Supportive Therapy

Supportive psychotherapy is a dyadic treatment that uses direct measures improve symptoms and maintain, restore, or improve self-esteem, ego function, and adaptive skills. This therapy is based on encouragement, optimism and support. Through supportive therapy one might be able to resume one’s daily’s activities and use his ability to cope with them. The aim of this therapy is also to reduce and prevent anxiety along with increasing a person’s awareness of his illness or his problem. The therapist attempts to help patients deal with their emotional distress and problems in living. It includes comforting, advising, encouraging, reassuring, and mostly listening, attentively and sympathetically. The therapist provides an emotional outlet, the chance for patients to express themselves and be themselves. Also, the therapist may inform patients about their illness and about how to manage it and how to adjust to it. Depending on the client’s specific needs, as well as the degree of severity or complexity of the issues at hand, supportive psychotherapy may be a short-term intervention or a longer-term, ongoing form of treatment. It can be a very beneficial treatment for a wide range of psychiatric disorders throughout the life span like Developmental disorders, Psychotic disorders, Mood disorders, Anxiety disorders, Personality disorders, Adjustment disorders, etc. Supportive psychotherapy can help these individuals by reducing their anxiety, providing a nurturing, positive relationship, improving and reinforcing their coping skills, boosting their self-esteem, providing reassurance when appropriate, confronting inappropriate behaviour when necessary, and giving them guidance and advice as needed.