Most professions have their own common acronyms and the mental health field is no different. We use letter abbreviations for degrees, licenses, and the types of services we offer. Counselors are often trained in many evidence based therapy options, meaning listing many letters on their website to describe what they do. There are the ones that overlap with any field such as BA (bachelor of arts), MA (master of arts), PhD (doctor of philosophy). The letters after the degree can get tricky, especially since licenses vary by state!

In Texas, where I am currently licensed, we use LPC for Licensed Professional Counselor. Sometimes an A or an S might come after that for associate and for supervisor. I am an LPC-Associate. Other common letters you may see when seeking a counselor would be LMFT for Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist or LCSW for Licensed Clinical Social Worker. LPC and LCSW see clients with a broad range of reasons for seeking counseling. LMFT typically focus more on helping those seeking counseling for marriage and family topics.

Now let’s get into the fun stuff! All the letters for the abbreviations of treatment modalities. First, treatment modalities just means what the counselor is trained and chooses to focus their technique on. A common one, because it is easy to conduct studies on and has research backing it, is CBT or cognitive behavioral therapy. This focuses on changing your thoughts to change your behavior. In my sessions, you will probably hear my phrase of “you can’t logic your way out of your feelings.” CBT does have its place and as said is an evidence back treatment option, it is not always the best choice especially for BIPOC and marginalized groups.  

I’ll jump to my modus operatum next, MBCT or mindfulness based cognitive therapy. Oh there is that word again, cognitive, referring to our thoughts. I use this modality to help you become aware of your thought patterns and recognize how you can make them work for you, rather than ruminating on things. MBCT can be utilized to help you learn to respond to events and situations in the ways you want to instead of just reacting to things around you. Mindfulness helps you become aware first and connect with your inner feelings. 

Another option that I am knowledgeable in and also uses mindfulness is DBT, dialectical behavior therapy. DBT uses psycho-education to teach you the skills to help manage emotion without being caught up in it. It can also be beneficial for those who have difficulty in social relationships. Life is complex and not static, there are often opposing things that we are dealing with all at once. A common sentiment in DBT is that two things can be true at the same time.  

EMDR is eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. Something I have always been interested in is neuroscience. I did EMDR training to explore how our brains hold trauma and how we can help the brain process that trauma. EMDR allows the brain to process and store the memory so it does not feel so current. It is used for helping us move traumatic memories from feeling current because they are stuck in the amygdala to feeling in the past where they belong as memories. EMDR can help you identify negative triggers and more fully process the traumatic event. 

Somatics may be referred to as somatic experiencing, somatic therapy, somatic movement, or even soma. This all refers to the body, how the body holds trauma, and exercises we can use to help the trauma be released from the body. Trauma and past experiences can impact how we function physically. Learning to regulate our nervous systems and how to listen to our bodies can be a benefit of this therapy. I incorporate this as needed through my yoga teacher certification and through nervous system regulation techniques. 

ACT is acceptance and commitment therapy. ACT utilizes mindfulness in facing the difficulties of life. It encourages acceptance of self, including our reactions. Accept, stay present, and allow oneself to make the choice to take action and proceed consciously.  

SFBT is solution focused brief therapy. This is exactly how it sounds, the goal is to teach you skills and techniques that will help you address your current situation. This can be empowering for those who feel overwhelmed by their problems and unable to take action. This may be beneficial for someone seeking help in learning to manage their problems and become more goal oriented. 

EFT is emotionally focused therapy. It follows the idea that understanding feelings is a key part of healing and learning our identity. EFT may help you notice patterns in your life and how your attachments affect you and those close to you.

ART is accelerated resolution therapy. This technique aims to use memory and image replacement, along with relaxed eye movements, to help overcome traumatic experiences. The aim is to lessen triggers that had resulted in emotional or physical reactions in the past. 

AAT is animal assisted therapy. There is plenty of research that has shown petting an animal has many benefits, including stress reduction. In animal assisted therapy, the animal is typically available in session for comfort. 

IFS is internal family systems. This therapy recognizes that we all have parts in us. Some feel more distinct than others and some feel integrated, like that is just how we are. Parts works may allow you to recognize some behaviors as meeting an unmet need, from the past and/or from now. 

PPT is positive psychotherapy. This helps retrain our brains to think of things in a more positive way. PPT incorporates humanistic and psychodynamic approaches. This can be beneficial for those who are seeking a mindset shift. 

You may see TI for trauma informed or TF for trauma focused along with some therapies or certifications, meaning that the training included information on working with traumatic issues. For me, my yoga training was TI-YTT 200, meaning trauma informed yoga teacher trained 200 hours. 

This list is by no means exhaustive. It can be irksome to go through a counselor’s webpage only to have to google what they offer. I say this and know I am guilty of it too, as it can be a lot of type to write it all out on multiple pages of a website. I hope this has been helpful in letting you know some of the services available to you; some through my office like MBCT, Somatic, IFS, and DBT as mentioned here and some not. I offer different options because there is not one type of therapy that is one size fits all. I encourage you to consider what you would like to get out of therapy and your comfort level with what your clinician offers. Counselors should be there to help meet your needs and find a type of therapy that will work best for you. Of course, no one therapist can offer all of the above therapies! Ask your counselor questions and take advantage of a free consultation to see if what they offer might be well suited for what brings you to therapy. 

This Psychology Today article has a long list of types of therapy. Click on any one to read a more in-depth analysis of it.  

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/types-of-therapy

This article explains a little more about some of the common modalities. 

Modalities of Therapy

This article outlines 14 common therapies, including what issues they may be beneficial for. 

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/types-of-therapy#group

Happy reading!