If you have any doubts, contact your local medical association. The most common emotional disorders, such as depression and anxiety, can be effectively treated by either cognitive or behavioral modalities. Many therapists use a combination of these two types. Cognitive therapy seeks to expose the dysfunctional thought patterns a client may be unconsciously thinking, and to restructure these thoughts into a positive frame. The assumption is that negative thoughts produce negative feelings.
Cognitive treatment is the preferred therapy for depression.
In behavioral therapy, the therapist and client work to identify the triggers that cause the dysfunctional behaviors and focus on how to change the behavior. Behavioral treatment is effective for disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorders, anxiety, and panic disorders. Sometimes the client doesn t need to know why they re behaving in a particular way, but what to do to change the behavior. Psychodynamic therapy is less interactive than cognitive or behavioral therapies. In psychodynamic therapy, a dialogue takes place, but the therapist is a blank slate , listening and reflecting back what the client says, while remaining nonjudgmental.