Individual Psychotherapy And Individual Counseling:

People speak of individual psychotherapy or individual counseling as if they are the same. Actually, individual psychotherapy is directed toward changing a psychological problem, whereas individual counseling focuses more on advice giving and suggestions. Where the latter works it is sufficient, but when it doesn't individual psychotherapy is usually very helpful.

There are different schools of individual therapy, ranging from behavior modification to insight oriented. The most widely used schools of thought include cognitive psychology, self-psychology, ego-psychology, classical psychoanalytic theory, and what's called object-relations psychoanalytic theory. Most skilled therapists use an eclectic approach entailing aspects from every school to form a treatment orientation that is more truly the therapists own.

Typically, individual therapy addresses issues entailing internal conflicts which may even be out of the awareness of the individual but make themselves known in the form of symptoms of various sorts including: anger, depression, anxiety, sexual issues, guilt, jealousy, and also may include changes in behavior that feel alien even to the client.

Treatment formats across the different schools typically entail a 50 minute session on a weekly basis. Most insight oriented therapists work from relationship to better understand the client and thus meeting regularly provides the opportunity for the relationship to form and develop.

Sometimes, when the clients emotions are too intense, medication may be recommended. Usually, medications can be temporary, simply helping the individual through a difficult time and get back on track, while more genetically based issues, such as a bi-polar condition, may require medication on an ongoing basis. In either event the therapist will work with the client to arrive at a decision concerning medications with which the client is most comfortable.

Consumer Reports several years ago studied the issue of medications versus psychotherapy and concluded that a combination of the two was the most effective approach when medications were indicated.