Therapy	Purposes	Examples
Biological	Alleviate symptoms	Medications Antipsychotics for psychotic disorders Antidepressants for depression Anticycling agents for bipolar disorder Hypnoanxiolytics for anxiety disorders Stimulants Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) – chiefly used when other therapies are not successful.
Psychosocial	Address underlying issues, which will lead to changes in behavior	Individual Therapy Psychotherapy or counseling with a psychiatrist, psychologist or therapist Pastoral counseling with a minister Group Therapy Professionally run groups Peer support groups ex: Alcoholics Anonymous Couples and Family Therapy Marriage counseling Family Therapy
Behavioral	Address behavior, which will lead to change in feelings and attitudes	Biofeedback – Electronic instrument gives feedback to patient Relaxation – Systematic relaxation of parts of the body Operant Conditioning – Reward and reinforce positive behaviors

Sources:

• Essential Psychopathology and Its Treatment, Second Edition by Jerrold S. Maxmen and Nicholas G Ward, pp 87-97.
• The Soul in Distress by Richard W. Roukema, M.D., pp 42-47, 59

Therapies can complement and facilitate each other.

• Medication can facilitate other therapies because it can give the ability to concentrate and cooperate in other activities
• Psychotherapy can accomplish what drugs cannot – It can allow a lasting change in fundamental underlying beliefs and feelings.
• Behavioral therapy can establish patterns of beneficial activity, reinforcing insights learned in psychotherapy.

Peer Support activities can complement traditional therapies

• Receiving support from others who have had similar problems can be very helpful because they’ve been there. What worked for them may work for you.
• Giving support to others can enhance self-esteem
• Participation in networks and in advocacy on behalf of oneself or others is empowering
• Recent federally-sponsored research shows that people who augment traditional medical therapies with peer support activities, such as drop-in centers, report significantly better well-being than those using only traditional medical therapies.
• Conflict with traditional therapy is usually over:
  • Forced treatment including forced hospitalization and forced medication
  • Disagreement by some with the medical model of mental health care treatment

Recovery Model activities give more control over life

• Learning how to monitor one’s triggers and early warning signs can make relapse less frequent.
• Deciding ahead of time what kind of treatment to have is empowering and enhances self-esteem
• Address as many dimensions of recovery as possible