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 psychotherapy is a treatment of emotional and personality problems or disorders by using psychological means. In other words, just like how a physician would treat fever or cold there are treatments that help with treating problems of an emotional nature.

One of the main reasons why people seek out therapy is to deal with the distress or discomfort caused by internal or external factors.

Individual therapy assists in dealing with the follow conditions:

  • Depression and Bipolar Disorder
  • Anxiety Disorders, panic attacks or constant worrying.
  • Personality Disorders
  • Trauma
  • Marital or Relationship Problems or Difficulties
  • Occupational Burnout or Problems
  • Academic Burnout or difficulties adjusting
  • Loss and Bereavement
  • Major life transitions
  • Self harming thoughts and behaviour.
  • Chronic illnesses or pain

Individual therapy helps unlock your potential to be the best you, you can be.

At TherapyWise Therapy Centre we provide individual therapy for adolescence and adults of all ages. Our psychologists work with several theoretical approaches, in the interest of the individuals, to get them to where they want it to be. This allows us to ‘meet you where you are’ in your life and draw up a custom treatment plan specific to you.

Some common therapeutic techniques used in individual therapy that our psychologists are familiar with:

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
  • Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) Skills
  • Play Therapy
  • Sand Tray Therapy
  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

When should I consider
individual therapy?

  • Thinking about or coping with the issue takes up at least an hour each day
  • The issue causes embarrassment or makes you want to avoid others
  • The issue has caused your quality of life to decrease
  • The issue has negatively affected school, work, or relationships
  • You’ve made changes in your life or developed habits to cope with the issue

Possible signs you may
need to see a therapist:

  • Constantly feeling overwhelmed, like you can’t cope or breathe.
  • Feeling tired (fatigued) the whole time. Also, sleeping more than usual.
  • Disproportionately expressing rage, anger or resentment.
  • Fearing having a panic attack in public.
  • Constantly feeling anxious or in a worried state.
  • Apathetic thoughts and feelings. Especially losing interest in usual activities.
  • Hopelessness. Losing hope or motivation, or feeling as if you have no future.
  • Withdrawing socially. Introverted people may need more time alone, but if you feel distressed around others you might need therapy to help you deal with these feelings.

Things you can do to improve your situation

  • Identify your feelings and practice expressing your emotions. This leads to more productive conversations in and outside therapy.

  • Focus on solutions or the positives. Redirect your thoughts and behaviours from negative to positive ones. Try to remain focused on your goals (the things you wanted to achieve through therapy) when trying this exercise.

  • Seek help and celebrate your courage in reaching out. The first step is the hardest.

  • Don’t be afraid to ask questions. You can reach out to our therapists before-hand if you’re unsure about anything. It’s import for us that you feel safe and valued in your time with us. If you’re nervous about your first session, just drop us a message or call us to discuss your concerns.

  • Find comfort in the fact that everything (expressed in therapy) is kept confidential.
    Note: There is one exception to this rule and that is if the therapist believes that you might harm yourself or others. Then, they have a professional duty to prevent harm or contact the authorities.

  • Keep a journal. Expressing your thoughts, emotions and feelings on paper may provide momentary release and will enable you to better track changes in your mental state. This can also help you identify thought patterns and recurring issues.

Things that can worsen your situation

  • Focusing on the negative or believing things won’t get better. It is actually normal to occasionally feel bad or worse after therapy, especially during the beginning of your work with a therapist. It can be a sign of progress.

  • Waiting for things to get better without taking steps to get help or change your situation. Value yourself enough to get you the help you need.

  • Ignoring your feelings, thoughts and emotions. Practice identifying and expressing yourself by keeping a journal.

How is individual therapy different from other therapy approaches?

Individual Therapy is defined as one person in therapy with one psychologist or therapist.

On the other hand, Group Therapy is loosely defined as more than one person being treated together in a formal therapeutic environment (e.g. Family Therapy, Couples Therapy, Marital Counseling).

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

There is no specific time frame when working on personal development and growth. Depending on the type of changes that you are looking to make and the variety of issues that you are attempting to work on, therapy can last from a few sessions to much longer. Some find therapy to be extremely beneficial and choose to make it a long-term process.

Note: Each of our individual sessions are an hour long to provide enough time to talk.

  1. Build the therapeutic relationship, hope and motivation which form the foundation of a good working relationship with your therapist.
  2. Assessment of the client’s well being. Assessment continues in each session and helps the therapist and client gauge what has changed since their last session.
  3. Goal and agenda-setting which helps the therapist and client create and adjust the custom treatment plan as things change over time.
  4. Therapy and counseling e.g. introduction to therapy exercises or practices, role-playing etc.
  5. Commit to crucial between-session work (“homework”).
  6. Wrap-up.

There are many benefits to engaging in therapy. Some of these include:

  • gaining a better understanding of oneself,
  • figuring out life goals and prospects,
  • improving personal relationships,
  • developing coping skills,
  • enhancing problem-solving abilities,
  • making positive changes to problem behaviors,
  • and boosting self-esteem.

Your therapist will work with you throughout this process and offer new insight to an issue that you have been struggling with. The benefit that you obtain will ultimately depend on how committed you are to the treatment.

In preparation for your first session, think about what you want to achieve.

Tip: Block out some time before and after your first session. This will allow you to engage more deeply in your session and not be worried if you feel intense emotions during the session.

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