expression.
8. Astropsychological Remedies: Merges astrology with psych insights to align cosmic influences with personal growth and emotional balance.
9. Authentic Movement: Invites free-flowing dance to tap subconscious wisdom, releasing stored tensions through intuitive body expression.
10. Autogenic Training: Guides self-relaxation phrases to calm the nervous system, easing stress like a personal zen reset.
11. Bach Flower Therapy: Uses flower essences to gently dissolve emotional blocks, nurturing moods with nature's subtle vibrational support.
12. Behavioral Therapy: Targets observable actions with conditioning techniques, swapping bad habits for empowering ones step by step.
13. Bibliotherapy: Prescribes books as mirrors and maps, sparking insights and empathy through stories that resonate with your struggles.
14. Bioenergetic Analysis: Releases pent-up energy via breath and posture work, unblocking trauma held in the body's "armor."
15. Biofeedback or Neurofeedback: Monitors brainwaves or heart rates in real-time, training self-control like a video game for your physiology.
16. Body Mind Psychotherapy: Integrates physical sensations with thoughts, rewiring stress responses through mindful embodiment.
17. Body Psychotherapy: Honors the body's wisdom in talk sessions, using touch and movement to discharge emotional knots.
18. Body Talk System: Tunes into the body's "language" via muscle testing, restoring balance across organs and emotions intuitively.
19. Brain Working Recursive Therapy (BWRT): Rewires neural pathways rapidly, interrupting fear loops for quick phobia or anxiety relief.
20. Brainspotting: Zeroes in on eye positions tied to trauma, unlocking frozen memories without retelling the story.
21. Breathwork: Harnesses breath rhythms to shift states, from energizing hyperventilation to soothing pranayama for emotional release.
22. Change Management Therapy: Navigates life's transitions with practical strategies, turning upheaval into opportunity for reinvention.
23. Clean Language, Symbolic Modeling, and Metaphor Therapy: Explores personal metaphors to uncover hidden meanings, fostering self-discovery without judgment.
24. Client Directed Outcome Informed Therapy: Puts you in the driver's seat, tracking progress collaboratively to tailor therapy in real-time.
25. Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT): Maps unhelpful patterns from past to present, reforming relationships through self-aware "reforms."
26. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / REBT: Challenges distorted thoughts to reshape behaviors, proven for anxiety and a happier mindset.
27. Cognitive Exercises: Sharpens mental agility with puzzles and drills, combating fog from depression or aging.
28. Cognitive Hypnotic Coaching: Blends hypnosis with thought reframing, accelerating breakthroughs in habits and confidence.
29. Coherence Therapy or Depth Oriented Brief Therapy: Dissolves outdated beliefs swiftly, creating emotional "aha" moments for lasting change.
30. Collaborative Couple Therapy: Builds partnership through shared dialogue, dissolving conflicts with mutual curiosity and respect.
31. Collaborative Therapy or Collaborative Language Systems: Co-creates meaning with the therapist as equal, deconstructing problems through conversation.
32. Color Therapy (Chromotherapy): Applies hues to influence moods, like blue for calm or red for vitality, in a visual emotional palette.
33. Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT): Cultivates self-kindness to soothe shame, using imagery to befriend your inner critic.
34. Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM): Weaves non-traditional practices like acupuncture into therapy for whole-person wellness.
35. Conflict Resolution Therapy: Teaches de-escalation skills for disputes, fostering empathy and win-win outcomes in relationships.
36. Constructivism: Views reality as personally built, empowering you to reconstruct narratives for a more empowering life story.
37. Contemplative Psychotherapy: Merges meditation with insight, quieting the mind to access deeper wisdom and peace.
38. Continuum: Balances polarities like tension-release through movement and sound, harmonizing your energetic flow.
39. Control Mastery Theory: Reframes anxiety as adaptive "plans," testing safety to overcome fears through experiential mastery.
40. Core Energetics: Channels life force via expressive postures, integrating heart and body for passionate, authentic living.
41. Core Process Psychotherapy: Attunes to your deepest essence, using relational presence to unfold innate healing potential.
42. Couples Therapy: Revives intimacy by unpacking cycles of disconnection, rebuilding trust one vulnerable conversation at a time.
43. Creative Art Therapy: Sparks innovation through mixed media, healing creativity blocks and emotional expression.
44. Critical Incidence Stress Debriefing: Processes acute trauma events in groups, normalizing reactions for faster recovery.
45. Crystal Healing: Employs gemstones' vibrations to clear energy blockages, supporting emotional clarity and grounding.
46. Dance or Movement Therapy: Flows emotions through choreography, reconnecting mind and body in rhythmic self-discovery.
47. Deep Healing ERTH Model: Earths trauma via elemental rituals, grounding recovery in nature's restorative cycles.
48. Dementia Management: Supports cognitive decline with memory aids and emotional validation, honoring dignity in later life.
49. Depth Hypnosis: Dives into subconscious layers under trance, retrieving lost insights for profound personal shifts.
50. Depth Oriented Brief Therapy: Unearths core schemas quickly, fostering rapid awareness and behavioral freedom.
51. Depth Therapy: Probes unconscious depths for root causes, illuminating shadows to emerge with greater wholeness.
52. Developmental Needs Meeting Strategy: Repairs attachment wounds from childhood, meeting unmet needs in safe reenactments.
53. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT): Balances acceptance and change with skills for emotion storms, saving lives from self-harm.
54. Drama Therapy: Enacts inner dramas on stage, role-playing resolutions to real-life relational tangles.
55. Dreamwork and Dream Analysis: Decodes nocturnal symbols as soul messages, weaving them into waking growth.
56. Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy: Heals parent-child bonds through play and attunement, mending adoption or foster traumas.
57. Early Childhood Expert Therapist: Guides tiny hearts through developmental hurdles, using play to build secure foundations.
58. Eclectic Therapy: Mixes modalities like a custom playlist, adapting tools to your unique rhythm for holistic healing.
59. Ecotherapy / Nature Therapy: Immerses in green spaces to soothe the psyche, combating burnout with earth's embrace.
60. Ego State Therapy: Dialogues with inner "parts" like fragmented selves, integrating them for inner harmony.
61. Emotion Focused Couples Therapy: Uncovers attachment fears in partnerships, melting defenses into tender connections.
62. Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT): Amplifies feelings to transform them, turning pain into compassionate self-understanding.
63. Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT/Tapping): Taps acupressure points while voicing fears, neutralizing emotional charges swiftly.
64. Emotional Intelligence Coaching: Hones empathy and regulation skills, turning reactions into intentional responses.
65. Emotional Transformation Therapy (ETT): Uses light and color to rewire brain responses, accelerating mood shifts.
66. Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy: Rebuilds love bonds by voicing vulnerabilities, ending pursuer-distancer dances.
67. Emotionally Focused Therapy: Heightens emotions as allies, processing them to forge deeper self and relational bonds.
68. Energy Healing: Channels universal energy to clear auras, restoring flow for physical and emotional vitality.
69. Energy Psychology: Merges meridians with mind work, zapping trauma with quick, somatic interventions.
70. Equine and Animal Assisted Psychotherapies: Bonds with beasts for mirror feedback, teaching trust through paws and hooves.
71. Existential Psychotherapy: Grapples with life's voids—freedom, death, meaning—to craft an authentic existence.
72. Expressive Arts Therapy: Blends art, music, and dance for multisensory release, voicing the unspeakable creatively.
73. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): Processes stuck traumas via eye dances, freeing the brain's filing cabinet.
74. Family Attachment Narrative Therapy: Rewrites family stories to secure bonds, healing generational attachment gaps.
75. Family Constellations: Reveals hidden loyalties in systemic "fields," resolving ancestral entanglements through representation.
76. Family Systems Therapy: Views families as ecosystems, untangling enmeshments for healthier relational flows.
77. Feldenkrais Method: Gently retrains movement patterns, easing somatic tensions tied to emotional holding.
78. Feminist Therapy: Challenges power imbalances, empowering marginalized voices with advocacy and intersectional lens.
79. Filial Therapy: Trains parents as co-therapists in play, strengthening bonds while healing child wounds.
80. Focalizing: Attunes to bodily "felt senses," unfolding vague feelings into clear, actionable insights.
81. Focusing: Pauses to befriend inner bodily wisdom, clarifying emotions from the edge of awareness.
82. Gestalt Therapy: Stays in the "here and now," completing unfinished gestalts for fuller presence.
83. Gottman Method: Fortifies marriages with research-backed rituals, from conflict maps to fondness floods.
84. Graphotherapy: Rewires subconscious via handwriting tweaks, aligning script with desired personality shifts.
85. Group Therapy: Harnesses collective wisdom, normalizing pain through shared stories and support.
86. Guided Therapeutic Imagery: Visualizes healing scenes to reprogram the mind, like a personal mental spa.
87. Hakomi: Mindfully explores body-based beliefs, using experiential dips for gentle self-discovery.
88. Healing Above Regression Therapy: Bypasses painful replays, focusing on future potentials for uplifting shifts.
89. Healing Touch: Lays hands to balance energy fields, soothing the subtle body for emotional ease.
90. Holistic Psychotherapy: Treats the whole you—mind, body, spirit—in interconnected, nurturing waves.
91. Holographic Memory Resolution: Reframes trauma snapshots holistically, dissolving their grip without overwhelm.
92. Holotropic Breathwork: Accelerates breath to non-ordinary states, birthing breakthroughs from the psyche's depths.
93. Human Givens: Activates innate resources like dreaming and connection, fulfilling needs for natural well-being.
94. Humanistic Psychology: Celebrates your growth potential, offering unconditional space for self-actualization.
95. Hypnotherapy: Guides trance states to access the subconscious, planting seeds for effortless change.
96. Imago Relationship Therapy: Mirrors childhood wounds in partners, transforming "frustrations" into growth opportunities.
97. Inner Child Healing in Systemic Family Therapy: Nurtures wounded young selves within family dynamics, mending roots.
98. Integral Psychotherapy: Weaves all quadrants—individual, collective, inner, outer—for comprehensive awakening.
99. Integral Somatic Psychotherapy: Tracks trauma in the nervous system, titrating sensations for safe embodiment.
100. Integrated Eye Movement Therapy: Combines EMDR-like moves with cognitive tools for layered trauma release.
101. Integration of Different Therapy Models: Crafts bespoke blends, like CBT meets yoga, for your perfect fit.
102. Integrative Body Psychotherapy: Fuses touch, talk, and awareness to liberate embodied emotions.
103. Intensive Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP): Intensifies alliances to breakthrough defenses, unlocking feelings fast.
104. Interpersonal Therapy (IPT): Mends social roles and losses, easing depression through relational repair.
105. Internal Family Systems (IFS): Befriends inner "exiles" and "protectors," led by your wise core Self.
106. Interpersonal Neurobiology: Maps brain-social links, fostering secure bonds via mindful relating.
107. Interpersonal Psychotherapy: Targets life transitions and disputes, rebuilding networks to lift mood.
108. InterPlay: Plays with movement and voice to loosen inhibitions, sparking joyful connection.
109. Intuitive Counseling: Trusts gut hunches alongside evidence, guiding with compassionate instinct.
110. Journal Therapy: Pens paths through chaos, turning scribbles into structured self-reflection.
111. Journey Therapy: Embarks on guided inner quests, retrieving soul pieces for wholeness.
112. Jungian Psychotherapy: Dives into archetypes and shadows, questing for individuation's gold.
113. Language Therapy: Reframes words to reshape worlds, healing through linguistic alchemy.
114. Lifespan Integration: Timelines traumas for seamless integration, smoothing life's narrative arc.
115. Logotherapy: Hunts meaning in suffering, turning "why me?" into "what for?" purpose.
116. Meditation Therapy: Cultivates stillness to tame the mind, harvesting peace from breath by breath.
117. Mentalization Based Treatment (MBT): Builds mind-reading skills to navigate relationships, especially in BPD.
118. Middendorf Breath Experience: Listens to breath's innate wisdom, expanding awareness without force.
119. Mindfulness Based Approaches: Anchors in the present, observing thoughts like passing clouds.
120. Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT): Marries mindfulness with CBT to dodge depression's relapse traps.
121. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR): Scans body and breath to dissolve chronic stress, one mindful moment at a time.
122. Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET): Ignites inner drive with empathy, resolving ambivalence toward change.
123. Music Therapy: Harmonizes psyche through melodies, from drumming rage to singing serenity.
124. Narrative Therapy: Outsiders problems from identity, re-authoring empowering tales.
125. Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP): Recodes mental "software" with anchors and patterns for peak performance.
126. Neurodevelopmental Assessment: Maps brain growth quirks, guiding interventions for learning or ADHD.
127. Neurofeedback: Trains brain rhythms via games, calming chaos for focus and calm.
128. Non Violent Communication (NVC): Translates needs and feelings into compassionate dialogue, ending blame games.
129. Object Relations: Explores early bonds' echoes, integrating "good" and "bad" self-images.
130. Occupational Therapy: Crafts daily routines to rebuild purpose, blending function with fulfillment.
131. Organisational Counsellor: Navigates workplace dynamics, boosting team morale and personal resilience.
132. Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT): Coaches live parent-kid play, forging secure attachments on the spot.
133. Parent Work: Unpacks parenting patterns, healing legacies to nurture the next generation.
134. Past Life Regression Therapy: Journeys to "former" selves, resolving karmic echoes in the now.
135. Person Centered or Rogerian: Mirrors your innate wisdom with empathy, trusting your path to bloom.
136. Person Centered Therapy: Holds space without agenda, catalyzing your self-directed healing.
137. Pharmacotherapy: Pairs meds with talk, balancing brain chemistry for clearer therapy work.
138. Philosophical Counseling: Wrestles big questions rationally, applying wisdom traditions to modern dilemmas.
139. Play Therapy: Lets kids lead with toys, translating play into profound emotional processing.
140. Pluralistic Therapy: Mixes methods democratically, honoring your preferences in a flexible toolkit.
141. Poetry Therapy: Weaves verses to voice the ineffable, rhyming pain into poetic power.
142. Positive Psychology: Amplifies strengths and joys, engineering well-being from the upbeat side.
143. Positive Psychotherapy: Balances ills with assets, prescribing gratitude for resilient uplift.
144. Possibility Therapy: Spotlights potentials over problems, inviting "what if" wonders into reality.
145. Pragmatic or Experiential Therapy for Couples: Grounds love in lived moments, experimenting with relational tweaks.
146. Process Oriented Psychology: Follows emerging edges of awareness, surfing the psyche's unfolding waves.
147. Psycho Physical Therapy: Links mind and muscle, rehabilitating both in tandem for holistic recovery.
148. Psycho-Oncology: Supports cancer journeys emotionally, blending hope with grief's raw edges.
149. Psychoanalysis or Modern Psychoanalysis: Uncovers unconscious drivers through free association, rewriting the script of self.
150. Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist: Delves into relational transference, mirroring past patterns for present freedom.
151. Psychodrama: Stages life dramas with roles, cathartically resolving conflicts in action.
152. Psychodynamic: Illuminates how past ghosts haunt now, fostering insight for liberated choices.
153. Psychomotor: Energizes therapy with motor skills, channeling drives through purposeful movement.
154. Psychosynthesis: Assembles fragmented self into symphony, using visualization for higher integration.
155. Queer Affirmative: Celebrates LGBTQ+ identities, dismantling heteronormative biases with pride-centered care.
156. Radiant Heart Therapy: Awakens heart intelligence, radiating compassion to dissolve old wounds.
157. Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT): Disputes irrational "musts," liberating emotions with logical grace.
158. Reality Therapy: Anchors in choices and needs, planning practical paths to a satisfying life.
159. Redecision Therapy: Revisits childhood crossroads, choosing anew for empowered adulthood.
160. Regression Therapy: Regresses to origin points of pain, releasing origins to rewrite the future.
161. Reichian Breathwork: Deepens breaths to shatter character armor, freeing orgone energy flow.
162. Relational Psychotherapy: Co-evolves through "we" space, healing isolation in mutual witnessing.
163. Relational Recovery: Reclaims bonds post-betrayal, rebuilding trust through vulnerable repair.
164. Relationship Enhancement Therapy: Skill-builds for lasting love, turning good into great partnerships.
165. Relaxation Techniques: Deploys deep muscle ease or guided calm, melting tension like warm wax.
166. Remedial Education: Tailors learning supports, bridging gaps for confident academic strides.
167. Rubenfeld Synergy Method: Synergizes touch, talk, and movement, awakening embodied intuition.
168. Sand Tray or Sand Play Therapy: Builds worlds in sandboxes, symbolizing inner landscapes for safe exploration.
169. Satir Transformational Systemic Therapy: Transforms family icebergs, surfacing love beneath defenses.
170. Schema Therapy: Heals lifelong "schemas" with limited reparenting, filling emotional voids.
171. Self Acceptance Training: Cultivates radical okayness, embracing flaws as facets of wholeness.
172. Self Psychology: Validates narcissistic needs healthily, mirroring self to build sturdy esteem.
173. Self Relations: Harmonizes inner voices in relational dance, fostering self-compassionate dialogue.
174. Self-Compassion: Treats yourself as a dear friend, softening suffering with kind curiosity.
175. Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Grounds trauma talk in body cues, sequencing safety before story.
176. Sensory Integration: Calibrates over/under-sensitive senses, smoothing daily overwhelm for kids and adults.
177. Sex Therapy: Normalizes desires and dysfunctions, reigniting pleasure through education and exercises.
178. Shamanic Journeying / Psychoshamanic: Ventures spirit realms with drums, retrieving allies for soul retrieval.
179. Solution Focused Therapy: Zooms on what's working, amplifying solutions over dissecting problems.
180. Somatic Experiencing: Tracks bodily "energy cysts," titrating release for trauma's gentle thaw.
181. Somatic Psychotherapy: Listens to the body's trauma tales, resourcing safety in flesh and bone.
182. Soul Centered Psychiatry: Integrates spirit with science, prescribing wholeness beyond symptoms.
183. Speech Therapy: Refines voice and articulation, unlocking expression for stutterers and more.
184. Sport or Fitness Psychology: Peaks performance mindset, channeling flow for athletes' mental edge.
185. Stress Management: Deploys buffers like time audits, reclaiming calm from chaos's grip.
186. Stress Management Meditation: Breathes through pressure points, cultivating equanimity in the storm.
187. Supportive Psychotherapy: Offers steady alliance and coping tools, stabilizing through life's tempests.
188. Systems Theory / Therapy: Maps feedback loops in systems, tweaking for equilibrium in families or self.
189. Theraplay: Playfully attunes caregivers to kids, building joy-secure bonds through fun.
190. Thought Field Therapy (TFT): Taps sequences to neutralize thought fields, zapping phobias instantly.
191. Timeline Therapy: Travels inner timelines, recoding past events for future freedom.
192. Transactional Analysis (TA): Spots ego states in scripts, rewriting "parent-adult-child" dramas.
193. Transpersonal Psychotherapy: Transcends ego to spirit, exploring peak experiences and beyond.
194. Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT): Empowers kids through trauma narratives, blending play with cognitive tools.
195. Trauma Focused Therapy: Centers safety in processing horrors, rebuilding shattered trust.
196. Trauma Informed: Infuses all care with "what happened to you?" lens, preventing re-traumatization.
197. Trauma Relief Unlimited: Offers boundless paths to trauma thaw, customizing for infinite healing.
198. Vedic Psychology: Draws ancient wisdom for modern minds, balancing doshas for mental harmony.
199. Voice Dialogue: Personifies sub-personalities in conversation, disidentifying for choiceful living.
200. Voice Therapy: Frees vocal authenticity, toning out suppression for empowered expression.
201. Wilderness Therapy: Challenges in wilds to mirror inner strength, forging resilience outdoors.
202. Yoga Therapy: Poses and prana tailor to psyche, unioning body-breath for inner peace.

By mapping the landscape of psychotherapy, this blog aims to empower readers to make informed choices, appreciate the richness of therapeutic traditions, and recognize that there is always a method suited to every individual’s journey toward well-being.