ACT is a therapy that balances acceptance and mindfulness with change strategies. ACT teaches people to be more flexible and accepting with their thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations. The goal is to define values and meaning in life to become more functional in everyday living. Therapists will work with individuals to help identify what therapeutic strategies make life more workable, livable, and healthy.
A health treatment that is not classified as a standard Western medical practice is referred to as "alternative," or "complementary,” or “integrative.” Alternative therapy encompasses a variety of disciplines that includes everything from your diet and exercise to your mental conditioning and your lifestyle. Examples of alternative therapies include herbal remedies, acupuncture, reflexology, exercise, meditation, massage, guided imagery and yoga.
Behavioral therapy looks at how behaviors started and why they continue. Behavior therapy identifies cues for behavior and outcomes of behavior. Behavior therapy aims to make changes to the environment, including other people’s responses, that leads to behavior change.
CBT is similar to behavioral therapy, but it also addresses negative thinking and thinking that interferes with good mental health. The idea behind CBT is that certain feelings or beliefs you have about yourself or situations in your life can lead to distress. This distress may contribute to mental health issues, occur alongside them, or develop as a complication of other mental health issues.
DBT is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy that helps individuals develop healthy coping skills. Like CBT, it helps change negative thought patterns and behaviors into healthy behaviors with positive outcomes. This involves balancing validation and acceptance with helping people see the need to change. DBT teaches a set of healthy coping skills.
Evidence-based therapy (EBT), also sometimes more broadly referred to as Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) to encompass more fields of medicine, is any therapy based on peer-reviewed scientific evidence.
Motivational interviewing is an evidence-based treatment. It is used in various programs to inspire self-motivation. Mental health professionals use MI techniques to help people identify their own reasons for changing their behavior. People who figure out for themselves why they need to change are more motivated to change than people who are told by others that they need to change.
