“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”
(C.G. Jung)
The word “psychotherapy” comes from Greek:
- “psyche” (ψυχή) – means “soul” or “spirit”
- “therapeia” (θεραπεία) – means “healing”, “care”, “treatment”
Thus, psychotherapy directly translates as “healing of the soul” or “care for the soul”.
Although psychotherapy is a scientifically proven and effective way to care for one’s well-being, it is still often stigmatized in society. Many people fear seeking help, thinking it means “something is wrong” with them. However, psychotherapy is not a sign of weakness or “being problematic” – quite the opposite, it shows a person’s maturity and ability to responsibly care for their inner world.
Many people care for their physical health – eating healthy, exercising, visiting doctors regularly. Yet inner world hygiene often remains neglected, though it’s no less important. Psychotherapy helps understand oneself, better manage emotions, learn healthy relationship patterns, and release hidden traumas. Paradoxically, avoiding acknowledgment of emotional difficulties may be a greater sign of weakness than deciding to see a psychotherapist. Acknowledging we face internal challenges and taking conscious action to address them isn’t weakness – it’s strength. Only those who can look at themselves openly and courageously can grow, change and create a fulfilling life.
Psychiatrist, Psychologist and Psychotherapist – Who’s Who?
Psychiatrist – is a physician who has completed medical studies and specialized in psychiatry. They may additionally train in psychotherapy and become psychotherapists. They may also complete psychology studies and be psychologists, though this isn’t mandatory for their professional practice. Psychiatrists can apply treatment methods like medication (psychotropic drugs), psychotherapy (if appropriately qualified, see below), biological therapy (e.g., electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation), psychoeducation and treatment planning combining various therapies according to patient needs.
Psychologist – is a person who has completed university studies in psychology. They analyze various mental processes like attention, memory, intellectual abilities, thinking (e.g., its adequacy and directionality) and personality traits including self-esteem and relationship-building skills. Psychologists cannot prescribe medication or apply medical treatment methods. They may additionally train in psychotherapy and become psychotherapists. They may work in educational institutions, hospitals, business sector or scientific research.
Psychotherapist – is a qualification that can be obtained by psychiatrists, psychologists (or even representatives of other professions if meeting requirements). This requires completing specialized psychotherapy studies. Psychotherapists perform deeper treatment of emotional, psychological problems using specific therapeutic methods (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy, psychodynamic therapy, gestalt therapy etc.). Like psychologists, psychotherapists cannot prescribe medication.
Briefly About Psychotherapy
Purpose: To help a person solve emotional, psychological and mental health problems.
Methods: The therapist applies psychotherapeutic techniques (e.g., body psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, psychoanalysis etc.).
Relationship: The therapist is a professional who helps a person overcome emotional difficulties, traumas, fears, often based on a longer therapeutic process.
When used? When experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma or other psychological problems.
Purpose
Each of us has our own ways of coping with past wounds and daily psycho-emotional challenges. These ways emerge without extra effort, they’re results of automatic self-protection mechanisms serving vital functions. Psychotherapy becomes a safe haven where we can be completely genuine and open – with ourselves, and one of its main purposes is creating new adaptation methods at higher consciousness levels.
Methods
There are between 50 to 100 different psychotherapeutic methods and approaches worldwide that constantly evolve and intersect. The list is long and varied. We’ll mention several most well-known ones.
- Psychoanalysis – based on Sigmund Freud’s theories, focuses on the subconscious, past experiences and their influence on current behavior.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – aims to change negative thought and behavior patterns, based on problem-solving and strategic approach.
- Humanistic Therapy – oriented toward self-realization and personal growth, emphasizes empathetic therapist and client collaboration (e.g., client-centered therapy). This category also includes Gestalt therapy known in Lithuania.
- Depth Psychotherapy – a psychotherapy field based on deep mental processes and subconscious exploration, most often using analytical psychotherapy (e.g., Jungian psychology) or psychoanalysis. It seeks to understand subconscious motives, hidden emotions, traumas and internal conflicts that may influence a person’s behavior and mental state.
- Body Psychotherapy – related to body-mind connection, focuses on analyzing body tensions and movements to release emotional blockages. This includes methods like somatic therapy, biodynamic body psychotherapy according to Gerda Boyesen and B. Hellinger’s family systems therapy.
Each method aims to reveal connections between client’s subconscious, thoughts and feelings, but methods differ in their approach to human psyche and therapeutic methodology.
Relationship
Characteristics of psychotherapeutic relationship:
🌊 Trust and safety:
This is the foundation of the entire therapeutic process. The client must feel safe to reveal deep emotions and personal experiences without fear of judgment. Only trust enables real change.
🌊 Empathy and compassion:
The therapist shows deep understanding and sensitivity to client’s feelings, helping them feel accepted and heard. Empathy promotes emotional healing and helps establish a strong therapist-client connection.
🌊 Collaboration:
Psychotherapy isn’t just therapist’s monologue – it’s joint work. Therapist and client together set goals and strategies to achieve desired changes, ensuring active mutual engagement.
🌊 Encouragement and empowerment:
The therapist encourages the client to trust their abilities and strengths, helping them discover internal resources and stand on their own feet. This helps clients feel responsible for their life and changes.
🌊 Consistency and reliability:
Especially important in therapeutic relationship so clients can trust the process and therapist. Consistency ensures stability and safety needed to build trust and achieve changes.
Different people have unique ways of processing information and communicating, so their relationships aren’t always easy or comfortable. In psychotherapy this means some relationships may be naturally tense, but they can also become important moments of growth and transformation. Typology sciences examining intertype relationships state that some types tend toward conflict while others complement each other perfectly – similarly in psychotherapy context, relationships with therapists depend on personal compatibility and understanding.
When the therapist is someone you can trust and who commands respect, even challenging relationships with them can become effective and lead to real progress. Psychotherapy becomes a place where you can allow yourself to open up and confront your feelings, ensuring deep inner growth.
Not every therapist may suit a particular person – relationships with therapists are crucial, and if there’s no trust between person and therapist, therapy may not work. However, even unsuccessful experiences can become valuable lessons as they help better understand one’s needs and what truly works.
When Does Psychotherapy Help?
Psychotherapy can be beneficial in various psychological and emotional situations when a person seeks to improve mental health, resolve deep emotional issues or enhance life quality. Here are main areas where psychotherapy helps:
🌿 Emotion and Mental Health Management
Depression and anxiety: psychotherapy can help overcome persistent sadness, apathy, anxiety and panic attacks. Stress and tension management: therapy helps learn to handle daily life challenges and cope with emotional tension. Self-esteem and self-worth strengthening: psychotherapy can help restore self-confidence, overcome negative self-perception.
🌿 Processing Emotional Trauma and Past Events
Traumatic experiences: psychotherapy helps process traumas like violence, losses or other intense psychological experiences. Consciousness raising: psychotherapy helps recognize deep emotional causes that may hinder daily functioning.
🌿 Personal and Interpersonal Relationship Issues
Relationship difficulties: psychotherapy helps improve relationships, resolve conflicts and strengthen emotional bonds between partners, family members or friends. Communication skills: therapy helps learn to communicate openly, express feelings and better understand others’ emotions. Divorces and losses: psychotherapy helps process painful life changes and restore emotional balance.
🌿 Self-Understanding and Personal Growth
Identity and self-discovery: psychotherapy can help people better understand their values, goals and life meaning. Creativity and self-expression blocks: therapy helps overcome obstacles to creativity or self-expression when experiencing creative blocks. Painful life events: psychotherapy helps process failures, grievances and other emotional issues hindering personal growth.
🌿 Mental Balance and Life Quality Improvement
Managing intense emotions: psychotherapy helps learn to cope with strong emotions like anger, sadness, fear, hopelessness.
When Doesn’t Psychotherapy Help?
Psychotherapy may not help when a person isn’t ready or unwilling to change. When psychotherapy’s “customer” is a son, daughter, spouse rather than the patient themselves. If a person isn’t prepared to openly examine their feelings and behavior, therapy may seem unsuccessful as change requires conscious and purposeful engagement. Psychotherapy also may not help when people have unrealistic expectations hoping for quick or magical solutions, or want the psychotherapist to solve problems for them and provide correct answers. The real healing process is often long and consistent.
Some people may also face difficulties if therapy isn’t properly adapted to their individual needs or problems. For example, certain psychological issues like serious psychoses or specific brain activity disorders may require completely different approaches, e.g. medication treatment.
How Long Does Psychotherapy Last?
Psychotherapy duration varies greatly depending on the case, methodology and set goals. Some specialists claim a person needs as many years of psychotherapy as decades they’ve lived. However, there are cases where after just 10 sessions the specialist sees sufficient change to end therapy or refer elsewhere. Still, it’s important to understand psychotherapy is a long-term, continuous process – here we can draw a parallel with sports. To strengthen the body, improve well-being, muscle tone and endurance, one must train long and consistently – one or few workouts aren’t enough. Especially if prior lifestyle wasn’t particularly healthy, the body was sluggish, and exercise was limited to watching TV.
Regulation
Currently Lithuania lacks a specific psychotherapy law that would thoroughly regulate psychotherapists’ activities. Psychotherapy as a service can be provided in different ways:
- In personal healthcare institutions – here psychotherapy is more strictly regulated, there may be licensing requirements, hygiene norms, institution status etc.
- Individually as self-employed – in this case the psychotherapist isn’t considered a healthcare institution, so they aren’t subject to same regulations as physicians or mental health centers.
Since Lithuania lacks clear legal regulation of psychotherapy practice, this means various specialists can provide psychotherapeutic services – from professionally trained psychotherapists to self-taught practitioners. The main quality guarantee is therapist’s education, membership in professional associations (e.g., Lithuanian Psychotherapy Society, Lithuanian Psychologists’ Union), certificates and personal reputation.
