the Well, PLLC
Individual Talk Therapy
Talk therapy is a structured, confidential conversation with a trained therapist aimed at understanding and changing patterns in thoughts, emotions, and behavior—and building skills to cope, heal, and grow. Talk therapy usually intergrates ideas and tools from other therapy modalities, but it often just feels like talking. ​​​
HOW IT HELPS
It helps with clarity and insight, by helping you name problems, and identify triggers and strengths. It helps with skill building, such as emotion regulation, improved communication, problem‑solving, or mindfulness. It helps with cognitive/behavioral change through testing beliefs, exposure to reduce avoidance, and a push to create new habits. It helps with support and accountability through a consistent, therapeutic relationship that promotes change.
the Therapeutic alliance
​Why does "just talking" work so well? Decades of research has demonstrated that the therapeutic alliance—the collaborative and trusting relationship between client and therapist—is one of the most reliable predictors of positive outcomes. Meta-analyses consistently show that the quality of the therapeutic alliance is more linked to treatment success than the specific modality used, whether cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, or other approaches (Flückiger, Del Re, Wampold, & Horvath, 2018; Horvath, Del Re, Flückiger, & Symonds, 2011; Martin, Garske, & Davis, 2000; Stubbe, D.E. 2018).
As Wampold and Imel (2015) argue, factors such as empathy, collaboration, and agreement on goals may matter more for client improvement than which particular model is applied.
References
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Flückiger, C., Del Re, A. C., Wampold, B. E., & Horvath, A. O. (2018). The alliance in adult psychotherapy: A meta-analytic synthesis. Psychotherapy, 55(4), 316–340. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000172
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Horvath, A. O., Del Re, A. C., Flückiger, C., & Symonds, D. (2011). Alliance in individual psychotherapy. Psychotherapy, 48(1), 9–16. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022186
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Martin, D. J., Garske, J. P., & Davis, M. K. (2000). Relation of the therapeutic alliance with outcome and other variables: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68(3), 438–450. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.68.3.438
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Stubbe D. E. (2018). The Therapeutic Alliance: The Fundamental Element of Psychotherapy. Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing), 16(4), 402–403. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.focus.20180022
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Wampold, B. E., & Imel, Z. E. (2015). The great psychotherapy debate: The evidence for what makes psychotherapy work (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203582015
