The word “therapy” often brings to mind a specific scene: the patient on a couch, the therapist on a chair, and a box of tissues on a side table. But a number of unique therapeutic practices replace the traditional counselor’s office with something new — a horse, a chessboard, or even the great outdoors.

These seven novel kinds of therapy may seem strange, but they have proven benefits. Could one of them work for you? Find out below.

Unique Kinds of Therapy

Hypnotherapy

Hypnosis may remind you of the strange stage-magician yourcollegebrought for entertainment freshman year. It can’t bereal— hypnosis is just a trick, right?

But evidence says otherwise. When done properly in a therapeutic session, hypnotherapy can be extremely effective. Sure, that man on stage may have been masquerading — there’s no flapping your arms or feeling imaginary water in proper hypnotherapy, — but a licensed therapist might be able to hypnotize away some of your pain or worries.

Dr. Guy Montgomery, a psychologist at Mount Sinai School of Medicine,studied the effects of hypnotherapyon reducing pain and discomfort for breast cancer patients. After hypnosis, patients were less distressed and needed fewer painkillers.

Through hypnosis, a therapistputs the patient in a suggestible state, which helps the patient internalize and visualize strategies for change. It’s not “woo-woo” science — it actually works.

Equine-assisted psychotherapy

Love horses? This type of therapy may be perfectly suited for you.

Equine-assisted psychotherapy uses horses to calm and comfort the patient. For children withautism, this type of therapy can be life-changing.Research showsriding horses helps them improve theirsocialskills and decrease their hyperactivity.

Wilderness therapy

Spending time in naturereduces stress and anxiety, so it makes sense that some outdoor-enthusiast therapists bring their patients along, too.

While some wilderness therapy programs simply involve a hike and a chat with your counselors, others are intensive mental health boot camps designed to connect patients with the outdoors for weeks or months at a time.

These programs can be wildly successful:One research studyfound that 83 percent of participants maintained positive changes one year after completing the program.

But when seeking out a wilderness therapy program — especially if you’re hoping to send yourteeninto nature — make sure to avoid “scared straight”-style camps. Ensure the staff is clinically trained and compassionate, otherwise the program may do more harm than good.

Chess therapy

Gathering your thoughts in therapy can feel like a monumental task. One tangent leads to another, and soon your scattered thoughts lead to abstract rants. Have youreallysolved anything? Or just rambled?

Play therapy

Play therapy may sound silly, at least to an adult. What, you stack blocks and that’s supposed to solve your problems?

But if it seems odd, consider it from a child’s perspective. Inschooland in life, children learn through play. Traditional talk therapy may not benefit a four-year-old struggling with anger issues. But sculpting Play-Doh into figures of their friends and family, and then acting out a vivid memory,comes naturally.

Horticulture therapy

Think of horticulture therapy like play therapy for adults, mixed with a good dose ofwildernesstherapy. Most people find gardening a soothing activity, and horticulture therapists utilize this calming effect to help patients improve their mental health.

The elderly are particularly suited to horticulture therapy:Research indicatestherapeutic gardening helps reduce pain andstress, and improve attention. Patients may even need fewer medications and experience fewer falls.

Turns out gardening is good for more than decoration or sustenance — it can improve mental health, too.

Gestalt therapy

We all might have been confused when Clint Eastwoodranted at an empty chairduring the 2012 Republican National Convention, but perhaps he was just practicing Gestalt therapy.

In thiscurious type of therapy, the client sits in front of empty chair and imagines someone sitting in it. That “someone” may be apartner, a parent, or even themself. They play-act both roles in a much-needed dialogue, speaking their mind to the invisible person and then respond as they imagine the person would respond.

By performing both roles, the patient receives valuable insight into conflicts, whether interpersonal or internal. Perhaps responding as your long-absent mother helps you sympathize with her perspective, or gives you new tools to handle her anger.

The Best Therapy is Therapy That Works For You

While talk or text therapy may be the best choice for most people, not everyone is well-suited to traditional therapeutic practices — especially children and the elderly. If you find yourself eager to try something new, these unique therapies may work well for you.

Our goal at Talkspace is to provide the most up-to-date, valuable, and objective information on mental health-related topics in order to help readers make informed decisions.

Articles contain trusted third-party sources that are either directly linked to in the text or listed at the bottom to take readers directly to the source.

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