From CBT to IFS to EMDR—wherever your clinical curiosity is taking you, PESI has the expert-led training to get you there.

The field of psychotherapy has never offered more evidence-based tools for healing. From structured cognitive approaches to body-centered trauma interventions to relational and parts-based models, today's clinician has an extraordinary range of effective modalities to draw from.

But keeping up with a rapidly evolving field takes dedicated training. Whether you're learning a modality for the first time, deepening an existing skillset, or pursuing formal certification, PESI connects you with the world's leading experts across every major therapeutic approach.

This page is your guide to the landscape. Find the modality you're looking for, understand what it treats and how it works, and go straight to the training that will help you use it with confidence.

Not a clinician? Looking for a therapist trained in a specific approach? Visit therapist.com for consumer-facing guides to every major therapy type and to find a licensed therapist near you.

These are the most extensively researched and widely practiced modalities in clinical mental health. Each is supported by decades of randomized controlled trials and has established treatment protocols for specific diagnoses.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) The most widely practiced evidence-based therapy. CBT targets the relationship between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, helping clients identify distorted thinking patterns and replace them with more adaptive responses. Effective for depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, eating disorders, and more. Explore PESI's CBT Therapy Training

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Developed by Dr. Marsha Linehan for borderline personality disorder, DBT combines cognitive-behavioral strategies with mindfulness and dialectical philosophy. The four skill modules: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness, make it one of the most versatile evidence-based approaches for emotion dysregulation. Explore PESI's DBT Therapy Training

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) A third-wave behavioral therapy that teaches clients to accept difficult thoughts and feelings rather than fight them—and commit to values-aligned action. Widely used for anxiety, depression, chronic pain, OCD, and substance use. Based on Relational Frame Theory. Explore PESI's ACT Therapy Training

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) A structured, evidence-based treatment for PTSD developed by Dr. Patricia Resick. CPT helps clients identify and challenge "stuck points"—trauma-driven beliefs about safety, trust, power, esteem, and intimacy—through written accounts and Socratic dialogue. Typically delivered in 12 sessions. Explore PESI's CPT Therapy Training

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) The gold standard for OCD and anxiety disorders. ERP involves deliberately confronting feared situations or thoughts (exposure) while resisting the urge to perform compulsive behaviors or rituals (response prevention). Grounded in inhibitory learning theory. Explore PESI's ERP Therapy Training

Motivational Interviewing (MI) A collaborative, person-centered counseling approach that helps clients resolve ambivalence about change and strengthen their intrinsic motivation. Foundational in addiction treatment; increasingly used in mental health, medical settings, and chronic illness care. Explore PESI's MI Therapy Training

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) A goal-directed approach focused on what's working, rather than analyzing problems. SFBT uses scaling questions, miracle questions, and exception-finding to help clients identify and amplify existing strengths and solutions. Explore PESI's SFBT Training

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) Developed by Albert Ellis, REBT helps clients identify irrational beliefs that drive emotional distress—and replace them with more flexible, rational alternatives. A foundational influence on CBT and third-wave approaches. 

These modalities were developed specifically to address the effects of traumatic experience, including PTSD, complex trauma, attachment wounds, and developmental trauma.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Developed by Francine Shapiro, EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (eye movements, tapping, or audio tones) to help clients process traumatic memories that remain frozen in the nervous system. Recognized by the WHO and VA/DoD as a first-line treatment for PTSD. Explore PESI's EMDR Therapy Training

Somatic Therapy / Somatic Experiencing Body-centered approaches to trauma healing that work with the physiological responses stored in the nervous system, not just the cognitive narrative. Includes Somatic Experiencing (SE), sensorimotor psychotherapy, Hakomi, and polyvagal-informed practice. Explore PESI's Somatic Therapy Training

Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy Developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz, IFS therapy understands the mind as being made up of distinct "parts" each with its own role, perspective, and history. By accessing the core Self, clients can heal the protective and exiled parts that drive emotional suffering. Non-pathologizing, deeply relational. Explore PESI's IFS Therapy Training

Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) Developed by Dr. Frank Corrigan, DBR targets the shock responses stored in the upper brainstem, the physiological layer that precedes emotional processing. Addresses what other trauma approaches may not reach: the orienting-tension-affect sequence at the root of persistent trauma symptoms. Explore PESI's DBR Therapy Training

Prolonged Exposure (PE) A CBT-based protocol for PTSD that involves systematic, repeated exposure to trauma memories (imaginal exposure) and trauma-related situations (in vivo exposure). One of the most rigorously studied PTSD treatments available. 

Narrative Therapy Helps clients externalize their problems, separating the person from the difficulty, and re-author their life story in ways that reflect their values and agency. Widely used in grief, trauma, and identity work.

These modalities integrate psychological and physiological awareness—recognizing that effective therapy often requires working with both the mind and the body.

Polyvagal Theory-Informed Practice Based on Stephen Porges' Polyvagal Theory, this approach helps clinicians understand the three-state nervous system model (ventral vagal, sympathetic, dorsal vagal) and apply it to trauma, anxiety, relational therapy, and body-based interventions. Explore PESI's PVT Training

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) Integrates mindfulness meditation practices with cognitive therapy to prevent relapse in recurrent depression. MBCT teaches clients to observe their thoughts and feelings with non-judgmental awareness, interrupting the rumination cycles that precede depressive episodes. Explore PESI's MBCT Training

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) An 8-week group program developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn. MBSR teaches formal mindfulness meditation practices—body scan, sitting meditation, mindful movement—for managing stress, chronic pain, anxiety, and illness. Explore PESI's MBSR Therapy Training

Brainspotting Developed by Dr. David Grand from EMDR practice, Brainspotting locates points in the visual field that correlate with unresolved traumatic material in the brain and body. Using focused mindfulness with bilateral sound, it enables rapid processing of trauma, anxiety, and performance issues. Explore PESI's Brainspotting Training

Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy An emerging, rapidly evolving field using substances like ketamine, psilocybin, and MDMA in conjunction with psychotherapy to treat depression, PTSD, addiction, and end-of-life distress. Requires specific training in set, setting, preparation, and integration. Explore PESI's Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Training

These modalities center the therapeutic relationship, relational patterns, and attachment dynamics as the primary mechanism of change.

Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) Developed by Dr. Sue Johnson, EFT is a structured, evidence-based approach for couples and individuals rooted in attachment theory. It identifies and restructures the negative interaction cycles that keep partners stuck—and rebuilds secure emotional bonds. Explore PESI's EFT Training

Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) A structured, time-limited approach that treats mood disorders by improving interpersonal functioning. IPT focuses on grief, role disputes, role transitions, and interpersonal deficits—connecting relational patterns to depressive symptoms. 

Schema Therapy Integrates CBT, attachment theory, and experiential techniques to address deep-rooted patterns (schemas) formed in childhood. Particularly effective for personality disorders and clients with longstanding relational difficulties. Explore PESI's Schema Therapy Training

Psychodynamic Therapy Rooted in psychoanalytic tradition, psychodynamic therapy explores how unconscious processes, early relational experiences, and unresolved conflicts shape current behavior. Emphasizes the therapeutic relationship as a vehicle for insight and change. 

Gestalt Therapy Focuses on present-moment awareness, contact between self and environment, and the integration of different parts of experience. Uses experiential exercises—including the empty chair technique—to bring unfinished business into the present. 

Play Therapy Uses play—children's natural language—to help them express and process emotions, develop problem-solving skills, and build relationships. Effective for trauma, anxiety, behavioral issues, and developmental challenges in children. Explore PESI's Play Therapy Training

Art Therapy Uses art-making—drawing, painting, sculpture—as a means of expression and therapeutic processing. Art therapists are trained to interpret the clinical significance of creative work and use it to support healing. Explore PESI's Art Therapy Training

Group Therapy A structured clinical setting where a small group of clients work together under therapist facilitation. Leverages interpersonal neurobiology—the healing power of relational attunement—to treat anxiety, depression, trauma, personality disorders, addiction, and more. Explore PESI's Group Therapy Training

Family Therapy Treats the family system rather than individuals in isolation—understanding that symptoms in one member often reflect patterns across the whole family. Includes structural, strategic, systemic, and narrative approaches. Explore PESI's Family Therapy Training

Couples Therapy Evidence-based approaches for treating relational distress, communication breakdown, infidelity, and sexual and intimacy concerns. Leading models include EFT, Gottman Method, and Imago Relationship Therapy. Explore PESI's Couples Therapy Training

Grief Counseling Specialized training for supporting clients through bereavement, anticipatory grief, ambiguous loss, complicated grief, and the identity disruptions that follow major loss. Includes narrative, meaning-reconstruction, and somatic approaches to grief work. Explore PESI's Grief Training

I'm looking for a therapist who specializes in a particular approach. therapist.com connects you with licensed therapists searchable by modality, location, specialty, and insurance. Find the right match for you.