Psychotherapy Methods

A psychotherapy method is not just a set of techniques. It is the lens through which a specialist views your concern, and the language in which you will together explore your inner world. Some people suit structured CBT with homework, others — deep psychodynamic work, and still others — a body-oriented approach where healing happens through the body rather than words.

Below are all the methods represented in our catalog, with a brief description, the concerns they suit, and how many specialists practice each approach.

1. Cognitive-behavioral methods

Method	Description	Best for	Therapists
CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)	The "gold standard" of evidence-based psychotherapy. Works with automatic thoughts, core beliefs and behavioral patterns. A structured approach with homework.	Anxiety, depression, phobias, OCD, panic attacks, sleep disorders, procrastination	120+
CPT (Cognitive Processing Therapy)	A specialized protocol for working with trauma. Focuses on identifying and reprocessing "stuck points" — beliefs formed by traumatic experience.	PTSD, complex trauma, consequences of violence	25+
REBT (Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy)	Albert Ellis's method. Works with irrational beliefs ("I must be perfect", "everyone must love me"), replacing them with rational ones.	Perfectionism, low self-esteem, anger, anxiety	20+
Behavioral therapy	Focuses on changing behavior through exposure techniques, systematic desensitization and skill building. Uses learning principles.	Phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, behavioral addictions, childhood behavioral problems	35+

2. Psychodynamic methods

Method	Description	Best for	Therapists
Psychodynamic therapy	Explores the influence of unconscious processes, early relationships and internal conflicts on current life. Less intensive than classical psychoanalysis.	Recurring life scripts, relationship problems, deep personal difficulties, self-discovery	90+
Psychoanalysis	Freud's classical method and its development. High session frequency (2–5 times a week). Deep work with the unconscious through free association, dreams, transference.	Deep personality disorders, long-term self-work, personality exploration	60+
Jungian analysis	Carl Gustav Jung's method. Works with archetypes, the collective unconscious, dreams, symbols. The individuation process — the path to wholeness.	Search for meaning, midlife crisis, creative blocks, spiritual crises, shadow work	25+
Adlerian therapy (Individual Psychology)	Alfred Adler's method. Explores feelings of inferiority, striving for superiority, social interest, birth order and lifestyle.	Self-esteem, social adaptation, parent-child relationships, upbringing	15+

3. Humanistic and existential methods

Method	Description	Best for	Therapists
Gestalt therapy	Work with awareness of feelings, bodily sensations and needs in the "here and now" moment. Empty chair techniques, dialogue with parts of oneself, experiments.	Mindfulness, contact with feelings, completing gestalts, relationships, self-esteem	100+
Person-centered therapy	Carl Rogers's method. The therapist creates conditions of unconditional acceptance, empathy and congruence in which the client finds their own path to healing.	Self-esteem, self-acceptance, personal growth, mild to moderate emotional difficulties	55+
Existential therapy	Explores fundamental questions of existence: freedom, responsibility, death, meaning, isolation. Helps the client find their own way to live meaningfully.	Existential crisis, loss of meaning, fear of death, life transitions, midlife crisis	45+
Logotherapy	Viktor Frankl's method, based on the drive for meaning as the main motivating force of a person. "He who has a 'why' can bear almost any 'how'."	Loss of meaning, depression, consequences of trauma, existential vacuum, crisis of values	20+
Positive psychotherapy	Nossrat Peseschkian's method. Works with the client's resources and abilities, not just problems. Transcultural approach, uses parables and stories.	Family conflicts, intercultural adaptation, psychosomatics, prevention	18+

4. Body-oriented methods

Method	Description	Best for	Therapists
Body-oriented (somatic) therapy	Works with bodily manifestations of mental processes: muscular tension, breathing patterns, posture. The body is a map of the psyche, and through it one can access deep experiences.	Trauma, chronic stress, psychosomatics, suppressed emotions, alexithymia	60+
Bioenergetic analysis	Alexander Lowen's method. Combines body exercises with psychoanalytic understanding of character. Work with the "muscular armor" and energy blocks.	Chronic muscular tension, suppressed aggression, difficulty with pleasure and spontaneity	15+
Feldenkrais Method	A gentle body approach based on movement awareness. Helps rebuild inefficient motor and mental patterns through attention and exploration.	Psychosomatics, chronic pain, stress, movement limitations, neurological difficulties	10+
Breathwork therapy	Uses various breathing techniques (holotropic breathwork, rebirthing) to access altered states of consciousness and release suppressed material.	Trauma, suppressed emotions, stress, search for transpersonal experience	20+

5. Systemic and family methods

Method	Description	Best for	Therapists
Couples and family therapy	Work with couples and families to improve communication, resolve conflicts and restore closeness. May include different theoretical models: EFT, the Gottman method, structural family therapy.	Couple conflicts, infidelity, divorce, parent-child relationships, family crises	70+
Systemic family therapy	Views the family as a system with its own rules, boundaries and dynamics. Works with circular patterns and relationship structure.	Family dysfunctions, problems in children and adolescents, intergenerational conflicts	40+
EFT (Emotionally Focused Therapy)	Sue Johnson's method for couples. Focuses on attachment and emotional safety as the foundation of healthy relationships.	Couple conflicts, distancing, recurring fights, recovery after infidelity	20+
The Gottman Method	An evidence-based approach to couples therapy based on 40 years of research by John and Julie Gottman. Concrete tools for improving relationships.	Relationship crisis, divorce prevention, improving communication	15+

6. Trauma-focused methods

Method	Description	Best for	Therapists
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)	Francine Shapiro's method. Uses bilateral stimulation (eye movements, sounds, tapping) to reprocess traumatic memories. One of the most effective methods for PTSD.	PTSD, complex PTSD, childhood trauma, violence, accidents, war trauma	80+
Somatic Experiencing	Peter Levine's method. Works with the "stuck" energy of the traumatic response (fight/flight/freeze) in the body. Gentle, non-retraumatizing work through bodily sensations.	Shock trauma, developmental trauma, consequences of accidents and disasters, medical trauma	30+
IFIO (Individual and Couples Trauma Therapy)	A specialized approach to working with trauma in the context of couple relationships. Helps partners understand how trauma affects their interaction.	Couples where one or both partners have traumatic experience	10+

7. Expressive and creative methods

Method	Description	Best for	Therapists
Art therapy	Uses drawing, modeling, collage and other visual arts to express and explore the inner world. The process matters more than the result.	Trauma, depression, anxiety, work with children, difficulty verbalizing feelings	40+
Dance/movement therapy	Uses movement and dance to integrate body, emotions and psyche. Helps express what cannot be said in words.	Bodily dissociation, trauma, eating disorders, low self-esteem	15+
Music therapy	Uses music and sound: listening, playing instruments, singing, songwriting. Works on a deep emotional level through rhythm, melody and harmony.	Depression, autism, dementia, emotional regulation, work with children	12+
Psychodrama	Jacob Moreno's method. Uses role play, stage action and dramatization to explore internal conflicts and find new solutions.	Interpersonal difficulties, internal conflicts, group work, trauma work	20+
Symbol drama and sandplay therapy	Uses miniature figures and sand to create three-dimensional compositions reflecting the inner world. Deep work with the unconscious through symbols.	Child therapy, trauma, deep personal work, working with images	18+
Symbol drama (Catathymic-imaginative therapy)	Work with imagination images in a relaxed state. The client imagines given motifs (meadow, stream, house) and explores them.	Psychosomatics, neuroses, personal growth, working with images and dreams	20+

8. Third-wave cognitive therapy

Method	Description	Best for	Therapists
ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)	Steven Hayes's method. Teaches to accept inevitable pain without suffering beyond it. Develops psychological flexibility: the ability to be in contact with the present moment and act according to values.	Anxiety, depression, chronic pain, stress, burnout, perfectionism	50+
DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy)	Marsha Linehan's method. Combines acceptance and change. Develops skills of mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation and interpersonal effectiveness.	Borderline personality disorder, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, emotional dysregulation	30+
Schema therapy	Jeffrey Young's method. Integrates CBT, psychodynamic approach, attachment theory and Gestalt. Works with early maladaptive schemas and personality "modes".	Chronic problems, personality disorders, childhood trauma, persistent maladaptive patterns	45+
MBCT/MBSR (Mindfulness-based therapy)	Combines CBT with mindfulness meditation practices. MBSR — stress reduction through mindfulness; MBCT — prevention of depression relapse.	Recurrent depression, chronic stress, anxiety, emotional burnout	30+
CFT (Compassion-Focused Therapy)	Paul Gilbert's method. Develops the capacity for self-compassion, calms the threat system and activates the care system. Especially valuable with a strong inner critic.	Shame, self-criticism, consequences of trauma, depression, eating disorders	25+

9. Other methods and approaches

Method	Description	Best for	Therapists
Narrative therapy	Michael White and David Epston's method. Views life as a story we tell. Helps "rewrite" problematic narratives and find alternative, more resourceful ones.	Identity problems, consequences of stigmatization, family stories, trauma	25+
Transactional analysis	Eric Berne's method. Explores interactions between people through the "Parent–Adult–Child" model. Works with life scripts, games and contracts.	Relationship problems, recurring conflicts, career difficulties, personal growth	30+
Hypnotherapy	Uses the state of hypnotic trance to access unconscious resources. Effective for habits, phobias and psychosomatics.	Phobias, addictions, chronic pain, anxiety, psychosomatic disorders	25+
NET (Narrative Exposure Therapy)	A specialized method for working with multiple trauma. The client creates a chronological narrative of their life, integrating traumatic events into a coherent story.	Multiple trauma, refugee trauma, war trauma, complex PTSD	10+
Process-oriented therapy	Arnold Mindell's method (process work). Works with the "edge" of awareness, bodily symptoms as signals, dreams and group processes.	Bodily symptoms, dreams, internal conflicts, coma work, social conflicts	10+ (Vera G. and others)
SFBT (Solution-Focused Brief Therapy)	Focuses not on the problem but on the solution. Uses the "miracle question", scaling, searching for exceptions to the problem. A pragmatic, fast approach.	Specific problems, career and life decisions, short-term work (3–8 sessions)	30+
Brief strategic therapy	Giorgio Nardone's method. Focused on a specific problem and its fast resolution through strategic interventions and "prescriptions".	Phobias, panic attacks, OCD, specific symptomatic concerns	15+
Neuropsychology	Works at the intersection of psychology and neuroscience. Assessment and correction of cognitive functions: memory, attention, thinking, speech.	Consequences of TBI, strokes, ADHD, cognitive impairment, dementia	20+
Perinatal psychology	Specialized work with women and couples during pregnancy planning, gestation, childbirth and the postpartum period.	Postpartum depression, fear of childbirth, conception difficulties, perinatal loss	20+
Psychological coaching	Oriented toward achieving goals: career, personal, creative. Not therapy, but support in unlocking potential. A coach doesn't treat — they help you move forward.	Career transitions, goal setting, procrastination, unlocking potential, life balance	35+

10. Integrative and multimodal approaches

Method	Description	Best for	Therapists
Integrative therapy	Consciously combines elements of different approaches, selecting methods for the specific client and their concern. Not eclecticism, but a thoughtful synthesis.	A wide range of concerns — suits almost any situation thanks to the flexibility of the approach	80+
Multimodal therapy	Arnold Lazarus's method. Views the client in seven modalities: behavior, affect, sensation, imagery, cognition, interpersonal relationships, biology (BASIC ID).	Complex, multifaceted concerns requiring a systemic approach	15+
IFS (Internal Family Systems)	Richard Schwartz's method. Views the psyche as a system of parts (subpersonalities): Exiles, Firefighters, Managers, and Self as the center. Gentle work with wounded parts.	Trauma, internal conflicts, self-criticism, complex emotional states	35+