A guide to counselling approaches

A Guide to Counselling Approaches

"Cognitive behavioural," "psychodynamic," "person-centred": these terms show up on almost every counsellor's profile, but what do they actually mean in practice, and what would a session be like? This section introduces the common counselling approaches one by one, so you know what to expect when choosing a counsellor.

Written by the Solacare social work team

Cognitive and Behavioural

Works with the link between thoughts, feelings and behaviour. Fairly structured, usually with exercises and homework.

Cognitive and Behavioural

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Works with the link between thoughts, feelings and behaviour, identifying and adjusting the patterns that keep a problem going.

Learn more
Cognitive and Behavioural

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)

Concrete skills for regulating intense emotions, tolerating distress and handling relationships.

Learn more
Cognitive and Behavioural

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Learning to allow difficult feelings to be present while living in line with what matters to you.

Learn more
Cognitive and BehaviouralComing soon

Schema Therapy

Addresses deep-rooted beliefs formed early in life that keep shaping relationships and self-worth.

Cognitive and BehaviouralComing soon

Mindfulness-Based Therapy

Cultivating present-moment awareness so thoughts and emotions have less pull.

Cognitive and BehaviouralComing soon

Self-Compassion Informed Therapy

Learning to treat yourself as you would a friend, in place of harsh self-criticism.

Cognitive and BehaviouralComing soon

Trauma-Focused CBT (TF-CBT)

A structured form of CBT designed for trauma, working gradually through memories and the beliefs attached to them.

Psychodynamic

Explores the feelings, relationship patterns and early experiences beneath a concern. Slower paced, with an emphasis on understanding.

PsychodynamicComing soon

Psychodynamic Therapy

Explores the feelings, relationship patterns and early experiences beneath a concern.

PsychodynamicComing soon

Mentalization-Based Treatment (MBT)

Strengthens the ability to understand your own and others' inner states, steadying emotions and relationships.

Psychodynamic

Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP)

Experiencing and transforming emotion within a safe relationship, turning painful experience into growth.

Learn more
PsychodynamicComing soon

Coherence Therapy

Uncovers the hidden emotional logic behind a symptom so that change comes from within.

Psychodynamic

Internal Family Systems (IFS)

Views different inner "parts" as having protective intentions, and helps you relate to them with greater understanding and compassion.

Learn more

Humanistic and Experiential

Centres on your own experience and feelings, trusting that people have their own direction for growth.

Humanistic and Experiential

Person-Centred Therapy

Exploring your thoughts and feelings at your own pace within a relationship built on empathy, acceptance and genuineness.

Learn more
Humanistic and Experiential

Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT)

Recognizing, experiencing and transforming emotion so it becomes a guide rather than an obstacle.

Learn more
Humanistic and ExperientialComing soon

Focusing-Oriented Therapy

Attending to the body's felt sense of a situation so that what has not yet been put into words becomes clearer.

Humanistic and ExperientialComing soon

Logotherapy

Finding meaning within suffering and difficulty as a foothold for going on.

Humanistic and ExperientialComing soon

Existential Therapy

Facing questions of meaning, freedom, aloneness and death, and living more authentically.

Family and Couple

Treats the relationship itself as the focus of the work, whether you come alone, as a couple or as a family.

Family and CoupleComing soon

Bowen Family Systems Therapy

Understanding how you respond in relationships and under stress today through the emotional patterns of your family of origin.

Family and Couple

Satir Model

Exploring communication stances and the inner iceberg to strengthen relationships and self-worth.

Learn more
Family and Couple

Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy

Identifying the negative cycle between partners and rebuilding a secure emotional bond.

Learn more
Family and CoupleComing soon

Gottman Method

Research-based couple therapy that strengthens friendship, manages conflict and builds shared meaning.

Family and CoupleComing soon

Family Constellation

Brings hidden family dynamics and entanglements to light through constellation work.

Trauma and Body-Based

Designed for traumatic experience, with close attention to the body and the nervous system.

Trauma and Body-Based

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Uses bilateral stimulation to support the processing of memories and emotional responses related to traumatic experiences.

Learn more
Trauma and Body-BasedComing soon

Somatic Experiencing (SE)

Works through bodily sensation to release trauma responses held in the nervous system.

Trauma and Body-BasedComing soon

Bodynamic Therapy

Combines body work with developmental psychology to address the imprint of early experience on the body.

Brief and Conversational

Built around conversation and questions, usually shorter term, and focused on the change you want.

Brief and ConversationalComing soon

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)

Focuses on the future you want and what is already working, rather than the causes of a problem.

Brief and ConversationalComing soon

Motivational Interviewing (MI)

Helps you clarify and strengthen your own motivation to change when you are on the fence.

Brief and Conversational

Narrative Therapy

Separates the person from the problem and helps uncover stories, strengths and possibilities that the problem may have overshadowed.

Learn more

Specialised

Approaches developed for specific situations or stages of life.

SpecialisedComing soon

Grief Counselling

Accompanies you through grief after a loss and helps you reconnect with life.

SpecialisedComing soon

Life Awareness

Seeing yourself anew through awareness of your life experience and inner state.

Which one should I choose?

Most counsellors do not use just one approach. They usually have one or two main orientations and bring in other methods depending on your situation, so you do not need to pick the "right" approach before you start.

A more practical route is to get clear on the concern you most want to work on, look at which approaches counsellors tend to use for it, and then let the first session decide whether to continue. Research consistently shows that the relationship between you and your counsellor matters more to the outcome than the approach itself.

If you are not yet sure which kind of concern you are facing, start with the common concerns counselling can help with.

New to counselling?

If you have never been to counselling and feel unsure about the process, start with this free guide. It walks you through choosing a counsellor, what happens in the first session, and how counselling comes to an end.

Your First Counselling Experience: A Complete GuideFree Guide

Your First Counselling Experience: A Complete Guide

A free and comprehensive guide for people in Hong Kong who are considering counselling for the first time or preparing to begin. Learn about counselling, different counselling professionals, choosing a suitable counsellor and service format, preparing for your first session, reviewing your progress and bringing what you discover into everyday life.

Start Reading

Ready to take the first step?

Every counsellor on Solacare is a verified professional. You can search by concern, approach and language, and book online directly.

500 characters remaining

Our AI will recommend the most suitable counsellors for you and explain why.

or
Browse the directory
Get matched by a social worker