When it comes to mental health, therapy is one of the most effective ways you can find support and healing. Therapy involves meeting with a trained professional, like a counselor, therapist or psychiatrist, who can help you better understand your thoughts, emotions, behaviors and relationships and how they can affect your overall well-being. Deciding to go to therapy is a positive step toward improving your mental health. 

However, therapy shouldn’t be forced into a one-size-fits-all approach. Even focusing on using one specific therapeutic approach, therapists can tailor therapy treatment plans to each individual’s unique needs. The type of therapy chosen can depend on several factors, including the client’s specific:

• Symptoms
• Needs
• Goals
• Preferences

Different people have different needs, and that’s why there are many types of therapy designed to help meet the needs of those dealing with mental health conditions or challenges such as:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Complicated grief
• Borderline personality disorder
• Bipolar disorder

The 4 core processes of mental health

At the heart of mental health are four interconnected core processes: emotions, thoughts, behaviors and relationships. These processes influence each other and significantly affect your overall mental and physical well-being. Let’s take a closer look:

• Emotions — Your emotions are at the heart of your mental health. They can influence how you see the world, interact with others and feel about yourself. When emotions become overwhelming, they can lead to a variety of mental health challenges. Learning to manage and understand your emotions is a key part of therapy. 
• Thoughts — Thoughts are how you interpret the world around you. Negative thought patterns, like self-criticism or catastrophic thinking, can contribute to anxiety or depression. Therapy can focus on helping you recognize and change unhealthy thinking patterns to improve your overall well-being. 
• Behaviors — Your behaviors are how you respond to your thoughts and emotions. Sometimes, these behavioral responses are helpful, but other times, they can make things worse. Therapy can help you learn healthier ways to cope with your feelings and change unhelpful behaviors. 
• Relationships — Your connections with others play a big role in your mental health. Healthy relationships can provide you with support, comfort and joy. Troubled relationships can cause you to experience stress, anxiety and depression. Therapy can help you improve your communication skills, set boundaries, and build stronger, more supportive relationships.

Understanding these four core processes is essential because they affect each other in complex ways. In therapy, you can work on all these areas together, learning how to create positive changes in each process to help improve your overall mental health and well-being. 

Different types of therapy and how they can help mental health

There are many types of therapy that can help improve your mental health, including but not limited to:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) — This is one of the most widely used therapies for mental health. CBT focuses on helping to identify and change negative thought patterns and behaviors that contribute to anxiety, depression and other conditions. By helping you recognize distorted thinking and learn new ways to cope, CBT can help improve emotional regulation, leading to healthier behaviors and more positive relationships.
• Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) — ACT can teach you to accept your thoughts and feelings rather than trying to fight and resist them. This therapy emphasizes living according to your values, even when you’re faced with difficult emotions. ACT can help you improve emotional flexibility, encourage healthier behaviors, and foster better relationships with yourself and others.
• Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) — DBT is a therapeutic approach that combines CBT techniques with mindfulness skills. It can be helpful for people who are struggling with intense emotions, self-destructive behaviors or relationship difficulties. DBT can teach you skills to manage distress, regulate emotions and improve interpersonal effectiveness.
• Cognitive processing therapy (CPT) — CPT is effective for those dealing with trauma. It focuses on helping you reprocess and understand traumatic events. This can help change negative thought patterns and reduce emotional distress. CPT also emphasizes building healthier coping skills and improving relationships affected by trauma.
• Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) — EMDR is another trauma-focused therapy that uses eye movements to help people process and heal from past traumas. EMDR targets distressing memories and helps to rewire the way these memories are stored in the brain. This can lead to less emotional pain and healthier thought patterns.
• Interpersonal therapy (IPT) — IPT focuses on helping you to improve communication and resolve conflicts in relationships. It can be useful for those whose mental health challenges are closely tied to their social interactions. By enhancing your relationships, IPT can help you develop better emotional regulation and more supportive connections. 
• Compassion-based therapy — Compassion-based therapy emphasizes self-compassion and kindness toward yourself. This can help reduce feelings of shame, self-criticism and anxiety. It helps foster a positive relationship with yourself, which also helps improve emotional well-being and healthier thinking patterns. 
• Somatic therapy — Somatic therapy focuses on the connection between your body and mind, particularly how trauma and stress are stored physically. Techniques like body awareness, movement and breathing exercises can help release physical tension and improve emotional regulation, leading to healthier behaviors and relationships.

The Lightfully approach to mental health care: Precision Care Model

At Lightfully, we have pioneered the use of our Precision Care Model (PCM) across all levels of care. This approach allows our compassionate experts to create a personalized therapy treatment plan integrating components of various evidence-based techniques to help address the four core processes: emotions, thoughts, behaviors and relationships. Our whole-person-centered care approach doesn’t rely on one single method; instead, it combines different strategies to create a therapy treatment plan tailored to help meet your unique needs and concerns. By focusing on what drives your mental health challenges, PCM therapy can help you make meaningful changes in all areas of your life. We see and treat you as a whole person, not just your diagnosis or the symptoms you’re currently experiencing. 

Our experienced therapists are trained to work closely with you to understand your symptoms, goals and personal preferences. They’ll use a combination of techniques, such as:

• CBT for thought patterns
• DBT for emotional regulation
• IPT for improving relationships

Our Precision Care Model helps to ensure that your therapy is designed specifically for you, giving you the best possible chance for long-term success. 

Change is possible. When you’re ready to take the first step, contact us. We’ll take the next steps together, toward the fullest, brightest version of you.