Therapy Styles

Below are the core therapy approaches you’ll find in PsycAI. Each style has a different ‘engine’ under the hood, and you can mix what fits.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT focuses on the loop between **thoughts, feelings, and behaviors**. It helps you spot unhelpful thinking patterns and test them against real evidence.

What it looks like:**

• Thought records and cognitive reframes

• Behavioral activation and small experiments

• Skills for anxiety, depression, and insomnia

How AI helps:** Step-by-step prompts for thought logs, gentle challenges to distortions, and micro-goals you can try today.

Humanistic (Person-Centered)

Humanistic therapy emphasizes **empathy, unconditional positive regard, and authenticity**. You’re viewed as a whole person with inner resources.

What it looks like:**

• Warm, non-judgmental reflection

• Clarifying values and personal growth

• Focusing on strengths and agency

How AI helps:** Consistent reflective listening, values exercises, and mood journaling that honors your pace and voice.

Psychodynamic

Psychodynamic work explores **underlying patterns**, early experiences, and defenses that shape current relationships and emotions.

What it looks like:**

• Spotting recurring themes and triggers

• Linking past and present reactions

• Increasing insight and emotional freedom

How AI helps:** Gentle pattern-finding questions, timelines of key events, and prompts that connect today’s feelings to earlier experiences.

Schema Therapy ("Schematic")

Schema Therapy identifies **deep, persistent life themes** (schemas) and the coping modes we switch into under stress.

What it looks like:**

• Naming schemas (e.g., abandonment, failure, perfectionism)

• Mode work (Vulnerable Child, Healthy Adult, etc.)

• Re-parenting exercises and limit-setting

How AI helps:** Quick schema screeners, mode check-ins during tough moments, and rehearsals for Healthy Adult responses.