Emerging Therapy Modalities: What’s Becoming Standard in Massachusetts

About 60 million adults in the U.S. received mental health treatment or counseling in 2024, according to Statista. That number has been steadily climbing, resulting in a 120% increase in the number of adults seeking mental healthcare since 2002.

This change represents a very positive sign that the stigma around mental healthcare is declining and options for seeking care are increasing.

With new and emerging therapy modalities, patients have more options than ever to find a counselor practicing a modality that works for them. With a master’s degree in mental health counseling, students come away with hands-on experience and an understanding of the theory behind diverse therapy modalities, which are quickly becoming the standard in Massachusetts.

What Are Therapy Modalities?

Therapy modalities provide the framework by which therapists and counselors interact with, understand, and guide their patients. Patients arrive with different needs — not every therapy modality will be the right fit for everyone. Therapists and counselors may focus their practice on one type of therapy modality, but many practice multiple and adapt their modalities to fit the needs of their patients.

Common Therapy Modalities

In general, therapy modalities fall into five broad categories, as outlined by the American Psychological Association (APA). These categories often overlap, and many of today’s emerging therapy modalities draw from different areas within them.

Psychodynamic Therapy

The psychodynamic, or psychoanalytic, approach to therapy is closely tied to Sigmund Freud. Therapists and counselors who practice psychodynamic therapy focus on unearthing unconscious motivations and understanding how they influence behaviors.

Behavior Therapy

One of the central figures in behavior therapy is Ivan Pavlov, who discovered classical conditioning, also known as associative learning. The focus in this therapy modality isn’t on our unconscious mind but on understanding what we’ve previously learned and how that’s shaped us.

Cognitive Therapy

Cognitive therapy modality focuses on how dysfunctional thinking leads to problematic behaviors. Therapists and counselors who practice this therapy seek to understand their patients’ thought processes and how those thoughts have shaped their behaviors.

Humanistic Therapy

The ability to make rational choices, the ability to respect oneself and others, and the ability to discover hidden potential are all central themes of humanistic therapy. Therapists and counselors who use the humanistic modality may often take different approaches.

Integrative Therapy

Integrative therapy is sometimes known as holistic therapy. This therapy modality allows therapists and counselors to draw from other modalities to create a unique blend for their clients’ needs.

New and Emerging Therapy Modalities

These five therapy modalities form the basis of clinical and counseling therapy, and they also serve as building blocks for new and emerging modalities today. Some of these emerging modalities have already been established as effective and transformative, while others are just starting to develop.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has become the standard in Massachusetts and worldwide. While not necessarily a brand-new concept, as CBT dates back to the 1950s, it’s been changing and growing in many ways since then.

Many therapists and counselors use CBT because it combines both behavioral and cognitive therapy, creating a therapy modality that some find even more effective than their original modalities. Counselors and therapists who practice CBT first seek to understand the thoughts of their patients that lead to dysfunctional behaviors; this is the cognitive side of CBT.

Then, they use different techniques and practices with their patients to help them challenge negative thought patterns; this is the behavioral side of CBT. CBT is typically goal oriented, with the patient seeking to change a specific type of behavior.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) draws from multiple therapy modalities. ACT doesn’t seek to change our negative thoughts. Instead, the focus is on six core concepts:

• Acceptance: Accepting our negative thoughts and seeking to understand them
• Cognitive diffusion: Recognizing that we are not our thoughts
• Mindfulness: Focusing on the present moment
• Self-as-context: Seeing yourself as a whole person rather than being defined by individual aspects such as your thoughts and emotions; a practice sometimes called parts work
• Values: Setting your standards of how you want to live
• Commitment: Committing to making changes in your behavior to live according to your values

Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a relatively recent form of CBT. Initially meant as a therapy for patients who have borderline personality disorder, it’s been adapted for anyone who experiences emotions very intensely.

The term “dialectical” refers to the combination of opposite ideas. In this case, the therapy modality focuses on acceptance of the current situation of someone’s life, as well as adapting behaviors that can improve the situation. The four skills that DBT aims to teach are:

• Mindfulness: Being fully aware and in the present moment
• Distress tolerance: Managing emotions in stressful situations without resorting to harmful behaviors
• Interpersonal effectiveness: Setting boundaries and learning how to ask for help
• Emotional regulation: Understanding and having control over your own emotions

Learn Exciting New Therapy Modalities With American International College

More and more people are seeking mental health treatment and counseling, meaning that counselors are treating patients with different contexts and situations. The result is a need to adapt traditional ways of thinking about therapy for a more modern age. Today’s emerging therapy modalities blend many of the strengths of common therapy modalities with newer concepts and benefits, such as mindfulness.

With American International College’s online Master of Arts (MA) in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC), students learn the theories and techniques behind top therapy modalities, such as cognitive, behavioral, and psychodynamic therapy. The program’s flexible enrollment options and fully online coursework allow future counselors to become well versed in theory, research, and clinical skills before engaging in practicum hours at a facility near their own location.

With a CACREP-aligned curriculum, students can complete their master’s degree in as little as two years and come away having completed the educational requirements to become a licensed mental health counselor in Massachusetts.

Become a counselor with AIC