A Guide to the Therapy Approaches Our Clinicians Use

If you’ve read through our clinician bios, you’ve probably seen names like CBT, EMDR, and IFS. It’s natural to wonder what they mean, or whether you need to pick one before starting therapy.

Here’s the most important thing to know: you don’t. You don’t need to understand any of these approaches, or know which one is right for you, to reach out. Helping you figure that out is part of your therapist’s job.

The Relationship Matters Most

Before we get to the approaches themselves, it helps to know what research says about why therapy works. A large review of nearly 300 studies found that the relationship between client and clinician is consistently linked to whether therapy helps, across many different types of therapy.

Finding a clinician you feel comfortable with, and who understands what you’re working toward, is one of the best things you can do. The specific approach matters, but it works best inside a relationship where you feel at ease.

Approaches That Work With Thoughts and Behaviors

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). CBT looks at how thoughts, feelings, and actions affect one another. Sessions are often structured and practical, and you may learn skills to try between appointments. It’s widely used for anxiety, depression, OCD, and many other concerns. [Read more about CBT.]

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Rather than trying to get rid of difficult thoughts and feelings, ACT helps you make room for them while moving toward what matters most to you. Values play a central role, and sessions often focus on building flexibility in how you respond to stress.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). DBT teaches practical skills for handling intense emotions, getting through hard moments, and communicating needs in relationships. Many clinicians draw on DBT skills in individual therapy, especially when emotions feel overwhelming or hard to manage.

Approaches for Healing From Trauma

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). EMDR helps the brain process distressing memories so they feel less overwhelming. While briefly focusing on a memory, you’ll follow guided eye movements or another form of back-and-forth stimulation, such as gentle tapping. EMDR is well researched for PTSD, and it doesn’t require describing every detail of what happened out loud.

Trauma-informed care isn’t limited to one approach. Many of our clinicians bring that awareness to their work, whatever methods they use.

Approaches for Understanding Yourself and Your Relationships

Internal Family Systems (IFS). IFS is based on the idea that we all have different “parts” of ourselves, like a part that worries, a part that criticizes, or a part that wants to protect us. Therapy involves getting to know these parts with curiosity and compassion. Research on IFS is newer but growing, and many clients find the framework intuitive.

Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT). EFT focuses on emotions and the bonds between people. It’s especially well known for couples therapy, where it helps partners understand the patterns that pull them apart and find ways to reconnect. [Read more about EFT.]

Approaches That Build Awareness and Motivation

Mindfulness. Mindfulness means paying attention to the present moment without judgment. It’s rarely a standalone therapy and is more often woven into other approaches, helping clients notice thoughts and feelings without getting swept up in them.

Motivational Interviewing. This is a collaborative conversation about change. It helps you explore mixed feelings about making a change, such as with substance use, and respects that the decision is always yours.

Somatic Approaches. Somatic approaches pay attention to the body, noticing where stress, anxiety, or trauma shows up physically. The research here is still developing, but it can be a helpful addition for clients who feel stress physically.

Most Clinicians Blend Approaches

In practice, most therapists don’t use just one approach. A clinician might draw on CBT skills, bring in mindfulness, and use ideas from IFS, all with the same client. The goal is to shape therapy around you.

That’s also why a clinician’s list of approaches is only part of the picture. Their experience, their specialties, and how they work with people matter just as much.

You Don’t Have to Choose

If one of these approaches caught your interest, you’re welcome to mention it when you reach out. But you don’t need to. You can simply share what’s been going on, and your clinician will talk with you about what might help and why.

Therapy is a collaboration, and you’ll always have a say in how it goes. If something isn’t working for you, you can say so, and your clinician will adjust.

Finding the Right Fit

We see clients at our offices in Chapel Hill, Durham, Raleigh, Pittsboro, and Hillsborough, and through telehealth anywhere in North Carolina. If you’d like, you can browse our clinicians and their specialties, or reach out and we’ll help you find someone who feels like a good fit.

[Find a Therapist]

Source

Flückiger, C., Del Re, A. C., Wampold, B. E., & Horvath, A. O. (2018). The alliance in adult psychotherapy: A meta-analytic synthesis. Psychotherapy, 55(4), 316–340. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000172