Individual therapy is a form of therapy in which the client is treated on a one-on-one basis with a therapist. The most popular form of therapy, individual therapy may encompass many different treatment styles including psychoanalysis and cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Individual therapy allows the therapist and client to focus on each other, building a rapport and working together to solve the client’s issue.

However, psychoanalysis and related therapies may progress for months or even years, while brief therapies such as cognitive-behavioral therapy can produce results in just a few sessions.

What Is Psychoanalytic Treatment?

Psychoanalytic treatment involves exploring the organization of the personality and reorganizing it in a way that addresses deep conflicts and defenses.

According to the principles of psychoanalysis, curing a phobia is only possible by identifying and solving the initial conflict.

Psychoanalysis is the form of therapy often seen in old movies where a client lies on a couch with the psychoanalyst seated near his or her head. The psychoanalyst does not inject his or her own opinions but allows the client to transfer feelings onto the analyst.

Psychoanalysis is not as popular today as it was a few decades ago, but is still a treatment used to address deep seated personality issues. The process is generally lengthy, often lasting for many years.

It also tends to be expensive, as analysts must undergo extensive training after their regular psychiatry or psychology training is complete.

What Is Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy?

Cognitive-behavioral therapy, or CBT, enables you to manage your fears by helping you gradually change the way you think. It’s based on the interconnectedness of thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and behaviors.

A phobia sufferer believes that the feared situation is inherently dangerous. This belief leads to negative automatic thoughts that occur as soon as the feared situation is encountered and the automatic thoughts lead to a phobic behavioral reaction.

It may take several CBT sessions to counteract this thought pattern. In order to accomplish this, the therapist can help you overcome your fear with incremental steps.

Techniques commonly used in cognitive-behavioral therapy draw from the schools of behaviorism and learning theory as well as the school of cognitive theory.

By Lisa Fritscher