What is Psychotherapy

As name suggests Psychotherapy is therapy related to "Psyche" i.e. soul, spirit and mind. In other words, the treatment of mental or emotional problems by psychological means. And the psychology is "the science of the mind or of mental states and processes."

"Psychotherapy is a treatment of mental and emotional disorders through the use of psychological techniques designed to encourage communication of conflicts and insight into problems, with the goal being relief of symptoms, changes in behavior leading to improved social and vocational functioning, and personality growth." .. Dictionary.com

"Psychotherapy is an intentional interpersonal relationship used by trained psychotherapists to aid a client in problems of living. It aims to increase the individual's well-being. Psychotherapists employ a range of techniques based on experiential relationship building, dialogue, communication and behavior change and that are designed to improve the mental health of a client or patient, or to improve group relationships (such as in a family). Psychotherapy may be performed by practitioners with a number of different qualifications, including psychologists, marriage and family therapists, occupational therapists, licensed clinical social workers, counselors, psychiatric nurses, psychoanalysts, and psychiatrists." ..Wikipedia 

There are several main broad systems of psychotherapy*:

• Psychoanalytic - It encourages the verbalization of all the patient's thoughts, including free associations, fantasies, and dreams, from which the analyst formulates the nature of the unconscious conflicts which are causing the patient's symptoms and character problems.
• Cognitive behavioral - generally seeks by different methods to identify and transcend maladaptive cognitions, appraisal, beliefs and reactions with the aim of influencing destructive negative emotions and problematic dysfunctional behaviors.
• Psychodynamic - is a form of depth psychology, the primary focus of which is to reveal the unconscious content of a client's psyche in an effort to alleviate psychic tension. Although it has its roots in psychoanalysis, psychodynamic therapy tends to be briefer and less intensive than traditional psychoanalysis.
• Existential - is based on the existential belief that human beings are alone in the world. This aloneness leads to feelings of meaninglessness which can be overcome only by creating one's own values and meanings.
• Humanistic - emerged in reaction to both behaviorism and psychoanalysis and is therefore known as the Third Force in the development of psychology. It is explicitly concerned with the human context of the development of the individual with an emphasis on subjective meaning, a rejection of determinism, and a concern for positive growth rather than pathology. It posits an inherent human capacity to maximise potential, 'the self-actualing tendency'. The task of Humanistic therapy is to create a relational environment where this tendency might flourish.
• Brief - "Brief therapy" is an umbrella term for a variety of approaches to psychotherapy. It differs from other schools of therapy in that it emphasizes (1) a focus on a specific problem and (2) direct intervention. It is solution-based rather than problem-oriented. It is less concerned with how a problem arose than with the current factors sustaining it and preventing change.
• Systemic - seeks to address people not at an individual level, as is often the focus of other forms of therapy, but as people in relationship, dealing with the interactions of groups, their patterns and dynamics (includes family therapy & marriage counseling).
• Transpersonal - Addresses the client in the context of a spiritual understanding of consciousness.

 (* Source: Wikipedia)