Psychotherapy and Psychosocial Interventions
Modalities
Psychodynamic, CBT, DBT (emotion dysregulation, self-harm), psychodynamic and mentalisation-based therapy (personality disorder), family therapy, interpersonal therapy, motivational interviewing, supportive therapy, and group therapy. Know the evidence base for specific conditions: CBT for anxiety, OCD, depression and psychosis; DBT for borderline personality disorder; family intervention for schizophrenia.
Mechanisms and structure
Understand the therapeutic alliance, formulation, agenda setting, cognitive restructuring, behavioural experiments, exposure, and relapse prevention. Know the difference between supportive and expressive approaches and when each is appropriate.
Psychosocial interventions
Recovery-oriented care, supported employment (IPS), psychoeducation, peer support, crisis planning, carers' assessment, and social prescribing. Consider capacity, consent, and cultural adaptation.
Traps
Assuming one therapy fits all; confusing CBT with counselling; ignoring the evidence base; forgetting that psychotherapy can be delivered in groups and digitally.
Worked rule of thumb
Match the therapy to the formulation and the evidence: for a patient with recurrent self-harm and emotional instability, DBT is the best-supported structured approach; for a patient with health anxiety, CBT with exposure and response prevention.