Psychotherapy can be short, medium or long-term, though Psychodynamic therapy in particular is a longer term process, and focuses on a broad range of issues. The underlying principle is that a person’s life experiences profoundly effect their patterns of thinking and behaviour, and the ways they interact with the world.

Depending on the specific type of psychotherapy that is being used, the goals can be to:

• help people feel better equipped to manage stresses
• understand patterns in behaviour that may interfere with reaching personal goals
• have more satisfying relationships
• develop ‘insides’ and a more solid sense of “self”
• and better regulate thinking and emotional responses to stressful situations

If someone has a form of mental illness such as depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, or an anxiety disorder, psychotherapy addresses ways in which the illness affects their daily life. Psychotherapy treatments focus on how to best understand the illness and manage its symptoms and follow medical recommendations.