Psychotherapy has become a wide-ranging group of mental treatments that has moved far beyond the "talking cure" discussed by 19th century psychologist Sigmund Freud. Today, psychologists employ a variety of alternative psychotherapies that help clients change unhealthy behaviors and life patterns. Despite their differences, these healing methods all have in common the belief that people who heal are those who take at least partial responsibility for their mental health.
Body-Oriented Therapy
After centuries of philosophy to the contrary, medical science has shown that the mind and the body are part of the same system, and must be treated together. Body-oriented therapies take this discovery a step further by introducing bodywork into their psychotherapy sessions. Some techniques used in body psychotherapy are dance therapy, breathwork, and touch therapy. The US Association for Body Psychotherapy suggests that, by becoming more aware of the connections between the body, emotions, and everyday life choices, clients learn how to self-regulate their mental health and behavior.
Psychedelic Therapy
Contrary to popular thought, psychedelic therapy is not a throwback to the Summer of Love, but a highly-successful healing modality. Medical marijuana is the only psychedelic compound that is legally used to treat mental disorders such as depression and anxiety. However, this strain of research in on the rise. For example, as reported in a well-cited 1997 article in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, ketamine has proven effective for treating alcoholism when prescribed in a clinical setting. Other psychedelic substances currently undergoing government trials include MDMA, psilocybin, LSD, and the South American herbal remedy ayahuasca.
Ecotherapy
If the mind and body cannot be separated, what about the person and the environment? Ecotherapy is a branch of psychotherapy that heals mental illness by incorporating the natural world into the client-therapist relationship. Ecotherapists suggest that humans were not designed to spend so much time in isolation from the natural world. In July 2009, Time magazine cited a published study from the University of Essex in England that reported that "walking outside could be as effective as taking antidepressant drugs for treating mild to moderate depression." Walking around in a shopping mall did not provide the same results.
Dreamwork
Working with dreams has become a powerful therapeutic technique not only for psychotherapists, but also for ministers, addiction counselors, and lay community groups. Nightmares, a common symptom of many mental health issues, are particularly well-suited for creative exploration and self-healing. For instance, nightmare therapy is a common technique used in the treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Neurologist Patrick McNamara, in a 2009 interview with Boston University, suggests that nightmare therapy can deflate the potency of the original terrifying experiences and help prevent recurrent bad dreams. McNamara also suggests that retelling the nightmare with a different ending can shift the dream narrative the next time it occurs.
