Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a short-term,
goal-oriented psychotherapy treatment that takes a hands-on,
practical approach to problem-solving. Its goal is to change
patterns of thinking or behavior that are behind people's
difficulties, and so change the way they feel.
CBT works by changing people’s attitudes and their behavior by
focusing on the thoughts, images, beliefs and attitudes that are
held (a person’s cognitive processes) and how these processes
relate to the way a person behaves, as a way of dealing with
emotional problems.
Goals of Cognitive Therapy Include:
the promotion of self-awareness and emotional intelligence by
teaching clients to “read” their emotions and distinguish healthy
from unhealthy feelings
helping clients understand how distorted perceptions and
thoughts contribute to painful feelings
the rapid reduction of symptoms with an emphasis on examining
the client’s current situation and solving current problems
the development of self-control by teaching clients specific
techniques to identify and challenge distorted thinking
prevention of future episodes of emotional distress and
development of personal growth by helping clients change core
beliefs that are often at the heart of their suffering.
Psychodynamic therapy is more long term therapy taking roots
from Freud's psychoanalysis.Psychodynamic psychotherapy relies
heavily on the therapeutic relationship – the relationship that
develops between the therapist and client. It provides an
opportunity to examine this relationship in a safe arena and see
how it reflects other relationships that we have.
Major techniques used by psychodynamic therapists include free
association, recognising resistance and transference (unconsciously
transferring feelings about a person or event in the past onto a
person or event in the present), counter-transference (feelings
evoked in the therapist by the client’s transference), and
catharsis (intense emotional release).It is less structured than
CBT.Also could be more expensive due to long term therapy and it
also focuses on discussing childhood history in contrast to
CBT.