Sunday, 2 August 2026

In simple terms

 


You can think of it like this:

16.2 – Types of Treatment

What kind of treatment is being used?

  • Psychotherapy
  • Biomedical therapy
  • Cognitive therapy
  • Behaviour therapy
  • CBT
  • Psychodynamic approaches
  • Humanistic approaches
  • Medication
  • ECT, etc.

16.3 – Treatment Modalities

How is the therapy delivered?

For example:

  • Individual therapy – one person works with a therapist.
  • Group therapy – several people work together with a therapist.
  • Couples therapy – partners work together on relationship difficulties.
  • Family therapy – family members work together to address problems affecting the family.
  • Self-help/support approaches – people may also receive support through structured groups or other resources.

A really simple distinction

I'd explain it in your book this way:

Types of therapy tell us WHAT treatment is being used.

Treatment modalities tell us HOW the treatment is provided.

For example, CBT is a type of therapy, while individual CBT or group CBT describes the modality in which it is delivered.

That's a useful distinction because otherwise someone reading the material could easily think that individual therapy, group therapy, and family therapy are completely different psychological theories. They aren't necessarily — they're different ways of providing treatment.

And this could fit nicely into your book as a small section:

Treatment = What is being done?
Modality = Who is involved and how is it delivered?
Therapeutic approach = What psychological theory or method guides it?

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