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| © Margaret L. Cunningham, PhD 2002 |
| Last updated August 12, 2008 |
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Talk therapy
| When a person needs help with a specific problem e.g. grief issues, relationship concerns, etc, talk therapy can be very helpful. |
| The therapist may make suggestions. Remember, they are suggestions— if you act on them, they are your responsibility. |
| Some therapists are passive listeners, while others are more interactive. Either way, the client talks about the problem and does some problem solving. |
| Occasionally in talk therapy, you may do role-playing to help you practice different approaches. This also has the advantage of helping you see the problem from a different perspective. |
| The duration of talk therapy will depend on the needs of the client and the presenting problem. |
| In talk therapy, the emphasis is on therapy. It's not the same as complaining to a friend. No matter how friendly your therapist seems or how close you feel to your therapist, the rules of friendship do not apply here. The goal is to form a therapeutic relationship. |
