Therapists often focus their services in a few ways: they might work with specific communities like LGBTQ2S+ or BIPOC, or they might have expertise in certain mental health needs like anxiety, depression, PTSD, etc. They’ll also typically specialize in a few core treatment techniques known as modalities.

Modalities are approaches or methods that a therapist will use to help you reach your goals. Modalities fall into broad categories, such as cognitive and behavioural, somatic (body awareness), experiential (play or art therapy), and more.

In this section, we go over some of the most popular modalities for the therapists featured on First Session. Modalities can be used in conjunction with one another, and each therapist has their own approach. You can filter therapists by modality on First Session, or find modalities listed at the bottom of each therapist profile page.