Types of Therapy Offered at Layla
At Layla, our mission is to help people feel more confident and supported as they take control of their mental health. Understanding the different types of therapy available can make starting the process feel less overwhelming and more empowering.
In this guide, we walk you through the therapy approaches offered at Layla, explain how each one works, and outline what you can expect from treatment so that you can make a more informed decision about your care pathway.
Overview of the types of therapy (scroll for more detailed descriptions):
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): A structured, goal-oriented therapy that helps change unhelpful thought patterns and behaviours linked to concerns including, but not limited to anxiety, depression, stress, and eating disorders.
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): A mindfulness-based approach that helps to build psychological flexibility by guiding you to accept difficult emotions and act in alignment with your values.
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): A trauma-focused therapy that uses guided eye movements or bilateral stimulation to process and reduce distress from traumatic memories.
- Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT): A therapy model that strengthens emotional awareness and attachment, commonly used in couples therapy, family therapy, and individual treatment.
- Mindfulness-Based Therapy: An approach that increases present-moment awareness and emotional regulation through mindfulness practices.
- Psychodynamic Therapy: Insight-oriented talk therapy that explores unconscious patterns and past experiences affecting current behaviour and mood.
- Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT): A future-oriented therapy that emphasizes strengths, goal setting, and practical solutions rather than problems.
- Narrative Therapy: A therapy approach that helps you reshape the stories you tell about yourself, focusing on strengths and resilience.
- Somatic Therapy: A mind-body approach that addresses how trauma and stress are stored in the body and supports nervous system regulation.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, ACT
What is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy?
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, commonly known as ACT, is an evidence based psychotherapy approach that blends elements of traditional behavioural therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy. Instead of trying to eliminate difficult emotions, ACT helps people develop a new relationship with their thoughts and feelings.
Within an ACT framework, clients learn to notice patterns of avoidance, self criticism, or emotional struggle, and begin to understand that uncomfortable emotions are natural human responses. Rather than fighting these experiences, ACT encourages acceptance, mindfulness, and meaningful action. Clients clarify what truly matters to them and commit to behaviours that align with their personal values.
ACT can be helpful for anxiety, depression, trauma, eating disorders, relationship challenges, and even chronic pain, making it a flexible and widely used therapeutic approach.
What to Expect in ACT
In ACT sessions, you will learn how to gently approach thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, and memories that you may have been avoiding. Over time, you begin to see that avoidance often increases distress, while acceptance creates space for growth.
Your therapist will guide you through mindfulness exercises, values clarification, and practical behavioural strategies. The primary goal of ACT is not simply symptom reduction, although that often happens, but rather building psychological flexibility so you can move forward with your life even when challenges arise.
Learn more about ACT here.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, CBT
What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy?
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, is one of the most researched and widely practiced types of therapy for anxiety, depression, stress disorders, and eating disorders. CBT focuses on the strong connection between thoughts, emotions, and behaviours, recognizing that each influences the others.
Because emotions can be difficult to shift directly, CBT works by identifying unhelpful thinking patterns and behavioural habits, then gradually replacing them with more balanced and effective responses.
What to Expect in CBT
CBT is typically structured and goal oriented. In your first session, you and your therapist will discuss your concerns and develop a treatment plan tailored to your needs. Depending on your goals, therapy may focus on thought patterns, behaviours, or both.
CBT is often short to medium term, typically lasting between five and twenty weeks, with sessions around fifty minutes long. You can expect practical tools, collaborative exercises, and measurable progress. CBT can also be combined with other therapy models or delivered in a group setting when appropriate.
Learn more about CBT here.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, EMDR
What is EMDR Therapy?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, known as EMDR, is a structured trauma therapy designed to help the brain process distressing memories. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation such as guided eye movements, tapping, or alternating sounds to activate the brain’s natural healing processes.
EMDR is commonly used for trauma and post traumatic stress disorder, but it can also help with anxiety, phobias, and distressing life experiences that continue to impact daily life.
What to Expect in EMDR
EMDR begins with building a sense of safety and trust between you and your therapist. You may learn grounding or coping strategies before beginning trauma processing.
When you are ready, you will focus on a distressing memory while engaging in guided bilateral stimulation. As emotions, thoughts, and physical sensations arise, your therapist will help you process them in a structured and supportive way. Over time, the emotional intensity connected to the memory typically decreases, allowing space for healthier beliefs and greater emotional relief.
Learn more about EMDR here.
Emotion Focused Therapy, EFT
What is Emotion Focused Therapy?
Emotion Focused Therapy is commonly used in couples therapy, though it is also effective for individuals and families. EFT is grounded in attachment science and helps people better understand, regulate, and express their emotions in ways that strengthen connection and reduce distress.
By exploring emotional experiences more deeply, clients can improve communication, repair relationship patterns, and build stronger bonds.
What to Expect in EFT
In EFT, your therapist will guide you in identifying underlying emotional needs and patterns that may be shaping your relationships. Rather than suppressing difficult emotions, you will learn to understand them as valuable sources of information.
As emotional awareness increases, communication often becomes clearer, and relationships feel more secure and connected.
Mindfulness Based Therapy
What is Mindfulness Based Therapy?
Mindfulness based therapy focuses on developing present moment awareness with curiosity and compassion. Instead of judging thoughts or feelings, clients learn to observe them with openness and patience.
This approach can be particularly helpful for anxiety, stress, emotional regulation, and preventing relapse in depression.
What to Expect
Sessions often include guided mindfulness practices that encourage you to focus on the present moment. If your mind wanders, which is completely normal, you will gently bring your attention back without self criticism.
Over time, mindfulness can help you feel more balanced, less reactive, and better able to manage difficult emotions in everyday life.
Psychodynamic Therapy
What is Psychodynamic Therapy?
Psychodynamic therapy is an in depth form of talk therapy that explores how past experiences and unconscious patterns influence present emotions and behaviours. By bringing these patterns into awareness, clients can better understand recurring challenges and long standing emotional themes.
This approach is often helpful for those seeking deeper insight into relationship patterns, self esteem concerns, or persistent mood difficulties.
What to Expect
You will be encouraged to speak openly about thoughts and emotions, noticing patterns that emerge over time. Psychodynamic therapy can be short term and focused on specific goals, or longer term for more extensive exploration.
Solution Focused Brief Therapy, SFBT
What is Solution Focused Brief Therapy?
Solution Focused Brief Therapy is a future oriented approach that emphasizes strengths and practical solutions rather than problems. Instead of spending extensive time analyzing past challenges, SFBT focuses on identifying what is already working and building from there.
This approach is often helpful for life transitions, stress management, and goal setting.
What to Expect
Sessions focus on clarifying goals and imagining a preferred future. Your therapist will ask thoughtful questions designed to uncover your strengths and existing resources, helping you move step by step toward meaningful change. Treatment is typically short term, often lasting six to twelve weeks.
Narrative Therapy
What is Narrative Therapy?
Narrative therapy is based on the idea that the stories we tell about ourselves shape our identity. This approach helps people separate themselves from their problems and recognize their resilience, strengths, and alternative possibilities.
What to Expect
In narrative therapy, you and your therapist explore the language and meaning within your life experiences. By expanding and reshaping your personal narrative, you may begin to see yourself in a more empowered and hopeful light.
Learn more about Narrative Therapy here.
Somatic Therapy
What is Somatic Therapy?
Somatic therapy integrates mind and body approaches to address how stress and trauma are stored physically. When difficult experiences are not fully processed, they can show up as tension, shallow breathing, or nervous system dysregulation.
Somatic therapy supports healing by increasing body awareness and helping regulate physical responses to stress.
What to Expect
Sessions combine talk therapy with gentle physical awareness exercises. You may explore sensations such as breathing patterns, posture, or areas of tension, while processing emotions in a safe and gradual way. Over time, this approach can help restore a sense of calm and improve resilience in daily life.
Choosing the Right Type of Therapy
With so many types of therapy available, choosing the right approach can feel overwhelming. The best therapy for anxiety, depression, trauma, or relationship concerns depends on your goals, personality, and preferences.
Many Layla therapists take an integrative approach, thoughtfully combining multiple therapeutic models to provide care that feels personalized and effective. If you are unsure where to begin, Layla can guide you toward a therapist who aligns with your needs and values.
Facing mental health challenges? Layla is here to help. Individuals, couples, and families use Layla for personalized and convenient therapy. We match you with a suitable therapist and support the process with warmth and dependability, so you feel guided every step of the way.
New to therapy? Starting can feel vulnerable, but knowing what to expect often makes it easier. In your first session, you and your therapist will discuss goals, review practical details, and begin getting to know one another. The relationship between you and your therapist matters, and it is okay to adjust if the fit does not feel right. Therapy can be weekly or monthly, short term or longer term, depending on your needs.
.webp)
.webp)
