The Depth Psychotherapy Network

About the Website

What is Depth Psychotherapy?

    Depth psychotherapy, or what James Bugental (1987) refers to as "life-changing therapy," is a collection of approaches to therapy which values self-awareness (insight), life-long growth, and life changes which reach the depth of a person's experience. Depth psychotherapy can be compared with the solution-focused therapies, which focus on coping, adjustment, skill development, and quick change.

    The Depth Psychotherapy Network (DNP) has not been developed in opposition to solution-focused therapy. Conversely, there is a great valuing and respect for solution-focused approaches. They have an important place in our field. However, DNP also recognized that there is a different between solution-focused and life-changing therapy approaches and it believes this difference is significant. While solution-focused therapy is aimed at efficiency, depth psychotherapy is more concerned with the quality or depth of change which occurs. Furthermore, depth psychotherapy is committed to improving the overall quality of life in ways consistent with the consumer's values and desires.

Site Introduction

    There many forms of depth psychotherapy that vary in accordance with their theoretical base. These include psychodynamic, existential, humanistic, Jungian, gestalt, and many, many more. It is our belief (the contributors to the website) that consumers have the right to choose the psychotherapy which best fits what they wish to accomplish and that they should have access to a free resource to help them make these decisions. Additionally, it is believed that consumers should have free access to resources to help them make these decisions. This is the intention of this site.

    In today's society, consumers too often have mental health decisions made for them. These decisions are made by insurance companies or people who refer the consumers to therapy rather than the consumer themselves. What is even more concerning is that many think this is the way it ought to be: That people shouldn't have a choice about what type of therapy they receive!

    The reason for this varies. Sometimes, it is believed that consumers of mental health are not able to make informed, good decisions about their mental health needs regardless of their level of functioning. This, in part, is an unfortunate side effect of the belief that only people who are mentally ill seek therapy. However, many people who seek mental health services are often just as mentally healthy or more so than those who do not! Everyone has difficulties in life at times and it can be a sign of health to be able to seek out resources at these times. Therapy is often sought out by people who want to grow, not just people who are having difficulties in life.

    At other times, it is assumed that all therapies just lead to the same end. This assumption believes that all approaches are just about maximizing happiness or pleasure while minimizing sadness, pain, and anxiety. While many people do seek therapy for these very reasons, there can be many different ways of accomplishing this. We believe these differences are important. Also, there can be many other reason for seeking therapy including seeking great self-awareness, learning to live with greater integrity, increasing the ability to experience emotions, and deepening intimacy in relationships.

    It is advocated by some that the best therapy approach is the cheapest and the quickest. While this may be true for some desired outcomes, it is not for others. If the consumer's desire is alleviate the symptoms as quick and cheaply as possible, then a form of therapy which accommodates this goal is preferable. However, for many consumers alleviating symptoms is only one of the concerns for which they enter therapy.

    We hope that this helpful and useful. If you find it useful, please pass the information on to others. Also, we encourage you to send us any feedback you have about the site by visiting our contact page.